Hereford reloading heading into second football season under Adam Naron

The Hereford Whitefaces will have a different look in the fall for the start of the 2022 Texas high school football season.

Second-year coach Adam Naron is set to charge into a new season with a ton of fresh faces, who will need to be ready to step up into the starting lineup following a large group of recent graduates and big-time contributors.

“We're going to be really young in some areas," Naron said. "We graduated four starting offensive lineman, our quarterback, our two top receivers, our defensive line, our outside linebackers, our corners and a safety. We're going to have a lot of spots to fill. We have a really talented group of freshmen and sophomores right now that are going to have to find a way to contribute in some of those places. We'll also have to rely on the seniors and juniors that have been here to keep it going."

Hereford and Naron are ready to take the next step following a 6-5 overall record and a third-place District 3-4A Division I finish that ended with a bi-district round exit from the postseason in 2021.

That progression will depend on how the fresh faces starters perform when the lights turn on Friday nights.

There is an open competition at many spots on the Hereford depth chart, which includes quarterback that was vacated by the graduation of Gerardo Garcia. The one signal-caller on the roster with varsity experience is senior Carlos Duran, who will have to compete with a few underclassmen during early practices to solidify his spot as the new starter.

"That quarterback position is going to be one of the first that we have to solidify," Naron said.

In front of him, the new Hereford starting quarterback will have four new starters on the offensive line. The lone returning starter is senior Dayton Delozier ― a 6-foot-7, 260-pound behemoth who's been a three-year starter in the trenches.

Hereford’s backfield will be comprised of senior Tommy Suarez, who had the most rushing yards (300) and receiving yards (288) of any returning playmaker for the Herd, and junior Tony Salazar ― who saw valuable action in the final three games of last season. The duo will team up as a pair of versatile backs in Naron’s multiple spread offense.

Hereford’s defense will have its two anchors in the middle returning for the 2022 season in senior inside linebackers Eric Lucio and Jose Solorzano. The pairing combined for 146 total tackles and five tackles for loss last season.

Solorzano is considered the leader of the defense and has been a three-year starter in the middle of the second level.

Lucio is a force in his own right as he added two sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception to his personal stat totals last season. He has the size and athleticism to cover the field in the passing game as well as the pass-rushing ability to come off the edge.

Those two will combine their mixture of size and strength with the long and hard-hitting senior free safety Zevan Gonzales captaining the secondary.

"Eric and Jose in the middle really help us on defense because they run the defense," Naron said. "Those three guys are the leaders of our defense by their position to begin with. Them being seniors and having a lot of experience is going to make up for having brand new starters at our corner positions and defensive line positions."

In Hereford’s 3-4 base defense, sophomore Jeremiah Martinez returns to anchor the defensive line following an outstanding freshman season that included 13 tackles and two sacks prior to an injury.

“He's really grown a lot over the offseason and we'll have him back healthy," Naron said. "We're hoping he'll be somewhat of a leader on the D-line. Even though he's only going to be a sophomore, he'll be the lone guy with starting experience out there."

The new look District 3-4A Division I includes a gauntlet of strong football programs in Canyon, Dumas, Pampa and former Class 5A D-II program Randall.

Hereford dropped their district road games to Dumas (45-0) and Canyon (40-16) last season while defeating Pampa big at home (56-23).

The last time the Whitefaces made it past the opening round of the playoffs was in 2018 when they advanced all the way to the regional semifinals.

For that to happen this year, Naron needs to see his new starters progress throughout the season as they build valuable team chemistry.

“We have to play consistent on defense with some of those young guys being able to stop the run up front and get our defense off the field," he said. "It's also going to come down to if we can gel as a team with the new faces and the few returning starters that we have. We have to be consistent week-in and week-out and play strong the whole season."

HEREFORD WHITEFACES

Head coach: Adam Naron

2021 record: 6-5 overall, 1-2 in district

Base offense: Multiple Spread

Base defense: 3-4

Last playoff appearance: 2021

Returning Lettermen: 23

Top returners: DB Zevan Gonzales, LB Jose Solorzano, LB Eric Lucio, DL Jeremiah Martinez, OL Dayton Delozier, RB Tony Salazar, TE/WR Hayden Gonzales

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at Caprock, 7 p.m.

Sep. 2: at Wichita Falls High, 7 p.m.

Sep. 9: vs. Shallowater, 7 p.m.

Sep. 16: vs. Tascosa, 7 p.m.

Sep. 23: at Plainview, 7 p.m.

Sep. 30: vs. West Plains, 7 p.m.

Oct. 7: vs. Pampa, 7 p.m.*

Oct. 14: at Canyon, 7 p.m.*

Oct. 21: OPEN

Oct. 28: vs. Randall, 7 p.m.*

Nov. 4: at Dumas, 7 p.m.*

* - Denotes district game

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Adam Naron ready to improve in second year at Hereford High football