PREP FOOTBALL
Devyn Williams impresses during first start for La Cueva and puts his dad on notice
Junior receiver hits 100-yard mark in Bears' rout of rival Eldorado
Devyn Williams might have laughed and shook his head, but the La Cueva junior was confident in his answer.
He is, after all, a receiver.
His dad, Martinez Williams, might have to have something to say, though. Especially when it comes to the matter of who the better athlete is. Past vs. present.
鈥淗e鈥檒l say it鈥檚 him,鈥� the younger Williams said with a grin. 鈥淚 gotta say me.鈥�
A little postgame video with Devyn Williams.
— David Glovach (@DavidGlovach)
(The ending is worth the watch.)
The son might have a little ways to go to catch up to the father, who starred at Highland during his high school years, but the younger Williams certainly didn鈥檛 disappoint in his first varsity start in Friday鈥檚 season opener.
How does five catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns sound? Pretty good. Even better that it came in a 59-21 drubbing of rival Eldorado.
鈥淵ou can just see his explosiveness and calmness,鈥� La Cueva coach Brandon Back said. 鈥淗e just walks around very confident because he鈥檚 worked so hard to get to this point. He鈥檚 just an athlete.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had him in our program since he was an eighth-grader and he鈥檚 waited his turn, and he鈥檚 taking full advantage of it.鈥�
That came well before training camp, deep in the offseason when January was still the month on the calendar.
Williams would go to the field with Martinez most mornings to workout. The two would then watch film together afterward.
And when the younger Williams wanted to get some extra work in, he鈥檇 pull out his phone and text quarterback Monty Melendez.
鈥淚t could be at 6 a.m. or 6 p.m. and he鈥檇 text, 鈥楲et鈥檚 go to the field and get some work in,鈥欌�� said Melendez, who completed 14 of 28 passes for 289 yards, five touchdowns and an interception. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we do 鈥� anytime, anywhere.
鈥淏ut Dev has always been that guy since he started playing with us as an eighth-grader. It was just a matter of how he was going to grow into his body 鈥� all that stuff. But I expected what he did tonight.鈥�
All that preparation, however, still wasn鈥檛 enough to prevent the listed 6-foot-1, 150-pound Williams from being admittedly nervous before kickoff.
He didn鈥檛 need to be.
Williams caught three passes for 89 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown in the first half. He reeled in two other catches for 20 yards in the second. His second score came courtesy of a 10-yard pass from Cainen Montano.
Chris Lopez caught six passes for 105 yards and two scores for La Cueva, while Matty Martin added 59 yards and a touchdown on three receptions and Brewer Cash chipped in three catches for 43 yards and a score. J Hathaway ran for 104 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
Even the backups got in on the fun for the Bears with third-string quarterback Palmer Eck, the son of New Mexico coach Jason Eck, connecting with Blake Ingersoll for a 53-yard touchdown.
Nolan Romero Wiliams, Juan Carlos Landeros and Jahari Morehead scored for Eldorado.
All in all, a team effort for La Cueva, but it was hard not to notice Devyn Williams.
鈥淚 feel like I can be a reliable person for the team,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淚f things get muddy, you can look for me. I just try to make things easier for the QBs. But the most important thing was we got the win.鈥�
Better watch out, dad.
David Glovach covers New Mexico 近距离内射合集 and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X .
