Surprise! Cougars could be team to beat in 5A

Source: Albuquerque Journal, N.新蒲崗迷你倉M.Aug. 26--On the eve of a new boys soccer season, you will find the familiar names in the discussion of state championship contenders in the Class 5A division. You will also find a relatively new name added to the mix. One metro-area coach said this might be 5A's second-best side. Another said it should reach the state title game. "If they can put it all together," Sandia coach Brian Weems said, "they're definitely the team to beat." Weems is talking about the Cibola Cougars. Wait, what? A team outside of District 2-5A -- where Eldorado, Sandia and defending state champion La Cueva have been collectively manhandling the rest of New Mexico for years -- might actually be the preseason favorite in 5A? "They're young," Bears coach Kevin Driggs said of Cibola, "but they're extremely talented." With an influx of club players, expectations are high for the Cougars, who open their season against Rio Grande today in the metro tournament. "We're going to have more talent than we're used to having, which will be nice," said Cibola coach Cameron Clarke. Seven starters return, but it's still a young bunch, with only three seniors. Some of the scoring talent includes juniors Sergio Rivas and Roland Vasquez, and sophomore Joe Ortiz. "It gives us some good solid years to look forward to, not just this year," Clarke said. Of course, the aforementioned 2-5A triumvirate hasn't gone anywhere. La Cueva, which beat Eldorado in the finals last November, was ravaged by graduation. They return only two starters: junior midfielder Chris Vega and junior defender Greg Jacobus. "A lot of new faces," Driggs said, "but we should see a lot of improvement throughout the year. I expect us to take our lumps early." The consensus is that Eldorado and Sandia will battle for 2-5A supremacy. The Eagles have possibly the top scoring tandem in 5A with senior Corey Carabajal and junior Marshall Metzger. Carabajal and midfielder Justin Hix are both four-year lettermen and first-team all-state selections last season. "Two really potent forwards," Eldorado coach Walt Witkowski said, "but the question is, do I have anyone to service (the scorers)? We need a playmaker." Eldorado will also be young and untested in net. "I'm pretty excited about this team," Witkowski said. "I think this is a top-four team."Weems' Matadors had only four seniors last year, and two of them were goaltenders. They return 10 seniors, including eight starters."This year, we're a little bit more seasoned," Weems said. "The seniors want to win state, and we definitely have a fighting chance to bring Sandia back to what it used to be."Senior midfielder Braulio Martinez will be crucial to Sandia's success.In District 1-5A, Cibola is poised to unseat Volcano Vista as that league's power, although the Hawks are certainly well armed, led by all-state defender Parker Conaway and senior midfielder C.J. Slough, who has signed with the University of New Mexico. "We should be in the mix for things," VVHS coach Billy Thiebaut said. "Will it turn out that way? I don't know."Top scorer Tariq Canales moved to California, so the Hawks, more than ever, will hope to rely on scoring balance. Slough will take on more scoring responsibility.The Rio Rancho half of this district will also put up resistance. Even Cleveland, at 4-16 last year, lost five games in PKs and two others in overtime, plus a slew of one-goal games in regulation."Our district will be ridiculously competitive," Rio Rancho coach John Shepard said.Albuquerque High has reigned supreme in District 5-5A, although Valley and possibly Atrisco Heritage hope to challenge the Bulldogs this year. AHS, like La Cueva, was hit hard by graduation, at least up front.Outside the metro area, Las Cruces shapes up as probably the strongest challenger in 5A.Class 4AAlbuquerque Academy lost nine starters off a team that was stunned -- as a top seed -- in the state quarterfinals last fall by Capital.Chase Snyder was a first-team all-state midfielder for the Chargers last year, who retain a strong core of seniors.St. Pius has two four-year starters in senior midfielders David Gros and Alex Arvizo, and the Sartans, coach Ron Allen said, return 80 percent of their offense and may have one of their strongest sides in the last half-dozen seasons.Class 4A boys was the only division last year to produce a state