2022 Team Preview: Santa Fe Demons

<strong>Santa Fe 2022 Preview</strong> <strong>Head Coach</strong>: Andrew Martinez <strong>Mascot</strong>: Demons <strong>Twitter</strong>: @demons_football; @IrishDemon1 <strong>Colors</strong>: Navy Blue, Santa Fe Gold <strong>Enrollment</strong>: 1,621 <strong>2021 Record</strong>: 6-4 <strong>Overview</strong>: After finishing above the .500 mark (6-4) for the first time in more than two decades in 2021, Santa Fe’s challenge is now to sustain the success. But they must do it without many of the players that were the backbone of last year’s team, including Eastern New Mexico DB signee Martell Mora and QB Luc Jaramillo (offered by New Mexico Highlands). Six-foot-1, 215-pound rising senior <strong>Andrew Allen</strong> appears to have the inside track to taking over at QB. He’s also a starting defensive end for the Demons. Even if he doesn’t get the full-time QB gig, he’ll have a package designed for his skills. Allen is a very strong runner, giving Santa Fe another option in the running game. Junior <strong>Michael Abeyta</strong> could see action at QB as well. He was Santa Fe’s JV QB in 2021. He’s a three-sport athlete with a strong throwing arm. Who replaces Mora at RB? His younger brother, <strong>Alex Mora</strong>, a rising junior. He played slot receiver in 2021. Additional RB candidates are sophomore <strong>Jordan Baker</strong>, who is considered the second fastest player on the team, and junior <strong>Julian Opetaia</strong>. Junior <strong>Josh Gallegos</strong> is one of the few wide receivers returning in 2022 and should be the Demons’ No. 1 WR. He posses great size (6-3) and has excellent leaping ability and soft hands. Senior <strong>Damian Bustamante</strong> will battle to be the No. 2 WR. Along the offensive line, rising sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="268298" first="Cruz" last="Graham"]</strong> has been camping throughout the spring (he’s been to the NMHU, ENMU and UNM camps) and has the potential to be a 4-year starter for the Demons. He has major college prospect written all over him. Defensively, Santa Fe loses most of its top tacklers from last season. Senior <strong>Michel Serrano</strong> will patrol the middle at MIKE linebacker, which makes him responsible for the defensive calls and making sure everybody is aligned properly. Allen will play defensive end after making 34 tackles in 2021. Seniors <strong>Anthony Trujillo</strong> and <strong>Israel Rodriguez</strong> anchor the secondary. <strong>Schedule</strong>: The Demons are situated in District 6A-5 with Albuquerque High, Capital, Clovis and Los Lunas. The non-district slate is highlighted by matchups with Roswell, Lovington, Silver (all 3 at Ivan Head Stadium), West Mesa and Manzano along with the annual rivalry game against St. Michael’s. Aug. 18 (Thur.) at West Mesa (Community Stadium) Aug. 26 ROSWELL Sept. 2 ST. MICHAEL’S Sept. 9 SILVER Sept. 16 at Manzano (Wilson Stadium) Sept. 23 Bye Sept. 30 LOVINGTON Oct. 7 at Clovis* Oct. 14 LOS LUNAS* Oct. 20 at Albuquerque High (Milne Stadium)* Oct. 28 CAPITAL* * District Game <strong>Top Storyline</strong>: With many new players at key positions, will Santa Fe be able to sustain the momentum from last season’s winning record? <strong>Final Thoughts</strong>: Head coach Andrew Martinez has done a remarkable job turning around the Santa Fe program since taking over in 2017. His first two years were filled with plenty of dark days as the Demons struggled to snap a lengthy losing streak and the student body was largely apathetic towards the program. Not anymore. The roster numbers prove the enthusiasm for the program has grown by leaps and bounds. Finally posting a winning record got a huge monkey off the back of the program. Santa Fe now looks poised for a breakthrough. Next step? Qualifying for the Class 6A playoffs. But competing in a district with Los Lunas and Clovis will provide plenty of challenges. <strong>Coach’s Comments</strong>: “We had a tremendous senior class last year. It was the largest senior class I’ve had in my five years here. They were very good leaders. They did it on and off the field. Five of them are going to play in college. This year, we have a very good incoming senior and junior classes with some sophomore sprinkled in. This year’s senior class will again be over 20. We have over 90 players, which is great. . .Andrew Allen has qualities that have helped us the past three years on offense with what he could do with the ball. He’s big and strong. His best quality is running. He runs downhill. But he can be very accurate throwing it too.  . . It’s Alex Mora’s turn at running back. He’s incredibly strong and has very good speed. . .Josh Gallegos will be a big target at wide receiver. He likes to go up for the ball. . .We’re blessed to have some good depth at our skill positions this year. . .We’re miles and miles and miles ahead of where we were five years ago. That change (in culture) really happened last year. We saw it happen. That change was seismic. Our younger players are now continuing what the seniors started last year.” – Santa Fe head coach Andrew Martinez. https://twitter.com/CruzGraham52/status/1535825936729374720 https://twitter.com/alexander_2mora/status/1534372583264686080 https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1535001307869720576 &nbsp;