2022 Team Preview: Hatch Valley Bears
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<p><strong>Hatch Valley 2022 Preview</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Head Coach</strong>: Louis Howell </p>
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<p><strong>Mascot</strong>: Bears </p>
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<p><strong>Twitter</strong>: @HVHSBears; @CoachHowellHVHS</p>
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<p><strong>Colors</strong>: Scarlet and Black </p>
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<p><strong>2021 Record</strong>: 1-9 </p>
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<p><strong>Overview</strong>: The key figure in the Hatch Valley offense is senior running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138201' first='Layton' last='Gillis']</strong> a/k/a The Hatch Valley Hercules. The Hatch Valley offensive coaches plan to hand the ball off to Gillis 20+ times per game and ride him as much as possible. He averaged about 16 carries per game in 2021 and added about 20 pounds to his frame for this upcoming season, so he should be able to handle the increased workload. Junior <strong>Frank Angel</strong>, whose father played for HVHS during the state championship years about 20 years ago, is being eyes for the backup RB role. He'll play receiver as well. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275480' first='Jacob' last='Gomez']</strong> returns at quarterback after playing about half the snaps in 2021. Hatch Valley had a run-dominated attack but could throw the ball more within a fast-paced offense (goal is to snap the ball every 12 seconds when the Bears are on offense). </p>
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<p>In addition to Angel, senior <strong>Marco Loera</strong> will line up at slot receiver after leading the Bears in receptions last season. Senior <strong>Brandon Gomez</strong> (6-0, 215 pounds) will be a big target at tight end. He showed last year he can catch the ball well and run. He'll fill the H-Back role. The Bears plan to utilize a lot of players at receiver, among them tall juniors <strong>Waylon Apodaca</strong> and <strong>Adan Gutierrez</strong>. The latter brings plenty of speed to the WR spot. That's important because Hatch Valley wants to throw the ball deep more in 2022. Athletic sophomore <strong>Franklin Williams</strong> could start at WR for the Bears. Seniors <strong>Carlos Carranza</strong> and <strong>Emiliano Gutierrez</strong> anchor the offensive line.</p>
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<p>Defensively, most of Hatch Valley's best players play both sides of the ball. However, the Bears will try to have a single platoon system in the trenches, meaning the O-Line will just play there, and the same of the D-Line. Sophomore <strong>Ray Ruiz</strong>, who saw action as a freshman in 2021, looks to have one D-Line spot nailed down. Gillis (possibly moved to safety) and Loera will play defensive back. Williams played some cornerback in 2021. Gomez, Angel, junior ILB <strong>Uriel Chavarria</strong> and senior OLB <strong>Eduardo Gracia</strong> look to be the four linebackers. Tackling was an issue for the Hatch Valley defense last season, so they'll spend plenty of valuable practice time improving that critical fundamental of football during preseason camp.</p>
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<p><strong>Schedule</strong>: Hatch Valley hosts Hope Christian, Tularosa and Chaparral before hitting the road for three straight road games, including the district opener at Socorro on Oct. 14. They conclude the regular season with back-to-back home games against Cobre and Hot Springs. </p>
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<p>Aug. 19 at Laguna Acoma</p>
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<p>Aug. 26 HOPE CHRISTIAN</p>
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<p>Sept. 2 TULAROSA</p>
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<p>Sept. 9 at Anthony (TX)</p>
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<p>Sept. 16 CHAPARRAL</p>
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<p>Sept. 23 at Estancia</p>
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<p>Sept. 30 Bye</p>
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<p>Oct. 7 at Capitan</p>
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<p>Oct. 14 at Socorro*</p>
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<p>Oct. 21 COBRE*</p>
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<p>Oct. 28 HOT SPRINGS*</p>
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<p>* District Game</p>
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<p><strong>Top Storyline</strong>: Will the experience gained from last season's hard knocks pay dividends for Hatch Valley in 2022?</p>
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<p><strong>Final Thoughts</strong>: The glory days of Hatch Valley football in the early 2000s and mid 2010s must have seemed a few hundred light years away after last season's 1-9 record. Hatch Valley won the Class 4A title in 2015 with a perfect 13-0 record and reached the 4A semifinals in 2016. But the record has declined since then with identical 1-9 marks in 2019 and 2021, the last two full seasons. The Bears hope experience, a talented running back and a lightning-fast offense will restore the program to its winning ways. </p>
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<p><strong>Coach's Comments</strong>: “We're getting better, faster and stronger. It's an exciting time for us. Last season we learned it's really tough to play with a young team with almost zero experience. We basically had a JV team playing varsity. Most of our guys had never played football on a Friday night before. It showed in the scores. We would typically hang with the other team for a while but when something went bad, it got pretty bad. We may have been too complex for kids who haven't played varsity before or understood the game as much as we had been used to. We started simplifying things in February with them and it's gone a whole lot better. This year we're going to try to play faster than anybody in the history of New Mexico. We'll throw and run the ball, and go as fast as we can.” – Hatch Valley coach Louis Howell.</p>
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<p> </p>
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Hatch Valley 2022 Preview
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