Easton Bruere stands tall among New Mexico quarterbacks

Easton Bruere understands the adage that it's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

The Rio Rancho junior quarterback suffered a devastating loss four years ago when his best friend, Corbin Hayes, died in a drowning accident. Growing up, Bruere and Hayes played basketball and football together, forming a special bond.

"He was my go-to receiver (when I first started playing youth football in the sixth grade), and we were on the same traveling club basketball team," Bruere said. "He helped push me in sports back then, and he pushes me through sports today. I'm pushing forward, staying positive and choosing to remember all the good times I had with Corbin. It's how you respond to adversity in life that matters."

Remarkable words of wisdom from anyone, let alone a 17-year-old. Then again, it shouldn't be a surprise that Bruere displays a maturity belying his age, on and off the field. Rio Rancho coach Dave Howes used the word "special" three times in describing his star signal-caller during an eight-minute interview.

"We're pretty blessed to have him," said Howes, whose Rams (1-0) host Gadsen (Anthony) Friday at 7 p.m. "Easton understands the game better than any QB I've ever coached. He's got all the intangibles — and I mean all of them — and is just a special kid all the way around."

One of the intangibles Bruere possesses is a knack for playing at a high level with the game on the line. Last year, the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder repeatedly drove his team down the field when it needed a score, often doing it in rapid-fire fashion.

"I love the pressure moments, when it's all on you," said Bruere, who completed 66 percent of his passes and threw for 3,036 yards with 29 touchdowns a season ago.

That's why Bruere gravitated toward the quarterback position as a sixth-grader, at which point his love for football exceeded his passion for baseball, the first sport he started playing at age 5. Bruere hasn't given up on baseball, though, and he was a key contributor to Rio Rancho's 5A state championship-winning baseball team last season.

Bruere would love nothing more than to lead the Rams to a state title on the gridiron. If last week was any indication, the Rams are going to be tough to beat in 2013.

In a season-opening 59-14 win over Highland (Albuquerque) last week, Bruere completed 9 of 10 passes for 230 yards and five touchdowns. That's right — over half of Bruere's completions went for touchdowns, in essentially two quarters of action.

"I guess we were pretty prepared for that game," Bruere said. "It's a great feeling when you're clicking like that."

Here's how brutally efficient the Rio Rancho offense was last week: Its first-team unit faced only one third down before Howes put in his second-stringers early in the third quarter. For Bruere, the result was simply a culmination of hard work and being surrounded by a strong supporting cast.

Bruere had two screen passes that went for touchdowns — the offensive line sprung both plays — while the receivers gained plenty of yards after the catch.

"It was a collaborative team effort, but Easton was fantastic," Howes said.

Bruere can make all the throws, his reads are sound and his footwork impeccable. More importantly, Bruere spends more time developing the mental side of the game — and with good reason.

"If you can get the mental aspect down, then usually your talent and practice time will come through in a game," he said. "And it's important that I stay as calm as possible even when things aren't going well because my teammates are going to be looking at me, and they're going to be in a positive or negative mindset depending on how I react to the situation."

Spoken like an athlete who gets it — surely a byproduct of being raised by great parents. Bruere spends plenty of time watching film with his father, Carl, who is Rio Rancho's offensive coordinator. Carl was a wide receiver at the University of Wyoming and New Mexico Highlands University, and his wife, Rebecca, played basketball at Highlands.

"My dad took me to a lot of football camps, where I learned the fundamentals," Bruere said. "But more importantly, all of the quarterbacks who are really good were there, and it pretty much lets you know where you stand."

In the state of New Mexico, few quarterbacks — if any — are standing taller than Bruere.