Look Back, Look Ahead: Class 6A

We begin our popular Look Back, Look Ahead series with a review of the 2023 season and a peek ahead to some of the key storylines, topics, players and questions concerning the 2024 campaign, which begins next August with new districts and one school reclassifying to 6A:   LOOK BACK   Team of the Year: La Cueva. Upon reflection, La Cueva was probably the best 0-3 team in the history of New Mexico high school football. After that, La Cueva ripped off 10 straight wins, most by lopsided margins. The Bears won their three playoff games by an average margin of 30 points, including the 35-14 win at Cleveland in the 6A state championship game. La Cueva was loaded with talent at all the positions, and returns many of those same players in 2024 (See Below).         Offensive Player of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id='274709' first='Alijah' last='Gonzales'], Volcano Vista. As we've said before, no team relied more on a single player than Volcano Vista relied on Gonzales to move the football this season. Gonzales was the definition of ‘workhorse' at running back, leading the state in carries with 276. He finished with 1,791 rushing yards (6th most in the state) with 17 TD. That's why he was named First-Team All-State by the NMHSCA.      Defensive Player of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id='611083' first='Mason' last='Posa'], La Cueva. No defender anywhere is a bigger disruptor of the opposing team's offense than Posa. He combines great size, elite speed, incredible strength (Posa is also a state champion wrestler) and cat-like quickness. He had 14+ tackles for loss as an outside linebacker, an impressive feat. Watch Posa play live and you understand why he holds numerous Power 5 offers.       Junior of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], La Cueva. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Dyer might be the most impressive dual threat QB we've seen in a while. His three long galloping TD runs in the semifinals and finals were things of beauty. But he also passed for close to 3,000 yards. New Mexico State has offered. Dyer has one year left with the Bears, and after that we could see him leading the Aggies offense in Las Cruces.       Sophomore of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id='854199' first='Hayes' last='Baum'], Cibola. In a close race, the 6-foot-0, 200-pound Baum edged out La Cueva OL [player_tooltip player_id='851889' first='Skyler' last='Sargent'] and Cleveland QB [player_tooltip player_id='851873' first='Jordan' last='Hatch'] for the honor. As a team, Cibola struggled but Baum offers promise for the future. He finished with 123 tackles, 19.0 TFL and 6 sacks after seeing limited action with the varsity as a freshman in 2022.      Freshman of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id='1154930' first='Javier' last='Jimenez'], Clovis. Jimenez was a standout two-way player for the Wildcats and helped them to a district title. Jimenez threw for 404 yards and 5 TD while rushing for 121 yards and 2 TD. Defensively, he collected 65 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 5 passes defended and 1 INT. Rising star.   Breakthrough Player of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id='1103860' first='Jaden' last='Davis'], Cleveland. A baseball standout who has already signed with New Mexico State as a pitcher, Davis had just one reception as a junior in 2022. But as a senior, Davis emerged as one of the top receivers in 6A with 53 receptions for 801 yards and 8 TD.      Game of the Year: Eldorado 64, Clovis 56. What made this game so great? It was a classic tale of two halves. Clovis dominated the first half, scoring 49 points and running the ball at will. Eldorado, though, staged a comeback for the ages, roaring back from a 29-point halftime deficit to stun the Wildcats. Eldorado scored the game-winning TD on a 16-yard pass from QB [player_tooltip player_id='275430' first='Brandon' last='Olivas'] to WR [player_tooltip player_id='275436' first='Josiah' last='Mitchell'] on a 4th-and-10 play with 30 seconds left.     LOOK AHEAD   Top Storyline for 2024: The New District Setup. The NMAA decided to streamline and consolidate the five districts in Class 6A into three. However, instead of grouping the 21 teams into three equal seven-team districts, the NMAA created districts of six, seven and eight teams. Not surprisingly, that caused a little bit of friction. The new six-team district (6A-1) includes Cibola, Cleveland, Farmington,. Piedra Vista, Rio Rancho and Volcano Vista. As the ABJ reported Tuesday, “none of the eight schools in District 2 are eager to voluntarily leave for District 1.” In short, those eights schools like the new setup and don't want to play Cleveland, Rio Rancho and Volcano Vista every year. Here is the new district lineup in Class 6A:   District 1: Cibola, Cleveland, Farmington,. Piedra Vista, Rio Rancho and Volcano Vista;   District 2: Albuquerque High, Atrisco Heritage, Eldorado, La Cueva, Los Lunas, Sandia, Santa Fe, West Mesa;   District 3: Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Centennial, Clovis, Hobbs, Las Cruces, Organ Mountain.             Player to Watch: Zaiden Davis, Centennial. Davis took over from injured Hawks starting QB [player_tooltip player_id='340297' first='Daniel' last='Hernandez'] just past the midway point of the season and took off like a rocket ship. