2026 Team Preview: Hatch Valley Bears

OVERVIEW   Manny Rodriguez enters his fourth season as Hatch Valley head coach. The Bears have made the playoffs in each of his first three seasons, including a quarterfinals appearance in  2024. Last season the Bears went 6-5 and earned the No. 9 seed. They had an opportunity to finish with a better record but lost multiple close games.   “The main goal this season is finishing games which we should have won,” Rodriguez said. “We had our opportunities last year. This season, we want to make sure we take advantage of them.”           OFFENSE   Hatch Valley ran the ball about 73 percent of the time last season and Rodriguez doesn't plan to change the scheme. “We're a running team and we're going to stick with that,” Rodriguez said.   Senior Nano Turner, who played several different positions last season, is expected to be the new starting quarterback for the Bears. He'll mainly hand the ball off and run the ball himself as a duel threat QB. The backup QB will likely be sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2114794' first='Dylan' last='Acosta'].     Senior [player_tooltip player_id='2104270' first='Peet' last='Bothma'], a South Africa native who gained fame last season for his drop kicking skills, and senior Felipe Carranza, last season's second leading rusher, will be the primary ball carriers for Hatch Valley.   “We're going to rely on those two and do what we do best,” Rodriguez said.   Junior tight end Nathan Ruiz will be one of the primary targets when the Bears throw the football. He was the Bears' second leading receiver last season and averaged over 15 yards per catch. [player_tooltip player_id='2114794' first='Dylan' last='Acosta'] will line up at receiver when he's not in the offensive backfield. Sophomore Haize Hyatt and junior Estevan Gonzalez will be involved as well.   Four starters return on the offensive line: LT Oscar Solis, LG Joshua Moriel, C Elias Gomez and RG Mario Villegas. The new starter is RT Isaias Grajeda, who replaces a graduated senior.   Key Players: Nano Turner (QB), [player_tooltip player_id='2104270' first='Peet' last='Bothma'] (RB), Nathan Ruiz (TE), [player_tooltip player_id='2114794' first='Dylan' last='Acosta'] (WR).   DEFENSE   The 6-foot-1, 200-pound [player_tooltip player_id='2104270' first='Peet' last='Bothma'] will be the leader of Hatch Valley's 3-4 defense from his middle linebacker spot. Sophomore Estevan Munoz will likely join at ILB. The outside linebackers will be Felipe Carranza and Nathan Ruiz.     The defensive line returns several starters. Promising junior Joshua Moriel returns after a solid sophomore campaign (21 tackles, 4 TFL, 3 sacks) and will play the 5-technique at defensive end. The opposite side DE will be experienced senior Oscar Solis (6.0 TFL last season). He's been a starter for the past two seasons.  The nose tackle spot is up for grabs.   [player_tooltip player_id='2114794' first='Dylan' last='Acosta'] will be the leader in the secondary from his strong safety spot. He led the Bears in tackles in 2025. Sophomore Fernando Sigala will be the free safety. He looks to bounce back from an injury last season. The cornerbacks will be Nano Turner and either Haize Hyatt, Estevan Gonzalez or junior newcomer Josh Estrada. Those three are battling for the CB spot opposite Turner.   Key Players: [player_tooltip player_id='2104270' first='Peet' last='Bothma'] (LB), Joshua Moriel (DL), Oscar Solis (DL), [player_tooltip player_id='2114794' first='Dylan' last='Acosta'] (DB).         2026 HATCH VALLEY SCHEDULE   Aug. 20 at Chaparral (Thur.)                             Aug. 28 COBRE        Sept. 4 TULAROSA                                Sept. 11 at NMMI*                     Sept. 18 HOPE CHRISTIAN*                    Sept. 25 Bye                      Oct. 2 at Ruidoso*                        Oct. 8 at Hot Springs (Thur.) *                  Oct. 16 SOCORRO*            Oct. 23 at Moriarty*               Oct. 30 SILVER*              *District 3A-2 Game   All kickoffs at 7 p.m. unless indicated otherwise.

OVERVIEW