2024 Look Ahead: Los Lunas Tigers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just when it seemed everything was going right for Lunas, it all went wrong.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers were riding a four-game winning streak going into last fall's Week 11 winner-take-all district championship game at Clovis. Los Lunas grabbed an early lead in that game before Clovis roared back for a stunning one-point win to secure the automatic berth in the Class 6A playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The setback dropped Los Lunas to the No. 10 seed and forced them to travel to the Field of Dreams for a first-round matchup with No. 7 Las Cruces. The Tigers were beaten badly and limped home.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a result, Los Lunas head coach Greg Henington and his players are wearing t-shirts this summer displaying two potent words: Prove It.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Coming up short in the district championship game did have an effect on us, rankings-wise and mentality,” Henington told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “We've tried to keep moving forward. We talked about it this spring. When the time comes, we have to prove it. The time for talk is over. So far, we're happy how the off-season has gone. We've made some tremendous gains in the weight room. Guys have stepped up.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137088' first='Kaiden' last='Reese']</strong> is the top candidate to replace last season's starting quarterback, Damacio Kaneshiro, but he is facing competition from sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1787301' first='Luke' last='Cieremans']</strong>, younger brother of Los Lunas legend and current New Mexico State Aggie Paul Cieremens.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Reese is a classis dual threat quarterback. Besides completing almost 59 of his passes (14-24), he rushed for close to 500 yards on just 44 carries, averaging over 10 yards per attempt.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Kaiden has tremendous legs and tremendous speed,” Henington said. “He's getting the hang of throwing the ball and getting his reads correct. Luke can also run. He's not as fast but he's an aggressive and committed runner. He throws the ball well.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Henington said the offensive scheme won't change significantly from the past few seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We'll adjust a little bit but we like running quarterbacks,” Henington said. “The scheme will be similar to what we've had in the past.” &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers' top three rushers are all back in 2024. Top rusher [player_tooltip player_id='1119302' first='Emi' last='De La Torre'], who amassed 580 yards and 11 TD on 98 carries in 2023, suffered a broken leg and will likely miss a portion of the 2024 season. Henington said he is hopeful De La Torre could return at some point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119303' first='Jordan' last='Howard']</strong>, junior <strong>Martin Cordova</strong> and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604956' first='Jagger' last='Casillas']</strong> will all be counted on to carry the load on the ground. Henington said those three will battle “to see who can get it done.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Martin is more of a power back,” Henington said. “Jordan is a little bit of a power back and a speed guy. Jagger is an elusive scat back.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top two receivers from last year (Fabian Trujillo and Ethan Olguin) have both graduated. The battle to replace those two on the outside is wide open, Henington said. Howard is part of the battle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marcus Granger</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1593628' first='Kyle' last='Valdez']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1749242' first='Alejandro' last='Casas']</strong> return to anchor the offensive line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, 6-foot-2, 230-pound LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615687' first='Gage' last='Marquez']</strong> returns after making 93 tackles in 2023 along with LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1594058' first='Aidan' last='Martinez']</strong>. The defensive line will be entirely brand new. The secondary will have several new players as well. Eliaz Saenz return at cornerback.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We'll be a little inexperienced at some defensive positions, so we're looking for people to step up. But it's always a concern. It's a Prove It type of year on both offense and defense.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Los Lunas open the 2024 with three challenging non-district games: Roswell (home), Cleveland (road) and Farmington (home). They join District 6A-2 and will face Albuquerque High, Atrisco Heritage, Eldorado, La Cueva, Sandia, Santa Fe and West Mesa in district play beginning Week 4.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Every game is so important because district plays starts very early,” Henington said. “What should make it interesting is every week from Week 4 on is like a playoff week. Going from 5A to 6A has been a huge difference. Our expectations are the same. It's just become more challenging.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024 LOS LUNAS SCHEDULE</strong>:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 23 ROSWELL (7 p.m.)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 30 at Cleveland (7 p.m.)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 6 FARMINGTON (7 p.m.)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 12 at Eldorado (Thur., 7 p.m.)* &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 20 WEST MESA (7 p.m.)*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 27 Bye</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oct. 4 ALBUQUERQUE HIGH (7 p.m.)*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oct. 10 at La Cueva (Thur., 7 p.m.)*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oct. 18 at Santa Fe (7 p.m.)*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oct. 26 at Atrisco Heritage (Sat., 11 a.m.)*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nov. 1 SANDIA (7 p.m.)*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LosLunasFB/status/1803928197853254078","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LosLunasFB/status/1803928197853254078 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Gagem44/status/1732511014451581044","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Gagem44/status/1732511014451581044 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/kaiden_2026/status/1739079280603120033","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/kaiden_2026/status/1739079280603120033 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LosLunasFB/status/1793341883953074531","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LosLunasFB/status/1793341883953074531 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->