Top Storylines for 2025: Class 3A
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<p>It's been more than four months since the 2024 state championship games were played Thanksgiving weekend. Some teams have already started offseason workouts. Here are the top storylines in Class 3A for the 2025 season:</p>
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<p><strong>Can Anybody Beat St. Michael's?</strong> The Horseman have appeared in four straight Class 3A state championship games and right now they're the favorite to win it all again in 2025 after consecutive back-to-back titles. The Horsemen have displayed a knack for making big plays at big times. Offensively, dual threat quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1600843' first='Kamal' last='Stith']</strong> gained valuable experience last season. Rising senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853063' first='Isaiah' last='Dominguez']</strong> is a next level talent at running back and he'll run behind a solid offensive line led by All-State honoree <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604774' first='Jedrek' last='Lewandowski']</strong>, a rising junior. Leading receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1600008' first='Brandon' last='Meyer']</strong> returns. Defensively, St. Michael's will have two of the top players in 3A with DE <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155019' first='Ryan' last='Hunt']</strong> and LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137830' first='Pete' last='Johnson']</strong>, the Horsemen's top two tacklers in 2024. Both are next level talents. </p>
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<p><strong>Who Will Challenge St. Michael's For the Crown?</strong> Last season, the top three teams in Class 3A for most of the season were St. Michael's, Robertson and Dexter. It's looking like that will be the case again in 2025. Robertson loses many of its top players to graduation, but rising sophomore RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613284' first='George' last='Smith']</strong> is a dynamic two-sport athlete. Rising junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155256' first='Nathan' last='Gonzales']</strong> is a promising receiver. Defensively, Robertson returns four of its top seven tacklers led by rising senior CB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1672753' first='Andres' last='Sanchez']</strong>, who had 77 tackles, 3.5 sacks in 2024. Dexter, which came achingly close to beating St. Michael's in the 3A championship game, will be led by rising junior dual threat QB <strong>C.J. Granados</strong>, who threw for over 1,700 yards and 19 TD in 2024, rising junior RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137901' first='Garet' last='Gonzalez']</strong>, DL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155310' first='Fernando' last='Prieto']</strong> and LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155314' first='Rigo' last='Regalado']</strong>, all of whom had stellar seasons in 2025. </p>
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<p><strong>Who's The Best Quarterback?</strong> Based on his performance last season, DexterQB <strong>C.J. Granados</strong> is the top QB in 3A going into next season. However, plenty of other signal callers will demand attention: Hope Christian QB <strong>R.J. Montoya</strong> threw for more yards than any other 3A QB in 2024 (1,857) and he gives the Huskies hope in a very challenging district (3A-2). Most under the radar QB in 3A? <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604910' first='Tristan' last='Begay']</strong> of Tohatchi. He passed for 1,776 yards and 24 TD last season. Hot Springs dual threat QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='854288' first='Tristan' last='Polanco']</strong> had a solid campaign in 2024 in leading the Tigers to the playoffs, and he looks to take Hot Springs farther in the fall. Hatch Valley's rising senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='854279' first='Omar' last='Gonzalez']</strong> is another outstanding dual threat QB. Ruidoso QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604916' first='Levi' last='Shelton']</strong> threw for close to 1,000 yards in 2024. <strong> </strong> </p>
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<p><strong>Who's the Best Running Back? </strong>Dexter RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137901' first='Garet' last='Gonzalez']</strong> rushed for 825 yards in 2024 and he has 1,000-yard potential. So does St. Michael's RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853063' first='Isaiah' last='Dominguez']</strong>, who should be the No. 1 RB for the Horsemen in 2025, and Robertson's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613284' first='George' last='Smith']</strong>. Pojoaque Valley has an intriguing RB duo in speedy rising junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1129687' first='Jonah' last='Villegas']</strong> and rising senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1416992' first='D'Marcus' last='Rodriguez']</strong> (both rushed for 700+ yards in 2024). Ruidoso's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267035' first='Tru' last='Camejo']</strong> had over 650 rushing yards in 2024. </p>
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<p><strong>Who's The Best Wide Receiver? </strong>Socorro rising senior WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137096' first='Jay' last='Lee']</strong> led all 3A wide receivers in receiving yardage by a wide margin in 2024, finishing with 1,182 yards and 17 TD on 58 receptions. He'll have a new QB throwing him the football in 2024, as well as a new head coach. Rising senior Thoreau WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137876' first='Jordan' last='Calladitto']</strong> had 39 receptions for 566 yards and 8 TD last season. Socorro WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1600888' first='Jacob' last='Angel']</strong> averaged close to 25 yards per reception in 2024, while teammate <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1272788' first='Nazario' last='Silva']</strong> had 20 receptions. Watch for Hope Christian rising junior WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605990' first='Darrien' last='Williams']</strong>, who had over 20 receptions last season and has a great QB throwing him the ball. Ruidoso WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613409' first='Mason' last='Fikany']</strong> had 23 receptions as a freshman in 2024. </p>
