Sneak Peek: Returning offensive talent fuels Muleshoe’s optimism

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 Muleshoe (TX) running back <strong>Daniel Sianez</strong> has been one of the top running backs in the Panhandle over the past two years, rushing for close to 1,900 yards and 14 touchdowns, including 1,133 yards as a junior in 2022.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not surprisingly, Muleshoe (8-4 in 2022) intends to lean heavily on Sianez in 2023 as they seek their second consecutive winning season under head coach Jason Richards, and advance deeper into the Conference 3A, Division 1 playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“He's just a tough kid,” Richards said of Sianez on texasfootball.com. “Our team feeds off his toughness.” &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the keys to Sianez's success is his blazing speed. He won the 400 meters at the Conference 3A Regional Meet last April before finishing third at the UIL state championships in the same event (49.47 seconds).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another offensive weapon for Muleshoe will be the versatile rising senior <strong>Sebastian Kirven</strong>, who accounted for over 1,500 all-purpose yards and 18 TD in 2022 as a quarterback, running back and tight end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Sebastian is a weapon,” Richards said. “He's one of the best kept secrets in West Texas. He's a true athlete. He's excelling in track and baseball right now. He's getting faster. We're going to move him all over the place.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rising junior (2025) quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1131353' first='Nathan' last='Martens']</strong> threw for over 1,000 yards and completed 60 percent of his passes as a sophomore in 2022. Martens struggled with injuries late in the season, when Kirven took over. But he's healthy now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We'll be at our best with Kirven lining up all over the place and Martens throwing to him,” Richards said. “We're excited about that combination .”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Richards expects rising juniors (2025) <strong>Yasir Quezada</strong> and <strong>Mauricio Herrera</strong> to have greater roles in the offense after gaining valuable varsity experience as sophomores in 2022.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Those guys are really stepping up,” Richards said. “We're very excited about what they can do.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another positive for the Muleshoe offense: four of last season's five starting offensive linemen return.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“With four offensive linemen back plus Daniel Sianez, we'll be able to take more pressure off our young quarterback,” Richards said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, Muleshoe has made steady improvement in Richards' first three seasons as head coach. All-District senior LB <strong>Noah Cantu </strong>(109 tackles in 2022) sparks the Muleshoe defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“The last three years our defense has been our stable factor,” Richards said. “They've kept us in games. We have a great mentality on defense, and we try to carry that over into offense and special teams. We always try to play good defense.”     </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Richards, who grew up in nearby Clovis, NM, is entering his fourth season as Muleshoe head coach. He took over a program that went 0-10 in the final season of his predecessor in 2019. Since his hire, the trajectory of the Muleshoe program has been upward as the Mules have gone from 2-7 (2020) to 6-6 (2021) to 8-4 (2022).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“To be honest, we're a little ahead of schedule,” Richards said. “But we had some special seniors that played on varsity as freshmen. Those kids were winners. They worked hard. This program has been built on hard work for a long time. Our 2022 senior class in one I'll remember forever.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":713358,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/03/316832903_6260629880622745_4319667371219551306_n.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-713358" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Facebook</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->