2022 Team Preview: Manzano Monarchs

<strong>Manzano 2022 Preview</strong> <strong>Head Coach</strong>: Stephen Johnston <strong>Mascot</strong>: Monarchs <strong>Twitter</strong>: @ManzanoFB; @StephenFBCoach <strong>Colors</strong>: Purple, Silver &amp; White <strong>2021 Record</strong>: 1-8 <strong>Overview</strong>: Stephen Johnson begins his second season as head coach at Manzano. The Monarchs had a senior quarterback in 2021, so they’re searching for a new signal caller. The favorite to win the job is 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior <strong>Edward Romero</strong>, who played a variety of positions in 2021, including slot receiver and offensive guard. Romero has spent a significant portion of his off-season huddling with the Manzano coaches learning how to play the position in Johnston’s system. He should get plenty of opportunities to step back in the pocket and throw the football this season. Behind him are several promising young QBs who need more time to develop. Some may play a different position this season if they’re too good of an athlete to keep off the field. Johnston plans a by-committee approach at running back. The top three rushers last season were all seniors. Senior <strong>Zach Steen, </strong>junior <strong>Elijah Barber</strong> and senior <strong>John Williams</strong> (excelled at recent Elite 150 Combine)  are three solid candidates to join the RB rotation. Johnston said he will likely stick with the by-committee approach until somebody emerges and takes over the spot. Junior <strong>Josh Nieto</strong> leads a talented and athletic crew of receivers. <strong>Robert Lucero</strong>, who joined the Manzano program this spring, is another WR the Monarchs will be counting on. Junior <strong>Marvin Watson</strong> was described by Johnston as a “game changer.” Long the offensive line, the Monarchs must replace several graduated seniors. Thus, Manzano will be young and somewhat inexperienced there. The sole returning OL is senior <strong>Daniel Lopez</strong>, who played multiple positions in 2021. He will be the anchor and provide senior leadership. Defensively, Johnston has hired New Mexico Legacy 7x7 head coach Ramar Watson as the new defensive coordinator. Williams is an outstanding defensive lineman and proved hard to block last season because of his speed, strength and grit. He has an excellent first step. He’ll be joined on the 4-man defensive front by senior <strong>Ezekiel Estrada</strong>, who’s a solid run stopper. The other two DL positions will be filled by committee, Johnston said. Junior <strong>Eli Darnell</strong> is the only returning starter at linebacker. He played on the outside last season but could move to the middle this season. Darnell brings “crazy” athleticism and speed to the spot. He plays downhill. In the secondary, sophomore safety <strong>Reggie Clark</strong> was runner-up in the 100 meters at the district track meet. Junior <strong>Khaliq Waites</strong> will join Clark at safety. Both have had excellent summers so far. <strong>Schedule</strong>: Manzano begins its 10-game 2022 schedule with a road trip to the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces to face Mayfield on a Saturday afternoon. After that, they don’t leave the Albuquerque Metro area. The middle portion of the schedule is highlighted by a three-game homestand against Santa Fe, Sandia and Highland. The Monarchs open Class 5A District 2/6 play on Oct. 14 at home against Los Alamos. Seven of Manzano’s 10 games are on Thursday or Saturday. Aug. 20 at Mayfield (Sat.) Aug. 25 BELEN (Thur.) Sept. 2 Bye Sept. 9 at Atrisco Heritage Sept. 17 SANTA FE (Sat.) Sept. 23 SANDIA Oct. 1 HIGHLAND (Sat.) Oct. 8 at Valley (Sat.) Oct. 14 LOS ALAMOS* Oct. 20 at Del Norte* (Thur.) Oct. 27 at Albuquerque High* (Thur.) * District Game <strong>Top Storyline</strong>: Will the move to Class 5A be the tonic Manzano needs to build back the program to the same championship level we saw just five years ago? <strong>Final Thoughts</strong>: Manzano’s 2017 Class 6A state title (San Diego State signee Jordan Byrd was the star) must have felt like a century ago to Monarchs supporters when the NMAA announced last December that Manzano was moving to Class 5A. Gut punch? Maybe. But the harsh reality is Manzano’ enrollment numbers have declined to such an extent since the 2017 championship that the move was inevitable. The same thing happened at former power Mayfield High in Las Cruces. Ironically, Manzano travels south to face Mayfield in the season opener for both clubs. Sure, some Manzano supporters might still view the football program as 6A, but Johnston is looking forward not back. His No. 1 task is to make Manzano as competitive as possible in Class 5A. Like every head coach, he wants to win and views the move to 5A as a positive. In the last three full seasons (2018-19, 2021), Manzano has dropped from seven wins (2018) to three wins (2019) to one win (2021). The move to Class 5A could be the cure for Manzano’s recent football woes and help Johnston rebuild the program. <strong>Coach’s Comments</strong>: “We have good people around here. It probably took me more time to get used to the surroundings than it took for them to get used to me. I learned so many lessons my first year. One of them is that offensive and defensive systems don’t mean anything unless you have first built your culture. How you do everything is more important than the schemes in place. I got here late so that process took most of the season. I am excited about where we’re going. I have hired a great staff. With my system, there’s a lot more expectations we have of the quarterback as far as being a leader and doing things on and off the field. Eddie Romero has done a great job. He throws a very good ball. We’re probably going to sling it around more than we ever have at Manzano.” - Manzano coach Stephen Johnston. https://twitter.com/ManzanoFB/status/1545092585554817024 https://twitter.com/RamarWatson/status/1538001505621381120 https://twitter.com/StephenFBcoach/status/1522746184179191808