Class 4A football preview: Many teams are adjusting, but can anyone take down Bloomfield?

The teams still standing heading into the 2024 Class 4A prep football championship game are the two receiving the most praise ahead of the 2025 season.

Defending state champion Bloomfield capped off a 12-0 season with a 62-28 win in the final over St. Pius. The game was tied at halftime.

Three of the four teams that made it to the semifinals — Bloomfield, Bernalillo and Española Valley — each have some adjusting to do. For the Bobcats and Spartans, it’s a new starting quarterback. For the Sundevils, a new head coach.

District 1

Bloomfield coach Mike Kovacs gave his team a couple of months off after winning state before they began seriously gearing up for the 2025 season.

And the Bobcats are primed to defend their title.

“This team is gonna be fun to watch,” Kovacs said. “Their aspirations are the same as the last five years.”

Bloomfield returns what might be the most important offensive piece of any 4A contender, that being senior running back Peyton Duncan. He rushed for over 1,400 yards, and was extremely effective catching balls out of the backfield, too. He scored a combined 21 touchdowns doing both.

Kaleb Hutchens, a senior, caught 12 touchdowns last year at receiver.

It is the QB position where Bloomfield has some adjustments ahead. Blake Spencer was a marvel at that position for the Bobcats, but he’s graduated. Senior Manuel Chavarria steps in to assume that role this fall.

“Now is his time to shine,” Kovacs said.

And Bloomfield only graduated one offensive lineman. The Bobcats return 14 total starters.

The Bloomfield defense was magnificent last season, surrendering just 89 points in 12 wins (62 of those 89 came in just two games), including seven shutouts. Senior middle linebacker Cole Gosnell and senior nose/tackle Cristian Medrano are two of the top returners on that side of the ball. But Bloomfield graduated all five of its top linebackers.

Last year’s run to the semifinals was, for Bernalillo, the capper to what was arguably the school’s best-ever football season.

And although veteran quarterback Uriel Castro graduated, the Spartans are relatively stacked and should be heard from again in November.

“We’re trying to build a tradition at Bernalillo,” coach John Cobos said.

Senior Anthony Willie is stepping in at QB in what should be a high-powered offense.

Senior Joseph Duran had 12 touchdown receptions last season for the Spartans. Junior Ulysses Castro caught a team-best 38 balls, and scored six TDs. Senior Ivan Ruiz added five touchdown grabs.

One of the team’s, and district’s, stellar linebackers, Mario Molinar, is going to gain plenty of touches at running back.

The defense figures to be more untested, and Bernalillo will need some new faces to perform. They do have two anchors at safety with Ruiz and Duran.

“We have a great group of kids,” Cobos said. “The culture is set, the program is built, I think we’re geared up to make another run.”

Española Valley, like Bernalillo, authored what was possibly the best football season in that school’s history. The Sundevils, a 6-seed, beat up on 3-seed Taos in the quarterfinals before losing 31-22 to St. Pius in the semifinals.

But their coach, Tylon Wilder, left the school to take over at Sandia. A former Los Alamos offensive assistant coach, Caleb Holbrook, was named in May as Wilder’s successor, giving him a short window to prepare for the season.

The Sundevils rushed for over 3,500 yards during that playoff run, and now they move forward with two of their leading three rushers returning in seniors Leonard Martinez and Michael Maestas. Those two combined for about 1,250 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Although Bernalillo and Espanola Valley made it to the semifinals, it was Taos who finished as the 1-5A runner-up to Bloomfield and beat both Bernalillo and Espanola in the regular season.

Grants, which had a home game and made it to the state quarterfinals last November, figures to once again be challenging for the playoffs.

Tristan Fernandez, a dual-threat QB, is returning, and he has his top two receivers — seniors Isaiah Ortega and Cardenio Chavez — back with him.

Moriarty lost by a point to Valencia in the 4A first round last season, and the Pintos hope to challenge again for the postseason with many of their skill position athletes returning.

The key, as always for the run-dominant Pintos — they only attempted 33 passes all of 2024 — is how their offensive line performs, and it has been revamped quite a bit, coach Gabe Romero said.

If that group can coalesce, then running backs Royce Dennisson, Mario Romero and Mateo Griego-Manley, all juniors, ought to find success.

But coach Gabe Romero said Moriarty may actually air it out a bit more than usual this season.

The defense is a bit younger, especially up front with some untested players. But four linebackers with experience do return.

Kirtland Central and Aztec combined for just two victories last season, and one of them was the Broncos beating the Tigers. Aztec labored to an 0-9 mark, and only managed 54 points in those nine losses. Kirtland was top heavy with seniors at the skill positions, so the Broncos are going to have to find a way to replace them if they hope to improve.

District 2

St. Pius has all the pieces in place to get over the hump come late November, and most everyone acknowledges this.

