CCS sports new look this season

CLOVIS — The Clovis Christian football team has a new coach this season — and quite a different look.

Trent McKay takes over the 6-man Eagles program, adding football to his boys basketball and golf coaching duties. Many of the team’s top players from the spring, when CCS went 4-1 including a pair of forfeits, have moved on.

“We don’t have many kids who’ve played football,” McKay said as the team works toward Friday’s 7 p.m. opener against Ramah at Jim Hill Field. “We’re a basketball team trying to play football.”

New Mexico prep squads begin the 2021 season this weekend. There are five area schools playing football after Dora announced last week that it would not field a squad this season due to lack of numbers.

The 13-man CCS roster includes four freshmen. Top returnees for the Eagles are senior running back Noah Ashford, junior wide receiver/linebacker Easton Adair and sophomore Jaden Martinez, who started at cornerback in the spring but will serve more of a utility role this fall.

Junior first-timer Carter Teune is slated to play quarterback. Another first-timer, junior Noah Gershon, will play wide receiver and safety, while others McKay will count on include junior running back/linebacker Kimber Barnett and junior first-timer Austin Lingnau.

The team’s schedule has also thinned out with Dora and Springer not fielding teams. McKay said the school is trying to add at least another game.

Texico — The Wolverines were 4-1 in the spring, but coach Bob Gilbreath said seven seniors, all contributors, were lost to graduation. The Wolverines open at Jal on Friday.

“We lost a really good senior class,” he said. “Every one of those guys was either a (Class 2A) first or second-team all-state selection. But we have some really good kids coming up.”

Three third-year senior starters lead the way — running back Cade Collins, offensive tackle Grant Jenkins and fullback/linebacker Brayden Belcher.

“By playing as late as we did in the spring, there’s a lot of carryover of what we learned,” Gilbreath said. “The kids are having fun.

“We’re going to have to grow up fast. We could be good (early) and not winning games.”

Elida — After back-to-back runs to the 6-man state finals in 2018 and 2019, the Tigers went 2-3 during the spring. They’re looking to make another title run this fall after losing only two seniors.

“We’re essentially starting off with the same squad, and we’ve added some freshmen and eighth-graders who can help us as well,” coach Jereme Woodruff said. “We’ve got about 10 guys that will play most of the time.”

Top returnees are junior quarterback Levi Victor and junior running backs Mason Pritchett and Payton Calloway. The latter two will also see plenty of time on the other side of the ball.

The only returning senior is Jesse Woodruff, the coach’s son. He was a 6-man all-state selection in the offensive line and at defensive end in the spring.

The Tigers begin the season with a 3 p.m. kickoff against Animas on Saturday at Carrizozo, then host Carrizozo on Aug. 27.

Melrose — Graduation also hit Melrose, but Buffaloes coach Caleb King still looks for his contingent to be among the top 8-man squads in the state.

“We graduated some really good seniors, but we have a lot of really good kids back,” he said.

The Buffs, 3-1 in the spring, open on Aug. 27 with a 1 p.m. test at Magdalena.

“They bring a lot of their kids back,” King said of the Steers, who were 2-2 during the spring. “It’ll be a good game to tell us where we’re at.”

Eight-man District 2 tests await later in the season against Fort Sumner and Tatum.

Sophomore Michael Cardonita is back at quarterback for the Buffs, along with senior fullback/middle linebacker Logan DeVaney. King said the offensive line is also experienced.

He added that Magdalena and Tatum should be 8-man title contenders. Are the Buffs contenders?

“I think so,” King said. “But there’s a lot of good teams out there.”

Floyd — Coach Gabe Montoya is optimistic after the Broncos struggled to an 0-4 mark in March. The team will build around senior running back/linebacker Ricky Ramirez, junior quarterback/linebacker Gabriel Love and senior wide receiver Casen East.

“We’re pretty excited this year,” Montoya said. “We’ve got a couple of key players back. We have high expectations; we’ve just got to stay together.”

Montoya called Love the team’s best player, and said he could also play some running back. The Broncos are hoping for good things from Ramirez, who did not play during the spring schedule.

Floyd had only five games on its original schedule, all in 6-man District 2, but that dropped to four when Dora canceled out. The Broncos, who are hoping to pick up some games, now do not open the season until Sept. 10 when they host Elida, which by that time will be playing its fourth contest.