Look Back, Look Ahead: Class 5A

We continue our popular ‘Look Back, Look Ahead' series with a comprehensive look back at the 2022 season in Class 5A and a look ahead to some of the key storylines, topics, players and questions going into the 2023 season. Less than eight months to kickoff!   LOOK BACK   Team of the Year: Piedra Vista. While Artesia won its 31st state championship in late November, the unexpected rise of Piedra Vista was THE story of the year in Class 5A. The Panthers were ranked No. 1 in the MaxPreps and/or Coaches polls for several weeks, and hosted Artesia in the title game Thanksgiving weekend. For most of the season, Piedra Vista was the only team able to crack the District 5A-4 monopoly (Artesia, Goddard, Mayfield, Roswell) until Deming finished No. 4 in the final rankings.   The Panthers were powered by a talented offensive skill position corps led by QB [player_tooltip player_id='542468' first='Logan' last='Howell'], RB [player_tooltip player_id='208794' first='Jacob' last='Ramsted'], RB Zach Mora-Dotson, WR Jacob Schrueder and WR [player_tooltip player_id='270048' first='Dax' last='Vigil'] (two-way standout). The Panthers pulled off one of the surprises of the post-season when they went to the Wool Bowl for the second time this season and knocked off Roswell in the semifinals, 13-7, with a stellar defensive effort.            Offensive Player of the Year: Nye Estrada, Artesia. Who predicted this before the season started? Estrada didn't start the season opener (Eddy County War vs. Carlsbad) but took the QB reins during that game and never relinquished his job. He finished with 3,425 passing yards with 42 TD passes and a remarkable 69 percent completion percentage (243-353). Thanks to Estrada's heroics, Artesia totaled 5,281 yards in total offense, an average of  406.2 yards per game. They scored 70 TD and averaged 38.3 points per game.   Defensive Player of the Year: Daan Cano, Gadsden. Led by Cano, who's just a sophomore, the Gadsden defense helped fuel the Panthers' best season in a half century. Cano finished with 137 tackles, by far the most in Class 5A, and 3 interceptions from his linebacker spot. The good news for Gadsden is Cano and most of the Panthers' major contributors on defense return in 2023, so don't expect Gadsden to take a step back from what they accomplished in 2022 (quarterfinals of 5A playoffs).          Junior of the Year (Not Named Nye Estrada): [player_tooltip player_id='274793' first='Peyton' last='Greathouse'], Artesia. No debate as to the best wide receiver in Class 5A in 2022. Greathouse lapped the field with 79 receptions for 1,309 yards and 12 TD. The second highest receiver had 29 catches. Nobody else had more than 6 TD receptions. Estrada and Greathouse both return in 2023, so 5A's Greatest Show on Turf rolls on for one more year.              Sophomore of the Year (Not named Daan Cano): [player_tooltip player_id='1595733' first='Julian' last='Butkivich'], Valley. Another surprise team in 5A this past season? Valley. The Vikings finished the regular season with a 7-3 record, earned the No. 8 seed for the 5A playoffs and beat Miyamura in the first round to advance to the quarterfinals before running into an Artesia avalanche. Butkivich engineered the offense nicely with nearly 1,400 passing yards and 20 TD passes. He also had a key role in Valley's balanced rushing attack.       Freshmen of the Year: Alexander Lopez, Gadsden. Besides Daan Cano (see above), Lopez was also a key piece of the Panthers defense in 2022. Lopez finished with 51 tackles and 1 sack. Lopez and Cano will be the cornerstones of the Gadsden defense for at least the next two years.      Breakthrough Player of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id='269559' first='Teke' last='Nieto'], Los Alamos. Most schools in northern New Mexico starve for attention, so few people truly know about Nieto, one of the top two-way players in 5A. He rushed for over 1,100 yards and made over 90 tackles on defense for a Hilltoppers team that earned a high enough seed to host a playoff game.      Game of the Year: Mayfield 28, Deming 27. The Trojans struggled against 6A competition in non-district competition this season – losing to all three intracity rivals – but they managed to squeeze out a win at Deming with a pair of late touchdowns. One of them was a 73-yard punt return for a TD by Kaden Quinones. He had a 98-yard kickoff return for a TD earlier in the game and finished with 3 TD.        