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<p><strong>Top Breakout Player of the Year Contenders</strong>: As we just saw during basketball season, West Las Vegas WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853064' first='Devaughn' last='Kensey']</strong> is a dynamic two-sport athlete. If the Dons find the right quarterback, Kensey could have a huge senior season. If Hope Christian can win some big games (St. Michael's, Robertson, etc.), QB <strong>R.J. Montoya</strong> will start to get the attention he deserves. Because defenses must respect Dexter QB C.J. Granados' passing ability, Demons RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137901' first='Garet' last='Gonzalez']</strong> could have a monster season if the O-Line does its job. </p>
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<p><strong>Who Are The Top Returning Defensive Players? </strong>The top returning tackler in Class 3A is RuidosoLB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1600953' first='Zach' last='Friberg']</strong>, who made 113 tackles, 8.0 sacks and 4 forced fumbles in 2024. The 3A defensive player with the highest ceiling could be Hope Christian DE <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613280' first='Kashton' last='Ewen']</strong>, a rising sophomore who made 50 tackles, 15.0 TFL and 10.0 sacks as a freshman in 2024. Ewen already possesses great length at 6-foot-2 with three more years to grow, gain strength and develop his skills. He's definitely a next level prospect, possibly D1 if he does the right things. Between Ewen and LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137835' first='Krew' last='Ward'] </strong>(100 tackles, 9.0 TFL in 2024), Hope Christian possesses the personnel for a stout defensive front seven. Three more rising seniors are back after massing 90+ tackle sin 2024: Thoreau LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137848' first='Saige' last='Westmoreland']</strong> (94 tackles), Hot Springs LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137075' first='Lucas' last='Basile']</strong> (92) and West Las Vegas LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='854300' first='Carlo' last='Lucero']</strong> (91). <strong> </strong> </p>
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<p><strong>Teams on the Rise</strong>: Going into his third season, <strong>Pojoaque Valley</strong> head coach Zeke Villegas has the Elks on the rise. They qualified for the 3A playoffs in 2024 and should become a bigger factor in District 3A-2 with their talent improving every year. <strong>Hot Springs</strong> also reached the 3A playoffs in head coach Maximus Buckingham's first year, an important step for the program. The Tigers have an experienced QB in 2025 (see above) and, just like Pojoaque Valley, aim to win a playoff game. <strong>Tohatchi </strong>won seven games in 2024 but didn't earn an at-large playoff berth as just one team from District 3A-1 made it into the postseason. As we mentioned above, the Cougars have a fantastic young QB and look to make enough noise in 2025 to make the post-season.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Full Junior Season Highlights C/O 2026<br>6'0 200lb Linebacker<br>102 tackles <br>3 interceptions <br>First Team All State<br>District DPOY<br>State Champion <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nmpreps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmpreps</a> <a href="https://t.co/6oPjRyYYoT">pic.twitter.com/6oPjRyYYoT</a></p>— [player_tooltip player_id='1137830' first='Pete' last='Johnson'] (@PeteJohnson44) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteJohnson44/status/1867586829421359219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Proud of our All district team players from Pojoaque!Year 2 was a success 🦌<a href="https://twitter.com/nmpreps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmpreps</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://t.co/6WJ45yeYb9">pic.twitter.com/6WJ45yeYb9</a></p>— Zeke Villegas (@CoachZekeV) <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachZekeV/status/1864389677739802758?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2024</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/W8CO22jimV">https://t.co/W8CO22jimV</a><br>Run Heavy Offense!<br>1708 Passing Yards <br>130.8 Qbr<br>19 Tds<br>4 Ints<br>64 Rushing Attempts <br>479 Yards<br>7 Tds <a href="https://twitter.com/DDemonFootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DDemonFootball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/osoukup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@osoukup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KennyDillingham?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KennyDillingham</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_TSanchez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_TSanchez</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/coachbuttsUSU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachbuttsUSU</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/coachGemp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachGemp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachNellyV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachNellyV</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachTwelveGage?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachTwelveGage</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/QBHitList?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@QBHitList</a></p>— Cj Granados (@cj_granados10) <a href="https://twitter.com/cj_granados10/status/1884983795168006516?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<p> </p>
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It's been more than four months since the 2024 state championship games were played Thanksgiving weekend. Some teams have already started offseason workouts. Here are the top storylines in Class 3A for the 2025 season:
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