Prep football preview: These are the contenders for the 5A title

Class 5A’s alpha prep football district produced exactly the results you’d have expected in its first season of existence.

The league provided four of the top six playoff seeds and half of the teams in the state quarterfinals last November in Artesia, Roswell, Goddard and Mayfield.

And it remains the gold standard in 5A as Artesia begins the chase for a 32nd blue trophy, which would extend its state record.

The Bulldogs return more than 30 seniors and 14 starters, including quarterback Nye Estrada, who threw for over 3,400 yards and 42 touchdowns as a junior.

That offense also features running back Jesse Leroch and receiver Matt Saiz. The top returning ball catcher, Peyton Greathouse, who was poised to break some Artesia school records, moved to Tennessee in the offseason. But speedster Juan Diego Duran, the state runner-up in the 100- and 200-meter dash finals at state track last spring, gives Estrada another potent target.

“I’m excited about this group,” Artesia coach Jeremy Maupin said. “We want to be there at the end, but we have to earn our way.”

The defense has eight starters back, led by three-year starting linebacker Diego Wesson.

Roswell is loaded — returning 17 starters — as the Coyotes look to be the 5A champion.

That includes quarterback Manny Fuentez, bruising running back Bryce Sanchez and all of the receivers. If there’s one area where Roswell has any type of question mark, it’s along a retooled offensive line.

Roswell is playing five Class 6A teams in non-league play, which ought to prepare the Coyotes for their rugged district.

“We just need to keep getting better and play our best football when it counts,” Coyotes coach Jeff Lynn said. “The two games we lost last year (Artesia in the regular season and Piedra Vista in the playoffs), these kids weren’t happy. They’ve taken that and ran with it.”

Goddard coach Chris White will have QB Dominic Ramirez and running back Jon Silva returning, plus three linemen. The Rockets graduated 25 seniors, but White is both comfortable and confident in the experience Goddard — always one of 5A’s most physical teams — brings to the table.

“I think we’ll be contenders,” White said.

Mayfield has had a change at coach, with Gary Bradley — a former head coach at Farmington and Carlsbad — taking over the Trojans from his brother Mike who retired following last season. Their father, Jim Bradley Sr., also once coached the program.

Mayfield was outscored 126-42 in losses to Goddard, Roswell and Artesia in district play last season.

Piedra Vista, which lost 27-14 in the state final to Artesia, graduated 27 seniors, so the Panthers and coach Jared Howell face a rebuild to a certain degree. Confidence in Piedra Vista among its 5A rivals, however, remains high, as the Panthers cultivate their young talent.

“We have a lot of young kids that need experience,” Howell said. “We just need time.”

Shifting to the metro area, Valley is clearly the class of the bunch, as the Vikings won eight games last season and eventually lost to Artesia in the quarterfinals.

Valley drew a huge number of athletes for football (over 100), and this may be the school’s best squad since the 2013 team that went undefeated in the regular season. Valley might even find itself in the hunt for a top-four seed if things fall right; midseason road games at Los Lunas and Portales on consecutive weeks will have much to do with that.

“We’ve got a ton of experience coming back,” Valley coach Billy Cobos said. Some of them are four-year starters, dating back to the COVID spring 2021 season. Thirteen of the returners are starters, including eight on defense.

Senior Charles Lopez-Burton is one of the key returners for Valley, at running back and defensive end, and Cobos expects to give him more touches.

Junior quarterback Julian Butkivich is surrounded, Cobos said, by a dependable crop of receivers and running backs.

One of Valley’s goals is to win its district. Los Alamos was the District 2-5A champ last year, with Valley second. Senior Melaki Gutierrez, a state sprinting champ for the Hilltoppers in the spring, is one of many returning skill-position athletes back in the fold for Los Alamos.

Third-year Manzano coach Stephen Johnston believes his program is in better shape than at any point since he took the job. “It’s the first time I think there’s some excitement surrounding us,” Johnston said. “I’m really pleased with where we’re headed, and I think we’ll be extremely competitive.”

Key for Manzano is shoring up a defense that yielded more than 43 points a game last year.

Del Norte struggled to an 0-10 record last season, but the Knights (who compete in 2-5A with Valley, Los Alamos and Manzano) could be demonstrably more competitive as the program’s numbers, coach Bruce Langston said, are up noticeably over the previous couple of seasons which he said were impacted by the pandemic.

While Piedra Vista remains the prohibitive favorite in District 1-5A, there could be a scrum for second place between Miyamura (which figures to be doing much retooling, similar to Piedra Vista), Highland and Belen.

Highland began 5-1 last season, but dropped its last three and missed the playoffs. The Hornets, coach Philip Lovato said, are solid along the O-line and have several skill-position players who could blossom. But Highland has only a handful of seniors. Junior running back Amari Mumba and senior running back Jakarri Edwards both could flourish this fall, Lovato said.

Belen, like Manzano, must improve defensively and become more physical on that side of the ball if it hopes to take a leap forward, even though the Eagles did qualify for state last year with a 2-8 record. Offensively, senior running back Diego Avila is coming off a solid junior campaign.

Deming was a state semifinalist last November, and the Wildcats have a new head coach in Richard Perales, a longtime assistant there and a Deming High graduate. Junior Ryan Alfaro was an effective dual-threat QB last season for the Wildcats, although the entire O-line is being revamped.

Deming has just a handful of seniors and could have as many as half a dozen sophomores starting on defense, although Perales expects defense to be a strength led by sophomore linebacker Isaiah Pizarro.

Gadsden from that district qualified for the playoffs last fall, the school’s first postseason berth in 50 years. The Panthers won a first-round game before being ousted by Roswell in the quarterfinals.

Gadsden has 14 starters returning and enthusiasm is high in the program, coach Dino Facio said.

“We feel good with where we’re at,” he said. Nathaniel Lopez, the district’s defensive player of the year, is among the top players back for Gadsden.