MANZANO’S FOOTBALL FAMILY TRADITION

The Manzano High School football program has an ever-growing Monarch first-family of football.

First came Andrew. “Andrew Erickson, Manzano High School, Class of 2018.”

Then Austin. “Austin Erickson, Manzano High School, Class of 2020.”

And now Aiden. “Aiden Erickson, Manzano High School, Class of 2026.”

And there’s more! For the past 11 years, Bobby Erickson has been on the sidelines as Manzano’s offensive coordinator—coaching two sons, now coaching with them, and this season, coaching for his youngest. “Who gets to be this lucky?,” Bobby asked.  “Having all three boys now on one team. They used to call Aiden coach because he would come out with me as I coached the boys.  Now he’s a senior and the focus and we’re here to invest in him and help him.  It’s a joy, it’s a pleasure.”

“I think we all wanted to be here for Aiden,” said older brother Andrew.  “We wanted to coach him through his senior year and give him a good experience and give some wisdom and knowledge to him.”

“I played here and always imagined after football I would get into coaching at some point,” said brother Austin. “My dad was coaching here and said ‘You can coach with me at any time, and I took him up on it because it’s a fun opportunity.  You don’t often get to coach your little brother and coach with your dad.”

“Having my brothers and my dad out there with so much experience that they have and can teach me, they always have good information for me, it’s awesome,” said Aiden.

“I don’t know how many people get to do this,” said Manzano head coach Stephen Johnston.  “To have the Ericksons, all four of them, as part of our program, they’re just good people.”

“When you have those kind of football guys around you, and you saw how they were as high school players and what they did for UNM, I’d be crazy not to use that kind of knowledge on my team,” Johnston added.

And though Aiden may be the youngest, he’s also the tallest of the bunch—but still looks up to his brothers in every way. “I looked up to them, they were already so much older than me,” explained the senior.  “I grew up watching them play, they were an inspiration and I always wanted to be like them.”

For the Ericksons, football isn’t just a game. It’s a bond. A tradition. A family business.

“It’s truly a blessing to participate in something that’s so important to them,” said their father Bobby.