7×7 Recap/Video: QB Duel Highlights Wednesday’s Action

With Cibola’s [player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"] vacationing in Florida with his family, the marquee 7-on-7 quarterback matchup Wednesday night at La Cueva High School in Albuquerque featured the Bears’ <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137862" first="Aidan" last="Armenta"]</strong> and West Mesa’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26242" first="Daniel" last="Ayala"]</strong>. It was a QB duel for the ages. Both quarterbacks brought their A-game to the entertaining 30-minute affair, making pinpoint accurate throws all over the field from in and out of the pocket and letting their receivers make plays. Each showed why they are considered one of the top quarterbacks in the Albuquerque Metro area for the 2021 season, and why they’ll likely get the opportunity to play at the next level. In the end, Armenta, going into his first season as the Bears’ full-time starter, and La Cueva made a few more plays and prevailed in a hard-fought contest. “It was a lot of fun,” Armenta said. “We train together all the time. I was trying to get some payback for all the training stuff and going at it. He’s one of my good friends. It was two really good offenses, so anything could have happened. We just had the better offense at the end of the day and kind of prevailed at the end.” Armenta continued his outstanding play in La Cueva’s later matchup with Cibola. “I thought I executed really well,” Armenta said. “Didn’t commit many mistakes. I’ve got to keep getting better every single day. I’m learning how to get the ball out on time and going through my progressions  and making sure all my receivers run the right routes. It’s very beneficial. This is time with my receivers. It will help us when the season starts.” Ayala, our No. 1 quarterback for the 2022 class, has already been offered by St. Norbert University in De Pere, WI. “It was fun to get out here and compete with Aidan because we go at it in training,” Ayala said. “Before the game, I said this was about bragging rights. It was a good game. Aidan can definitely sling it around. As for my performance, it definitely needs some work. Our guys are still young and a couple haven’t gotten reps with the varsity, so they’re still new to it. But in a couple of weeks, I think we’ll definitely come together.” The most pleasant surprise might have been Cibola backup senior QB <strong>Tristan Tabaha</strong>, who also plays defensive end. Tabaha stands about 6-foot-5, giving the Cougars arguably the tallest QB duo in the state, and possesses a powerful throwing arm. He actually quarterbacked the offense as a sophomore in 2019 during a playoff game when Chavez suffered an injury, throwing for 219 yards and 2 TD in three appearances. “Tristen has shown he can throw the football,” Cibola coach Rod Williams said. “As a senior, he knows what to do. Since he’s one of our defensive ends, he’s a man of many talents.” <strong>NOTES</strong>: -- After camping at Stanford earlier this summer, Armenta told Prep Redzone New Mexico that he will likely camp at Colorado State later this month. -- Ayala has made two trips to Florida this summer for football-related activities, including a QBUniverse Leadership Conference. He plans to camp this weekend with his West Mesa teammates at Western Colorado before heading to El Paso, TX for a college showcase. He told Prep Redzone New Mexico that Concordia University and Montana State of the Big Sky Conference are expressing interest. MSU is the first Div. I school to contact Ayala. https://youtu.be/jbGXm2fjQtg https://youtu.be/ruB0ZZj9NiE https://youtu.be/7ucQ9LJZvQw