Since Clovis won its last state championship in 2001, just five different schools have captured the title in New Mexico’s highest classification (5A or 6A) – Rio Rancho, Cleveland, Las Cruces, Mayfield and La Cueva.
In the view of one head coach at a prominent Class 6A school, another team could be joining that exclusive list in 2017 – Manzano.
With the dynamic Jordan Byrd - arguably the state’s top player and unquestionably the fastest - calling signals and handling the ball every play, labeling the Monarchs as the favorite in Class 6A makes sense in a lot of ways.