BLOOMFIELD – With an even larger target on their back after winning their second consecutive state title, the Bloomfield High School football team is back to work preparing for the upcoming season.
The Bobcats, winners of all but one game over the course of the past two seasons, were one of several teams participating in a 7-on-7 scrimmage session held Saturday morning at the Bloomfield Boys and Girls Club.
Things will look markedly different for the Bobcats when they open the season in August. In addition to a newly realigned District 1-4A and a couple new wrinkles in the classification, Bloomfield will also be looking to replace several key players who were integral to their most recent success.
Sophomores Kaison Meador and Wyatt Babcock are both making their case for the role of starting quarterback for the two-time defending Class 4A state champions. As freshmen last year, they saw limited opportunities behind recent graduate Manuel Chavarria, one of the top signal callers in the state with more than 3500 passing yards and 53 scoring strikes to his credit.
“They’re going to battle it out all summer to see who takes it,” said Bloomfield head coach Mike Kovacs. “They’re both going to have big shoes to fill in. But we’ve had quarterback changes every year almost that I’ve been here. And, and now we get two that possibly are going to be here for three years, and we’re pretty excited about that. It’s honestly a pretty good position to be in.”
Kovacs said that in addition to their performance in scrimmages and on the practice field, Meador and Babcock will need to learn and adapt running a high-octane offensive style.
“What we do is we look at the mental toughness, we look at the weight room commitment, and we look at football knowledge,” Kovacs said.
Also needing to be replaced this upcoming season are recent graduates Gavin Pecotte, Deasyl Priddy, Kaleb Hutchens and Peyton Duncan. The quartet combined for more than 50 touchdowns in a season that saw the Bobcats score 723 points in 13 games, the most by any football team in state history.
The New Mexico Activities Association’s recently announced realignments of football districts for the upcoming season will also have an impact on the Bobcats road to a third consecutive title.
Aztec and Kirtland Central, formerly in District 1-4A, have dropped to Class 3A. Del Norte, Manzano and Rio Grande have moved into the eight-team district, while Lovington, which captured the Class 4A title three years ago before jumping to Class 5A, have returned to the 4A classification.
“It’s going to be a challenge. We got schools that are twice our size in Class 4A now,” Kovacs said. “It’s going to be tough to get there again, we’re looking forward to the challenges.”
Kovacs has embraced the role of two-time defending state champions and the obstacles of having to replace some key contributors.
“The standard that we set and upheld year in and year out? We still have the same standard. We still have an expectation to get to the final round.” Kovacs said. “The fun thing that all of us coaches have been talking about—we get to coach a little more this year. We got a little younger team, but it’s always exciting to get where we get.
Bloomfield will be busy over the next several weeks participating in similar scrimmages across the region.
“We’re excited for the month of June. We go to Bernalillo this weekend, and after that, we go to Monument Valley in Kayenta,” said Kovacs. “Then they get a couple of weeks off, and then we come back and go to NMMI in July.”