FARMINGTON − Bloomfield High School football coach Mike Kovacs has been chosen as this year's Daily Times coach of the 2022 season.

A pair of standout athletes from both Bloomfield and Farmington High Schools will share the honor of being named players of the year by the Daily Times.

Here's a look at this season's honorees.

Mike Kovacs, Bloomfield High School

The Bobcats ended a 56-year drought as state champions this past weekend when Kovacs led the team to a 13-7 victory over Silver in the Class 4A title game at Bobcat Stadium.

Kovacs, who took over the head coaching duties for Bloomfield after the conclusion of the 2020 season following the resignation of Bob Allcorn, has amassed a record of 22 wins and three losses. The state championship win over Silver avenged an earlier loss this past season to the Fighting Colts, which was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect 2022 campaign.

"(Kovacs) has been such a great leader and has been since we first met," said Bloomfield athletic director Ben Tensay. "Right from the start, he bought in on the mission to increase the level of teamwork across all the athletics programs at the school."

Kovacs, a 1987 graduate of Bloomfield High School, had previously served as offensive coordinator at Navajo Prep and Farmington High School before coming to serve in that same capacity at Bloomfield before being elevated to the head coaching spot. Prior to that, he'd also worked at Aztec High School from 2006-2012.

"He truly cares about his players, coaches, other programs from the junior high and high school levels," Tensay said. "He works closely to make sure everything is running smoothly and does a great job supporting all our other programs."

Honorable mentions for coach of the year in San Juan County go to Farmington High's Jeff Dalton, who guided the Scorpions into the second round of the Class 6A playoffs in their first season since being reclassified from Class 5A. Also receiving recognition is Piedra Vista head coach Jared Howell, who led the Panthers to the Class 5A title game this season.

Trel Griego, Farmington High School

Griego has been chosen as co-player of the season among San Juan County high school football players by the Daily Times.

The junior quarterback led the Scorpions into the second round of the Class 6A postseason in their first season since being reclassified from Class 5A by the New Mexico Activities Association.

Griego threw for 2,979 yards during this most recent campaign, while also recording 31 touchdown passes. On his feet, Griego was also a threat, rushing for 667 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns. The passing numbers landed Griego as the fourth-leading quarterback in the state, just behind Nye Estrada and Aidan Armenta, who led both Artesia and La Cueva respectively, to state championship games last weekend.

He did all of this while also achieving a 4.2 grade point average.

"The best asset for (Griego) is that he's a great teammate," said Farmington coach Jeff Dalton. "He represents the school and the community very well. He works hard and has fun every day on the field."

Griego's best may still be ahead of him. Last season, he averaged nearly eight points per game as a part of the Scorpion basketball team and he will likely be a factor once again this season. The Scorpions basketball team opened their campaign last weekend and will be back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 6 against Kirtland Central.

"He's so fun to watch on the football field and his physicality is what is so impressive," said Scorpion basketball coach Larry-Don Chitty.

Dalton is looking forward to having Griego return for his senior season next year on the football field, and is excited about how eager the quarterback is to get back onto the field and improve on what was already a remarkable season.

"He knows he has a lot more work to do to get to the level where he wants to be," Dalton said.

Ryan Sharpe, Bloomfield High School

Bloomfield High School quarterback Ryan Sharpe has been selected as the co-player of the year in San Juan County among prep football players.

The senior signal-caller led the Bobcats to a Class 4A state title last weekend, rushing for a touchdown and throwing another in a 13-7 win at home over top-ranked Silver. Sharpe finished the season as the second-leading quarterback in Class 4A with nearly 2,200 passing yards. He led the classification with 29 touchdown passes while throwing only seven interceptions.

Last season, Sharpe was the starting quarterback for much of the season before injuries forced him to the sidelines. As a two-year starter, Sharpe has amassed more than 3,000 passing yards and thrown for 35 scores.

"His confidence has come along so well during this season, particularly as we got into the district schedule and through the playoffs," said head coach Mike Kovacs. "His confidence makes everyone around him feel good about what they're doing."

Honorable mentions for player of the season in high school football go to Piedra Vista quarterback Logan Howell, as well as Bloomfield's Jesse Seitzinger.