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior rushed for 805 yards and 11 TD on 63 carries over Centennial's final four games, including 279 yards on 21 carries in the quarterfinal playoff loss to Las Cruces. He also threw for 512 yards and 4 TD. If you didn't know who Davis was, you will by the start of next season. He is definitely one of the most intriguing players in Class 6A going into next fall.      Team on the Rise: Clovis. It looks like the Wildcats have finally figured out head coach Andrew McCaw's flexbone offense. The Wildcats were more competitive in Year 2 of McCaw's tenure and even won the district championship with a thrilling victory over Los Lunas at home. Leading rushers [player_tooltip player_id='275303' first='Kash' last='Roberts'] and [player_tooltip player_id='275376' first='Jett' last='Stone'] graduate, but there's plenty of promising young talent ready to take their place. The 2024 schedule will be as bear, though, with district games against Centennial, Hobbs and Las Cruces and non-district clashes with Cleveland and Rio Rancho.       Teams Looking To Bounce Back: Cibola, Organ Mountain. After four straight playoff seasons (excluding spring of 2021), Cibola fell to 0-10 in 2023 with a young roster. The Cougars look for 2026 QB [player_tooltip player_id='851864' first='Noah' last='Carroll'] to further mature and develop throughout the off-season. Seven-on-seven season will be important for him to strengthen his passing skills. Organ Mountain also went 0-10 in Kenneth Sanchez's first season as head coach, something Knight fans certainly didn't expect when they hired the former National Coach of the Year. But the offense struggled all season long, suffering three shutout in the final five games and never scoring more than 10 points in any game after the season opener.          Player Ready To Blow Up: [player_tooltip player_id='853013' first='Tanner' last='Montano'], La Cueva. With [player_tooltip player_id='274790' first='Jackson' last='Hix'] and [player_tooltip player_id='274718' first='Cruz' last='Markham'] graduating and Kobe McGill having moved to Alabama halfway through the season, Montano ascends to the No. 1 WR role for the Bears. And considering his blazing speed (watch him during track season) and QB [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'] is throwing him passes, Montano is poised to have a monster senior season. He and Dyer connected for several long TD passes this past season. Montano is so fast he simply outruns defensive backs.     5 Key Questions:   1. What About Those New Districts? It promises to remain a story well into next season, especially if District 6A-1 teams struggle to finalize their 2024 schedules.   2. Will La Cueva Win The Title Again? Well, the Bears certainly have the talent coming back to win the title again. QB [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], RB Cheeto Lumbrera III, WR [player_tooltip player_id='853013' first='Tanner' last='Montano'], 4 of 5 starters along the offensive line, Power 5 LB prospect [player_tooltip player_id='611083' first='Mason' last='Posa'] and LB [player_tooltip player_id='611069' first='Nick' last='Mertz'] all return.   3. Who's the Best Team In Las Cruces? Good question. Centennial and Las Cruces engaged in a pair of close, hard-fought battles this past season, first in a winner-take-all district championship game won by the Hawks and a quarterfinal playoff battle won by Las Cruces with a dramatic goal line stand in the final seconds.       4. Which Teams Are Looking For New Quarterbacks? Farmington, Albuquerque High, Eldorado, Los Lunas, Santa Fe, West Mesa. Alamogordo, Clovis and Hobbs are all hoping new quarterbacks step up in 2024.   5. Who Will Be Next Season's Sandia? The Matadors made a surprising season-long run to the No. 4 seed in the 6A playoffs. Our prediction? Atrisco Heritage. The Jaguars are probably delighted to escape the same district as Cleveland, Rio Rancho and Volcano Vista. AHHS is now in eight-team District 6A-2. And they possess impressive talent too with QB [player_tooltip player_id='1021201' first='Landon' last='Griego'], WR/RB [player_tooltip player_id='611116' first='Latavious' last='Morris'] and DL [player_tooltip player_id='611058' first='Elycio' last='Roybal'].        Ten Players To Watch   [player_tooltip player_id='613752' first='JJ' last='Arellano'], Rio Rancho (QB)   [player_tooltip player_id='1119266' first='Tristan' last='Davis'], Hobbs (LB)   [player_tooltip player_id='853029' first='Gunnar' last='Guardiola'], Las Cruces (QB)   [player_tooltip player_id='615514' first='Bryce' last='Melton'], Santa Fe (WR)   [player_tooltip player_id='280925' first='Jordan' last='Lucas'], Centennial (WR)   [player_tooltip player_id='1137896' first='Max' last='Roche'], Clovis (DL)   [player_tooltip player_id='1259042' first='Jeremiah' last='Bustillos'], Sandia (LB)   [player_tooltip player_id='1595801' first='Isaiah' last='Yannis'], Cleveland (RB)   Marcos Ochoa, West Mesa (RB)   [player_tooltip player_id='611107' first='Michael' last='Beck'], Farmington (WR)   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/vvhsfootball/status/1734376837437170131?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/camdyer7/status/1734784930259849396?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/LaCuevaFootball/status/1731074142894760123?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/The__Baum/status/1720117726683840899?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/tannermontano7/status/1732591081529774127?s=20 </div></figure>

We begin our popular Look Back, Look Ahead series with a review of the 2023 season and a peek ahead to some of the key storylines, topics, players and questions concerning the 2024 campaign, which begins next August with new districts and one school reclassifying to 6A: