A BRIGHT PICTURE FOR ST. MIKE’S
HORSEMEN LOOK TO EXPERIENCE AND SOME BEEF ON THE LINE TO MAKE THIS YEAR’S RUN FOR STATE CHAMPS A SUCCESS
Horsemen chasing a blue trophy
When it comes to prep football in Santa Fe, no one carries the banner harder, farther or better than St. Michael’s High School.
But by the time the semifinals rolled around last year, the Horsemen team was a shell of its former self as injuries took a serious toll on performance.
What the team and coach Joey Fernandez did learn, however, is that St. Mike’s is tough and adaptable.
Cue quarterback Antonio Gabaldon.
The senior stepped up in the latter stages of the season to become more than a game manager. He was a passer, a chucker, turning frequently to his favorite target — the coach’s kid, senior Joey Fernandez.
Gabaldon reached 2,000 yards passing, becoming just the fifth Horsemen to crack that plateau, and Fernandez finished with 35 catches for 822 yards.
The two will be the leaders of the offense this season with the graduation of the team’s top two running backs.
“This year, we’re going to see what our personnel allows us to do,” the coach said. “We might change what we’re going to be doing offensively. We’ll see how much run and how much pass. We do have a seasoned quarterback and seasoned receivers.”
For their part, Gabaldon and Fernandez are looking forward to the chance.
“We have a really good quarterback and he really knows how to throw the ball,” receiver Fernandez said.
“It helps to have an experienced quarterback to go with my route running and getting open, and the way he throws his good balls, we just work together.”
For Gabaldon, it was a matter of finding himself on the field.
“Coach has always had the confidence in me to throw the ball,” he said. “But having that confidence in myself, that really clicked for me toward the end of the year last year. I like throwing the ball and making those decisions.”
Now that just ramps up expectations, coach Fernandez said
“I expect a lot more,” he said. “Last year, we tightened the reins a little bit, but he really turned into a good throwing quarterback the last four games of the season. He proved he can get the job done. We’re going to let him do his thing, throwing, getting the other kids involved and him leading the way.”
As for his son, “he’s somebody we’re going to rely on,” the coach said. “He can do a little bit of everything. He’s one of those types of players, you can put him anywhere on the offensive side of the ball. The majority of the time will be spent as receiver, probably. We want to get him on the outside and hopefully have the opposing defenses come up with double coverage for him and leave less people in the box.
It helps that the Horsemen have some beef on the line in seniors Miguel Arellano (6 feet, 1 inch, 265 pounds), Jake Tetrault (6-2, 195) and Jeremiah Jacquez (6-2, 185), along with junior Tayo Regenold (6-2, 280).
“We’ve got some big lineman up front, so I think we’re going to be able to run it,” coach Fernandez said. “At running back, we have some hardworking kids. They’re not the typical running back that we would expect, but they can get us yards when we need them.”
It leaves a bright picture for St. Mike’s.
“We expect to make a deep run in the playoffs,” coach Fernandez said. “Our number one thing is to be state champions. From the summer all the way through, that’s what their main focus is, to get as good as we can so that we’re hitting on all cylinders once playoff time comes around.”