2026 Team Preview: Albuquerque Academy Chargers
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<p><strong>OVERVIEW</strong></p>
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<p>Albuquerque Academy bounced back from a three-win, non-playoff season in 2024 to win seven games and advance to the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs last season. This season, there's cautious optimism surrounding the Chargers with a third-year senior starting quarterback, although they did lose 16 seniors to graduation.</p>
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<p>“It will be a bit of a rebuild, but with the understanding we still have our starting quarterback and top receiver coming back,” Albuquerque Academy head coach David Lee told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “We'll have a bunch of sophomores on the varsity but I think they'll step up. One thing this team has done better than teams in the past is they seem to be bonding more.” </p>
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<p>The Chargers are dedicating the season to former manager Vince Quang Thai, who passed away in March.</p>
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<p>“When we lost Vince, we really came together as a team and started to love on each other a little more than we typically do,” Lee said. “I'm looking forward to that. Culturally, we've chipped away at some of the negative things that have happened in the past. It's been a process to this point. It really is about brotherhood for us.” </p>
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<p><strong>OFFENSE</strong></p>
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<p>Six-foot-4, 200-pound senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1369761' first='William' last='Braun']</strong> returns for his third season as the Chargers' starting quarterback. Last season, he threw for nearly 2,500 yards and 30 TD to lead the Albuquerque Academy offense. In two seasons, he has passed for 4,860 yards and 49 TD, putting 7,000 career passing yards within reach.</p>
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<p>“He's getting excited to play,” Lee said. “He is willing to take on the challenge. He has a ton of confidence in the guys we have. We have fast guys coming up in the sophomore class and our offensive line didn't take a big hit. William knows he has a ton of young guys at his disposal, so chemistry is important.”</p>
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<p>The backup QB will be promising 6-foot-3 sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2077049' first='Zander' last='Bryce']</strong>. He threw for nearly 1,500 yards and 18 TD in seven games for the Chargers JV team in 2025.</p>
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<p>Sophomore <strong>William Doscher</strong>, who played mainly with the JV team last year, and senior <strong>Wheeler Smidt</strong> headline the running back corps. Both have good speed. Sophomore <strong>Emilio Houghton</strong> will contribute at RB in addition to playing WR. He possesses nice speed as well.</p>
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<p>“Our run game is going to be pretty solid even though we lost a couple of seniors,” Lee said. “Both William and Wheeler are fast twitch guys. Wheeler will likely be our main running back. William is a tough dude.”</p>
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<p>Last season's top receiver, rising senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605074' first='Logan' last='Hague']</strong>, returns after catching 59 passes for 1,031 yards and 7 TD in 2025. He is the lone Albuquerque Academy receiver returning in 2026 that had more than two receptions in 2025. Four sophomores - <strong>Emilio Houghton</strong> (see above), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2114916' first='RJ' last='Dunaway']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2114913' first='Hunter' last='Gilmore']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2256719' first='Noah' last='Pacheco']</strong> – will get opportunities to catch the football.</p>
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<p>“William and Logan have been clicking in 7-on-7,” Lee said. “I'm loving that. What's cool about our receivers is we're deep even though we're young.”</p>
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<p>Six-foot-2, 250-pound junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1826278' first='Roberto' last='Walker']</strong> will anchor the offensive line. Walker was a camp warrior over the past two months and impressed at the Prep Redzone Exposure Series camp. He was Second-Team All-District in 2025. Walker has excellent footwork, balance and technique. He recently camped at Harvard and Penn.</p>
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<p>“Roberto showed up big time last year,” Lee said. “He's a big boy and he's only growing. He's starting to catch the eyes of a lot of people. But he knows he still has a lot of work to do. But he has time on his hands.”</p>
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<p>Joining Walker on the Chargers O-Line are experienced seniors <strong>Matthew Cook</strong>, <strong>John Fellerhoff</strong> and <strong>Gavi Yzaguirre</strong>.</p>
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<p>“Our offensive line is pretty much intact,” Lee said. “We won't miss a beat.” </p>
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<p><strong>Key Players</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id='1369761' first='William' last='Braun'] (QB), Wheeler Smidt (RB), [player_tooltip player_id='1605074' first='Logan' last='Hague'] (WR), [player_tooltip player_id='1826278' first='Roberto' last='Walker'] (OL),</p>
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<p><strong>DEFENSE</strong></p>
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<p>Albuquerque Academy lost seven of their top eight tacklers to graduation. The top returning tackler is senior OLB <strong>Greyson Staley</strong>, who had 41 tackles, 6.0 TFL and 5 sacks as a junior in 2025. <strong>Wheeler Smidt</strong> will play OLB on the opposite side. Senior <strong>Asher Faber</strong> should see significant action at ILB with <strong>William Doscher</strong>, <strong>John Fellerhoff</strong>, <strong>Matthew Cook</strong> and <strong>Gavi Yzaguirre</strong> contributing.</p>
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<p>Brothers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2253105' first='Garrett' last='Lassiter']</strong> (Jr.) and <strong>Tanner Lassiter</strong> (Sr.) will anchor the defensive line. Garrett is described by Lee as an ‘ox.' There will be a rotation at nose tackle involving several players. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613754' first='Luca' last='Mesiti']</strong>, a body builder, will play in the DL interior and bring a powerful presence there.</p>
