Look Back, Look Ahead: Class 4A
In this article:
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<p>We continue our popular Look Back, Look Ahead series with a review of the 2025 season in Class 4A and a peek ahead to some of the key storylines, topics, players and questions concerning the 2026 campaign, which begins next August with revamped districts.</p>
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<p><strong>LOOK BACK</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Best Team</strong>: <strong>Bloomfield</strong>. It's difficult to fathom how dominant the Bobcats have been over the last four years in 4A. Bloomfield has won three of the last four state titles, going 47-3 during that stretch. They've lost just two games since 2022 to 4A opponents – Portales in the 2023 semifinals and Silver on a neutral field in 2022. Don't expect Bloomfield to tumble far in 2026. The standard is entrenched. The Bobcats don't rebuild, they reload. </p>
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<p><strong>Most Improved Team</strong>: <strong>Albuquerque Academy</strong>. The Chargers went from not making the 4A playoffs in 2024 to reaching the quarterfinals in 2025, where they lost a heartbreaker to Taos. Behind QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1369761' first='William' last='Braun']</strong>, Albuquerque Academy should keep improving in 2026. </p>
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<p><strong>Offensive Player of the Year:</strong> <strong>Manual Chavarria</strong>, <strong>Bloomfield</strong>. Class 4A is overflowing with elite offensive players, but this was an easy choice. Chavarria, nicknamed ‘Peanut,' was our choice for the 2025 New Mexico Heisman. He threw for 3,577 yards and 53 TD while rushing for 662 yards and 14 TD. Doing the math, he accounted for a staggering 4,239 yards and 67 TD. <strong> </strong> <strong> </strong></p>
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<p><strong>Defensive Player of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id='853756' first='Mario' last='Molinar'], Bernalillo. </strong>Molinar led Class 4A in tackles by a wide margin, finishing with 153 tackles, 26.0 TFL and 5.0 sacks. He finished his brilliant Spartans career with 442 tackles, second most in state history. The NMAA already lists him in the No. 2 spot. <strong> </strong></p>
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<p><strong>Special Teams Player of the Year:</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155012' first='Curtis' last='Flakes III'], St. Pius X</strong>. Flakes led Class 4A in kick return yards by a lengthy margin and proved to be one of the most dynamic kick returners in the state. He was a threat to take it to the house every time he touched the football on a kickoff or punt.</p>
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<p><strong>Two-Way Player Of The Year: [player_tooltip player_id='853757' first='Ulisses' last='Castro'], Bernalillo. </strong>Castro is a physical specimen at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds and a surefire next level prospect. This past season, he filled in as quarterback when the Spartans' starter was injured. He threw for close to 700 yards, rushed for over 500 yards and made 56 tackles with 12 QB hurries on defense. <strong> </strong></p>
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<p><strong>Juniors of the Year: </strong>The St. Pius X trio of QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1154948' first='Isaiah' last='Carpenter']</strong>, RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1154954' first='Hershul' last='Olloway']</strong> and WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1154956' first='Cayl' last='Cox-Liggins']</strong> are three of the top players at their respective positions in the state, regardless of classification. They were all juniors in 2025 and have one more ride left with the Sartans. Like everybody else in Class 4A, St. Pius X is chasing Bloomfield. What's the difference? The Sartans have the pieces to get over the hump.</p>
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<p><strong>Sophomores of the Year</strong>: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613398' first='Slade' last='Segovia'], Portales</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613352' first='Broden' last='Price'], Manzano</strong>. Two of the top young players in the state. And they excel on both sides of the ball. Segovia rushed for 858 yards, caught 22 passes and made 39 tackles on defense. Price rushed for 789 yards, caught 41 passes and made 31 tackles on defense. </p>
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<p><strong>Freshmen of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id='1581314' first='Kingston' last='Lee'], Portales</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1720592' first='Julian' last='Fernandez'], Grants</strong>. Lee, the son of former Eastern New Mexico head coach Kelley Lee, enjoyed a solid freshman campaign for the Rams as he threw for 1,331 yards and 14 TD. As he showed in Grants recently, Lee is tall and possesses a strong throwing arm. Fernandez rushed for 817 yards and 14 TD for the Pirates. He'll be the face of the program in 2026. <strong> </strong> </p>
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<p><strong>Breakthrough Player of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id='853710' first='Evan' last='Salazar'], Taos. </strong>Salazar led the Tigers to a top four seed and the semifinals of the 4A playoffs by throwing for nearly 2,000 yards and 20 TD while rushing for over 350 yards <strong> </strong></p>
