St. Pius’ Ortiz takes aim at 5A title
Dynamic senior QB not selling self short
Rare is any state championship football game involving the Artesia Bulldogs in which their quarterback is not clearly the most accomplished one on the field.
This weekend, that title probably belongs to the kid in St. Pius black and gold.
After four years with the Sartans, Drew Ortiz says goodbye Saturday, win or lose, and the school bids farewell to possibly the most dynamic quarterback it has ever produced.
“He has to be one of the top players to ever come through this program,” said longtime St. Pius head coach San Juan Mendoza. “There have been some great quarterbacks at our school, but the numbers he’s put up for this team are through the roof.”
The next touchdown pass Ortiz throws, if it comes Saturday when the second-seeded Sartans (11-1) host the top-seeded Bulldogs (10-2) at 1 p.m. at Nusenda Community Stadium in the Class 5A final, will be the 100th of his career on the West Side.
And yet, despite the videogame statistics and the Johnny Manziel-type ability — Texas A&M is Ortiz’s dream school — it is possible that this will be the last time Ortiz ever plays quarterback.
There is an offer from New Mexico Highlands on the table, he said, but when the season is over, he plans to market himself in the hopes of finding a school that will fully commit to a 5-foot11, 190-pound quarterback from a relatively small high school.
“The thought of this being my last (game) definitely enters my mind,” Ortiz said. “It’s a scary thought.”
Of course it’s unsettling. Even more so when you reflect on his absurd numbers.
He’s thrown for nearly 2,700 yards this season, with 35 touchdown passes versus just six interceptions. He’s rushed for 1,256 yards and 20 scores.
Add those 55 touchdowns to
the 47 he registered as a junior, and he’s responsible for over 100 scores in the last two seasons. And he was responsible for 42 as a sophomore.
“It’s great being his teammate,” said wide receiver Dylan DiLorenzo. “He makes plays. He makes things happen when we really need it.”
Ortiz’s dual-threat abilities have been well documented. But it’s the intangibles that make Ortiz a whirling dervish of a nightmare. Belen, for example, had Ortiz defended perfectly during a key district game in October. Ortiz slipped the pocket, broke several tackles, did two 360-degree spins to elude capture, and burned the Eagles for an electrifying 70-yard touchdown run.
“He’s one of the tougher competitors we’ve seen in a while,” said Artesia coach Rex Henderson, whose Bulldogs faced Ortiz in last year’s state quarterfinals. “He doesn’t give up. He doesn’t let a play die. If you let him sit in the pocket, he’ll pick you apart. And if things break down, he can take off. He’s a really gifted young man.”
Henderson, whose starting QB this weekend, 6-2 junior Taylor Null, is having a terrific year as well, compared Ortiz favorably to Goddard’s David Vega, who later went on to play at the University of New Mexico.
“As soon as the season is over,” Ortiz said, “I’ll reach out to any college I can.”
He attended a combine in Seattle earlier this year — Los Lunas running back O’maury Samuels was also there — and was repeatedly told his height was going to limit his chances.
“Hearing it from everyone was definitely disheartening,” he said.
He is a four-year starter for St. Pius, the last three at QB. He’s had three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons rushing, and three straight years of over 2,000 yards passing.
“It’s definitely disappointing (not to get more attention from colleges),” he said. “I’m a 5-11 quarterback from a 5A school, and New Mexico is not a big football state for recruiting.”
For the next three days, he’s only worried about Artesia, and his last prep game, just a few miles from the St. Pius campus, against the most storied and recognized program in this state.
Strangely enough, he might already have a championship ring had he gone to the school closest to his home — that being Rio Rancho, where he still lives. Ortiz said he was intending to play for the Rams, but changed his mind the summer before his freshman season.
“It’s every high school kid’s dream,” Ortiz said, “to play for a state title.”