2021 Season Preview: Las Cruces Bulldawgs
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Las Cruces 2021 Preview Head Coach: Mark Lopez Mascot: Bulldawgs Twitter: @LCHSFootball; @mjlopezdawgs Colors: Red and Blue Enrollment: 1,695 Spring Record: 3-1 Star Players: QB Dallas Boyd Dallas Boyd 5'10" | 175 lbs | QB Las Cruces | 2022 State…
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Continue ReadingLas Cruces 2021 Preview
Head Coach: Mark Lopez
Mascot: Bulldawgs
Twitter: @LCHSFootball; @mjlopezdawgs
Colors: Red and Blue
Enrollment: 1,695
Spring Record: 3-1
Star Players: QB Dallas Boyd Dallas Boyd 5'10" | 175 lbs | QB Las Cruces | 2022 State NM ; RB Elijah Ogas Elijah Ogas 5'8" | 160 lbs | DB Las Cruces | 2022 State NM ; WR Richard Madrid Richard Madrid 5'8" | DB Las Cruces | 2022 State NM ; WR Zakye Hawkins; OL Royce Paulk Royce Paulk 6'5" | OL Las Cruces | 2022 State NM ; OL Dillon Hein Dillon Hein 6'3" | 190 lbs | OL Las Cruces | 2022 State NM ; OL Matt Franco Matt Franco OL Las Cruces | 2022 State NM ; DL Tre Evans Tre Evans 6'3" | 245 lbs | DL Las Cruces | 2022 State NM ; LB Isaiah Carreon Isaiah Carreon 5'8" | LB Las Cruces | 2022 State NM ; DB Siddeeq Shabazz; ATH Jacob Maes Jacob Maes WR Las Cruces | 2023 State NM .
Breakout Star: WR Zakye Hawkins.
Overview: Who replaces Eastern New Mexico-bound Marcos Lopez Marcos Lopez 6'1" | 185 lbs | QB Las Cruces | 2021 State NM , arguably the state’s top dual threat QB last season, at quarterback? Senior Dallas Boyd Dallas Boyd 5'10" | 175 lbs | QB Las Cruces | 2022 State NM gets first crack, and Mark Lopez is confident he’ll prove to be a worthy successor. Boyd has two things going for him: 1) He’s supported by a solid ground game led by Elijah Ogas Elijah Ogas 5'8" | 160 lbs | DB Las Cruces | 2022 State NM , who’s also a very good wrestler; and 2) He’ll be protected by possibly the state’s top offensive line, which returns all five starters from the spring. Royce Paulk Royce Paulk 6'5" | OL Las Cruces | 2022 State NM is listed at a massive 6-foot-7, 365 pounds, making him one of the most intriguing 2022 prospects in the state. He’s also one of Las Cruces’ most improved offensive linemen. Matt Franco Matt Franco OL Las Cruces | 2022 State NM is a three-year starter, while Cristian Saenz and Luis Nevarez return as starters as well. Dillon Hein Dillon Hein 6'3" | 190 lbs | OL Las Cruces | 2022 State NM returns at center. Zakye Hawkins has the potential to be the state ‘s top WR prospect in the 2024 class. He was a star at the freshman and JV levels and now he gets a full-time shot with the varsity. Defensively, the Las Cruces front seven is led by LB Isaiah Carreon Isaiah Carreon 5'8" | LB Las Cruces | 2022 State NM and DL Tre Evans Tre Evans 6'3" | 245 lbs | DL Las Cruces | 2022 State NM . The secondary has lock down potential with Shabazz, Madrid and Ogas.
Schedule: The Bulldawgs open the 2021 slate with four challenging non-district games against teams from the Albuquerque Metro area. All eyes will be on that Week 4 clash at Cleveland. After that comes the annual grudge match against rival Mayfield (recently moved to Class 5A) and the district schedule. One schedule note: Las Cruces has just nine regular season games because former district rival Gadsden decided to play as an independent in 2021.
Aug. 20 VOLCANO VISTA
Aug. 27 at Cibola
Sept. 4 LA CUEVA
Sept. 10 at Cleveland
Sept. 17 at Mayfield
Sept. 24 Bye
Oct. 2 CARLSBAD
Oct. 8 at Hobbs
Oct. 16 at Centennial
Oct. 22 Bye
Oct. 29 ORGAN MOUNTAIN
Top Storyline: Can Las Cruces maintain its dominance of high school football in southern New Mexico, or does a new crop of players open the door to challengers?
Final Thoughts: Las Cruces has dominated its district for years and has been an annual participant in the state playoffs. Last time the Bulldawgs lost to an intra-city rival? 2018 when Centennial beat LCHS, 20-14. Since that defeat, Las Cruces has won eight straight games over their local brethren. The Bulldawgs should again earn a spot in the Class 6A playoffs, and should be a title contender as long as Boyd is able to get the job done sitting on one of the most scrutinized seats in all of New Mexico high school football. Most of the pieces are in place for a championship run.
Coach’s Comments: “ Dallas Boyd Dallas Boyd 5'10" | 175 lbs | QB Las Cruces | 2022 State NM has come up in our program. He’s played everywhere. He’s played receiver, linebacker and safety. But he was originally a quarterback and that’s how he’s come up in our program. In the spring we felt we had to get him on the field. As a quarterback, he has a strong arm and he’s a tough-nosed guy. He runs the ball really hard and very effectively. He’s going to get us those tough yards. He has great heart. He’s a good leader. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with the offense. . . Elijah Ogas Elijah Ogas 5'8" | 160 lbs | DB Las Cruces | 2022 State NM has been unheralded, but he has the heart of a lion. He’s one of the toughest kids we have. He’s a natural runner and gets the tough yards. He’s not a burner necessarily, but he has a good skill set at the running back spot. He’ll catch some people by surprise because a lot of people don’t know about him. . . It’s going to be beneficial to have an experienced offensive line. We go as those guys go up front. . .Zakye Hawkins’ upside is really high. He should be a mainstay at receiver for us. He’s going to be a good one. . .Overall, we have a senior-heavy group, but we also have some talented younger players. That’s always been a good mix for us. I like the mentality of our team. We have potential. We have athletes in the right spots. We’ll be tested early, but we know that” – Mark Lopez
Some big Dawgs camping at @TexasTechFB today—
Luis Nevarez, Tre Evans and Royce Paulk
pc: Rachel Nevarez pic.twitter.com/UM2dFB2jD9— Bulldawg Football (@LCHSFOOTBALL) June 15, 2021
What a great way to end the week…2021 team sets 2 new team lifting records, while I got to meet an exciting incoming freshman group! Love the people we have at Las Cruces High and looking forward to what we can accomplish together!
— Mark Lopez (@mjlopezdawgs) May 28, 2021