10 Most Intriguing Games Involving ABQ Schools

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Albuquerque Public Schools office recently released the 2023 football schedules for its 13 football-playing high schools. Upon review, here are the 10 Most Intriguing Games involving at least one Albuquerque high school (includes private schools):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>La Cueva at Cleveland, Aug. 25</strong>: Rematch of last November's Class 6A state championship game. However, both teams will look a bit different, particularly on offense. La Cueva will debut a new starting quarterback (<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer']</strong>), new No. 1 running back (TBA) and new No. 1 wide receiver (Probably <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274790' first='Jackson' last='Hix']</strong>) in Week 1 against Rio Rancho. Cleveland? Same thing. Both defenses should still be very good. Will the defenses be ahead of the new look offenses? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Volcano Vista at Las Cruces, Aug. 18</strong>: The Hawks make the long trip to the Field of Dreams for one of the best Week 1 matchups. Volcano Vista must replace dynamic dual threat QB [player_tooltip player_id='269571' first='Elliot' last='Paskett-Bell'] (NMMI signee), who threw for over 3,200 yards and rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2022. Las Cruces will have a new QB as well with <strong>Kelley Stevens</strong> and <strong>Gunnar Guardiola</strong> ready to compete for the starting job this summer. Fun Friday night in Las Cruces.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>La Cueva at Centennial, Sept. 2</strong>: Following matchups with Rio Rancho and Cleveland,&nbsp; La Cueva's challenging start to the 2023 schedule continues with a Saturday afternoon (yeah, it will be HOT) battle with the Hawks at Field of Dreams. Rematch of the classic 6A semifinal playoff game last November when La Cueva escaped FOD with a championship game securing win by scoring a late TD for a thrilling 42-35 victory. The matchup between the La Cueva offense and the Centennial defense will alone be worth the price of admission. Opportunity to watch Hawks LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274702' first='John' last='Sierra']</strong> (UNM offer) chase La Cueva QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer']</strong>? Sign me up. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Organ Mountain at Albuquerque High, Aug. 18</strong>: Two new head coaches mark their debuts with their respective teams. As everybody knows, 2022 was a very difficult season for Organ Mountain, on and off the field. They hired former West Coast power Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman coach Kenneth Sanchez, a major coup for the Knights. Albuquerque High, meanwhile, promoted offensive coordinator Desmond Anaya to head coach in February. Anaya, a former standout first at Eastern New Mexico and then New Mexico State, has been with the Bulldogs since 2017. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cibola at Piedra Vista, Sept. 22</strong>: These two teams feature new quarterbacks in 2023. The Cougars must find a successor to [player_tooltip player_id='137861' first='Aden' last='Chavez']. Most likely, the job will go to rising sophomore Noah Carroll, whom we saw at the Bernalillo Jamboree two weeks ago. Piedra Vista, which runs a version of the flexbone, must replace dynamic dual threat QB [player_tooltip player_id='542468' first='Logan' last='Howell'], who signed with Eastern New Mexico after leading the anthers to the Class 5A championship game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Albuquerque Academy at Moriarty, Aug. 25</strong>: After leading Albuquerque Academy to the 4A quarterfinals in 2021 and 2022, Chargers head coach Shaun Gehres resigned (he will remain at the school in an administrative role) and replaced by defensive coordinator David Lee. Academy is looking for a new QB-WR-RB trio to replace the highly productive threesome of QB [player_tooltip player_id='137884' first='A.J.' last='Rivera'], RB [player_tooltip player_id='138056' first='Cole' last='Conway'] and WR [player_tooltip player_id='137928' first='Kellan' last='Gehres']. All three have signed to play at the next level. We know what Moriarty will do on offense – run the football from the Wing-T. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Atrisco Heritage at West Mesa, Sept. 15</strong>: Two of the top quarterbacks in the Albuquerque Metro Region matchup in what could be an exciting high-scoring affair at Community Stadium. Between them, Atrisco Heritage QB [player_tooltip player_id='275207' first='Dean' last='Marquez'] and West Mesa QB [player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'] passed for nearly 5,000 yards and 60 TD in 2022. Both have an array of wide receivers at their disposal. Don't blink because you might miss another TD in this one. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Valley at Los Lunas, Sept. &nbsp;22</strong>: Valley was one of the surprise teams in Class 5A last season, finishing with a top eight seed and reaching the quarterfinals of the playoffs in Billy Cobos' first year as head coach. Rising junior QB [player_tooltip player_id='615626' first='Julian' last='Butkivich'] is back. Los Lunas begins the post-Paul Cieremens Era in Year 2 of life in Class 6A. The Tigers were 7-5 in 2022 and Cieremens has joined New Mexico State as a preferred walk-on. Who succeeds him is the key storyline for Los Lunas entering preseason camp. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rio Rancho at La Cueva, Aug. 18</strong>: Rio Rancho is one of several major New Mexico programs with a summer QB battle. For the Rams, it's rising senior [player_tooltip player_id='274972' first='Noah' last='Nelson'] vs. rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='613752' first='JJ' last='Arellano']. Both are dual threat quarterbacks. [player_tooltip player_id='590563' first='Rayce' last='Ramirez'] fuels the RRHS running game. For La Cueva, this game marks the beginning of the [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'] Era at quarterback. Dyer is 6-foot-4, 185 pounds and possesses a rifle for an arm. The Bears have talent all over the field. They should contend again for the 6A title.   </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Portales at Highland, Aug. 19</strong>: Portales typically makes multiple trips to the Albuquerque Metro Region annually, and this season appears to be no different. The Rams bring their potentially explosive offense to the Duke City for a matchup with the Class 5A Hornets, who are looking to keep their upward trajectory going after barely missing the playoffs a season ago. Will the Highland defense have an answer for Portales QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615523' first='Paxton' last='Culpepper']</strong>?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1650573877872041987","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1650573877872041987 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1650695955719798785","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1650695955719798785 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>       </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1649446221604622336","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1649446221604622336 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->