2024 Look Ahead: St. Michael's Horsemen

Another Class 3A coach may have summed it up best two years ago when he said, ‘We're all chasing St. Michael's.'   They certainly were last season as the Horsemen powered their way to the 3A state championship with a hard-fought win over rival Robertson Thanksgiving weekend. St. Michael's has appeared in the last three Class 3A state championships games (2022 vs. Ruidoso; 2021 vs. Robertson), compiling a record of 33-8 over that stretch.   “It's just getting the players to buy into what we're doing,” St. Michael's head coach Joey Fernandez told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “One of the things we're good at is making sure we're building athletes who are football players. During the summer, our top goal is making our players better athletes.”   As always, the Horsemen enter the new season expecting to go deep into the 3A playoffs, and recent history teaches us they probably will although 3A has numerous teams with identical expectations. St. Michael's has the talent on both sides of the ball to meet their goal.   Fernandez and his staff have done an excellent job making sure complacency doesn't creep into the St. Michael's program. Last November's quarterfinal victory over Raton epitomized the Horsemen's mentality. They trailed by double digits with about eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter but scored three touchdowns down the stretch to pull out a 21-14 victory.   “I always tell our players that it's easier to get to the top than it is to stay on top,” Fernandez said. “We have the big target on our back. We're the private school everybody wants to play their best game against. It keeps us sharp for every game. One of our big things is not getting complacent and making sure all our players are on the same page and working towards the same goal, the state championship. We don't think of anything else but that blue trophy.”   Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1119628' first='Reed' last='Bass'] has a state title on his resume  but he's facing a challenge from junior [player_tooltip player_id='1600843' first='Kamal' last='Stith']. Both quarterbacks took snaps at the recent ENMU 7x7 Tournament. Bass threw for over 1,100 yards and 18 TD in 2023. Stith missed most of last season with an injury but he clearly showed his potential during 7x7 season.   “Right now, Reed is our quarterback but we're giving Kamal an opportunity to win that job,” Fernandez said. “The competition keeps both those guys sharp and working hard. They don't get complacent. They know the other guys is right behind him. Last season we tried to put Reed in position to be successful.   “This year we'll put a lot more on his plate. Last year was about learning. Now we can do a lot more with him. Kamal can run the ball. With him we can do a few more things. Right now, we're working on his confidence and getting him some experience.”   Last season's leading rusher, Matthias Duran, graduated but senior [player_tooltip player_id='1119160' first='Soren' last='Annon'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='853063' first='Isaiah' last='Dominguez'] return. The latter two rushers combined for over 1,000 yards rushing in 2023. Add senior [player_tooltip player_id='613193' first='Cole' last='Sandoval'] (offered by Hendrix College), who missed the second half of last season with an injury, into the mix and St. Michael's has a legit three-heading monster at running back. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1267011' first='Brayden' last='Hollis'] could get some carries as well.   “We have a good corps of running backs,” Fernandez said. “Cole was our main running back through the first four games last season and we're looking for big things from him. We have a lot of guys who can run the ball. We're excited about the potential of the guys we can give the ball to.”   Dominguez and Hollis will line up at slot receiver when they're not in the offensive backfield. Six-foot-1 junior [player_tooltip player_id='1600008' first='Brandon' last='Meyer'] is back after suffering a serious ACL injury early last season. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1155019' first='Ryan' last='Hunt'], also an outstanding defensive end, will help spread the field with his size and speed. He'll also play tight end when needed.   “Brandon is probably our best receiver on the outside going into the new season,” Fernandez said.   The offensive line returns three starters from last season: Joe Sanchez, [player_tooltip player_id='1119096' first='Joele' last='Griego'] and Preston CdeBaca. Among those competing for the two other spots are sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1604774' first='Jedrek' last='Lewandowski'], junior [player_tooltip player_id='1753925' first='Devin' last='Riebsomer'] and junior Don Gorman.      The 6-foot-2 Hunt will anchor the defensive line after a sensational freshman campaign in 2023 when he set a new school record for most sacks in a single season.   “He's somebody we're definitely looking at to anchor that defensive line,” Fernandez said. “He's one of those guys with a nonstop motor. He was learning the system last year and having a year under his belt will make him that much better. He's going to be the key to a lot of the stuff we plan to do on the defensive side.”   Sanchez, Lewandowski and CdeBaca and possibly Gorman  will fill the defensive tackle spots. The DE spot opposite Hunt is up for grabs.   St. Michael's has another next level talent on the second level: MLB [player_tooltip player_id='1137830' first='Pete' last='Johnson'], who led the Horsemen in tackles a season ago. Johnson is fast, quick, mobile and aggressive, as he showed at the Prep Redzone Combine in April. Griego joins Johnson at ILB while Annon and Sandoval will play OLB.   “Pete is somebody we're looking to anchor the entire defense,” Fernandez said. “He's only gotten better during the offseason. He's bigger and faster. Our entire linebacker corps is pretty solid. All four return.”   In the secondary, Dominguez, Hollis and Meyer are the frontrunners to see significant action. Behind them are a group of promising newcomers.   Overall, the St. Michael's defense appears to be just as stout – if not better – than last season's championship winning unit that surrendered more than 20 points just three times in 13 games.   “We have some experience back on defense,” Fernandez said. “That will help. We'll get stronger as the season progresses.”   2024 ST. MICHAEL'S FOOTBALL SCHEDULE:   Aug. 24 TAOS (Sat., 1 p.m.)   Aug. 30 at Capital (7 p.m.)   Sept. 6 SANTA FE (7 p.m. at Ivan Head Stadium)   Sept. 14 at Albuquerque Academy (Sat., 2 p.m.)   Sept. 20 at Eunice (7 p.m.)   Sept. 27 at Raton (7 p.m.)   Oct. 5 HOPE CHRISTIAN (Sat., 1 p.m.)*   Oct. 11 Bye   Oct. 19 WEST LAS VEGAS (Sat., 1 p.m.)*   Oct. 25 at Pojoaque Valley (7 p.m.)*   Nov. 1 at Robertson (7 p.m.)*   * District 3A-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/PeteJohnson44/status/1795857868152766701 </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/Zae_d_24/status/1815439148284613024 </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/Zae_d_24/status/1816165618598526994 </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/Cole_sandov/status/1816519256462536731 </div></figure>

Another Class 3A coach may have summed it up best two years ago when he said, ‘We're all chasing St. Michael's.'