champion (Chaparral) from outside of Albuquerque.Class 1A-3AEverything in 1A-3A of late runs through Sandia Prep, as the Sundevils have captured the last three state titles. And Prep has eight starters back to make a run at another blue trophy."It's a very good group," coach Tommy Smith said.The Sundevils are led by senior midfielder Caleb Eckenroth -- a four-year starter and "one of the best players in the state," Smith said -- and junior forward Ryan Hunter, Sandia Prep's second-leading scorer in 2012.A top-notch early-season matchup will occur Sept. 10 when Sandia Prep meets Cibola at the APS Complex.Bosque, the 5A runner-up to Sandia Prep, faces an enormous challenge in replacing dynamic scorers Felipe Galvis and Andres Rivera. Their replacements are young, veteran coach Klaus Weber said.But the Bobcats will field a strong, senior-dominated defense, led by senior sweeper Darin James.Hope Christian was a state semifinalist last year, but returns only four starters and is a young group with only three seniors. Depth could be an issue for the Huskies.BOYS METRO-AREA SOCCER CAPSULESALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY CHARGERSCoach: Laney Kolek (3rd year) Key players: Bryan Jaramillo, sr., FW; Chase Snyder, sr., MF; Theo Hooker, sr., GK; Ben Christensen, sr., MF; Nick Slade, jr., MF. Outlook: Academy must replace nine starters from last year but has a strong core of six seniors, including two all-state players in Snyder and Jaramillo. The Chargers have quality depth at every position.ALBUQUERQUE HIGH BULLDOGSCoach: Lucien Starzynski (10th year) Key players: Andres Delgadillo, sr., MF; Julian Nevarez, sr., D; Sean Gomas, sr., D; Ismael Gutierrez, soph., MF; Tankred Steinbach, soph., MF. Outlook: AHS lost its two primary goal scorers, but does return seven starters. The hope for the Bulldogs is that they can find a way to get past the state quarterfinals, which has been a problem. "Our challenge is to replace those goal scorers," Starzynski said.ATRISCO HERITAGE ACADEMY JAGUARSCoach: Micah Newman (2nd year) Key players: Gil Munoz, sr., D; Jose Luis Sandoval, sr., MF; Javier Anaya, sr., D; Michael Sanchez, sr., FW; Alexis Barba, Sr., FW. Outlook: Newman took over midway through last season and the Jaguars won six of their last seven in an 11-7 campaign -- but they missed the playoffs. Atrisco's coach will depend on his seniors, but the new arrivals look promising, too.BELEN EAGLESCoach: Danny Krow (2nd year) Key players: Alejandro Chavez, sr., GK; Manuel Parra, jr., MF; Ericq Guerrero, jr., MF; Rodolfo Gallegos, fresh., FW. Outlook: Belen has only one senior and three juniors on this team. Krow is trying to mold a team that is woefully inexperienced at the varsity level, and also to build some chemistry. Parra and Guerrero were named captains as juniors.BERNALILLO SPARTANSCoach: Victor Martinez (2nd year) Key players: Jesus Ortega, soph., FW/ GK; Luis Daniel Aranda, sr., FW; Cesar Rodriguez, soph., MF; Isaac Gutierrez, jr., D; Victor Martinez, fresh., FW. Outlook: Bernalillo will have a very young team, with only four seniors. Aranda and Rodriguez are going to be the top scorers on this team, and Ortega, with his speed and athleticism, could be a real pest for defenses.BOSQUE SCHOOL BOBCATSCoach: Klaus Weber (12th year) Key players: Darin James, sr., D; Kyle Frank, sr., MF/D; Evan Hicks, sr., MF; Adam Culp, sr., MF/FW; Jacob Sanchez, sr., FW. Outlook: Last year's Class 1A-3A state runner-up has almost no issues on defense, but the Bobcats must identify scorers. Culp, Sanchez and sophomore Aaron McCallister will be a huge part of that solution.CIBOLA COUGARSCoach: Cameron Clarke (3rd year) Key players: Jesse Biby, sr., D; Bren-don Ferrell, sr., MF; Joe Ortiz, soph., D; Roland Vasquez, jr., FW; Sergio Rivas, jr., MF. Outlook: There are coaches who think Cibola is a legitimate threat to win a state title. Many of the Cougars' top players have been playing for a prominent club team, who are now playing high school for the first time. The Cougars return seven starters.CLEVELAND STORMCoach: Shaun Gill (5th year) Key players: Ray Cruz, sr., D; Gage Foster, sr., D; Josiah Mahboub, jr., MF; Justin Schatz, sr., MF; Matthew Sanchez, sr., FW. Outlook: After a year in which the Storm suffered one crushing, close defeat after another, Cleveland hopes to reverse that trend behind seven returning starters, led by Mahboub and Schatz in the middle.DEL