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<p><strong>Game of the Year: Taos 25, Albuquerque Academy 24 (4A Quarterfinals). </strong>Albuquerque Academy was involved on both sides of two the best games of the season. In the 4A quarterfinals, Taos QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853710' first='Evan' last='Salazar']</strong> threw a 44-yard TD pass to <strong>Alejandro Ortega</strong> with 12 seconds left to lift the Tigers to a dramatic victory over the Chargers. Taos trailed 17-3 at halftime and 24-12 late in the third quarter before rallying for the win. Earlier in the season, Albuquerque Academy scored the final 21 points of the game, all in the final seven minutes, to stun previously unbeaten St. Pius X, 49-36. </p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">End Of Junior Season Highlights❗️❗️<br>30 Passing TD's<br>2410 Yards Passing<br>1st Team All District<br>1st Team All Metro<a href="https://t.co/oCkxUL2aun">https://t.co/oCkxUL2aun</a><a href="https://twitter.com/mjgaynor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mjgaynor</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/mikeymarquardt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mikeymarquardt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LukeSchleusner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LukeSchleusner</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Waters21John?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Waters21John</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_Eck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_Eck</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/franks_coach?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@franks_coach</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/coachmcthompson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachmcthompson</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/coachirishodea?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachirishodea</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/grayson_kline?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@grayson_kline</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Coachrhud?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coachrhud</a>…</p>— [player_tooltip player_id='1369761' first='William' last='Braun'] (@WillBraun_9) <a href="https://twitter.com/WillBraun_9/status/1995260524263870969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<p><strong>LOOK AHEAD</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Top Storyline for 2026</strong>: Like Class 6A and Class 5A, the main storyline for the 2026 season will be the new 16-team classification divided into two equal 8-team districts. Here is how the Class 4A districts break down for 2026 and 2027: </p>
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<p><strong>District 1</strong>: Bernalillo, Bloomfield, Del Norte, Espanola Valley, Manzano, Rio Grande, Taos, Valley. </p>
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<p><strong>District 2</strong>: Albuquerque Academy, Belen, Grants, Lovington, Portales, Santa Teresa, St. Pius X, Valencia. </p>
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<p>Six teams moved from 5A to 4A: Belen, Del Norte, Lovington, Rio Grande, Santa Teresa and Valley. </p>
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<p><strong>10 Offensive Players To Know For 2026</strong></p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1369761' first='William' last='Braun'], Albuquerque Academy</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1154948' first='Isaiah' last='Carpenter'], St. Pius X</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1154956' first='Cayl' last='Cox-Liggins'], St. Pius X</p>
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<p>Julian Fernadez, Grants</p>
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<p>Gabriel Gonzales, Valley</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1605074' first='Logan' last='Hague'], Albuquerque Academy</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1604768' first='Santino' last='Mares'], Valencia</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1154954' first='Hershul' last='Olloway'], St. Pius X</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1613352' first='Broden' last='Price'], Manzano</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1606533' first='Benny' last='Trujillo'], Espanola Valley</p>
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<p><strong>10 Defensive Players To Know For 2026</strong></p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1787747' first='Tayetum' last='Callado'], Bloomfield</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1787763' first='Chace' last='Dabney'], St. Pius X</p>
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<p>Dusty Debeer, Bernalillo</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1613727' first='Antonio' last='DeVargas'], Grants</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1790852' first='Devon' last='Garcia'], Bloomfield</p>
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<p>Jannes Guthold, Albuquerque Academy</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1826155' first='Kane' last='Huffmyer'], St. Pius X</p>
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<p>[player_tooltip player_id='1791257' first='Ethan' last='Machtinger'], St. Pius X</p>
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<p>Ace Saiz, Portales</p>
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<p>Vince Varela, Manzano</p>
