Premier Prospects: 2025 Standouts

Investing in the future success and growth of a program is what drives college recruiters to search for the best high school prospects to add to the roster. When a young player displays a level of talent and skill that turns them into a standout on the varsity stage, the chances of their recruiting value increasing are extremely high. In this case, we will be taking a look at three playoff teams that have been led by first-year players. The freshmen listed below are players who made significant contributions on varsity in their first year as high school athletes on dominant teams with promising futures.   Fairview Knights (6-5) One of the more talked about freshmen in the state is [player_tooltip player_id="206494" first="Bekkem" last="Kritza"], Fairview’s quarterback phenom who completed the regular season with 3,192 yards (second in-state) and 22 touchdowns. In his first 10-game high school season, Kritza finished as one of the top 40 quarterbacks in the nation. <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16078708/618c113cc11a020954ccdc51’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16078708/618c113cc11a020954ccdc51" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> What may be a little less known is that the Knights had a handful of talented freshmen who started on varsity and played significant roles in reaching the playoffs. [player_tooltip player_id="230322" first="Jordan" last="Rechel"] (WR), [player_tooltip player_id="232186" first="Brock" last="Kolstad"] (DE), and [player_tooltip player_id="232179" first="Ryder" last="Villarreal"] (OLB) put on outstanding performances in their debut seasons as well. Rechel completed the regular season as the team’s leading receiver with 845 yards (1st in-class) and 10 touchdowns, along with three rushing touchdowns. Kolstad was the fourth-leading tackler for the Knights, finishing the season with 57 total tackles (3rd in-class), seven tackles for loss, seven QB hurries, and two sacks. Villarreal had 27 total tackles, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, three pass breakups, and one QB hurry. All four of these players were teammates on the Boulder Bears youth team and immediately made playoff-caliber contributions to a powerhouse high school program in their first year. Unfortunately, the team was unable to compete in the first round of the playoffs due to a COVID-19 exposure that forced them to forfeit the game against ThunderRidge. However, the Knights have shown that they are a top-tier team with a lot of young talent.   Ponderosa Mustangs (7-4) Ponderosa is home to [player_tooltip player_id="216827" first="Andrew" last="Heidel"] (QB) and [player_tooltip player_id="232160" first="Max" last="Mervin"] (WR), two young players who came out of the regular season as the third-leading freshmen in their respective categories. Heidel had 1,199 yards (3rd) and 13 touchdowns, while Mervin had 382 receiving yards (3rd) and four touchdowns. <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/9616948/618737a523477f031c5a72c4’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/9616948/618737a523477f031c5a72c4" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> The Mustangs won their first-round playoff game against a tough Aurora Central team with solid performances by Heidel and Mervin. Heidel put up a stat line of 13 completions from 20 attempts for 125 yards and three touchdowns, while Mervin had 10 receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown. These young players will be leading the Mustangs against an electrifying Chatfield Chargers team in the second round of the playoffs on Friday night.   Mountain Vista Golden Ealges (5-6) The Golden Eagles is another team that has quite a few freshmen contributors within its ranks. [player_tooltip player_id="232153" first="Austyn" last="Modrzewski"] (QB) has been sharing reps with a senior and still put up a regular-season stat line of 1,028 yards (4th in-class) and nine touchdowns. Modrzewski put up crazy numbers in the team’s first-round win last week against Legacy, going 24 of 28 for 317 yards and six touchdowns. <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/5000545/618806ef38639105ec6ff3e7’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/5000545/618806ef38639105ec6ff3e7" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> [player_tooltip player_id="232161" first="Jakhi" last="Mack"] (WR), [player_tooltip player_id="232168" first="Carter" last="Daniels"] (RB/LB), and [player_tooltip player_id="232167" first="Chris" last="Smith"] (RB/LB) have been putting on impressive performances all season as well. Mack finished the regular season with 454 receiving yards (2nd in-class) and five touchdowns, then completed his playoff debut with 94 yards and two touchdowns from four catches. Smith is the team’s second-leading rusher with 402 yards (2nd in-class) and one touchdown, while Daniels is the third-leading rusher (team and class) with 395 yards two touchdowns. The Golden Eagles were able to handle business against a speedy Legacy team in the first round of the playoffs thanks to the outstanding performance by Modrzewski. This Friday night, Mountain Vista will be traveling to take on Cherry Creek, the two-time reigning state champs.   Other freshmen names to know [player_tooltip player_id="232155" first="Alex" last="Birch"] | Horizon | QB | 2,130 yds (2nd in-class) with 16 TDs [player_tooltip player_id="232166" first="Amari" last="Brown"] | Pueblo Central | RB | 427 yds (1st in-class) with 4 TDs [player_tooltip player_id="232190" first="Jayden" last="Nohr"] | Berthoud | ATH | 353 rush yds with 5 TDs & 13 total tackles [player_tooltip player_id="232154" first="Ty" last="Reed"] | Delta | QB | 914 pass yds with 13 TDs & 329 rush yds with 14 TDs (1st in-class) [player_tooltip player_id="232180" first="Masen" last="Campbell"] | Severence | ILB | 68 total tackles (2nd in-class), 4 TFL, 4 sacks, 2 INT, 1 FF [player_tooltip player_id="232187" first="Kafui" last="Fiadonu"] | D’Evelyn | DE | 50 total tackles, 20 TFL, 7 sacks (1st in-class), 1 HUR, 1 FRec [player_tooltip player_id="232189" first="Aiden" last="Knapke"] | Cherry Creek | S | 14 total tackles, 2 INT, 3 PD [player_tooltip player_id="232181" first="Gunnar" last="Clary"] | Eaton | LB/DE | 10 total tackles & 3.5 sacks [player_tooltip player_id="232169" first="Colin" last="Torres"] | Broomfield | RB | 301 yds with 1 TD