Freshman Friday: 2027 Prospects Already Making An Impact

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This weekend marks Week 4 of the New Mexico High School Football Season. Already, some 207 prospects (freshmen) are making significant contributions to their teams. Here are 10 Fantastic Freshmen (listed in alphabetical order):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155027' first='Chase' last='Boykin'], Socorro</strong>: Going into last night's game against Hope Christian (won by Socorro, 29-21), Boykin was making an impact on both sides of the ball. He was second on the team in rushing and tied for first in tackles from his linebacker spot. Boykin looks to be a star in the making.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853757' first='Ulisses' last='Castro'], Bernalillo</strong>: At 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, Castro is a physical specimen as a freshman. He has contributed on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he has 4 receptions for 100 yards (25.0 yards per catch) and defensively he's the Spartans fourth leading tackler with 31. He has 7.0 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and 3 fumble recoveries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1154956' first='Cayl' last='Cox-Liggins'], St. Pius X</strong>: The Sartans have some talented young players and Cox-Liggins is one of them. Through 3 games, he had 10 receptions for 94 yards for St. Pius X.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>C.J. Granados, Dexter</strong>: The Demons are off to a 3-0 start entering Friday night's game at Jal, and Granados is one of the quarterbacks. He has thrown for 196 yards while completing 76.9 percent of his passes and rushed for 107 yards on 13 carries. Promising dual threat QB in the future.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155065' first='Tyvin' last='Howard'], Chaparral</strong>: Howard has been one of Chaparral's best offensive weapons this season. In the first two games he had 123 rushing yards and 60 receiving yards.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155019' first='Ryan' last='Hunt'], St. Michael's</strong>: In St. Michael's first three games, Hunt has 17 tackles and 4 sacks. He loves the spotlight as seen by his 12 tackles and 2 sacks against city rival Santa Fe last week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155059' first='Dominick' last='Lewallen'], Atrisco Heritage</strong>: The 6-foot-2, 250-pound Lewallen is starting at offensive tackle for Atrisco. He has had a major role in making the Jaguars one of the most feared offensive teams in the state. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hershul Olloway, St. Pius X</strong>: The Sartans face Del Norte Saturday and Olloway is certain to get the ball a lot for St. Pius X. Through 3 games, he has a team-leading 225 yards and 3 TD on 41 carries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155305' first='Antonio' last='Ortega'], Crownpoint</strong>: Ortega had 19 tackles, 2.0 TFL and 2.5 sacks going into Thursday night's game against Navajo Prep. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155114' first='Deon' last='Session'], Atrisco Heritage</strong>: Session played a major role for Atrisco in one of the wildest games of the season. He had 3 receptions for 119 yards in the Jaguars' 70-64 victory over Eldorado last weekend. He'll likely play an increasingly significant role in Atrisco's potent offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1129687' first='Jonah' last='Villegas'], Pojoaque Valley</strong>: Son of first-year Elks head coach Zeke Villegas, Jonah has become the face of Pojoaque Valley's football revival. In Thursday night's 55-0 thrashing of Santa Fe Indian, Vilegas scored two touchdowns on a 71-yard run and an 80-yard kickoff return. He runs the 40 in 4.6 seconds, impressive for a 14-year old.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BoykinTrain/status/1700230386322706722?s=20","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/BoykinTrain/status/1700230386322706722?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/5starDominick/status/1695288628145193243?s=20","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/5starDominick/status/1695288628145193243?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/sfnmsports/status/1699959428383166661?s=20","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/sfnmsports/status/1699959428383166661?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->