2022 Team Preview: Gadsden Panthers

<strong>Gadsden 2022 Preview</strong> <strong>Head Coach</strong>: Dino Facio Jr. <strong>Mascot</strong>: Panthers <strong>Twitter</strong>: @GadsdenPanthers; @CoachFacio <strong>Colors</strong>: Maroon, Gold &amp; White <strong>2021 Record</strong>: 3-5 (Independent) <strong>Overview</strong>: Gadsden’s run-dominated offensive attack is led by one of the top dual threat quarterbacks in the state – <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138076" first="Tomas" last="Herrera"]</strong>. Last season Herrera threw for 654 yards and 7 touchdowns in limited opportunities. In fact, he averaged less than 10 passing attempts per game. His legs are Herrera’s golden ticket, rushing for 1,055 yards and 12 TD in 2021, an average of 131.9 yards per game. Ultimately, the Gadsden offense will go as far as Herrera, also an elite wrestler, takes it. Herrera is flying under the radar in recruiting but he deserves an opportunity to play college football. He runs the 40 in about 4.6 seconds, which is fast enough. Undoubtedly, he’s a hidden gem. Gadsden’s next two leading rushers last season were seniors, so the running backs behind Herrera this year are largely inexperienced. Senior <strong>Matthew Granados</strong> and junior <strong>Aaron Estrada</strong> are two additional ball carriers looking to make a greater impact in 2022. When Herrera does throw the ball, <strong>Chris Orozco</strong> is a promising sophomore who got limited experience with the varsity last season. <strong>Silver Morales</strong> is another sophomore who could make an impact. The majority of the offensive line will be inexperienced sophomores and juniors. Defensively, the D-Line should be one of the Panthers’ strengths. Junior <strong>Nathaniel Lopez</strong> has next level talent and capable of dominating opposing offensive linemen. Lopez started as a freshmen in the sporing of 2020 and possesses good size. <strong>Daniel Lopez</strong>, <strong>John Martin</strong> and <strong>Nathan Lujan</strong> are also expected to see significant playing time. Granados will spearhead the LB corps along with junior OLB <strong>Ryan Hernandez</strong>. The secondary will be largely new too. Sophomore <strong>Alex Andrade</strong> is back. Morales is a two-way player who will see action in the secondary. <strong>Zach Talavera</strong> should also be a major contributor there. So far, so good in summer workouts. <strong>Schedule</strong>: Gadsden opens the season at Ruidoso before consecutive home games against El Paso (TX) High and Alamogordo. The next four games are all on the road. After a bye, district play begins. Long time geographic rivals Chaparral, Santa Teresa and Deming are now district foes. Aug. 19 at Ruidoso Aug. 26 EL PASO HIGH (TX) Sept. 2 ALAMOGORDO Sept. 9 at Clint (TX) Sept. 15 at Organ Mountain (Thur.) Sept. 23 at Goddard Sept. 30 at Valencia Oct. 7 Bye Oct. 14 CHAPARRAL* Oct. 21 SANTA TERESA* Oct. 28 at Deming* * District Game <strong>Top Storyline</strong>: After one year as an independent, how will life in Class 5A go for Gadsden? <strong>Final Thoughts</strong>: Gadsden sought to move to Class 5A for several years before the NMAA finally relented. Previous to playing as an independent in 2021, the Panthers were usually played in a 6A district with the four high schools in Las Cruces, Hobbs and Carlsbad. Based on the numbers, Gadsden was always at a disadvantage. Now they’re in Class 5A competing against schools with comparable enrollments and facilities. <strong>Coach’s Comments</strong>: “We were hopeful going independent would catapult us into 5A, which is where we need to be based on numbers. Now we’re playing schools that have the same number of kids and grew up in the same environments. It’s going to make for some good football. The community is excited. Gadsden deserves to have a winner. They got a little taste of it last year when we got a few wins. We’re going up against familiar foes that we’ve played every year in the early part of our schedule. We now have two rivals in our district that are in the same school district but were never in our playing district (when we were in 6A). Now we play them at the end of the year. Those games are going to mean more. It gives us a chance to compete for a district championship. It’s going to be fun. [player_tooltip player_id="138076" first="Tomas" last="Herrera"] is a special young man. In my opinion, he’s a Division 1 athlete. He might not be a quarterback but he’ll definitely make an impact. His body of work speaks for itself. He’s a great leader” – Gadsden coach Dino Facio. https://twitter.com/GadsdenPanthers/status/1543034005448142849 https://twitter.com/GadsdenPanthers/status/1541607952590725122 https://twitter.com/GadsdenPanthers/status/1537553899250339840