Far West Texas: 10 Quarterbacks You Need To Know For 2023

<p>The good news for high school football fans in El Paso is most of the top quarterbacks return in the fall. So, who are the 10 QBs you need to know as you get ready for the 2023 season? Here's the list:</p>   <p><strong>Gael Ochoa, Pebble Hills</strong>: Named District MVP, Ochoa had a huge role as Pebble Hills won the 6A-1 district championship in 2022 and advanced to the second round of the hyper-competitive Conference 6A, Division 1 playoffs. Ochoa threw for 2,029 yards and 24 TD with just 3 interceptions for a stellar 8-to-1 ratio. He also rushed for 453 yards on 105 carries. Ochoa cut his number of runs by nearly half from 2021 as the Pebble Hills coaches did an excellent job protecting their most valuable asset. Hometown UTEP offered in November. </p>   <p><strong>Evan Minjarez, Eastwood</strong>: Statistically speaking, few quarterbacks in Far West Texas (and perhaps all of Texas) posted better numbers than Minjarez during the 2022 season. He threw for 2,749 yards and 35 TD and rushed for 1,075 yards and 13 TD. Doing the math, Minjarez accounted for 3,824 yards and 48 TD as Eastwood tied Pebble Hills for best district record and advanced to the second round of the Conference 6A, D2 playoffs.  </p>   <p><strong>Shay Smith, Franklin</strong>: Smith joined Minjarez in the prestigious 1,000-1,000 club by throwing for 2,569 yards and 31 TD while rushing for 1,076 yards and 11 TD in his first season as Franklins' starting QB.  The Cougars finished tied for third in District 6A-1 before losing to Midland (TX) Legacy in the first round of the Conference 6A, Division 1 playoffs. Smith and Franklin certainly have bigger goals this upcoming season. North Texas, SMU and Texas State have offered.  </p>   <p><strong>Luke Lomeli, Eastlake</strong>: Proving he's one of the top 2025 dual threat quarterbacks in Far West Texas, Lomeli enjoyed a solid sophomore season in 2022 by passing for 1,372 yards and 9 TD while rushing 146 times (by far the most on the team) for 462 yards and 6 TD. Eastlake reached the Conference 6A playoffs last season, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Look for Lomeli to excel both running and throwing in 2023.</p>   <p><strong>Mark Moore, Americas</strong>: All five teams in District 6A-1 that finished with a winning record in district play return their starting quarterbacks in 2023, arguably the top storyline going into the new season. Moore joined the 1,000-1,000 club last season by passing for 1,282 yards and 10 TD, and rushing for 1,016 yards and 7 TD in 9 games. Americas finished tied for third in the district with Franklin and Eastlake but lost the tiebreakers and stayed home for the playoffs. This year, Americas will try to take the next step.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='628089' first='Owen' last='Levesque'], Coronado</strong>: El Paso is currently blessed with an array of talented dual threat quarterbacks with Leveque being one of them. While Coronado didn't have the season they wanted (3-7 overall record), Levesque accounted for over 2,000 yards – 1,406 passing and 608 rushing – and 22 TD. If Levesque gets more help offensively and the defense improves significantly, Coronado should move up the district standings and possibly compete for a playoff spot.</p>   <p><strong>Noah Moreno, Bel Air</strong>: Moreno joined the 2,000-yard passing club last season by throwing for 2,175 yards and 22 TD in 10 games, leading the Highlanders to the Conference 5A playoffs. Soreno also rushed for 305 yards on just 30 carries, averaging over 10 yards per attempt. So he's got very good mobility.</p>   <p><strong>Evan Martinez, Ysleta</strong>: The Indians' 2022 season ended with a blowout loss to West Texas power Amarillo Tascosa in the first round of the Conference 5A, Div. 1 playoffs, but Martinez led them into the post-season as a sophomore by passing for 1,145 yards and 15 TD in 10 games while also leading the team in rushing (4-1 yards, 8 TD) by a wide margin. All Martinez needs now is some support around him.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402615' first='Daveon' last='Singleton'], Chapin</strong>: Another young and talented dual threat QB. Chapin finished third in their district and qualified for the Conference 5A , Div. 2 playoffs. Singleton threw for 731 yards and 9 TD in a run-dominated offense. He ran for over 900 yards and teamed with rising junior Brandon Ortega (678 yards on 134 carries to give the Huskies a formidable 1-2 punch in the offensive backfield for at least the next two years.</p>   <p><strong>Jeremiah Knox, Canutillo</strong>: Canutillo was one of the few schools in Far West Texas to reach the regional round of the 2022 playoffs. They won the district championship and two playoffs games before falling to Wylie Thanksgiving weekend in a close, hard-fought game. As a junior, Knox passed for 1,392 yards and 14 TD while rushing for 516 yards, nicely complementing 2,000-yard rusher [player_tooltip player_id='121987' first='LJ' last='Martin'], who is graduating this spring. Know must find some new receivers, though, as Canutillo's top three pass catchers in 2022 are departing.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LilQuatrooo/status/1618658935917146113 </div></figure>   <p>.                 </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MinjarezEvan/status/1596266630254067712?s=20 </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/shaysmithQB7/status/1605391803703652352?s=20 </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/lukelomeli12/status/1606413392469585920?s=20 </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/1mark_moore/status/1590545368978460674?s=20 </div></figure>

The good news for high school football fans in El Paso is most of the top quarterbacks return in the fall. So, who are the 10 QBs you need to know as you get ready for the 2023 season? Here's the list: