Class 5A football preview: Artesia, Roswell lead the list of contenders

There was total Southern domination to the 2024 Class 5A prep football playoffs.

The South was, by far, the dominant of New Mexico’s two 5A leagues. Seven of the eight teams made the postseason, six of those seven reached the quarterfinals, and the semifinals were an all-Southern quartet.

Roswell beat Artesia 41-22 in the state final at Wool Bowl.

About this upcoming season, Jeff Lynn, coach of the state champion Coyotes, said of their district, “I think everybody probably takes a step back a little bit.”

District 2

One thing most every coach in this district agrees on is this: all of them took multiple hits with graduation.

Lynn said Artesia shapes up as the 5A favorite because the Bulldogs have less to overcome than the rest.

Artesia graduated its quarterback, its No. 1 running back, and its top receiver, and those three were in on 75 touchdowns in the 2024 season.

However, Bulldogs coach Jeremy Maupin doesn’t sound overly concerned.

“It’s just a really solid group of guys,” he said.

Senior Derrick Warren is Artesia’s new quarterback. He played the second half of the championship game when the starter, Izac Cazares, went down with an injury.

Bryce Parra steps in as the primary tailback in the always-potent and diverse Artesia offense. Trent Egeland and Jack Byers combined for 14 receiving touchdowns last season, and both return. Maupin said the chemistry between Warren and his receivers is not an issue, as they’ve been playing together for years.

Defensively, Chris Aguilar is the team’s most consistent lineman returning, senior Marco Soto anchors the middle at linebacker, and 6-1 senior Tootie McNeil, Maupin said, is already getting college looks. The Bulldogs also have a special teams weapon in placekicker Corbyn Dominguez.

“I think this is a group that has a chance to go to the state game again,” Maupin said.

Roswell graduated 31 seniors. Senior linebacker Joaquin Bolaños — his uncle is Goddard head coach Art Bolaños — and senior safety Nick Anaya are two of the top returners on the Roswell defense, which is in major transition up front.

The offense lost its most experienced playmakers to graduation, although Roswell does have four linemen returning.

Lynn’s son Luke, a 6-3, 220-pound senior, is expected to give the Coyotes plenty of sizzle. New half back Noah Estrada (6-3, 215) is moving from receiver, and is Roswell’s best offensive player, coach Lynn said.

In many cases, Jeff Lynn said, Roswell’s starters have been in the program and waiting their chance behind older players.

“They’re hungry to go out and play,” he said. “We’ve got good skill kids.”

And they’re surely going to be a factor well into November as the Coyotes look to go back-to-back.

“I think we have enough talent to maybe do it again, but this group is gonna have to get better every week,” Lynn said.

Gadsden’s ascension through Class 5A has been impressive in recent years, and last year the Panthers made it to the semifinals where they lost to Roswell.

“I told the boys, the pressure is on to continue to have those types of seasons,” coach Dino Facio said. “This is one of those seasons that will tell you if you’ve established the right culture and program.”

Gadsden will be young, he said, but with a solid nucleus of talent. Receiver and secondary are two areas where the Panthers are going to be plenty new.

The defense is sparked by senior end Alex Lopez and senior outside linebacker Rocky Rodriguez.

Like some other teams in District 2, Gadsden has a new QB, in senior Ethan Morales.

Mayfield was also in the final four, going out against Artesia. The Trojans were a senior-heavy team in 2024, with 28 of them.

Hence, coach Gary Bradley said, there will be an abundance of new faces in the starting lineup for Mayfield.

Quarterback Xavier Ochoa is going to be a crucial piece to the Trojans’ success, and he also is an all-state free safety.

Deming was the 3 seed at state last fall, but were beaten in the quarterfinals by Mayfield.

The Wildcats graduated one of 5A’s top players, QB Ryan Alfaro, but do return a solid tailback in 205-pound senior Isaac Martinez.

Lovington had a wild 2024 season. The Wildcats were the only team to beat Roswell, but Lovington suffered three straight close losses in the middle of the season (by a combined nine points) that hurt their playoff seeding.

The Wildcats graduated a few players in key positions. That includes QB and the three leading rushers.

Lovington has had a tremendous run of playmaking quarterbacks in recent years, and the latest is junior Justin Allen. The run game will largely be by committee, but the Wildcats do return three top receivers.

Seniors Kyler Reaves, Jayden Gutierrez and Elijah Rivero combined for nearly 120 catches, 23 scores and 1,800 receiving yards as juniors, giving Allen options in the pass game.

Lovington also returns senior right tackle Alex Rivera (6-4, 295), who has committed to Fresno State. Rivera is believed to be the school’s first D1 commit since Brian Urlacher.

