2025 Team Preview: Valencia Jaguars
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<p><strong>2025 VALENCIA JAGUARS PREVIEW</strong></p>
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<p><strong>OVERVIEW</strong></p>
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<p>Valencia has made significant progress in head coach LeDarrius Cage's first two seasons as head coach. The Jaguars went from four wins in 2023 – Cage's first season – to eight wins and a quarterfinals appearance in the Class 4A playoffs in 2024. They won a thriller over Moriarty in the first round of the playoffs.</p>
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<p>“Getting the players to buy in to what we're doing has been our goal,” Cage told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “So far, they've responded in the right way. We've taken another step every year. Since I took over, we've put in more work than we've ever done. Now we need to compete better against the top teams. When we have opportunities to make big strides, that's what we have to do. We have to stay focused.” </p>
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<p>With numerous key contributors returning, particularly at running back and the defensive back seven, Valencia is cautiously optimistic heading into 2025.</p>
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<p>“Our skill guys across the board are going to be pretty good,” Cage told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “Most of those guys have been playing for me since I started two years ago. They started as sophomores, so they've gained some pretty good experience. That will be good for us.” </p>
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<p><strong>OFFENSE</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Top 3 Players: [player_tooltip player_id='1599923' first='Michael' last='Storms III']</strong> (RB), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751804' first='Gauge' last='Hollaway']</strong> (WR), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266460' first='Diego' last='Baeza'] </strong>(OL).</p>
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<p>The biggest question for the Valencia offense is who's going to play quarterback. Both signal callers who attempted a pass last season were seniors. Rising junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604768' first='Santino' last='Mares']</strong>, who played mostly defensive back last season as he awaited his turn at QB, is ready to take over the position. He was the signal caller for the Valencia freshman team in 2023. Mares is a dual threat QB, much like his predecessor.</p>
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<p>Rising sophomore <strong>Aaden Chavez</strong> was the freshman team QB in 204 and he'll likely be the backup. Chavez has already impressed with the strength of his throwing arm.</p>
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<p>“Santino is going to do very well,” Cage said. “He knows the offense and what to expect. Our guys have rallied around him. We have a sophomore we're grooming to play behind him (Chavez). He can sling it. He can throw it very well. Now it's just a maturity thing. We have to groom him the right way to make sure he's ready when his time comes.” </p>
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<p>The good news for Mares is he's surrounded by an array of talented offensive skill position players. Running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1599923' first='Michael' last='Storms III']</strong> was our Breakthrough Player of the Year in Class 4A after rushing for 1,723 yards and 21 TD on a workhorse 261 carries. Storms had 8 games with 100+ rushing yards. He earned First-Team All-State honors in 2024. Rising junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606132' first='Aiden' last='Farless']</strong> will be the No. 2 RB after getting a handful of carries in 2024. </p>
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<p>“Michael had a ton of carries last year,” Cage said. “Going into last season, we had some worries about durability, but he put the team on his back and the offensive line did a great job opening up lanes for him. He's probably the fastest player on our team. We want to give him the ball in space and take some pressure off Santino. I think he's going to have another good year. Aiden will be a very good backup for us.”</p>
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<p>Last season's top receiver by a wide margin (Cade Ash) has graduated. But the three receivers behind him statistically. Rising senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751804' first='Gauge' last='Hollaway']</strong> takes over at Ash's position. When Hollaway gets the ball in space, watch out. Rising senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751806' first='Aiden' last='Brogdon']</strong> joins him at WR. Six-foot-3, 200-pound rising senior tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1599957' first='Eric' last='Rodriguez']</strong> is back as well after making 15 receptions (second most on the team) in 2024.</p>
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<p>Two starters return on the offensive line. Six-foot-3, 300-pound rising senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266460' first='Diego' last='Baeza']</strong>, a three-year starter, will be the anchor. Baeza moves well for a large man as he showed in several camps. He has next level aspirations and it's only a matter of time before the offers start rolling in. Baeza was a 4A First-Team All-State selection and the District 4A-2 Offensive Linemen of the Year in 2024.</p>
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<p>“Diego is a gamer,” Cage said. “He does a very good job opening up holes for Michael. He has taken on a leadership role and helping our younger guys learn the playbook. I expect him to have a very good year.” </p>