NORTE KNIGHTSCoach: Daniel Momini storagea (1st year) Key players: Francisco Medina, jr., D; Irving Rodriguez, jr., MF; Aaron Curtis, sr., FW; Luis Sanchez, soph., D; Matthew Fort, soph., MF. Outlook: Mora might be the youngest head coach in New Mexico prep history, considering he was on the Knights' soccer team only three years ago. The Knights won just twice in 2012 and need to ratchet up the intensity, he said. "I always thought it was going to be a problem with the (lack of) age difference," Mora said. "But they've been very respectful towards me."EAST MOUNTAIN TIMBERWOLVESCoach: Raul Gongora (1st year) Key players: Eric Robbins, sr., FW; Kenny Potter, jr., GK. Outlook: Coming off a tough 2-15 season, Gongora, a former national team player in Argentina in 1969-70, tries to infuse some energy into the program.ELDORADO EAGLESCoach: Walt Witkowski (9th year) Key players: Corey Carabajal, sr., FW; Marshall Metzger, jr., FW; Justin Hix, sr., MF; Nick Mertens, sr., D; Jake Harrington, sr., D. Outlook: One of 5A's best for sure, led by the 1-2 scoring punch of Carabajal and Metzger, plus the steady hand of Hix. Depth, and youth between the pipes, are two areas Witkowski wants to address during the season.HIGHLAND HORNETSCoach: Daniel Malott (1st year) Key players: Ever Mijarez, sr., GK; Iram Rodriguez, sr., FW; Kristian Nunez, sr., MF; Alberto Hernandez, sr., D; Marcos Garcia, sr., D. Outlook: New coach Malott thinks his current group of 11 seniors is eager to finish its high school careers on a different (winning) note, but he's also high on a good group of sophomores in the program.HOPE CHRISTIAN HUSKIESCoach: Steve Kokulis (2nd year) Key players: Devin Edwards, sr., FW; Sebastian Vela, sr., FW; Sam Sierra, sr., GK; Derek Nelson, jr., D; Alex Vedamanikam, fresh., MF. Outlook: With only three seniors, this is a young group, and that's tough considering the company the Huskies must keep in their district (Sandia Prep and Bosque included). But Hope was in the state semis in 2012.LA CUEVA BEARSCoach: Kevin Driggs (5th year) Key players: Greg Jacobus, Jr., D; Steven Creil, sr., D; Chris Vega, jr., MF; Garrett Vena, jr., MF; Eric Knewitz, sr., FW. Outlook: Class 5A's defending state champions are in rebuild mode after losing most of their starters, but no one really expects a major drop-off from the Bears. "They're hungry to meet the expectations, and I'm kind of curious myself to see how they respond," said Driggs.LOS LUNAS TIGERSCoach: Daniel Richard Martinez (1st year) Key players: Alejandro Garcia, jr., FW; Dylan Romero, jr., GK; Mario Garcia, sr., D; Chris Lovato, soph., MF; Shawn Romero, fresh., D. Outlook: Last year's District 6-4A champion returns just three seniors. But what they lack in experience, the Tigers make up for in potential. Garcia led the state in goals last year, and big things are expected from freshman Romero, a transfer from Belen.MANZANO MONARCHSCoach: Travis Nau (4th year) Key players: Nathan Chael, sr., MF; Hayden Walker, sr., D; Luis Alonso, soph., FW. Outlook: Sometimes it's hard to tell if the Monarchs are making progress because their district (2-5A) is so incredibly difficult and competitive. Manzano hopes to make inroads on improving from a 4-14 mark last season.MORIARTY PINTOSCoach: Jordan Allcorn (4th year) Key players: Marc Esquibel, sr., MF; Kevin Motola, sr., FW; Nestor Lugo, jr., GK. Outlook: The Pintos won just five games last year, but hope to do better behind all-district performers Motola (21 goals last season) and Esquibel.RIO GRANDE RAVENSCoach: Roman Escandon (2nd year) Key players: Dante Delgado, sr., FW; Jorge Castaneda, sr., MF; Paul Maltos, sr., D; Adan Hernandez, jr., MF; Eduardo Medrano, soph., FW. Outlook: The Ravens went 0-18 last year. Escandon felt that an attitude adjustment was needed -- and was solved -- after a frustrating season. "There's a lot of hope. The only way we can go is up," Escandon said.RIO RANCHO RAMSCoach: John Shepard (12th year) Key players: Ben Maurer, sr., FW; Carlos Lucero, sr., D; Sergio Guillen, sr., MF; Royce Deller, sr., MF. Outlook: Four starters return for a team that was hit hard by graduation and will possibly have it rough early in the season. Maurer, if healthy, is perhaps the most skilled scorer for the Rams, but as Shepard notes, he must get the proper support from everyone else. "We are gonna put some pressure on him," Shepard said.SANDIA MATADORSCoach: Brian