Scrimmage Week: Los Lunas-Rio Rancho Recap & Video
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When preseason camp began for Rio Rancho on Aug. 1, junior Noah Nelson Noah Nelson 5'11" | 170 lbs | DB Rio Rancho | 2024 State NM held a slim lead in the battle for the Rams’ starting quarterback job.…
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Continue ReadingWhen preseason camp began for Rio Rancho on Aug. 1, junior Noah Nelson Noah Nelson 5'11" | 170 lbs | DB Rio Rancho | 2024 State NM held a slim lead in the battle for the Rams’ starting quarterback job.
Wednesday, he sealed the deal.
Showcasing his dual threat skills, Nelson led the Rio Rancho offense against the Los Lunas defense in an hour-long scrimmage at the Rams’ stadium. Nelson was at his best running the football, sidestepping rushing Tigers defenders before racing for a first down on several occasions. His impressive ability to make plays with his feet has impressed first-year Rio Rancho head coach Nate Pino.
Afterwards, Pino confirmed to Prep Redzone New Mexico that Nelson had won the QB job and would start the Rams’ season opener against La Cueva next Friday night.
“Noah made some plays with his feet,” Pino said. “He got us into the right situations. We don’t take a lot of negative plays with him back there. He does a good job of avoiding sacks. He took care of the football tonight. We were pretty efficient. He’s a dual threat guy. You have to respect him running the football and throwing it. Running the ball is an element he gives us. We’ve made a good living here at Rio Rancho with athletic quarterbacks in the last five or six years. If you have to defend the quarterback in the run game, it’s an extra hat the defense has to worry about.”
Dominic Valencia Dominic Valencia 6'2" | 170 lbs | LB Rio Rancho | 2024 State NM , who had been competing with Nelson for the starting QB job, lined up at receiver Wednesday night.
Except for one long pass completion for a touchdown that was the result of a busted coverage, the Los Lunas offense, as expected, relied extensively on the feet of dynamic dual threat quarterback Paul Cieremans Paul Cieremans 5'10" | 195 lbs | QB Los Lunas | 2023 State NM .
Pino was pleased with how the Rams performed on both sides of the ball.
“Defensively, we got after it,” Pino said. “We were flying to the football. We gave up one big play, which is something we talked about after the scrimmage. We have to clean that up. Offensively, we played with a good pace. We were physical up front. We took what the passing game gave us.”
Part 1: Los Lunas vs. Rio Rancho
Part 2: Los Lunas vs. Rio Rancho
Part 3: Los Lunas vs. Rio Rancho