LOOK AHEAD   Top Storyline for 2023: Will anybody stop Artesia's prolific offense in 2023? With Nye Estrada, [player_tooltip player_id='274793' first='Peyton' last='Greathouse'] and leading rusher Jesse Leroch all returning in 2023, it will be difficult for any defense to contain the Bulldogs skill position standout. The best hope might be to win the line of scrimmage battle and hope to pressure Estrada enough to make him uncomfortable.              Player To Watch: Melaki Gutierrez, Los Alamos. His combination of good size (6-1 and blazing speed (4.4 in 40; under 10.9 in 100 meters) makes Gutierrez one of the most intriguing players in Class 5A going into next season. Look for him to have a big senior season for the Hilltoppers.             Team On The Rise: Gadsden. Gadsden proved this past season that they are right where they belong – Class 5A – after one year as an independent and years of battling the far better funded Las Cruces schools in 6A. The belief here is the Panthers' 2022 season was just the first step in the turnaround of the proud Gadsden program. The Panthers and their fan base are energized.             Team Looking To Bounce Back: Mayfield. Yes, the Trojans reached the Class 5A quarterfinals but a 5-7 overall record and an 0-3 record against their intracity rivals doesn't meet the expectations of one of the most successful programs in state history. Mayfield will have a new coach in 2023 as Michael Bradley is retiring after 17 seasons and three state titles with the Trojans. Under Bradley, Mayfield was known for playing a physical brand of football. Will the new coach usher in a scheme change? We'll see.                         Player Ready to Blow Up: [player_tooltip player_id='274725' first='Diego' last='Avila'], Belen. If somebody is going to spark the turnaround of the Belen program next season, it will be the speedy Avila. We first saw him at the Elite 150 Combine last summer when he was one of the fastest players there. He averaged over 105 yards rushing per game. If the Belen offensive line can consistently create holes, Avila will enjoy a huge senior season.           5 Key Questions:   1. Will District 5A-4 dominate again in 2023? Probably. You have four traditional powers  in one district – Artesia, Goddard, Mayfield and Roswell. Football is a major priority at all four schools, and that's one reason why they win. Most likely, the state champion will come from that group.     2. Who will be the most improved team in 2023? Our choice is Highland. The Hornets showed significant improvement last season and barely missed the playoffs. This upcoming season we believe they'll break though with QB Alex Lopez, RB Amiri Mumba and WR Jakarri Edwards.     3. Will Artesia QB Nye Estrada throw for 4,000 yards in 2023? With an entireoff-season to get better, we predict Estrada will throw for 4,000 yards in 2023. We'll see him at the Eastern New Mexico 7x7 tournament in July. Our prediction is he'll put on a show.       4. Will Piedra Vista have another magical season in 2023? The Panthers won 11 games in 2022 and reached the 5A championship game. That's why they're our Team of the Year. But they must replace most of their key cogs on offense, starting with QB [player_tooltip player_id='542468' first='Logan' last='Howell']. Piedra Vista is probably still the best team in  its district, though.         5. Who will win the 5A state title in 2023? With most of its major offensive weapons coming back, we can't in good conscience pick against Artesia.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PeytonGreathou2/status/1598723440667930624 </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/artesiafootball/status/1596642071011786752 </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/GadsdenPanthers/status/1592552327638319104 </div></figure>

We continue our popular ‘Look Back, Look Ahead' series with a comprehensive look back at the 2022 season in Class 5A and a look ahead to some of the key storylines, topics, players and questions going into the 2023 season. Less than eight months to kickoff!