Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
ALBUQUERQUE — A total of 11 area football players were selected for all-state honors, as the New Mexico High School Coaches Association released all-state teams for all classifications this week.
The 11 include three Clovis players named Tuesday morning to the Class 6A team — senior Montez Wright on the defensive first team, senior Stephen Acosta on the offensive first team and senior Jaylen Mason on the defensive second team.
Each team is created through a two-step process. First, each coach in the classification nominates players for the team. That pool of players is then put on a ballot for all coaches, who rank their top 10 athletes at each position. The top vote-getters in each spot receive a first-team nod, while the next-highest finishers receive second-team nods.
Class 4A: Portales received three selections overall, with defensive linemen Phillip Blidi and Wromiah Gbassagee both placed on the first team. Sophomore Baylor Diaz was selected as a second-team running back.
State champion Taos had 12 selections, with eight first-teamers. St. Pius, the top seed in Class 4A, also had 12 selections — six first-team and six second-team.
Class 2A: No area players were selected to the team. Santa Rosa had 13 selections to lead the classification, while Eunice had 12 selections with 11 first-teamers.
Eight-man: Dora had a pair of selections, with offensive lineman Aaron Garcia making the first-team offense and defensive back Marcus Pallares making the second-team defense.
Gateway Christian had nine selections to lead all schools.
Six-man: Three Grady players were selected — quarterback Chisum Rush first-team offense, defensive lineman Ethan Short first-team defense and running back Chad Becerra second-team offense.
