2022 Team Preview: Atrisco Heritage Jaguars

<strong>Atrisco Heritage 2022 Preview</strong> <strong>Head Coach</strong>: Howard Knezevich <strong>Mascot</strong>: Jaguars <strong>Twitter</strong>: @AtriscoJags; @HowardKnezevich <strong>Colors</strong>: Navy Blue and Forest Green <strong>2021 Record</strong>: 2-7 <strong>Overview</strong>: When a team wins just two out of nine games, it’s expected the coach will open the door to competition at most positions. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="275207" first="Dean" last="Marquez"]</strong> began the 2021 season as Atrisco’s No. 1 quarterback but suffered an injury and mobile senior <strong>Manny Sedillo</strong> finished the campaign. Those two are battling for the starting job. Junior running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="274705" first="Marquise" last="Renfro"]</strong> (5-11, 175 pounds) runs the 40 in about 4.4 seconds. Knezevich wants him to add another 10 pounds to his frame before the start of the season. Renfro is Atrisco’s top playmaker, so expect to see the ball in his hands plenty this season. Senior <strong>Julian Platero</strong> will be the backup. Depth won’t be an issue for Atrisco at wide receiver. The best of the group is sophomore <strong>Latavious Morris</strong> with 6-foot-1 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138044" first="Diego" last="Winnikoff"]</strong>, who missed most of the 2021 season with a shoulder injury, behind him. <strong>Andres Villalobos</strong> should be the third WR starter. Platero will line up a slot WR as well. Sophomore <strong>Chauncey Lane</strong> has a promising future. He saw some action with the varsity last season in order to give him some valuable experience. Knezevich expects the Jaguars’ offensive line to be significantly better than last season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="270010" first="Andrew" last="Aguirre"]</strong> and <strong>Emmanuel Martinez, </strong>the strongest offensive lineman on the roster, anchor the unit along with senior <strong>Jonah Ortega</strong>. Defensively, the Jaguars’ defensive line should be the strength of the unit. Six-foot-4, 240-pound DE <strong>Matthew Raygoza</strong> might be the most impressive physically. <strong>Gabriel Rios</strong> will be a rush DE. Senior <strong>Diego Flores</strong>, listed at 290 pounds, should provide a large presence the nose tackle. Sophomore <strong>Judah Nichols</strong> showed flashes of his potential late last season (6 sacks in 4 games) when he was called up from the junior varsity. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137892" first="Myles" last="Lane"]</strong> saw action at QB last season but has now moved to middle linebacker. He’ll be joined at LB by promising junior <strong>Joziah Lopez</strong>. An up and comer is <strong>Salvador Gonzalez</strong>, who got his feet wet with the varsity in 2021 after excelling on the JV level. The Jaguars must replace most of its secondary. The lone returner is senior CB <strong>Patrick Torres</strong>. <strong>Diego Ramirez</strong> has shifted from wide receiver and will be the free safety<strong>. Jesus Coronado</strong> has changed sides of the ball as well and has shown the ability to play cornerback or safety. Sophomore <strong>Kadarious Sims</strong> is the youngest of the group. <strong>Schedule</strong>: The good news for Atrisco Heritage concerning its 2022 schedule is the Jaguars don’t have to leave the Albuquerque Metro area. All five road contests are against APS schools. The bad news, of course, is Atrisco plays in arguably the toughest district in the state with Cleveland, Cibola, Rio Rancho and Volcano Vista. The Jaguars host the Rams and Storm on consecutive weekends in October. Aug. 18 at Sandia Aug. 27 at Rio Grande (Sat.) Sept. 3 at Eldorado (Sat.) Sept. 9 MANZANO Sept. 16 WEST MESA Sept. 23 CAPITAL Sept. 30 at Cibola* Oct. 8 RIO RANCHO* (Sat.) Oct. 14 CLEVELAND* Oct. 21 Bye Oct. 28 at Volcano Vista* * District Game <strong>Top Storyline</strong>: Will Atrisco Heritage continue to make strides and post its first winning record since 2017? <strong>Final Thoughts</strong>: Since the Jaguars went 7-4 and qualified for the Class 6A playoffs in 2017, the road has been bumpy for Atrisco Heritage. They have a combined record of 5-25 over the past four seasons. But Knezevich appears to have the ship steered in the right direction. He has emphasized increasing his players’ speed, and those efforts appear to be paying dividends. Atrisco might still be a year away, but we’re expecting the Jaguars to be improved. Before the rugged district schedule begins, the Jaguars face local rivals Sandia, Eldorado and West Mesa. The record might not show it, but Atrisco should be better. <strong>Coach’s Comments</strong>: “It’s good to see our guys getting faster. I’ve been very happy with our 40 times. I think we’re definitely going to be better than last year, especially offensively if we can get our timing own. If we do that, we’ll have a lot of weapons. Defensively, we moved some guys over and they’re making big strides with our coaching staff. I want to make sure we’re putting guys in the right spots. If the defensive line does well, we should be much improved defensively. I was happy with the way we finished last season. It’s building for this year. Our guys are itching to get out there. Right now, we have about 90 guys showing up for early morning workouts. That’s pretty solid. We just have to get them in the weight room. Our guys are feeling stronger and more confident. ” – Atrisco Heritage coach Howard Knezevich.