Look Back, Look Ahead: Class 5A

We continue our ‘Look Back, Look Ahead’ series with a comprehensive look back at the 2021 season in Class 5A and a look ahead to some of the key storylines, topics and questions going into the 2022 season. LOOK BACK Team of the Year: Los Lunas. It wasn’t always easy for the Tigers, but they managed to grind their way to an undefeated season capped off by the win over Artesia in the 5A championship game. The offense was prolific at times and an underrated defense allowed just under 10 points per game. After a decade or more of rapid growth within the town, Los Lunas is now off to Class 6A. Offensive Player of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id="137885" first="Paul" last="Cieremans"], Los Lunas. An easy choice. We described Cieremans throughout the season as the best dual threat quarterback in the state, and he backed up the talk with his play on the field. He generated 2,891 total yards and 40 touchdowns – 1,347 yards and 20 TD through the air and 1,544 yards and 20 TD on the ground. The good news for Los Lunas is Cieremans will be back in 2022, albeit at the 6A level. Defensive Player of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id="207618" first="Brody" last="Jaquez"], Belen. Jaquez didn’t have the most tackles in Class 5A but his numbers are still incredible. During the regular season he had 62 tackles, an impressive 27.0 tackles for loss and 15 sacks. That’s why the 6-foot-3, 227-pounder was named a First-Team All-State defensive lineman by the NMHSCA. Eastern New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands have both offered. Junior of the Year: Let’s state this another way. Who was the best junior not named [player_tooltip player_id="137885" first="Paul" last="Cieremans"]? There are plenty of worthy candidates. Our choice is Teke Nieto from Los Alamos. Nieto rushed for 637 yards and caught 22 passes on offense and added a classification high 119 tackles on defense in leading Los Alamos to the 5A playoffs. Sophomore of the Year: Peyton Greathouse, Artesia. This was a close battle between Greathouse and Belen RB Diego Avila. Greathouse led all sophomores with 22 receptions, while Avila had 584 yards rushing, by far the most of anybody in the 2024 class. Both players should become major contributors for their teams in 2022. Freshman of the Year: Amiri Mumba, Highlands. The Hornets relied extensively on freshmen and sophomores this past season, and Mumba was among the best players on the team. Breakthrough Player of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id="198070" first="Julian" last="Cobos"], Santa Teresa. Cobos had very little experience playing varsity football before this past season. But he embraced the quarterback reins of the Desert Warriors and rushed for 1,225 yards and 10 TD while passing for 573 yards and 8 TD. He has the ability and athleticism to play at the next level. Top 5 Passers (per MaxPreps): 1. Jakob Green, Los Alamos (1,367 yards); 2. [player_tooltip player_id="137885" first="Paul" last="Cieremans"], Los Lunas (1,347); 3. [player_tooltip player_id="26232" first="Brandon" last="Furbee"], Farmington (1,328); 4. Nathan Taylor, Artesia (1,070); 5. Caeden Jojola, Valley (994). Top 5 Rushers (per MaxPreps): 1. [player_tooltip player_id="137885" first="Paul" last="Cieremans"], Los Lunas (1,544); 2. [player_tooltip player_id="198070" first="Julian" last="Cobos"], Santa Teresa (1,225); 3. [player_tooltip player_id="26240" first="Adrian" last="Rodriguez"], Santa Teresa (847); 4. Sam Tibbs, Belen (740); 5. Jake Barrera, Artesia (708). Top 5 Receivers (per MaxPreps): 1. Jeremiah Hartzol, Los Alamos (42 receptions); 2. Emilio Mora, Los Lunas (41); [player_tooltip player_id="135130" first="Patrick" last="Shay"], Farmington (26); 4. Javier Martinez, Capital (24); 5. [player_tooltip player_id="135132" first="Isidro" last="Talavera"], Santa Teresa (24). Top 5 Tacklers (per MaxPreps): 1. Teke Nieto, Los Alamos (109); 2. Zander Doyle, Los Lunas (103); 3. [player_tooltip player_id="208831" first="Miguel" last="Andrade"], Los Lunas (102); 4. [player_tooltip player_id="135610" first="Ivan" last="Reyes"], Santa Teresa (87); 5. Nichola Torres, Los Lunas (81). Game of the Year: Los Lunas 17, Goddard 14; Los Lunas 26, Goddard 21 (5A semifinals). Two hard-fought games. Two same teams. Two instant classics. In the first one, Los Lunas kicked a field goal in the final minutes to pull out the win. In the second, which came in the Class 5A semifinals, [player_tooltip player_id="137885" first="Paul" last="Cieremans"] worked his magic in the fourth quarter, leading the Tigers to a pair of TDs in the come-from-behind win. LOOK AHEAD Player To Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="138088" first="Javyn" last="Morales"], Goddard. Arguably the fastest player in the state missed a significant portion of this past season due to an injury. But he should rebound nicely next season. Watch him next spring in track. Regardless of the injury, Morales is still attracting interest from Division I programs, most notably Texas Tech. 5 Key Questions: 1. Who will fill the void left by Farmington and Los Lunas? The top two seeds in the recent 5A playoffs are headed to Class 6A. So, who will be the top seed for the 2022 5A playoffs? Look closely at the “super district” featuring Artesia, Goddard, Mayfield and Roswell. 2. Speaking of the “super district,” is this the best district in the state? District 6A-1 with Cleveland, Rio Rancho, Cibola and Volcano Vista could legitimately claim to be No. 1, but the “super district is close behind. Four proud, prominent programs. All four are capable of winning the district title, and the 5A championship, for that matter. Next October will be fun. 3. How will the addition of Gadsden affect District 5A-3? Gadsden has sought to move from 6A to 5A for a while, so the Panthers are elated it finally happened. Separating the numbers from an alternative school and the high school was vital. Plenty of nice rivalries between Chaparral, Deming, Gadsden and Santa Teresa in the southern most district in the state. 4. Will Manzano see its football fortunes improve after moving from 6A to District 5A-2? The Monarchs’ 2017 state championship team starring future FBS players Jordan Byrd and Andrew Erickson is a distant memory even though it happened just four years ago. But Manzano has been placed in a district with Del Norte, Los Alamos and Valley that it could win. However, the Monarchs must find replacements at all three offensive skill positions (QB, RB, WR) 5. Is Belen ready to break out with local rival Los Lunas now in Class 6A? Yes. The Eagles enjoyed a solid first season under head coach Andrew McCaw, advancing as far as the 5A quarterfinals. McCaw didn’t arrive in Belen until June or July after Phil Lopez resigned unexpectedly. RB Diego Avila is one of the top rising juniors in Class 5A. Belen will rely on him a lot next season. Player Ready to Blow Up: Caeden Jojola, Valley. The Vikings qualified for the playoffs in large part to Jojola’s efforts both running and throwing the football. As a junior, he passed for nearly 1,000 yards and 12 TD while rushing for 485 yards and 6 TD. Long-time head coach Judge Chavez will definitely find different ways to utilize Jojola’s skills in 2022. [caption id="attachment_252613" align="alignnone" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-252613" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/12/prepredzone-feature-photo-300x197.png" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> Photo: Prep Redzone[/caption]