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<p>The secondary will be young, which is why Lee plans to blitz frequently. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605074' first='Logan' last='Hague']</strong> and <strong>Emilio Houghton</strong> will be the primary defensive backs, though Hague will rarely come off the field on offense. The free safety spot is up for grabs. <strong>Logan Gilmore</strong> is an up-and-comer. </p>
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<p><strong>Key Players</strong>: Greyson Staley (LB) Wheeler Smidt (LB), [player_tooltip player_id='1605074' first='Logan' last='Hague'] (DB), [player_tooltip player_id='2253105' first='Garrett' last='Lassiter'] (DL).</p>
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<p><strong>2026 ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY SCHEDULE</strong></p>
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<p>Aug. 22 MANZANO (Sat, 11 a.m.) </p>
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<p>Aug. 28 at Bernalillo </p>
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<p>Sept. 4 at Moriarty </p>
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<p>Sept. 11 Bye </p>
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<p>Sept. 17 at St. Pius X (Thur.) </p>
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<p>Sept. 26 SANTA TERESA (Sat, 2 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 2 Bye </p>
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<p>Oct. 9 at Portales* </p>
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<p>Oct. 16 VALENCIA (3 p.m.) * </p>
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<p>Oct. 23 at Lovington* </p>
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<p>Oct. 30 BELEN* </p>
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<p>*District 4A-2 Game</p>
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<p>All kickoffs at 7 p.m. unless indicated otherwise.</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://x.com/mjgaynor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mjgaynor</a> <a href="https://x.com/mikeymarquardt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mikeymarquardt</a> <a href="https://x.com/LukeSchleusner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LukeSchleusner</a> <a href="https://x.com/Waters21John?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Waters21John</a> <a href="https://x.com/Coach_Eck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_Eck</a> <a href="https://x.com/franks_coach?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@franks_coach</a> <a href="https://x.com/coachmcthompson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachmcthompson</a> <a href="https://x.com/coachirishodea?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachirishodea</a> <a href="https://x.com/grayson_kline?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@grayson_kline</a> <a href="https://x.com/Coachrhud?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coachrhud</a>…</p>— [player_tooltip player_id='1369761' first='William' last='Braun'] (@WillBraun_9) <a href="https://x.com/WillBraun_9/status/1995260524263870969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you <a href="https://x.com/HarvardFootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HarvardFootball</a>, <a href="https://x.com/Coach_Aurich?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_Aurich</a>, <a href="https://x.com/CoachJimJackson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachJimJackson</a>, and the rest of the Harvard Staff, players, and guest coaches for a great camp on Monday. The competition and coaching were invaluable. What a great experience at historic Harvard Stadium and the iconic University. I am… <a href="https://t.co/VLmkVHXzsE">pic.twitter.com/VLmkVHXzsE</a></p>— [player_tooltip player_id='1826278' first='Roberto' last='Walker'] (@RoboWalker2028) <a href="https://x.com/RoboWalker2028/status/2072092432041427165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2026</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JV Regular season Stats (7 Games)<br>34 receptions<br>656 receiving yards<br>7 tds <a href="https://x.com/PrepRedzone?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzone</a> <a href="https://x.com/UNMLoboFB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UNMLoboFB</a> <a href="https://x.com/1209dlee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@1209dlee</a> <a href="https://x.com/MaxPreps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MaxPreps</a> <a href="https://x.com/CoachBruere?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachBruere</a> <a href="https://x.com/Coach_Lea?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_Lea</a> <a href="https://x.com/VandyFootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VandyFootball</a> <a href="https://t.co/TkeuFfPVqh">pic.twitter.com/TkeuFfPVqh</a></p>— [player_tooltip player_id='2256719' first='Noah' last='Pacheco'] (@NPacheco3j) <a href="https://x.com/NPacheco3j/status/2016354474512843116?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">jv regular season stats (7 games)<br>1453 pass yards<br>89 rushing yards<br>18 touchdowns 2 picks <a href="https://x.com/PrepRedzone?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzone</a> <a href="https://x.com/UNMLoboFB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UNMLoboFB</a> <a href="https://x.com/1209dlee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@1209dlee</a> <a href="https://x.com/ncsa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ncsa</a> <a href="https://x.com/QBHitList?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@QBHitList</a> <a href="https://x.com/Elite11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Elite11</a> <a href="https://x.com/MaxPreps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MaxPreps</a> <a href="https://t.co/O7S8NM4UD2">pic.twitter.com/O7S8NM4UD2</a></p>— [player_tooltip player_id='2077049' first='Zander' last='Bryce'] (@zanderbryceqb_) <a href="https://x.com/zanderbryceqb_/status/1990616355947884943?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Offseason work with <a href="https://x.com/CoachBruere?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachBruere</a> <br>Keep working ‼️<a href="https://x.com/1209dlee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@1209dlee</a> <a href="https://x.com/CouchPSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CouchPSports</a> <a href="https://x.com/nmprepcosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmprepcosports</a> <a href="https://x.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://x.com/Carson_Walch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Carson_Walch</a> <a href="https://x.com/coachwilson2333?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachwilson2333</a> <a href="https://x.com/mjgaynor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mjgaynor</a> <a href="https://t.co/6Us3G3ezTx">pic.twitter.com/6Us3G3ezTx</a></p>— Rj (@rjdunaway_) <a href="https://x.com/rjdunaway_/status/2074203751846392064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
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