2024 Look Ahead: Santa Teresa Desert Warriors

In his 16 seasons as Santa Teresa's head football coach, Shae Vierra has experienced plenty of ups and downs. Hopefully, more of the former than the latter.   Last year, with a roster dominated by extremely young players, the Desert Warriors (still the best nickname in New Mexico high school football) struggled to a 1-9 record.   The good news, of course, is that young roster is growing up. As a result, Santa Teresa hopes for better results in 2024, although they must now compete in one of the toughest districts in the state following the NMAA's realignment in December. Among their new district rivals are Artesia, Deming, Lovington, Mayfield and Roswell.   “Now that all those young players have a year under their belts followed by a full offseason, we feel really good about what we've got,' Vierra told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “We have almost every single starter (from 2023) coming back. We're very excited. There's a different level of commitment with this group. A lot of kids are working hard in the weight room, and we've been doing 7-on-7 since the end of March.”   The lengthy list of returning players for Santa Teresa begins with rising junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1137846' first='Nicholas' last='Vierra'] (son of the head coach), one of the top young dual threat quarterbacks in the state. Last season he accounted for over 1,300 total yards as a sophomore.   “Everything is slowing down for him,” Shae Vierra said. “He's throwing the ball well in our 7-on-7 sessions. All of our offensive skill guys are back from last year, so they're very well connected.   His son eyes a higher completion percentage and fewer interceptions than a season ago, Vierra said.   “Hopefully, those come with experience and reps,” Vierra said. “We've changed some of the concepts in our quick game to help him out with the completion percentage. Last season he made a lot of off platform throws. Most of his interceptions came from throwing the ball up for grabs. He's been more careful with the football so far this offseason. We want him making more rhythm throws. When he sets his feet and he's focused, he's very accurate.”   Vierra led the Desert Warriors in rushing last season with 544 yards on 91 carries. The top two running backs behind him return – rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='1137847' first='David' last='Gutierrez'] (team high 97 carries) and rising senior Ayell Saldana.   “Ayell came on at the end of last season,” Vierra said. “He struggled at the beginning of the year as he was finding his way. He really came into his own in the last couple of games. We like the offseason he has had.”   Last season's leading receiver, [player_tooltip player_id='1119692' first='Ulysses' last='Montes'], is back to spark Santa Teresa's passing attack. Montes had 38 receptions for 522 yards as a slot receiver to lead Santa Teresa by a wide margin in both categories.   “Ulysses isn't a big guy but he knows how  to get into space and get open,” Vierra said. “He's a Hunter Renfrow type. He finds an open area and sits there. Nick usually finds him.”   Athletic 6-foot-2 rising senior Ardon Luna joined the football team halfway through last season and he'll compete for the No. 2 WR job. The coaches look for Luna, a baseball standout who just started playing football last year, to become Santa Teresa's chief threat at outside receiver and win a lot of jump balls. He averaged 20.3 yards per reception in 2023.   “We're very excited to have Ardon for a full season,” Vierra said.   Santa Teresa returns four of five offensive line starters from 2023. Rising junior OG [player_tooltip player_id='1751438' first='Erick' last='Silveyra'] is ‘super strong' with great feet. The ‘big guy' is 6-foot-4, 325-pound Jaden Agnew, who makes the jump from JV to varsity after playing football for the first time last fall.     “Jaden is a guy we plucked out of the hallway,” Vierra said. “He didn't want to play football when he was a freshman and sophomore. But then he started showing up for summer workouts. He was extremely raw last year. But he'll start at tackle or guard for us.   “He's a monster. He's having a great offseason. He has great flexibility in his legs. We're telling college coaches about him right now. He hasn't been on the field yet for a varsity game, but he's going to be good. He'll come into his own at some point.”   Two more offensive linemen: Rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='1751435' first='Donovan' last='Ramirez'], a 270-pounder who excels at wrestling, is renowned for his toughness. Jovany Labrado, a 280-pounder and one of the strongest players on the team, is a former band member who finally heeded the call to play football. Santa Teresa certainly won't lack for size on the offensive line.   “We feel very good about our offensive line,” Vierra said. “We have some god looking guys on the O-Line.”   Defensively, Silveyra will likely also play on the defensive line. Rising seniors Ian Banuelos and Matthew Ramirez join him at defensive end. Rising junior Miguel Barcenas will be the MIKE linebacker and patrol the middle of the field. [player_tooltip player_id='1751431' first='Jacob' last='Martinez'], the Desert Warriors' top returning tackler, will also start on the second level.   “Jacob is undersized but he's a tackling machine,” Vierra said. “He knows how to get people down.”   Montes will pull double duty and start at safety. Lanky rising junior Jonas Lopez returns at cornerback. He has good quickness. Competition will decide the other two spots in the secondary.                           2024 Santa Teresa Football Schedule:   Aug. 23 SILVER   Aug. 30 EL PASO (TX) MOUNTAIN VIEW   Sept. 6 at Chaparral   Sept. 13 at Goddard*   Sept. 20 MAYFIELD*   Sept. 27 at Roswell*   Oct. 4 ARTESIA*   Oct. 11 Bye   Oct. 18 at Deming*   Oct. 25 at Gadsden*   Nov. 1 LOVINGTON*   * District 5A-2 Game   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Coach_Mac51/status/1734993823842062801 </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/EvanCBS4/status/1715375020455977384 </div></figure>

In his 16 seasons as Santa Teresa's head football coach, Shae Vierra has experienced plenty of ups and downs. Hopefully, more of the former than the latter.