The Sartans took a young but gifted roster to Bloomfield, and now that group is a year older and many of the major players on the team are returning.

It starts with junior quarterback Isaiah Carpenter, who threw for 34 touchdowns, plus junior tailback Hershul Olloway Jr. (1,700 yards and 21 TDs), and receiver Cayl Cox-Liggins (1,100 yards receiving and 12 scores). But there are certainly going to be other dangerous players in this attack beyond that trio.

St. Pius coach Curtis Flakes II said the Sartans, who have eight starters back on each side of the ball, would not get themselves caught in a trap of thinking about what could happen.

“It’s a dangerous way to go,” he said. “We try to focus on what’s immediately ahead of us.”

St. Pius has a pair of new coordinators in Damien Ocampo (offense) and Tim Gutierrez (defense; he was on Los Lunas’ staff when the Tigers won state three years ago).

The Sartans defense should also be a beast, led by three-year linebacker Kolbe Padilla. Ezra Ocampo will be a key new addition on both sides of the ball. Curtis Flakes III is a top cover corner, and he, too, will be a part of that St. Pius offense. Olloway, the state’s 100-meter champion, had five interceptions last year.

“We know the potential is there,” coach Flakes said. “But we know potential doesn’t mean anything if you don’t tap into it.”

You’d be hard pressed to find a younger lineup than the one Portales is going to send out this season. Coach Jaime Ramirez said the Rams will start half a dozen sophomores on offense and seven 10th graders on defense.

“I expect them to win now,” Ramirez said. “I expect us to be good now. Any time you have a young team, you want the learning curve to be as quick as possible.”

The youth begins at quarterback, where sophomore Jacoby Bamforth and freshman Kingston Lee — the son of Eastern New Mexico head coach Kelley Lee — both have shown enormous promise, and figure to have lots of time in the regular season. Sophomore running back Slade Segovia, a staple in the run game, had significant time as a freshman.

The defense has two veteran returners in outside linebackers Antonio Bonilla, a senior, plus junior Tommy Salgado.

If Bloomfield’s Duncan and St. Pius’ Olloway comprise two-thirds of the best running back trio in 4A, then the third member must be Valencia senior Michael Storms III.

Storms enjoyed a tremendous junior season, with over 1,700 yards and 21 touchdowns.

But Valencia is in transition in other facets of its offense, having to replace three linemen, plus open the year new at QB and needing to find a receiver to step up.

The Jaguars, who went 8-4 last season, losing in the quarterfinals at Bloomfield, also graduated four defensive linemen.

“We have a lot of holes to fill,” Valencia coach LeDarrius Cage said. “A lot of younger guys have to step up.”

Manzano had an absolutely screwy 2024 season. There was a five-game winning streak, followed by five losses to end the season, including a first-round playoff setback. The last four losses were all close, by a combined 23 points.

“I don’t think we were ready to handle the success we had as fast as we had it,” coach Stephen Johnston said. “We didn’t have the emotional maturity to bounce back.”

The Monarchs feature one of 4A’s top receivers in senior Aiden Erickson, who caught 57 passes, nine for touchdowns, as a junior. He also is integral as a kick returner.

(Side note: his two older brothers, Andrew and Austin, are serving as assistant coaches this season, and their father Bobby is the Manzano offensive coordinator.)

Running back Justin Duran gained 550 yards and nine scores last season for the Monarchs.

Former linebacker and end Bodi True is shifting to quarterback.

Albuquerque Academy was the only team from District 1 not to qualify for the playoffs, but the Chargers should be a team to watch this fall.

“We do have something to prove,” coach David Lee said.

Quarterback William Braun, now a junior, returns as a starter for the second straight year. Ryan Williams, who led the Chargers in rush yards, also comes back. Senior Gage Conway is one of 4A’s premier athletes; the 6-foot-5 receiver caught 11 touchdown passes and will perhaps command plenty of double teams. (Conway is also the kicker and punter.)

Two other players who were dinged up last year, running back Zach Waghorn and slot Finn Thompson, are expected to make significant contributions. Receiver Logan Hague, coming off a solid 2024 season, gives Braun yet another reliable target. Plus, four linemen return for Academy.

“I think we can compete with anyone from a scoring standpoint,” Lee said.

Waghorn is the team’s best player on defense; he’s going to be one of 4A’s elite linebackers.

Chaparral last year finished sixth in district and snuck into the playoffs as a 12 seed. Then the Lobos posted one of the biggest upsets in any 11-Man bracket in recent memory, shutting out the 5 seed, Portales, 10-0 in the first round.

And what a way to propel into the 2025 season, since the Lobos return the large bulk of their skill position athletes, led by senior quarterback Israel Nieto and junior running back Raul Lopez. Four of the top five receivers also are back.