Next Man Up: Class 6A Teams Looking for New QBs in 2022

Many New Mexico high school football teams return quarterbacks for the 2022 season that enjoyed solid campaigns last fall. However, many other teams are looking a new quarterback. We still have five months to go before the 2022 season kicks off in mid-August, but some coaches have a good idea who their QB will be. But other teams will have a competition before determining their starter. Here are some of the Class 6A teams in the process of deciding on a new QB for 2022: <strong>Centennial</strong>: The new quarterback for the Hawks succeeds [player_tooltip player_id="26267" first="Ian" last="Lopez"], who led Centennial to the district championship. Centennial coach Aaron Ocampo told Prep Redzone New Mexico that rising junior <strong>Daniel Hernandez</strong> will likely see most of the practice reps in the fall after leading the Hawks’ JV team to a successful season in 2021. <strong>Clovis</strong>: Even though Clovis went just 3-7 last season, [player_tooltip player_id="134999" first="Milo" last="Acosta"] threw for 1,457 yards and rushed for a team-high 333 yards, accounting for 1,790 yards and 14 TD. Wildcats head coach Cal Fullerton plans a FIVE-way competition when preseason camp begins in July: Junior <strong>Manny Gutierrez</strong> (started on defense last year), junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="275376" first="Jett" last="Stone"]</strong> (started on defense last year), junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="275303" first="Kash" last="Roberts"]</strong> (team high 35 receptions as a sophomore), junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="275408" first="Will" last="Jordan"]</strong> (started both ways last year; 11 receptions) and sophomore <strong>Rylan Hromas</strong> (QB for freshman last year). <strong>Farmington</strong>: 2021 QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26232" first="Brandon" last="Furbee"]</strong> is off to Victor Valley College after leading Farmington to an undefeated regular season and the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A playoffs. Who will be the Scorpions QB in their first season in Class 6A? Most likely, 6-foot-3, 225-pound rising junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="274791" first="Trel" last="Griego"]</strong> (2024) will be promoted from backup to starter. He attempted 32 passes in 2021, completing 21 for 332 yards and 3 TD. He also rushed for a TD. Griego’s tremendous size should serve him well in the Class 6A wars. <strong>Hobbs</strong>: Who replaces two-sport star <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134908" first="Colton" last="Graham"]</strong>, who threw for over 2,200 yards and 22 TDs in 2021? Six-foor-2, 175-pound Omar Argott (2023), a rising senior, served as the backup in 2021 and attempted 13 passes. The good news for whoever wins the job? The Eagles returned a talented group of wide receivers led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137921" first="Kaden" last="Trevino"]</strong> (59 receptions in 2021), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269534" first="Ethan" last="Vanlandingham"]</strong> (32) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="208821" first="Diego" last="Baeza"]</strong> (22). <strong>Las Cruces</strong>: Las Cruces has enjoyed solid quarterback play for the last several seasons. Last year’s QB, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26253" first="Dallas" last="Boyd"]</strong>, has signed with an Arizona JUCO program to play at the next level.  Rising junior <strong>Matthew Lashley</strong> appears to have the edge but Bulldawgs coach Mark Lopez told Prep Redzone New Mexico that multiple young quarterbacks that have played well at the freshman and youth levels will get an opportunity in preseason camp as well. <strong>Rio Rancho</strong>: The Rams will have an entirely new offensive backfield as QB Dominick Priddy, who will play baseball in college, and 2021 New Mexico Heisman winner RB [player_tooltip player_id="26227" first="Zach" last="Vigil"] (signed with New Mexico) are graduating. Expect a spirited preseason camp competition between rising juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="274972" first="Noah" last="Nelson"]</strong> (2024; 25 attempted passes in 2021) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="275082" first="Dominic" last="Valencia"]</strong>. Both are competing as quarterbacks for the New Mexico Legacy 7-on-7 travel team, so we ’re getting an early preview of the summer battle. <strong>Santa Fe</strong>: QB [player_tooltip player_id="26241" first="Luc" last="Jaramillo"] was a dynamic dual threat QB and combined with RB [player_tooltip player_id="26265" first="Martell" last="Mora"] to form one of the top offensive backfields in northern New Mexico. Six-foot-1, 210 pound rising senior <strong>Andrew Allen</strong> (2023) could finally get his opportunity as the starter after serving as Jaramillo’s backup the past two seasons. Expected competition will come from 5-foot-11, 190-pound rising junior <strong>Michael Abeyta</strong> (2024), who was the Demons JV QB last season. Both Allen and Abeyta are mobile quarterbacks with strong throwing arms. <strong>West Mesa</strong>: Whoever succeeds [player_tooltip player_id="26242" first="Daniel" last="Ayala"] at quarterback has extremely large shoes to fill. Ayala was not only a talented QB but extremely intelligent and a great leader. New coach Landrick Brody has a major decision to make. Of course, his decision would be made a lot easier if his talented son, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="275488" first="Elijah" last="Brody"]</strong>, transfers from Cleveland to West Mesa. But that remains to be seen. West Mesa had one other quarterback listed on its 2021 roster – rising junior <strong>Mark Montano</strong>. https://twitter.com/NewMexicoLegacy/status/1485101802043310083 https://twitter.com/NewMexicoLegacy/status/1485101075996635138