2022 Team Preview: Lovington Wildcats

<strong>Lovington 2022 Preview</strong> <strong>Head Coach</strong>: Anthony Gonzales <strong>Mascot</strong>: Wildcats <strong>Twitter</strong>: @lvtwildcatsfb; @CoachGonzo96 <strong>Colors</strong>: Royal Blue and White <strong>Enrollment</strong>: 609 <strong>2021 Record</strong>: 10-3 (Class 4A Champions) <strong>Overview</strong>: Lethal Weapon 4 is no more. Last season senior receivers Adam Aguilera, Isaac Hinson, Tayten Hilliard and Javier Corrales combined for 154 receptions, 2,363 yards and 33 TD. They were also defensive and/or special teams standouts as well. But 6-foot-1, 180-pound quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269564" first="Ashton" last="Aranda"]</strong> returns after throwing for 2,180 yards and 29 TD last season. Aranda has enjoyed an outstanding off-season from competing in the state power lifting championships to qualifying for the state golf tournament. By all accounts, he’s boosted his competitiveness and leadership skills, which is what the Lovington coaches wanted. Is Aranda the best quarterback in southern New Mexico? Probably. Aranda will be helped by a solid ground game led by a pair of sophomores: <strong>Ondalis Cardenas</strong> and <strong>Alex Holguin</strong>. Cardenas emerged as a freshman in 2021, rushing for 771 yards and 11 TD. Unafraid to run between the tackles, he improved every week. Holguin filled in after an injury and showed flashes of his potential. His speed makes him a threat on the perimeter. Both could enjoy huge seasons for the Wildcats, especially if Lovington gets the passing game going ad forces opposing defenses to lighten the box. Wide receiver is where Lexington will see the biggest change. Rising junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="275595" first="DeMarcus" last="Thompson"]</strong> (11 receptions) got an opportunity last season when Lethal Weapon 4 experienced some injury issues. Thompson is another special two-way player for the Wildcats. He finished with 82 tackles, 4 acks and 3 fumble recoveries at linebacker. As a receiver, his speed should allow Lovington to stretch defenses vertically. Defensively, Thompson is being eyed as Hinson’s replacement at safety and move down to outside linebacker against run-oriented teams that utilize two backs and two tight ends. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="340352" first="Anson" last="Marquez"]</strong> saw limited duty at receiver in 2021 but should see his role expand greatly this coming season. Senior <strong>Matthew Garcia</strong> is another receiver who played a backup role in 2021 but could see enhanced action in 2022. <strong>Kyler Reaves</strong> is an intriguing 6-foot-1, 185-pound freshman. <strong>Brennen Garcia, [player_tooltip player_id="270223" first="Ezekiel" last="Guzman"] </strong>and <strong>Valente Herrera </strong>anchor the offensive line. Defensively, Lovington must find a replacement for LB Joseph Perez, who was a tackling machine for the Wildcats in 2021 with 137 tackles and 14 TFL. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="275049" first="Joshua" last="Carrasco"]</strong> will hold down one of the ILB spots after collecting 87 tackles in 2021. He has great speed but is physical enough to hold his gap in run defense inside the box. Marquez will start at OLB. Thompson will be there as well. Sophomore <strong>Ryan Weiser</strong> gained valuable experience as a freshman last season and should see his role expand in 2022. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="275459" first="Wyatt" last="Gomez"]</strong> is competing for the QB job but will definitely line up at LB if he doesn’t bet out Aranda. Sophomore <strong>Camon Ochoa</strong> will be one of the safeties. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="275593" first="Cesar" last="Gonzalez"]</strong> will be one of the cornerbacks. <strong>Schedule</strong>: Lovington plays a typical Wildcats schedule in 2022 with non-district games against Roswell, Santa Teresa, Hobbs, Artesia, Santa Fe and two games against Texas schools. Then they compete in arguably the top Class 4A district against Albuquerque Academy, Bernalillo and Portales. The good news? Five straight homes in  late August and September. Aug. 19 at Roswell Aug. 26 SEMINOLE (TX) Sept. 2 SANTA TERESA Sept. 9 HOBBS Sept. 16 DENVER CITY (TX) Sept. 23 ARTESIA Sept. 30 at Santa Fe Oct. 7 Bye Oct. 14 ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY Oct. 21 at Bernalillo Oct. 28 at Portales * District Game <strong>Top Storyline</strong>: Will Lovington be able to withstand the significant personnel losses and repeat as Class 4A champions? <strong>Final Thoughts</strong>: The town of Lovington is as passionate about high school football as any in the state of New Mexico. Boys grow up there dreaming of playing on Friday nights in front of large crowds. So, the Wildcats should have little problem getting numbers. They have one of the top quarterbacks in the state, two productive young running backs, a promising group of ypung receivers and plenty of emerging players on defense. Lovington’s football fortunes changed when they moved from Class 5A to 4A several years ago as evidenced by the state title last November. Lovington will again be in the mix when playoff time arrives. <strong>Coach’s Comments</strong>: “When I walk into the grocery store, I’m always asked, ‘Coach, are we going to win it again?’ I tell them we’re going to try like crazy. The day after we won the state championship in November, my wife asked me if I could now take a breathe of fresh air. I said no. It just makes me more hungry to do it again. Coming into this season, one of the things we’re going to have to fight is complacency. We’re losing some kids, but a lot of them return. We have to get the kids to look past that. I’ve reached out to a lot of other coaches and asked them what were some of the things they had to deal with coming off a championship and how they dealt with it. We know we’ve gone from the hunter to the hunted. That’s the approach we’re taken with this team. Right now, we’re trying to create an identity for ourselves. I think our kids want to do that. We’re going to be a different football team than what we were in 2021.” - Lovington head coach Anthony Gonzales. https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1536875469513146373 https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1536874733811249159 https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1535081197566447617 https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1534332737762516992