Weems (2nd year) Key players: Braulio Martinez, sr., MF; Cooper Hamm, sr., D; Jason Tarin, sr., D; Brian Lopez, sr., MF; Matthew Slemp, sr., FW. Outlook: Last year's youth has given way to this veteran group with 10 seniors and 10 juniors, led by the excellent Martinez in the middle. Strong enough and experienced enough to challenge for a state title.SANDIA PREP SUNDEVILSCoach: Tommy Smith (16th year) Key players: John Twohig, jr., GK; Caleb Eckenroth, sr., MF; Ryan Hunter, jr., FW; Santiago Torres, jr., MF; Jackson Lee, jr., D. Outlook: The Sundevils will send out a very talented group in an attempt to fourpeat in Class 1A-3A. Eckenroth and Hunter are among the top at their positions, and Hunter leads a strong junior class. His scoring, Smith said, is important to the team's success.ST. PIUS SARTANSCoach: Ron Allen (4th year) Key players: David Gros, sr., MF; Alex Arvizo, sr., MF; Eduardo Ybarra, soph., D; Kiko Macias, soph., D; Isaac Woodhouse, soph., FW. Outlook: Gros and Arvizo are four-year starters for St. Pius, which returns about 80 percent of its offense. Gros led the team in scoring, Arvizo was the team's primary ball winner and was crucial up top. It's a team with only four seniors, and some promising underclassmen.VALENCIA JAGUARSCoach: Eric Gutierrez (3rd year) Key players: Josh Otero, sr., GK; Alan Ramirez, sr., D; Eric Carrillo, soph., D; Manuel Chavez, jr., MF; Eric Galindo, jr., MF. Outlook: The Jaguars are a defensive-oriented team but have had trouble adjusting to a switch from a diamond defense to a flat D. Gutierrez, however, expects the team to adjust eventually and is counting on big things from up-and-comer Carrillo. Valencia lost five starters from last season's team but the offense has shown potential.VALLEY VIKINGSCoach: Ron Worley (5th year) Key players: Grant Rowe, jr., MF; Pedro Neri, sr., GK; Hunter Havenor, jr., MF; Carlos Alonso, jr., D; Adan Torres, sr., FW. Outlook: The Vikings return 10 starters and believe they can unseat the perennial favorite, Albuquerque High, in District 5-5A. Rowe, last year's leading scorer for the Vikings, and Havenor are versatile players who can fill in at multiple positions.VOLCANO VISTA HAWKSCoach: Billy Thiebaut (6th year) Key players: Nate Gomez, sr., GK; Parker Conaway, jr., D; Josh Cooper, sr., D; C.J. Slough, sr., MF; Andy Luca, jr., MF-FW; Alec Cravens, sr., FW. Outlook: The Hawks have won three straight District 1-5A titles. Slough is one of the state's best players, and Conaway, in the back, is another vital piece of the puzzle. Balanced scoring will be key for VV as it looks to challenge.WEST MESA MUSTANGSCoach: Patrick Welch (4th year) Key players: Danny Araujo, jr., FW; Sherman Araujo, sr., MF; Sabino Morales, soph., D; Juan Gonzalez, sr., MF; Salvador Manriquez, jr., MF. Outlook: Welch thinks this is a team with enough skilled players to be a tough assignment for anyone, but the Mustangs don't have any returning goalkeepers, an issue they are trying to solve. Danny Araujo is West Mesa's No. 1 scoring threat.-- Compiled by James Yodice, Eric Butler, Kevin Hendricks, Harold Smith10 metro players to watchCorey Carabajal, sr., FW, Eldorado -- He scored 20 goals for the Eagles last season and is one of 5A's most dynamic players.Parker Conaway, jr., D, Volcano Vista -- He was the youngest first-team all-state selection last season.Chase Snyder, sr., MF, Abq. Academy -- Snyder, a first-team all-state performer, was second in 4A in goals last year.C.J. Slough, sr., MF, Volcano Vista -- UNM has already secured a signed letter of intent from the talented Slough.David Gros, sr., MF, St. Pius -- One of the top scorers in the area, regardless of class.Braulio Martinez, sr., MF, Sandia -- If the Matadors have an anchor, Martinez is probably it.Caleb Eckenroth, sr., MF, Sandia Prep -- The four-year veteran is moving from defense to the midfield this year.Justin Hix, sr., MF, Eldorado -- The Eagles' quarterback and vital to their championship aspirations.Andres Delgadillo, sr., MF, Albuquerque -- AHS lost two dependable scorers; he'll assume a larger burden in 2013.Aaron McCallister, soph., FW, Bosque -- A lot of pressure to score falls on him after the Bobcats graduated some key players.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) Visit the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) at .abqjournal.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesself storage