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<p><strong>Team on the Rise: Belen. </strong>The Eagles make the move from 5A to 4A and are positioned to have a strong season in 2026 even though the loaded District 4A-2 poses numerous challenges. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604925' first='Gonzalo' last='Cano']</strong> returns after joining the prestigious 1,000-1,000 club in 2025. He's one of the top dual threat signal callers in the state. </p>
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<p><strong>Teams Looking To Bounce Back: Portales and Santa Teresa. </strong>Portales went 2-9 with a very young team in 2025. The Rams, though, are a proud program and they have players. Santa Teresa has fallen on hard times after averaging seven wins per season from 2017-19 and winning nine games in 2021. The Desert Warriors, 2-28 in the last three seasons, will have a new head coach in 2028. </p>
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<p><strong>Player Ready To Blow Up: [player_tooltip player_id='1604768' first='Santino' last='Mares'], Valencia. </strong>Mares emerged as a solid dual threat QB for the Jaguars in 2025. With stellar RB [player_tooltip player_id='1599923' first='Michael' last='Storms III'] graduating in May, more of the offensive burden will likely fall on Mares in 2026. He seems ready to handle the challenge. <strong> </strong></p>
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<p><strong>5 Key Questions</strong>:</p>
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<p>1. Who will win a loaded District 4A-2 that features at least three or four teams capable of taking home the title?</p>
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<p>2. Can anybody stop Bloomfield from capturing its fourth title in five years? Is St. Pius X up to the challenge?</p>
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<p>3. How will Lovington fare in its return to Class 4A after two years competing in Class 5A?</p>
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<p>4. Will their collective move to Class 4A boost the Del Norte, Rio Grande and Santa Teresa programs after struggling in recent years?</p>
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<p>5. After two years righting the ship, is Manzano ready to make some serious noise in 4A?</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/NMHSCA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NMHSCA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/thecoachflakes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thecoachflakes</a> & Coaches of NM for this honor 🙏🏼 <a href="https://t.co/muAgzzREj4">pic.twitter.com/muAgzzREj4</a></p>— Isaiah.Carpenter (@Isaiah_3_C) <a href="https://twitter.com/Isaiah_3_C/status/1998990362787127758?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Regular Season Highlights‼️<br><br>9 games played<br>126 carries 1558 yards <br>12.4 yards a carry<br>13 catches 260 yards<br>25 total TDs<br>1,818 all purpose yards✅<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://twitter.com/thecoachflakes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thecoachflakes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/docampo98?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@docampo98</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MonahanJordyn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MonahanJordyn</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/popetrey8?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@popetrey8</a> <a href="https://t.co/pGGiIXUoPc">https://t.co/pGGiIXUoPc</a></p>— [player_tooltip player_id='1250361' first='Hershul' last='Olloway Jr'] (@Hersh_Olloway2) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hersh_Olloway2/status/1987605397923144155?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Junior season highlights (9 games) DE/TE/ ATH<br>Sacks-7<br>TFLs-25 <br>Turnovers-5 <br>Tot tackles-60, Solo-46<br>21 Rec for 365 yds and 6 TDs <br>6”4 220 lbs, 3.93 GPA <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AGTG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AGTG</a><a href="https://twitter.com/ManzanoFB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ManzanoFB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/monarchfbcoach?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@monarchfbcoach</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://t.co/Vi3TFPWDrz">https://t.co/Vi3TFPWDrz</a></p>— Vincent “Vinny” Varela Jr. (@VinnyVarela84) <a href="https://twitter.com/VinnyVarela84/status/1987317760293224873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🏈💜 ALL-STATE MONARCHS 💜🏈<br><br>Proud of these three for earning 2nd Team All-State honors and representing Manzano the right way — toughness, character, and consistency all year.<br><br>🔹 [player_tooltip player_id='1613352' first='Broden' last='Price'] – RB<br>🔹 [player_tooltip player_id='1137881' first='Aiden' last='Erickson'] – WR / KR<br>🔹 Vince Varela – DE<a href="https://twitter.com/VinnyVarela84?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VinnyVarela84</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/broden23496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@broden23496</a> <a href="https://t.co/D7GYXqaS0W">pic.twitter.com/D7GYXqaS0W</a></p>— MonarchFootball (@ManzanoFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/ManzanoFB/status/1998529530299036080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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We continue our popular Look Back, Look Ahead series with a review of the 2025 season in Class 4A and a peek ahead to some of the key storylines, topics, players and questions concerning the 2026 campaign, which begins next August with revamped districts.
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