Sneak Peek: Bloomfield will defend 4A title with talented roster
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The Bloomfield Bobcats finally reached the top of the Class 4A mountain in 2022, capturing the state title with a hard fought 13-7 victory over No. 1 seed Silver in the Four Corners. As with any reigning champion, the key…
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Continue ReadingThe Bloomfield Bobcats finally reached the top of the Class 4A mountain in 2022, capturing the state title with a hard fought 13-7 victory over No. 1 seed Silver in the Four Corners.
As with any reigning champion, the key question for the offseason centers around how Bloomfield handles success. Will unwelcome complacency seep into the program or will the Bobcat players keep their nose to the grindstone and continue to work hard towards back-to-back titles?
So far, it’s been the latter.
“Our offseason has been going very well,” Bloomfield head coach Mike Kovacs told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “We encourage our kids to play two or three sports, so a lot of them are doing another sport right now. We’re doing some stuff in the gym going over fundamentals.”
The Bobcats lose graduating senior Ryan Sharpe Ryan Sharpe QB Bloomfield | 2023 State NM (2,541 passing yards and 30 TD in 2022) at quarterback but rising junior Blake Spencer Blake Spencer 5'11" | 155 lbs | QB Bloomfield | 2025 State NM , who has filled in for Sharpe when he was injured, looks ready to take the QB reins for the next two seasons.
“Blake was huge for us last year,” Kovacs said. “When Ryan couldn’t play, Blake stepped up and did a great job. He’s quite capable. His skill set mirrors Ryan’s. Blake is going to be just fine. He’s been in the system for two years. We’ll miss Ryan’s senior leadership but I’m very comfortable where we’re at.”
Nothing, of course, will be given to Spencer. He’ll face competition from several younger, less experienced quarterbacks (2024 Elias Johnson, 2026 Manuel Chavarria) but the job should be his as long as he performs up to the standards demanded by Kovacs.
“We have a couple of young quarterbacks behind Blake, but right now I would say Spencer is going to be the guy,” Kovacs said. “He has a leg up because he’s played in some big games. He’s the frontrunner. Our guys compete every week for their jobs. But Blake does great. We’re not going to define the starters until the week before our first game, after we’ve had our first scrimmage.”
Leading rusher Jesse Seitzinger Jesse Seitzinger LB Bloomfield | 2024 State NM (708 yards and 11 TD on 80 carries) returns to fuel Bloomfield’s ground game. Seitzinger, Bloomfield’s go-to weapon in the red zone, is a two-way standout with 135 career tackles at his outside linebacker spot. He was the Most Valuable Player in the state championship game.
“Jesse is definitely an attribute to have on both sides of the ball,” Kovacs said. “He looks good. He’s been in the weight room. He’s gone to camps. He’s excited.”
Rising junior Tyler Reinhardt will likely be the backup RB.
Spencer will have a talented group of returning receivers to throw to in the passing game: Drew Perez Drew Perez 5'9" | 140 lbs | DB BLoomfield | 2024 State NM (60 receptions for 1,102 yards and 17 TD), George Rascon George Rascon 5'8" | 160 lbs | WR Bloomfield | 2024 State NM (24 for 535 yards), Andrew Bair Andrew Bair WR Bloomfield | 2024 State NM (24 for 241), Javan Williamson (28 for 349) and 2026 Peyton Duncan (16 for 184).
“We’re not hurting at receiver, I can tell you that,” Kovacs said. “And we have some more freshman that spot played last year that will be sophomores. They’ll be impact players right away.”
Rising sophomore Ben Hensley, brothers Logan Gosnell Logan Gosnell 6'1" | 230 lbs | LB Bloomfield | 2025 State NM and Cole Gosnell, Nakiah Tso and Abraham Santana Abraham Santana OL Bloomfield | 2025 State NM anchor the offensive line.
Defensively, leading tackler Auggie Aguilar Auggie Aguilar 6'0" | 210 lbs | LB Bloomfield | 2023 State NM (91 tackles) is graduating but many of the other players registering double digit tackles in 2022 are returning.
Robert Williams Robert Williams DL Bloomfield | 2024 State NM , our #1 defensive lineman for the 2024 class, is a three-sport standout. He’s also an elite wrestler. In 2022, Williams had 52 tackles, 13 QB hurries and 2 sacks, and played a major role in Bloomfield’s run to the Class 4A championship. He earned First-Team All-State honors.
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Williams will anchor Bloomfield’s 3-4 defense at nose tackle.
“He’s just an animal up front,” Kovacs said. “He’s a very large man. He’s a dude. We have a nice photo where’s he’s jumping to block a pass in the state championship game against Silver and it looks like he’s about two feet off the ground. He’s real quiet but he’s coming into his own. Everybody loves Big Robert.”
Williams will be joined by DE J Gutierrez J Gutierrez DL Bloomfield | 2024 State NM (61 tackles) and DE McKell Colbert McKell Colbert 5'10" | DL Bloomfield | 2025 State NM (64 tackles) along the defensive front. The Bobcats should have one of the top defensive lines in Class 4A this upcoming season, if not the entire state.
“I’m very confident in our D-Line this year,” Kovacs said. “You have to stop the run first and not make the opposing offense multi-dimensional. Hopefully, we can rely on our speed.”
Eli Snell-Martinez Eli Snell-Martinez DB Bloomfield | 2025 State NM joins Seitzinger at linebacker. Perez and Rascon will be active in the back seven as well along with Eli Meador Eli Meador DB Bloomfield | 2025 State NM .
The highlight of Bloomfield’s non-district schedule in 2023 will be an Oct. 7 trip to Silver City to face the Colts in a rematch of the 2022 state championship game.
BLOOMFIELD 2023 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE:
Aug. 18 ST. PIUS X (7 p.m.)
Aug. 25 at Pojoaque Valley (7 p.m.)
Sept. 1 at Grants (7 p.m.)
Sept. 8 ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY (7 p.m.)
Sept. 15 BYE
Sept. 22 at Valencia
Sept. 29 BAYFIELD (CO.)
Oct. 7 at Silver (1 p.m.)(Sat.)
Oct. 13 KIRTLAND CENTRAL*
Oct. 20 at Aztec*
Oct. 27 at Gallup*
* District Game