2021 Team Preview: St. Michael’s

<strong>St. Michael’s 2021 Preview</strong> Head Coach:  Joey Fernandez Mascot: Horsemen Twitter: @StMikesHorsemen Colors: Navy Blue and White Enrollment: 600 Spring Record: 3-0 Key Players: QB [player_tooltip player_id="134997" first="Lucas" last="Coriz"], RB [player_tooltip player_id="26250" first="Daymon" last="Lujan"], WR/DB Devin Flores. Breakout Star: QB [player_tooltip player_id="134997" first="Lucas" last="Coriz"]. Overview: Fernandez wants senior leadership and he has to look no farther than 6-foot-4 dual threat quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134997" first="Lucas" last="Coriz"]</strong>, who possesses a strong arm, size, strength, speed and mobility. Coriz has been St. Michael’s starting QB since his freshman year, steadily improving each year. When he was younger, Coriz loved to throw deep down the field, but he’s come to appreciate the value of the shorter and intermediate routes. He’s also a dynamic runner and with his size difficult to bring down. When your quarterback is the strongest player on the team by far, you have something special. Coriz is supported by a solid running game led by senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26250" first="Daymon" last="Lujan"]</strong>, who is admired by teammates and coaches alike for his relentless effort. When Lujan and the ground game get going, it opens up the passing game for Coriz, whose top target should be senior <strong>Devin Flores</strong>. He was the Horsemen’s best receiver in the spring and is known for making big catches in big situations. The offensive line is inexperienced, though, but has plenty of potential. If Fernandez finds five guys who can work cohesively as a unit, open holes for Lujan and protect Coriz, watch out. Defensively, six starters return. The defensive line and secondary have some question marks, but the linebacker corps should be very good. The front seven features <strong>Isaiah Salazar</strong>, DT <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135661" first="Jordan" last="Bernal"]</strong>, DE <strong>Diego Armendariz</strong>. Flores leads the secondary. <strong>Isaac Ruiz</strong> will be one of the cornerbacks. Schedule: St. Michael’s opens the 2021 campaign on the road at Taos before consecutive games against cross-town rivals Capital and Santa Fe. The home game against Socorro on Sept. 25 looms large, as does the Oct. 30 season finale against Raton. Aug. 20 at Taos Aug. 28 CAPITAL (Sat.) Sept. 3 at Santa Fe Sept. 10 at Los Alamos Sept. 17 Bye Sept. 25 SOCORRO Oct. 1 at El Paso (TX) Cathedral Oct. 8 at Santa Fe Indian Oct. 16 WEST LAS VEGAS Oct. 22 at Robertson Oct. 29 RATON Top Storyline: With an array of offensive weapons, will St. Michael’s compete for the Class 3A state championship? Final Thoughts: Fernandez has been coaching St. Michael’s for a long time and has done an admirable job building the program into a consistent winner. This year should be no exception. St. Michael’s has dominated their local rivals (Santa Fe, Capital) and been an annual presence in the playoffs. Just a few years ago, they were a No. 1 seed. Behind Coriz and Lujan, the Horsemen’s offense could be prolific in 2021. They are definitely a contender for the district title and the Class 3A title. However, St. Michael’s has had an issue with overlooking opponents in the playoffs and it’s come back to bite them hard. Fernandez strongly believes it’s all about senior leadership. If St. Michael’s gets that, they’ll be playing deep into November. Coach’s Comments: “We had some good leadership last season and we’re looking for a couple of these seniors to step up like the guys did last year. We lost some good players that were great leaders. That’s the one thing we lacked in the previous years. If we get some good senior leadership, we’ll be all right. . .Every year [player_tooltip player_id="134997" first="Lucas" last="Coriz"] has gotten better, especially with making his reads and going through his progressions. We’re trying to get him to throw the ball short a little more. He likes to throw the long ball. Sometimes it works but it’s not a high percentage pass. He’s been a lot better this year doing that. With Lucas, we get a great leader that’s going to get the rest of the guys going. He’s a great role model. . .[player_tooltip player_id="26250" first="Daymon" last="Lujan"] goes 110 percent every play. He runs hard and is hard to bring down. He’s one of those guys we want to get the ball too. It opens up the passing game when we can run the football. . .Devin Flores is going to make big catches and big plays for us. He plays both sides and is a very good safety too. . .The key for us offensively is the offensive line being able to open holes and giving Lucas some time throwing the football. . .When we walk onto the field for two a days, what we talk about is winning blue trophies. We have three goals every year: beat Santa Fe High, win district and win state.” – Joey Fernandez.