2023 Team Preview: La Cueva Bears

La Cueva 2023 Preview   Head Coach: Brandon Back                             Mascot: Bears                     Twitter: @LaCuevaFootball   Website: http://lacuevahsfootball.com   Colors: Navy Blue and Silver                                  2022 Record: 10-2 (6A Title Game)                                       Overview: La Cueva lost just two games last season but both were to Cleveland, including a 75-61 shootout in the highest scoring Class 6A state championship game in New Mexico history. The Bears lost their starting quarterback (Aiden Armenta), No. 1 running back (Gabriel Buie) and No. 1 wide receiver (Ian Sanchez). But La Cueva is one of the top programs in the state for a reason – the Bears reload, they don't rebuild.     Replacing Armenta, our 2022 New Mexico Heisman recipient, is 6-foot-4, 190-pound junior [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], who played multiple positions a season ago because the La Cueva coaches smartly wanted his elite athleticism on the field. Dyer has a rocket for a throwing arm and is very accurate on deep throws. But he's also extremely mobile and that will change how the Bears call plays on offense this season. New Mexico State has already offered.   Buie struggled with injuries last season but still rushed for over 1,000 yards. Buie was a powerfully built RB with great speed (he plans to run track in college). He'll be difficult to replace. Right now, three or four running backs are vying to for the No. 1 job. La Cueva coaches are taking a wait-and-see approach until preseason camp before making any evaluations since it's difficult to do so in the summer. The list of contenders includes Eliseo ‘Cheeto' Lumbrera, Xavier Patten, Tyson Hunter, Arthur Williams and Chinh Pham. La Cueva will likely start the season with a RB-by-committee approach until somebody seizes the job outright.             Three words describe the La Cueva WR corps: speed, speed, speed. This is likely the fastest group of receivers in the state. Six-foot-3, 200-pound [player_tooltip player_id='274718' first='Cruz' last='Markham'] won the state 400 meter title and ran a school record 22 miles per hour in summer testing. He'll be the tight end and H-Back. [player_tooltip player_id='853013' first='Tanner' last='Montano'] finished second in the 100 at the state track & field meet and routinely runs the 100 in under 10.8 seconds. In fact, he blazed the 100 in 10.64 seconds at a recent meet. He was New Mexico's 2023 Gatorade Boys Track Athlete of the Year. Highly coveted transfer Kobe McGill from Arizona ran the 40 in 4.4 seconds at the UNM camp in June. He holds numerous Power 5 offers. He'll primarily play slot but could play running back too. [player_tooltip player_id='274790' first='Jackson' last='Hix'], last season's second leading receiver with 66 receptions for 1,040 yards, is very fast too.   Along the offensive line, guard [player_tooltip player_id='340277' first='Carson' last='Armstrong'] and guard Jayden Garcia (moving from center) return. Junior tackle [player_tooltip player_id='835712' first='Mark' last='Handy'] has tremendous size at 6-foot-5, 280 pounds. He recently camped at Rice and was named the Top Big Man at New Mexico Highlands' camp last weekend. Highlands has offered. Junior transfer [player_tooltip player_id='613743' first='Carlos' last='Barela'] will start at the other tackle spot. He squats over 500 pounds. Between Handy and Barela, La Cueva is set at the tackle spots for the next two years. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='851889' first='Skyler' last='Sargent'], one of the state's top 206 prospects, will be the center.   Defensively, junior [player_tooltip player_id='611083' first='Mason' last='Posa'], our No. 1 prospect in the 2025 class, will play a linebacker/safety hybrid role in the Bears' new scheme. La Cueva wants to line him up towards the middle of the field because teams consistently ran away from him in 2022. Yet he still ended up with over 80 tackles and 20+ tackles for loss. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='611069' first='Nick' last='Mertz'] will be the middle linebacker. Together, Posa and Mertz should wreak havoc on the second level. [player_tooltip player_id='817422' first='Shawn' last='Barela'] returns at LB as well. Jackson Smith makes the move from JV. [player_tooltip player_id='1266328' first='Brody' last='Clark'] is a promising sophomore.   Seniors Alejandro Montano and Bo Dixon are back at nose tackle and defensive end, respectively. Waylon Sanchez is penciled in as a starter at defensive end. La Cueva will utilize a three-man front more this season. Senior CB [player_tooltip player_id='274980' first='Jackson' last='Cherry'] is the leader of the secondary. He holds several offers. Senior Desmond Bobelu, Cire Saenz and Matthew Widener are competing for the opposite CB spot. The safeties are Luke Reiter (a baseball standout) and Bret Vincent, the son of first-year New Mexico offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent.   2023 Schedule: Nobody in the state has a more challenging first five weeks of the season than La Cueva. The Bears open with a home game against Rio Rancho before road trips to Cleveland, Centennial and Volcano Vista. A home game against Los Lunas completes the gauntlet. District play opens Sept. 29 against rival Eldorado.   Aug. 18 RIO RANCHO   Aug. 25 at Cleveland   Sept. 2 at Centennial (Sat.)   Sept. 8 at Volcano Vista   Sept. 15 LOS LUNAS   Sept. 21 ALBUQUERQUE HIGH   Sept. 29 at Eldorado*   Oct. 6 Bye   Oct. 14 WEST MESA (Sat.)*   Oct. 20 SANDIA*   Oct. 27 at Farmington*   * District Game        Coach's Comments: “Cameron is very mobile and he's going to be one of our stronger runners. That will change us offensively compared to the last couple of years with Aidan. Losing a guy who finished Top 10 in the country in passing yardage will be hard to do. But Cameron has been ready to step in and fill the void. Now he gets his shot. I think he'll take advantage of it. He will make us different on offense. We will run him a little more. Aidan was a decent runner but that wasn't his game. He was a pocket passer and that's what he wanted to be and that's what he worked on. Cameron is a little more fleet of foot, so we'll add that wrinkle into our offense. We'll try to get him out into space. Like Aidan, Cameron is a fantastic leader. We have a great team culture here and he fits right in with that. . .We have four or five guys at running back. But it's a wait and see until we put on helmets and pads. Then we'll be able to identify who fits the position the best. . .As a whole, I would say this is the fastest wide receiver corps we've had. We have a lot of speed in a lot of spots. If we can run the ball, that will really put defenses in a bind. . .We're very excited about our offensive line. They've been working hard. We're tough at all the spots. . .We have to grow up fast because our schedule is a bear. ”– La Cueva head coach Brandon Back.     <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/camdyer7/status/1682208092208128000?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/MarkHandy75/status/1682888305472598016 </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/tannermontano7/status/1679646918362939393?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/Carlos_Barela94/status/1682205370528198658?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/jacksoncherry27/status/1677703117268287488?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/SSarge2026/status/1684892770404847616?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/mcgill_kobe/status/1682467483121508358?s=20 </div></figure>

La Cueva 2023 Preview