2024 Look Ahead: Albuquerque High Bulldogs

As he tries to lead Albuquerque High to its first winning record in two decades, Bulldogs second year head coach Desmond Anaya understands the building process takes time.   He hopes the final three weeks of the 2023 season provide his club – and the returning players - with some momentum. After opening the season with a victory over Organ Mountain, injuries took their toll as the Bulldogs lost six straight. But they concluded the season with three straight wins over Capital, Santa Fe and Manzano.   “We're a young team but we had a lot of guys participate in power lifting,” Anaya told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “Now we have a lot of guys in track. We're getting there. But it will take some time to build the strength and speed the varsity level requires.   “I've talked with the players about if they want to be good, they have to work throughout the year. So, we've tried to give them opportunities to stay involved all year long instead of just in the fall for football. The offseason has been better so far than what we've had in the past.”      Anaya, who has served on the Albuquerque High staff since 2017, was promoted from assistant coach to head coach prior to last season when former head coach Timothy Johnson left to become the offensive coordinator at St. Pius X.   “I didn't really expect so much growing pains,” Anaya said. “We went through it together and we learned together, myself included. By the end of the year, things started to fall into place. We started playing our best football. But it wasn't always easy and sometimes it was harder than I thought it would be. It took me being a head coach for a year to realize how much goes into it and how much goes on behind the scenes that only the head coach has to navigate.”   The Bulldogs must replace some key pieces from last season, starting with quarterback. Rising senior [player_tooltip player_id='1258907' first='Isaac' last='Houlihan'], an exceptional athlete, begins his third season with the varsity. He'll compete for the starting QB job with rising sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1272753' first='Julian' last='Madera Lopez'] (started at free safety late in the season) and possibly rising junior Isaiah Torres.     “Isaac has really worked his tail off,” Anaya said. “He's a guy that is really starting to shine. He has had an excellent offseason. Julian has some maturing to do but if he keeps going, he'll be right where he needs to be. He's a baller. Even if he wins the QB job, he'll probably still get reps at free safety. He understands the game at a high level and he's aggressive.”   Graduating senior QB Frank Wren was last season's leading rusher. However, the trio of rising senior [player_tooltip player_id='1258916' first='Jonathan' last='Chavez'], rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='1266534' first='Alberto' last='Landeros'] and promising rising sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1155069' first='Kevin' last='Yescas'] should give the Bulldogs a solid ground game.   “Running back is one position where we're pretty deep,” Anaya said. “Alberto missed some games last season because of an injury, so we had to lean on Jonathan for most of the year. Kevin was just a freshman and still learning the game. But he's talented and a big guy. He runs well. We have to give him the ball and see what he can do. He has the potential to be special.”   With Houlihan likely moving to quarterback, the leading returning receiver is rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='1266538' first='Gabriel' last='Fernandez'], who also excels as the Bulldogs placekicker. Six-foot-1 rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='1266542' first='Sergio' last='Cisneros'] saw action with the varsity in 2023 and looks to become a fixture at WR this season. Beyond those two, position battles will determine who gets on the field. One of those competing will be 6-foot-1 rising senior Kaston Milford.       “Gabriel is an undersized guy but he's talented,” Anaya said. “He plays with good pace. We need to get the ball to him. We moved him to inside receiver late last year. Once he gets used to the plays, that should be a great place for him. We found Sergio late last season and he catches everything. He's big, lean, fast guy.”            The offensive line loses Western New Mexico signee T.J. McCarthy but returns several blockers with experience: rising senior LG [player_tooltip player_id='1258924' first='Estevan' last='Baca'], RG [player_tooltip player_id='853057' first='Jayden' last='Munoz'] and RT Demarkus Johnson. Multiple contenders are competing at the center and left tackle spots. The winner at the latter spot replaces McCarthy.      “We struggled to fill some positions on the offensive line last season,” Anaya said. “We were shuffling guys around. This year, it will be a little more solid. Definitely more solid than we were a year ago. Jayden just has to grow a little bit. If he does, he has a future at the next level. He's a strong, quick guy. He's nasty when the ball is snapped. He wants to hit people.”     Defensively, 6-foot-1, 200-pound rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='1672465' first='Jesse' last='Lujan'] will anchor the defensive line from his DE spot. Baca and Cisneros will also be key figures along the defensive front.   [player_tooltip player_id='837213' first='Abran' last='Vigil'] and AJ Stanley are the top linebackers. Landeros will start at strong safety. Speedster [player_tooltip player_id='1266545' first='Amin' last='Cooper'] (fastest player on the team), younger brother of former Albuquerque High standout DB and ENMU signee Jabulani Cooper, and Santiago Santelo are the new cornerbacks. Milford will get reps at corner as well.   “I'm looking forward to watching our defense gel together,” Anaya said. “We'll be able to lean on those guys as one of our strengths this year. We have a lot of guys returning who are passionate. We are shaping up to be pretty good on that side of the ball.”        Under the NMAA's realignment for 2024-25, Albuquerque High has been placed in an eight-team district along with Atrisco Heritage, Eldorado, La Cueva, Los Lunas, Sandia, Santa Fe and West Mesa. The Bulldogs will face Cibola, Valley and Alamogordo in non-district play.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/71Baca/status/1728547970348667233 </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/BulldogCityFB/status/1728497372525670495 </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/jaymunoz73/status/1771656851706290494 </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/BulldogCityFB/status/1755387013404963025 </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/BulldogCityFB/status/1728499540540452994 </div></figure>

As he tries to lead Albuquerque High to its first winning record in two decades, Bulldogs second year head coach Desmond Anaya understands the building process takes time.