Growing Up Fast: 2026 Prospects You Need To Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2022 high school football season in New Mexico saw numerous freshmen make an impact on their teams. Some were major contributors. Here are the 2026 prospects you need to know heading into the 2023 season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Peyton Duncan, Bloomfield</strong>: Per MaxPreps, Duncan had the most receptions (16 ) and receiving yards (184) of any freshman in the state. Celebrating a Class 4A championship, Bloomfield could be scary good at receiver in 2023 as all six of its top receivers from last season, including Duncan, return. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Santiago Gonzales, Farmington</strong>: You don't see many freshman starters in Class 6A but Gonzales was one of them and he flourished at linebacker for the Scorpions as he made 62 tackles to finish 4^th on the team in total tackles. With [player_tooltip player_id='590528' first='Isaac' last='Foutz'], Gonzales and others, Farmington has the foundation in place for a punishing defense in 2023. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Garret Gonzalez, Dexter</strong>: In addition to having the 3^rd most tackles of any freshman in the state in 2022 with 55, Gonzalez also rushed for 271 yards and 3 TD on just 37 carries, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. He should be one of the top two-way players in Class 3A in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Omar Gonzalez, Hatch Valley</strong>: Playing on both sides of the ball for the Bears, Gonzalez threw for 260 yards and 3 TD as a quarterback and made 43 tackles with 9 TFL and 3 forced fumbles on defense. He averaged close to 1.0 TFL per game. Impressive for a freshman. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gunnar Guardiola, Las Cruces</strong>: One of two freshmen on the Bulldawgs' varsity roster, Guardiola started at least one game at quarterback for Las Cruces when senior starter Matt Lashley was hurt. With Las Cruces facing a must-win situation in mid-October, Guardiola led Las Cruces to a 31-21 win over crosstown rival Organ Mountain, completing 11-of-16 passes for 142 yards and 1 TD. Guardiola will compete for the Bulldawgs' starting QB job in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615426' first='Alex' last='Lopez'], Gadsden</strong>: It's rare to see a freshman playing significant snaps on the defensive line because the position is so physically demanding, but Lopez did it in 2022 for the Panthers. He made 51 tackles with 1 sack to help the Panthers reach the 5A quarterfinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Elijah Melancon, Eunice</strong>: If there was an award handed out for 2022 Freshman of the Year, Melancon would be the heavy favorite. He threw for 2,182 yards and 31 TD in 2022, by far the most of any freshman QB in the state. He also rushed for 272 yards, showing he has good mobility. Overall, he accounted for nearly 2,500 yards. Will Melancon lead Eunice back to the top of the Class 2A mountain? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bobby Parraz, Loving</strong>: A three-sport standout, Parraz led Loving in rushing with 557 yards and 4 TD on 69 carries in 2022. He had 3 games of 100+ yards. Loving competes in the same 2A district as Eunice, Jal and Texico, so Parraz faces some tough defenses in district play. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Isaiah Rivera, Albuquerque Academy</strong>: Rivera is one of those rare freshman who excelled in the trenches as a freshman, earning Honorable Mention All-State honors in Class 4A. Rivera was Albuquerque Academy's starting center and he got to snap the ball all season long to older brother [player_tooltip player_id='137884' first='A.J.' last='Rivera'].&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Garrick Roe, Cuba</strong>: Who led all freshman defenders in tackles in 2022? Roe. He had 67 tackles for Cuba High as well as 2 TFL, 1 INT and 4 passes defended. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honorable Mention</strong>:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gage Conway (Albuq. Academy); Tristin Fernandez (Grants); Richard Lovato (Cuba); Isaiah Ortega (Grants); Tristan Polanco (Hot Springs); Douglas Mitchell (Grants); DeMarcus Alaniz (Hatch Valley); [player_tooltip player_id='402251' first='Tanner' last='Montano'] (La Cueva); D.J. Chavez (Grants).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/AAIsaiah_Rivera/status/1599520637110091776","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/AAIsaiah_Rivera/status/1599520637110091776 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/AAIsaiah_Rivera/status/1614272127175213057","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/AAIsaiah_Rivera/status/1614272127175213057 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/GunnarGuardiola/status/1612227934118621184","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GunnarGuardiola/status/1612227934118621184 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/GunnarGuardiola/status/1587198402416152576","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GunnarGuardiola/status/1587198402416152576 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->