City Series: Top 5 Quarterbacks in Southern New Mexico

It’s March, which means it’s time again for our ‘City Series’ where we tell you the top players in the three major regions of the state entering the 2022 season: Albuquerque Metro (Including Rio Ranchos and Los Lunas), Northern New Mexico and Southern New Mexico. We continue with the Top 5 quarterbacks in southern New Mexico. Many of the most prominent programs in the southern region will be relying on new quarterbacks in 2022: Artesia, Centennial, Hobbs, Las Cruces and Mayfield, among others. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269564" first="Ashton" last="Aranda"], Lovington</strong>: Per MaxPreps, Aranda is statistically the top passing quarterback returning in southern New Mexico. He threw for 2,180 yards and 29 TD while rushing for 250 yards in 2021. But his Big Three receivers are graduating with two of them (<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26233" first="Isaac" last="Hinson"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134985" first="Tayten" last="Hilliard"]</strong>) holding offers from Western New Mexico. But Lovington typically reloads and some talented young receivers are hopefully ready for the limelight. And Aranda will be aided by a solid ground game led by 2025 RB <strong>Ondalis Cardenas</strong>. Aranda is also a very good golfer and a member of Lovington’s varsity golf team. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137916" first="Dane" last="Naylor"], Carlsbad</strong>: Because Carlsbad is situated in the same district as three Las Cruces schools, Naylor is often overshadowed. But he led the Cavemen to the 2021 Class 6A playoffs with a solid season behind center. Look for another great season from Naylor in the fall as the Cavemen begin the Oliver Soukup Era. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138076" first="Tomas" last="Herrera"], Gadsden</strong>: Herrera is one of the top dual threat quarterbacks in southern New Mexico, rushing for over 1,000 yards last season and throwing 7 TD with just 1 INT. But few people paid attention to Gadsden last season outside of the town of Anthony because the Panthers played an independent schedule. But now they’re in Class 5A in a district with regional rivals Chaparral, Deming and Santa Teresa. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269582" first="Cooper" last="Pritchett"], Ruidoso</strong>: The Warriors utilized a dual quarterback system last season en route to the Class 4A championship game with graduating senior [player_tooltip player_id="265039" first="Griffin" last="Hooker"] and Pritchett handling the split duties. When Pritchett wasn’t under center, he lined up at receiver and caught 18 passes and 4 TD. Ruidoso moved from Class 4A to 3A in the NMAA’s recent alignment. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138093" first="Alexavier" last="Carreon"], Jal</strong>: Is there a better running quarterback in the state? Probably not. The younger brother of Boise State signee [player_tooltip player_id="26228" first="Roger" last="Carreon"] rushed for an incredible 1,773 yards and 29 TDs in 2021 to help lead Jal to the Class 2A championship game. Don’t be surprised if he puts up similar numbers in the fall as a senior. <strong>Honorable Mention</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="275478" first="Devin" last="Diaz"] (Portales); [player_tooltip player_id="275479" first="Kaidyn" last="Lanham"] (Hot Springs); [player_tooltip player_id="275462" first="Kaleb" last="Rodriguez"] (Loving); [player_tooltip player_id="138086" first="Joshua" last="Duran"] (Dexter); [player_tooltip player_id="137924" first="Adrian" last="Solis"] (Goddard); [player_tooltip player_id="269566" first="Juan" last="Badillo"] (NMMI). https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1487914918284201985 https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1470595687297417216 https://twitter.com/danenaylor13/status/1458943601090523176