2024 Look Ahead: Explosive offense will propel Las Cruces

When the offensive side of the ball was humming for the Las Cruces Bulldawgs last season, they typically won, posting impressive numbers in the process.   In the Bulldawgs' seven victories, they averaged 42.71 points per game, never scoring fewer than 38 points, a remarkable display of consistency. Once they traversed a very challenging non-district schedule (Cleveland, Volcano Vista and 2 El Paso schools), the offense shifted into high gear and rarely slowed the rest of the season.   Last season's highlight moment for the Bulldawgs came in the quarterfinal round of the 6A playoffs when they pulled out a thrilling 38-34 victory over rival Centennial in a game that boiled down to the final play from inside Las Cruces' 10-yard line.   “Last season was successful in terms of our improvement throughout the year,” Las Cruces head coach Mark Lopez told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “We made a run at it there in the end. We knew we were going to have a young group last year. Our first four games were against high quality opponents. We took our lumps early but the guys stayed with the plan and didn't blink or get discouraged.   “We've jumped into the offseason and picked up where we left off. We have a great group of leaders, guys who are heavily invested in the program. We have a lot of selfless guys who are working for each other. They're not in it for themselves but to shine a light on their teammates. It's been a fun group to be around.”             With many of its key offensive contributors returning, Las Cruces hopes for even better returns in 2024. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='853029' first='Gunnar' last='Guardiola'] threw for 2,783 yards and 22 TD with just 8 interceptions as a sophomore, while backup [player_tooltip player_id='615513' first='Kelly' last='Stevens'] was utilized in certain third down situations.   Lopez envisions the same system in 2024.   “Gunnar has definitely earned that position,” Lopez said. “He had one of the best sophomore seasons in the history of our program. That's saying a lot. The way Gunnar prepared every week, the toughness he showed and the yardage he threw for. He protected the ball better after the first three or four games. We feel like he's a special talent. Gunnar has stepped up his leadership role being a returning starter. He feels like he has a bigger voice on the team. He prepares harder than any player we've ever had.”   Lopez says the 6-foot-3 Stevens is perfect for what Las Cruces asks him to do.   “We use Kelly in our short yardage packages,” Lopez said. “He's a big, strong kid. We have to look for opportunities to get Kelly on the field more in different ways. He's a great athlete.”          Rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='1137388' first='Daniel' last='Amaro'] emerged as one of the top running backs in New Mexico last season, totaling over 2,000 all-purpose yards and scoring 26 TD. He had one of his best games of the season against La Cueva in the Class 6A playoff semifinals.   “Daniel is as tough as they come,” Lopez said. “He was gigantic in our blitz protection last year against Centennial. He has surprising quickness and elusiveness. Defenders have a hard time squaring him up. He gets the extra, tough yards and he's a great receiver out of the backfield. He's the full package for us.”   Rising sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1272747' first='Jaxon' last='Alba'] is being eyed as the backup RB behind Amaro but Lopez said he may play some defensive back in 2024 as a way to get him on the field. Competition for the job will come from rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='1266523' first='Isaac' last='Gomez'], who has started at cornerback.       Both of Las Cruces' top two receivers from 2023 are back – rising senior [player_tooltip player_id='615455' first='Nate' last='Libby'] (63 receptions for 1,089 yards and 11 TD) and rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='1142363' first='Francisco' last='Winnikoff'] (55 receptions for 983 yards and 9 TD).     Caden Tierney, a 6-foot-2 rising senior, splashed onto the scene a season ago and he should be the No. 3 receiver.  Rising senior Jonathan Gutierrez also showed promise last season before suffering an elbow injury. Rising senior Joseph Abeyta will be in the mix.     “We didn't have any senior receivers last season and two sophomores in the backfield,” Lopez said. “We feel like we're going to be even more explosive. We feel like we're pretty deep at receiver. Francisco was a key player as a sophomore. He'll be bigger, stronger and faster as a junior. So will Nate as a senior. Both those guys were 1,000-yard receivers. Gunnar understands how to distribute the football. It allows us to do so much more than a typical offense.”     Four of last season's five offensive line starters return for the Bulldawgs. LT Christian Flores is the only departure. Center Josh Quintero, OG [player_tooltip player_id='615393' first='Riley' last='Mendez'], OG [player_tooltip player_id='1672411' first='Julian' last='Chavez-Lopez'] and 6-foot-5, 290-pound RT [player_tooltip player_id='1118249' first='Joaquin' last='Wofford'] are back.     “Our offensive line was our biggest area of growth last year,” Lopez said. “The offensive line went from playing subpar at the beginning of the season to playing excellent football by the end. They were a physical, nasty offensive line for us. We were pleased with the progress.”   The battle to replace Flores at tackle is wide open, Lopez said.   The Las Cruces defenses loses DE [player_tooltip player_id='340292' first='Kash' last='Alley'] and S Zavier Udero to graduation but three of the four defensive linemen return – Mendez, Brenden Franco, [player_tooltip player_id='1600974' first='Carlos' last='Gamboa'] and Caleb Lewis are back in 2024.   Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1118237' first='Dalin' last='Walter'] looks ready for a big senior campaign. He's big (about 6-foot-1) and fast (4.7 range in 40). He could end up playing MIKE linebacker. Rising senior [player_tooltip player_id='1258842' first='Andres' last='Acosta'] is back at WILL linebacker. [player_tooltip player_id='1266523' first='Isaac' last='Gomez'] returns at cornerback after being a pleasant surprise as a sophomore. By the end of the season he was a shutdown CB.     “Defensively, we need to crank up our level of physicality in order to shrink space against some of these really talented and fast opponents we play,” Lopez said. “You can't make those one-step mistakes against some of the teams we play. We weren't as consistent physically as we needed to be. Our defensive line has grown a lot but there's still a lot of room for improvement. Dalin is a big strong kid at linebacker. He really flies around.”   Las Cruces will open the 2024 schedule against rival Mayfield before facing Volcano Vista, Rio Rancho and Cleveland in non-district play. The LCPS has yet to release the football schedules.     2024 LAS CRUCES FOOTBALL SCHEDULE   Aug. 23 MAYFIELD (7 p.m.)   Aug. 30 at Volcano Vista (7 p.m.)   Sept. 6 at Rio Rancho (7 p.m.)   Sept. 14 CLEVELAND (1 p.m.)   Sept. 20 at Hobbs (7 p.m.)   Sept. 27 at Organ Mountain (7 p.m.)   Oct. 4 CLOVIS (7 p.m.)   Oct. 11 Bye   Oct. 17 ALAMOGORDO (Thur.)   Oct. 25 CARLSBAD (7 p.m.)   Nov. 1 at Centennial (7 p.m., FOD)     <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GunnarGuardiola/status/1730685373003813005?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/kelly_stevens10/status/1761106364930179146?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/AmaroDaniel22/status/1731760556493636033?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/natelibby_3/status/1732557596815741238?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/Sisco2x__/status/1732106312534700259?s=20 </div></figure>

When the offensive side of the ball was humming for the Las Cruces Bulldawgs last season, they typically won, posting impressive numbers in the process.