2024 Look Ahead: Espanola Valley Sundevils

Espanola Valley head coach Tylon Wilder is making serious inroads towards achieving something that has left previous Sundevils coaches frustrated - convincing the community that high school football is important.   Long known as a basketball hotbed, the city of Espanola (located about 25 miles north of Santa Fe) and the surrounding communities are beginning to warm up to Wilder and his team.   Winning, of course, helps. In Wilder's first two seasons as head coach, the Sundevils are a combined 14-8 and finally  qualified for the Class 4A playoffs in 2023 after barely missing the cut with a 6-4 record in 2022.   “It's definitely more basketball-centric,” Wilder told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “But we have good kids. It's not a football culture. It's about the knowledge. Some of these kids have never even watched football on TV. We're not trying to outlaw basketball up here. We're just trying to say there's something else you can do. You can also play football.”       Last November, Espanola Valley won its first ever playoff game in school history with a 31-7 victory over St. Pius X. The Sundevils then ran into the Lovington buzzsaw in the quarterfinals, but Wilder said that experience will prove beneficial to Espanola Valley in the long run.   “Just getting the experience to go to Lovington and play them was more than the heartbreaking loss,” Wilder said. “It was intimidating for some of the players and even the coaches. It was an amazing atmosphere.   “But our guys gained a lot of experience from that game. That's what we're trying to get here and build some culture and tradition. We're trying to add a little tradition every year. You can't do it all in one year. It takes a while.”   Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1137865' first='Irvin' last='Primero'] began last season as Espanola Valley's third-string QB, but soon assumed the starting reins beginning in Week 4 because of injuries to the two senior signal callers ahead of him. Primero proved equal to the task, and remained the starting QB for the remainder of the season.   “He developed very well, but we have a lot of work to do,” Wilder said. “He's a basketball guy. Now we have to develop him into QB1. He's come a long way. He's a completely different quarterback now than he was last year after gaining some confidence from playing all those games. We're going to cut him loose a little bit more and let him throw a little bit more.   “He has a big arm. He can throw it down the field. We're working on his reads and putting the ball in the right spot as opposed to just chucking it down the field. His footwork is getting better and his overall knowledge is better.”    Juniors [player_tooltip player_id='1752746' first='Cody' last='Coffeen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1752753' first='Michael' last='Maestas'], who did not play in 2023, are competing with Primero for the starting job. Since all three quarterbacks are juniors, the Sundevils look set at that position for the next couple of seasons.   Finding ball carriers to replace 1,900-yard workhorse rusher Adrick Deleon and 715-yard rusher Jack Purdy will be Espanola Valley's biggest challenge this season. Wilder said Espanola Valley has about seven RBs to fill the void.   “We're going to be running back by committee,” Wilder said. “Replacing Adrick with just one guy isn't going to happen. That guy was on another level. You can't replace that. But we can recreate him in the aggregate with all the other guys we have now.”     Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1248665' first='Cru' last='Wilder'] and Ezekial Cuevas, described by their head coach as ‘thunder and lightning' lead the way and are expected to be the top two RBs when the season begins. Behind them on the depth chart is Maestas and several younger backs. Eventually, all could get some carries.   Because of the injuries at QB and the impressive production of Deleon and Purdy, Espanola Valley had a run-dominated offense in 2023. This year, the Sundevils want to be more balanced.   “Last year we had to be one-dimensional and run,” Wilder said. “It worked for us because we had the horses to do it. We want to be more balanced this year, we want to throw to keep defenses off-balance.  But if we need to run the ball, we will. We've built some confidence in that aspect of our offense.”   Speedy senior [player_tooltip player_id='837203' first='Victor' last='Parra'] (4.5 in the 40) will enter the season as the likely No. 1 WR. The 6-foot-1 Coffeen will probably end up at WR as well unless something happens to Primero. Senior Jorge Rodriguez, another Sundevils WR who runs well and has good hands, will be in the mix as well.   The offensive line is anchored by senior right tackle [player_tooltip player_id='613059' first='Leandro' last='Salazar'], who burst onto the scene at April's state powerlifting championships. Salazar won his weight class (275 pounds) with a total combined weight of 1,325 pounds, more than anybody else in Class 4A. He'll bring a powerful presence to Espanola Valley's experienced O-Line.   “Leandro is amazingly strong,” Wilder said. “He was benching 315 as a freshman. Now he's well over 400 pounds. He's squatting over 500 pounds and deadlifting over 500 pounds. He's a monster. He's super fast and super strong. He can mash anybody. We're working on his footwork and his hands. He has a lot of experience playing football. Our staff is now training him to play football the correct way.”   The left tackle will be junior [player_tooltip player_id='1599942' first='Leonard' last='Martinez']. Senior center Matthew Martinez, senior LG [player_tooltip player_id='1594492' first='Jesus' last='Gonzalez'] and 260-pound senior RG Nick Sandoval are all back. Salazar and Sandoval will be a wall of granite on the right side of the Sundevils O-Line.   Defensively, Sandoval and Martinez highlight the D-Line. Cuevas and Wilder will be the primary linebackers. The secondary is led by Parra, who is fast enough to cover sideline to sideline as the free safety. Coffeen will play cornerback. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1594591' first='Andres' last='Valenzuela'], also Espanola Valley's talented placekicker (longest FG last season was 43 yards), will get a look at DB based on his speed.     2024 ESPANOLA VALLEY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE:   Aug. 23 at Los Alamos (7 p.m.)   Aug. 30 CUBA (7 p.m.)   Sept. 5 CAPITAL (Thur., 7 p.m.)   Sept. 13 GRANTS (7 p.m.)*   Sept. 20 at Moriarty (7 p.m.)*   Sept. 27 BERNALILLO (7 p.m.)*   Oct. 4 at Taos (7 p.m.)*   Oct. 11 at Kirtland Central (7 p.m.)*   Oct. 18 Bye   Oct. 25 at Bloomfield (7 p.m.)*   Nov. 1 AZTEC (7 p.m.)*   * District 4A-1 Game   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Leandroslz60/status/1759329341048033282 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/cru_wilder/status/1779353059061027154 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/nicksand06/status/1779644791661138340 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/RGSunSports/status/1699846739635651069 </div></figure>

Espanola Valley head coach Tylon Wilder is making serious inroads towards achieving something that has left previous Sundevils coaches frustrated - convincing the community that high school football is important.