2022 Team Preview: Cleveland Storm

Cleveland 2022 Preview   Head Coach: Robert Garza             Mascot: Storm                   Twitter: @CHSStormFB; @Coach_RGarza   Colors: Aqua, Silver and White                       2021 Record: 13-0 (Class 6A Champions)                            Overview: If you were hoping for Cleveland to fall back to the pack, you'll likely be disappointed this season. The king is in quite good health, regardless of the departure of former head coach Heath Ridenour to join the New Mexico staff as quarterbacks coach. Robert Garza has essentially been given the keys to a Lamborghini, and if he manages the situation correctly the Storm could (should?) be celebrating another state championship in November.   Begin with arguably the top offensive trio in the state – quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='139521' first='Evan' last='Wysong'], running back [player_tooltip player_id='138204' first='Josh' last='Perry'] and wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='139523' first='Nic' last='Trujillo']. All seniors, all experienced, all extremely talented. Wysong and Trujillo are both committed to New Mexico, while Perry has been offered by Eastern New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands. Wysong, who has developed into a quality passer, and Trujillo both blaze the 40 in under 4.5 seconds. Wysong won the Class 5A 200 meters title and finished on the podium in the 100 meters at June's state track and field meet. Perry is a big and physical ball carrier that should prove tough to tackle for opposing defenders. Cleveland will utilize him to pound the ball between the tackles, but also force the ball to the perimeter with his sped.   A key question for Cleveland to answer is who will be Wysong's backup at QB. Former backup [player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'] transferred to West Mesa to join his father Landrick, who was named head coach of the Mustangs in January. The backup RB will be [player_tooltip player_id='274977' first='Andres' last='Aguirre'], a transfer from Albuquerque High. Aguirre is very versatile and can play multiple positions. The Cleveland coaches want to get him on the field, so he might end up in the secondary in 2022. Opposite Trujillo at WR will be 6-foot-3 senior Zack Beranek, who could take advantage of all the attention Trujillo will get from defensive backs,. Beranek runs crisp routes and has soft hands.     Senior [player_tooltip player_id='269863' first='Andres' last='Armijo'] will also battle for the No. 2 WR spot along with junior Karter Weddle.   Cleveland returns just one offensive line starter – senior Emanuel Negreiros. Storm coaches hope a good spring and summer in the weight room will produce enough candidates to battle for the four remaining spots. One of the possible newcomers is junior [player_tooltip player_id='340188' first='Ben' last='Linfoot'], who has impressed in the weight room this summer. Another spot where Cleveland must rebuild: defensive line. Three First-team All-Staters anchored the D-Line in 2021. So, some fresh faces will have to come in and contribute right away. Converted RB [player_tooltip player_id='1103199' first='Chuka' last='Tutman'] has moved to the DL  and has shown promise in early workouts. Junior Nathaniel Perry, Josh's younger brother, will also play D-Line with junior DT Sam Madrid, one of  the strongest players on the team.       Any discussion of an outstanding Cleveland linebacker corps must begin, of course, with 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior [player_tooltip player_id='274701' first='Stratton' last='Shufelt'], whom some analysts (MaxPreps) consider the No. 1 prospect in the state. Colorado has offered as well as New Mexico, New Mexico State, UTEP and several other G5 schools. Shufelt is big, strong and fast, and still has two more seasons of high school football ahead of him. Obviously, his ceiling is very high. Shufelt is the undisputed quarterback of the Storm defense. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='275565' first='Isaac' last='Medrano'] is another LB with a high ceiling. Westin Jones and Javis Garcia are both seniors and should get their opportunity this season after patiently rising through the ranks.    In the secondary, senior safety [player_tooltip player_id='270004' first='Devonte' last='Shendo'] is back to lead the defensive backs after converting from OLB before last season. He had 33 tackles and 4 interceptions in 2021. The second safety spot has been the subject of a battle between seniors Angel Rodriguez and Brandon Tenorio. Both cornerback spots will have new starters. Seniors Elijah Cervera and Ethan Dodd, junior [player_tooltip player_id='1103860' first='Jaden' last='Davis'] and Aguirre are competing there.    Schedule: Cleveland opens the season with a pair of challenging games against Centennial and La Cueva. The Storm scheduling two road games against Texas schools has created a buzz in the NM high school football community. Cleveland had extreme difficulty finding non-district NM opponents willing to play them. Only blue blood programs were willing to take the rick: Centennial, La Cueva, Las Cruces and Artesia. The annual rivalry game against Rio Rancho is Oct. 28 at Lightning Bolt Stadium.       Aug. 19 CENTENNIAL   Aug. 26 at La Cueva   Sept. 2 at Amarillo (TX)   Sept. 10 at Las Cruces (Sat.)   Sept. 16 ARTESIA   Sept. 23 at Wolfforth (TX) Frenship   Sept. 30 VOLCANO VISTA*   Oct. 7 Bye   Oct. 14 at Atrisco Heritage*   Oct. 21 at Cibola*   Oct. 28 RIO RANCHO*   * District Game   Top Storyline: Will Cleveland continue its recent dominance with another state championship in November?       Final Thoughts: In case you were wondering, Robert Garza will do just fine as the Cleveland head coach. He's been with the program since the school opened in 2009, so he's had a front row seat to the evolution of the Storm from debut 13 years ago to presently the state's most dominant program. Cleveland hasn't lost a game since a mid-season setback to Volcano Vista in 2019. So, many of the players on this year's Storm squad have never tasted defeat. Don't be surprised if Cleveland extends its winning streak to 35+ games by the time the season is completed Thanksgiving weekend. Sure, there are plenty of pitfalls in the schedule, starting with the opener against Centennial, but the Storm are simply too talented on both sides of the ball for most of their opponents. Possible Kyrponite? Inexperience in the trenches. 13-0 again? Maybe.        Coach's Comments: “Being head coach of Cleveland is a pretty awesome thing. I would have never dreamed of this but here it is and I'm hoping to run with it and do some good things. Back in 2009, we were just trying to feel our way through it all and trying to figure out how to get the kids to believe. It's been a cool evolution be a part of. The mentality has changed a little bit. We thought we could do the same things as Las Cruces and Mayfield and La Cueva. We have the facilities. The administration lets us do our thing and they look out for what's best for us. Once everything clicked, it's been a great deal ever since. I couldn't be happier with the situation I'm in. We have a lot of talent coming back. It's a great opportunity for us. But we have to fill in some pieces and help the guys coming back to grow, become better, and reach their highest potential” – Cleveland head coach Robert Garza.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1525585757590548480 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ben_linfoot/status/1553127123363082241 </div></figure>                             <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CHSStormFB/status/1545780732119109632 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/trujillo_nic/status/1536031535802949632 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Brandega/status/1555333425166520321 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/strat_shufelt/status/1537170895835320320 </div></figure>

Cleveland 2022 Preview