2021 Season Preview: Cleveland Storm
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Cleveland 2021 Preview Head Coach: Heath Ridenour Mascot: Storm Twitter: @CHSStormFB, @Coach_Ridenour Colors: Black, Silver, Electric Blue Enrollment: 2,600 Spring Record: 4-0 (Won Class 6A Bowl Game vs. Las Cruces) Key Players: QB Evan Wysong Evan Wysong 5'10" | 165…
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Continue ReadingCleveland 2021 Preview
Head Coach: Heath Ridenour
Mascot: Storm
Twitter: @CHSStormFB, @Coach_Ridenour
Colors: Black, Silver, Electric Blue
Enrollment: 2,600
Spring Record: 4-0 (Won Class 6A Bowl Game vs. Las Cruces)
Key Players: QB Evan Wysong Evan Wysong 5'10" | 165 lbs | QB Cleveland | 2023 State NM , RB Josh Perry Josh Perry 5'10" | 185 lbs | RB Cleveland | 2023 State NM , RB Lucious Dickson, WR Nic Trujillo Nic Trujillo 6'1" | 160 lbs | WR Cleveland | 2023 State NM , DL Jose Maes, LB Stratton Shufelt, LB Dominic Vasquez Dominic Vasquez LB Cleveland | 2022 State NM .
Breakout Star: LB Stratton Shufelt.
Overview: If the just completed 7-on-7 season is any indication, Cleveland isn’t going away anytime soon. Start at quarterback. The Storm lost a good one in Jeff Davison Jeff Davison 5'11" | 185 lbs | QB Cleveland | 2021 State NM , who has joined New Mexico State as a walk-on. But the duo of junior Evan Wysong Evan Wysong 5'10" | 165 lbs | QB Cleveland | 2023 State NM and sophomore Elijah Brody look ready to take over. Coming out of 7-on-7 season, Wysong has the edge with his strong, accurate arm and blazing speed and will likely be the starter. But Brody has talent as well and could see action this season. When he does, Wysong could move to slot receiver, arguably his best spot at the next level. What both quarterbacks need the most right now is experience and time spent watching film. Josh Perry Josh Perry 5'10" | 185 lbs | RB Cleveland | 2023 State NM and Lucious Dickson are the running backs. Both got valuable experience in the spring. The WR corps is better than people think following the departures of FBS talents Luke Wysong Luke Wysong 5'10" | WR Cleveland | 2021 State NM (New Mexico) and Tre Watson Tre Watson 6'5" | WR Cleveland | 2021 State NM (Fresno State) with the dynamic Nic Trujillo Nic Trujillo 6'1" | 160 lbs | WR Cleveland | 2023 State NM doing what he does best and that’s making plays. Tight ends Max Gillet and Michael Ortiz are big targets and potential weapons. Defensively, 6-foot-5 Jose Maes anchors the defensive line. Sophomore LB Stratton Shufelt is our Top 2024 prospect in the state. He earned First-Team All-State honors in the spring as a freshman and headlines the Storm’s deep linebacker corps. New Mexico has already offered. Dominic Vasquez Dominic Vasquez LB Cleveland | 2022 State NM is going into his third year as a starter there, while senior Kendal Ulmer returns at DL as a three-year starter. The secondary is fairly new because most of last spring’s staters were seniors.
Schedule: As usual, Cleveland plays a very challenging schedule beginning with the opener against Centennial on a hot Saturday afternoon in Las Cruces. The Las Cruces Bulldawgs come to Rio Rancho in Week 4 for a battle of heavyweights in what could be a Class 6A championship game preview. The following week the Storm travel to Artesia. The district schedule is loaded with games against Cibola, Volcano Vista, West Mesa and, of course, rival Rio Rancho. Whew.
Aug. 21 at Centennial (at FOD)
Aug. 27 EL PASO (TEX.) FRANKLIN
Sept. 3 MANZANO
Sept. 10 LAS CRUCES
Sept. 17 at Artesia
Sept. 24 Bye
Oct. 1 ATRISCO HERITAGE
Oct. 8 at Cibola (C)
Oct. 14 at Volcano Vista (C)
Oct. 22 WEST MESA
Oct. 29 at Rio Rancho
Top Storyline: Will Cleveland reload or are they rebuilding?
Final Thoughts: If we’ve learned anything about Cleveland over the past decade, it’s never bet against the Storm. They have played at a consistently high level for years – a testament to Heath Ridenour’s masterful job as head coach – and there’s little reason to believe they will take a step backwards in 2021. Cleveland lost plenty of talent from the spring but there’s plenty of talent returning as well. If there are two players who define the 2021 Storm, it’s Evan Wysong Evan Wysong 5'10" | 165 lbs | QB Cleveland | 2023 State NM and Shufelt. Both are young, talented players with loads of promise and could be household names by the end of the season.
Coach’s Comments: “We rotated our two-deep all summer. We focused on getting better. We’ve rotated quarterbacks, running backs, everybody. It’s about program development. . .We have a lot of good depth. We lost a good senior class, but our program is stronger than one class. You look at our body of work over the last 10 to 12 years, we have a good program. We put kids in position to be successful. That’s one of the things our coaches emphasize. We’re going to develop every kid in the program. That’s why we’re able to reload rather than rebuild. . .Both Evan and Elijah are really intelligent. Evan gives us an advantage out on the edge with his speed. We’ll find way to get him out on the edge. And we don’t miss a beat with Elijah at quarterback. We have two guys who can play at a high level. It’s a good problem to have. . .Josh and Lucious are both very good running backs. They both played last season and understand the offense. I think they’re going to be two of the best running backs in the state. . . Nic Trujillo Nic Trujillo 6'1" | 160 lbs | WR Cleveland | 2023 State NM is playing the same position as Luke Wysong Luke Wysong 5'10" | WR Cleveland | 2021 State NM last spring and he’s just coming into his own. He’s going to be dynamic. He’s very intelligent. He’s a playmaker. He might be the best after the catch guy we’ve ever had.” – Heath Ridenour
Congratulations, Strat! pic.twitter.com/1DMZOg33kH
— Cleveland Storm 🏈 (@CHSStormFB) April 22, 2021
Despite their short history, Rio Rancho vs Cleveland has become one of the top rivalries in New Mexico. The game escalated in 2019, when they met in the state title game for the first time.
RT if 𝗥𝗶𝗼 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼 𝘃𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 is the best rivalry in the country. pic.twitter.com/P8YpKMCZ9c
— Great American Rivalry Series (@AmericanRivalry) June 9, 2021