And several of the Wildcats’ top offensive players also will be on defense, like Rivera, Reaves at middle linebacker and Gutierrez in the secondary where he had seven interceptions last season.

“When you’re in Lovington,” coach Josh Bailey said, “the standard is always to win a state championship.”

To demonstrate how deep District 2 is, consider that Goddard won only two games in the regular season and still qualified for the playoffs — and the Rockets weren’t even the No. 12 seed.

This was one of 5A’s youngest groups in 2024, so the Rockets figure to be significantly more competitive in what is the state’s most competitive district.

“We have to do a better job, and we have to get some results,” Goddard coach Bolaños said.

Several players to watch for the Rockets are senior middle linebacker Taylen Payne, defensive lineman Jeremiah Sorg and slot receiver Jose Porras.

Santa Teresa ended 2024 on a nine-game losing streak, and the Desert Warriors managed a meager 62 points in 10 games.

District 1

Los Alamos was the 1-5A champion last year — they dominated every district rival except Belen – and of the five playoff qualifiers from this district, the Hilltoppers were one of two teams (Highland being the other) that got into the quarterfinals.

Los Alamos won eight games and this roster is relatively loaded on offense.

That begins with standout junior running back Jordan Herrera, who rushed for nearly 1,400 yards and 19 touchdowns in a stellar sophomore campaign. He’s added about 25 pounds in the offseason, coach Garrett Williams said, and is a nice blend of power and speed.

“We will absolutely lean on that kid,” Williams said.

Combine that with a veteran offensive line (four back), and a plethora of team speed and it’s no surprise that Los Alamos likes its chances. The Hilltoppers are new at QB with Hayden Watkins and they’ve got to replace several solid receivers.

Junior Ben Brousseau will be a valuable two-play player, at receiver and safety. Interior lineman Diego Garcia and linebacker Frank Sheppard both were all-state performers last season.

Miyamura was the district runner-up to Los Alamos last season, and the Patriots should certainly be prominent in the mix again with many of their most productive skill position athletes returning.

Senior quarterback Salid Rashid threw for 1,900 yards and 20 touchdowns last year, and also rushed for five scores. Sean Torres, a senior, rushed for 700-plus yards and six TDs.

The receiving position is in major transition, however, with the four top Miyamura receivers all having graduated, and that foursome combined for 131 catches and 21 touchdowns.

Belen was one of the five playoff teams from this district, and the Eagles hope to get back with a young group. Belen has just nine seniors.

One of them is quarterback Logan Gonzalez, who is moving from wide receiver. He’ll likely share snaps with junior Gonzalo Cano, who was at QB to end last season.

“They’re both very athletic,” Belen coach Kevin Pena said. And he said whoever is at QB, the other is also going to be on the field at the same time somewhere else.

The defense is led by linebackers Gonzalez and Mikey Pena.

Valley was the 12 seed at state and eliminated by Los Alamos.

The Vikings have a veteran QB in senior Jose Jaramillo, a four-year player at the position that gives Valley comfort to open the playbook. His top target will be junior Gabe Gonzales, who caught 50 passes, five for touchdowns, last year. Three returning lineman should give the running game a boost, led by junior back Zach Perez.

One of the themes for Valley will be starting quicker this year, especially on the offensive end where the Vikings labored to score for the first half of the season.

Highland ought to be a fascinating team to watch as the Hornets move on after the graduation of standout back Amiri Mumba.

Coach Phillip Lovato dropped the movie “Moneyball” into the solution. There is no way to replace Mumba, so the best the Hive can hope to do is replicate his production through multiple players.

There are four, Lovato said: senior running back Jose Tapia, junior halfback Jasper Groves (moved from the defense), sophomore fullback Andres Acosta who saw heavy minutes as a freshman, and receiver/tailback William Anchando.

“We’re digging deep into our unorthodox offense,” Lovato said. “We want to find somebody that can do enough, then multiply that by a few to equal Amiri, piecing guys together to add up to what he did.”

Overall youth is another hurdle for Highland, which reached the quarterfinals last season, bowing out to Roswell.

Capital went 2-8 last season, and the Jaguars are going to have to replace nearly all of their skill position athletes due to graduation.

Del Norte coach Dallas Petersen said the Knights will be much improved after a tough 1-9 campaign in 2024. Petersen is taking over play calling, and said cutting down turnovers must occur if the Knights are to show the type of progress he wants to see.

Sophomore Nicholas Archuleta is the new Del Norte QB, and tackle/defensive end Nick Saiz is one of the top returners.

Rio Grande was winless (0-9) last season, and the Ravens scored less than 100 points all season.