2025 Team Preview: Silver Fighting Colts
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<p><strong>2025 SILVER FIGHTING COLTS PREVIEW</strong></p>
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<p><strong>OVERVIEW</strong></p>
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<p>Since Jerome Ortiz took over as head coach of Silver in 2021, the Fighting Colts have established themselves as one of the steadiest programs in Class 4A. Between 2021-23, Silver reached the 4A playoff semifinals twice and the state championship game in 2022 when they lost a hard-fought battle at Bloomfield.</p>
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<p>Last season, though, the Colts fell to 4-7, largely due to a struggling offense that scored more than 16 points just once in the final seven games. The defense, though, stayed strong, allowing more than 20 points once in the last eight games. The result? Silver lost several close, low-scoring games last season. So, Ortiz's No. 1 priority this offseason has been clear – fix the offense and let the defense continue to do its thing.</p>
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<p>“We were very close last season. I think we had the best defense in 4A,”: Ortiz told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “But our offense really struggled. Every team we lost to last year, we're going to try to flip the script. Our guys are hungry. This group is one of the most disciplined we've had in a long time. Our goal is to get back into the top five teams in Class 4A.” </p>
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<p><strong>OFFENSE</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Top 3 Players: [player_tooltip player_id='1709925' first='Josiah' last='Madrid'] </strong>(QB)<strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='1751703' first='Mekhi' last='Grant'] </strong>(ATH), <strong>Cody Cooper</strong> (RB).</p>
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<p>Rising senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1709925' first='Josiah' last='Madrid']</strong> returns as Silver's starting quarterback, and has served notice this offseason that he's eager to change the offense's fortunes in 2025. Rising senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751703' first='Mekhi' last='Grant']</strong> and rising junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606164' first='Urijah' last='Arrey']</strong> are competing for the No. 2 QB job. Both were primarily utilized at running back and wide receiver last season.</p>
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<p>“Josiah has shown this off-season a whole different game,” Ortiz said. “He's been disciplined about not making mistakes. He's locked in. Right now, Josiah is definitely our quarterback. Last season Josiah was mainly a pocket passer with some scrambling ability. This year, he's going to be more of a field general type. He can move around a lot better this year. He can sling it. But he'll be more of an all-around threat this year.”</p>
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<p>Rising sophomore <strong>Cody Cooper</strong> emerged last season as one of the top young running backs in the state. Along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751703' first='Mekhi' last='Grant']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606164' first='Urijah' last='Arrey']</strong>, Cooper will be part of a talented RB trio for the Colts. They'll likely share the carries in order to keep everybody fresh. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853014' first='Michael' last='Jimenez']</strong> and <strong>Michael Amador</strong> should contribute to the ground game as well.</p>
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<p>“Cody is only a rising sophomore but he's already one of our biggest guys in the weight room,” Ortiz said. “He's definitely going to be somebody to watch this season. Mekhi is more of a speed guy. I can't say we have a No. 1 running back because we run from Straight-T and Wing-T sets. We have three No. 1 backs.” </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1791265' first='Dainian' last='Flores']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751703' first='Mekhi' last='Grant']</strong> will be two of Silver's top threats at wide receiver. Rising senior speedster <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751718' first='Milo' last='Brines']</strong> has the potential to stretch defenses vertically.</p>
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<p>Rising senior LG <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266547' first='Luke' last='Stailey']</strong>, a four-year starter, anchors the Silver offensive line. He has next level ability. Rising junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1787702' first='Al' last='Cohn']</strong>, a three-year starter, will be the right guard. Rising sophomore <strong>Jason Chadwick</strong> is slated to be the right tackle. <strong>Gavin Finley</strong> and <strong>Manny Herrera</strong> are battling for the starting LT spot. Both played JV in 2024.</p>
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<p><strong>DEFENSE</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Top 3 Players: [player_tooltip player_id='853014' first='Michael' last='Jimenez'] </strong>(LB)<strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='1137463' first='David' last='Palomarez'] </strong>(DL)<strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='1790985' first='Jose' last='Medina'] </strong>(DB).</p>
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<p>Expectations in Silver City are for the Colts' LB corps to be just as good as last season, and one of the best in Class 4A. Every starter returns. The unit will be led by OLB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853014' first='Michael' last='Jimenez']</strong>, rising junior ILB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155313' first='Izaiden' last='Baca']</strong>, ILB <strong>Christian Maynes</strong> and rising junior OLB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1790845' first='Kade' last='Aguirre']</strong>.</p>
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<p>Rising senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137463' first='David' last='Palomarez']</strong> has established himself as one of the top defensive ends in Class 4A. The rest of the D-Line will be brand new. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1709913' first='Jack' last='Barragan']</strong> is expected to be one of those new starters. Rising sophomore <strong>Dustin Gnader</strong> is projected as a starter along with rising sophomore <strong>Ty Gonzalez</strong>.</p>
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<p>The Silver secondary returns three starters: rising junior CB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1790985' first='Jose' last='Medina']</strong>, FS <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1791265' first='Dainian' last='Flores']</strong> (see above) and SS <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751718' first='Milo' last='Brines']</strong> (see above). The CB spot opposite Medina is wide open with <strong>Michael Amador</strong> (see above) and rising sophomore <strong>Steven Valenzuela</strong> battling for the starting job. Several promising up-and-comers could make an impact as well.</p>
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<p>New placekicker <strong>Farhad Karimi</strong>, who comes over from the Silver soccer team, has a powerful leg and could prove to be a major weapon for the Colts. He possesses excellent speed as well and could contribute at wide receiver. </p>
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<p><strong>2025 Silver Football Schedule:</strong></p>
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<p>Aug. 22 SANTA TERESA (7 p.m.) </p>
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<p>Aug. 29 at Gallup (7 p.m.) </p>
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<p>Sept. 5 at Deming (7 p.m.) </p>
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<p>Sept. 12 COBRE (7 p.m.) </p>
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<p>Sept. 19 VALENCIA (7 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>Sept. 26 ST. PIUS X (7 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 3 at Portales (7 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 10 CHAPARRAL (7 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 17 at Albuquerque Academy (Fri., 3 p.m.)* </p>
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<p> Oct. 25 at Manzano (Sat., 3 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 31 Bye </p>
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<p>* District 4A-2 Game</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fighting Colt Football got after it today!! <a href="https://t.co/xeqnQbYsYd">pic.twitter.com/xeqnQbYsYd</a></p>— Jerome Ortiz (@CoachOrtizCOLTS) <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachOrtizCOLTS/status/1932642011481260402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
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2025 SILVER FIGHTING COLTS PREVIEW
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