7×7: Heat conclude campaign Sunday with revamped roster

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When the New Mexico Heat began preparations for the winter and early spring 7x7 season, a significant portion of the roster consisted of 2023 prospects, players who had completed their senior seasons in the fall, some of whom had already signed letters of intent with the college of their choice.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two months later, the Heat roster looks significantly different.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Beginning with a tournament in Arizona a few weeks ago and last weekend in Round Rock, TX, the Heat look much younger with several 2026 prospects coming aboard.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The new additions include QB <strong>Jacob Maldonado</strong> (La Cueva), QB/WR <strong>Victor Aguilar</strong> (Rio Rancho) and WR/DB <strong>James Aragon</strong> (Del Norte). All three are rising sophomores.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A 2027 prospect has also been added to the roster – DB <strong>Adrian Gonzales</strong>. He currently attends Eagle Ridge Middle School in Rio Rancho but will be a freshman at RRHS in the fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We have a lot of new kids on the team,” Heat coach Isaiah Brown told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “We lost a lot of our original players to spring sports and other reasons. Because of that, we're extremely young. We have a bunch of freshmen on the team with no varsity experience.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-0, 155-pound Aragon is listed on Del Norte's 2022 varsity roster.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Three Eldorado standouts highlight the current roster: RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615660' first='John' last='Paul Ludi']</strong>, WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275436' first='Josiah' last='Mitchell']</strong> and DB <strong>Erick Thomas</strong>. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Heat, along with New Mexico Legacy and more than a half dozen other teams, will compete Sunday in the Land of Enchantment Jamboree at Bernalillo High School. The action begins at 9 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Every time we go and compete, it's a learning experience,” Brown said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last weekend in Round Rock, Heat faced some of the nation's top 7x7 teams at the DR7 National Championship, and held their own at times despite their youth and inexperience. Overall, they went 1-3.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It was a valuable learning experience,” Brown said. “It was great for our development. The way we played, the future is bright for this program with all these young players. The field consisted of many championship level teams that have won tournaments across the nation.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/nmheat_7v7/status/1648375357580492800","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/nmheat_7v7/status/1648375357580492800 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->