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<p>The other returning O-Line starter for Valencia is rising senior center <strong>Corbin Hill</strong>. Rising junior <strong>Cayden Flythe</strong> will compete for one of the three open OL jobs after moving over from defensive line. Rising sophomore <strong>Ethan Robling</strong> is also expected to be in the mix. </p>
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<p><strong>DEFENSE</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Top 3 Players:</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751810' first='Jordan' last='Henry']</strong> (DB), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751815' first='Christian' last='Gonzalez']</strong> (DB), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1672785' first='Donavon' last='Nieto']</strong> (LB).</p>
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<p>Valencia's top tackler in 2024 (Dalton Muzzy) has graduated and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604768' first='Santino' last='Mares']</strong> was the second with 86 tackles (and a team-leading 3 INT), but since he will likely be the starting QB, his future on the defensive side of the ball is questionable.</p>
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<p>“Santino plays downhill. His natural position is safety, and it will hurt to take him from the defense,” Cage said. “But your best player has to be the quarterback, in my opinion.”</p>
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<p>Rising senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751810' first='Jordan' last='Henry']</strong> will be one of the safeties. He tore his ACL early in the 2024 season, but looks ready to return after a solid summer. He started as a sophomore. The other safety should be rising junior <strong>Mario Santiago</strong>, who filled in as a sophomore after Henry was injured last season.</p>
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<p>Three-year starter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751815' first='Christian' last='Gonzalez']</strong> returns at cornerback. Gonzalez, a rising senior, has developed into a technically sound lockdown corner. He will bring plenty of experience to the CB position. The other cornerback will be rising junior <strong>Danny Cristan</strong>.</p>
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<p>The linebacker corps will be led by rising senior OLB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1672785' first='Donavon' last='Nieto']</strong>, who finished third on the Jaguars in tackles last season with 70. The other LBs will be rising senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751822' first='Alexis' last='Estrada']</strong>, who's from defensive line. Estrada is very physical and often plays downhill. The third LB will be rising junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606132' first='Aiden' last='Farless']</strong>, who had 53 tackles and 8 TFL as a sophomore in 2024. Rising sophomore <strong>Malachi McCoy</strong> is a promising newcomer. He got his feet wet last season with the varsity and his playing time should significantly increase in 2025. He started against Moriarty in the first round of the playoffs. </p>
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<p>The Valencia defensive line was hit hard by graduation and will feature several newcomers. There are plenty of questions there heading into preseason camp. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266460' first='Diego' last='Baeza']</strong> could play both ways along with <strong>Corbin Hill</strong>. Hill was Valencia's only center a season ago, so the coaches were reluctant to utilize him defensively. That could change this season. </p>
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<p><strong>2025 Valencia Football Schedule:</strong></p>
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<p>Aug. 22 at Kirtland Central (6 p.m.) </p>
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<p>Aug. 29 at Gadsden (6 p.m.) </p>
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<p>Sept. 5 BELEN (6 p.m.) </p>
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<p>Sept. 12 CUBA (6 p.m.) </p>
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<p>Sept. 19 at Silver (6 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>Sept. 26 PORTALES (6 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 3 at Chaparral (6 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 10 Bye* </p>
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<p>Oct. 18 at Manzano (Sat., 11 a.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 24 ST. PIUS X (7 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 31 ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY (7 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>* District 4A-2 Game</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations to our All-Metro players! 🏈 🐆 <a href="https://t.co/j90XAnnDqs">pic.twitter.com/j90XAnnDqs</a></p>— VHS Jaguars Football (@VHSJagFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/VHSJagFootball/status/1865490949830480056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2024</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">2026 Valencia OL [player_tooltip player_id='1266460' first='Diego' last='Baeza'] runs well for a big guy. Checks in at 6-foot-2, 303 pounds. OL District POY. <a href="https://t.co/jZQsjMUeUh">pic.twitter.com/jZQsjMUeUh</a></p>— Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1931743864999555453?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mark your calendars! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BTS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BTS</a> 🏈 🐆 <a href="https://t.co/E7Yc4gGW8Y">pic.twitter.com/E7Yc4gGW8Y</a></p>— VHS Jaguars Football (@VHSJagFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/VHSJagFootball/status/1947779116012605548?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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2025 VALENCIA JAGUARS PREVIEW
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