2024 Look Ahead: St. Pius X led by promising 2027 class

With a roster filled with freshmen and sophomores, Curtis Flakes II understood his first year as St. Pius X head coach could get a little rough.   In the end, the Sartans finished 4-7 and qualified for the Class 4A playoffs before being eliminated by Espanola Valley in the first round.   But the future of St. Pius X is bright thanks in large part to a promising 2027 class that formed the core of the team in 2023.   The group includes 6-foot-5 QB [player_tooltip player_id='1154948' first='Isaiah' last='Carpenter'], RB [player_tooltip player_id='1154954' first='Hershul' last='Olloway Jr.'], RB [player_tooltip player_id='1155140' first='Jayshaun' last='Lewis'], WR [player_tooltip player_id='1154956' first='Cayl' last='Cox-Liggins'] and WR [player_tooltip player_id='1155012' first='Curtis' last='Flakes III']. All five saw significant action as freshmen and the head coach hopes that experience pays dividends in 2024.     “When I interviewed for the job, I wasn't worried about who was coming back because I wanted to start with a clean slate,” Flakes said. “I was just concerned with getting the kids to where they needed to be. We had no idea how young we were going to be.   “Our numbers were up last season although 64 of our 82 kids were 8th, 9th and 10th graders. We struggled at times and we had our ups and downs. But you could see the growth throughout the season. Our young guys all showed their potential. It's encouraging for the future. I was impressed with the maturity of our kids.”   Add to that aforementioned quintet our No. 2 prospect in the initial 2027 rankings – [player_tooltip player_id='1155027' first='Chase' last='Boykin']. He was one of Socorro's top players on both sides of the ball as a freshman in 2023 but transferred to St. Pius X during Christmas break and is now involved in off-season activities with the Sartans program.        Carpenter threw for 650 yards and 3 TD is his first varsity action.   “Having a young quarterback who's 6-5, 185 pounds and is athletic is definitely a ride,” Flakes said. “People see his big frame but they don't realize how smart he is. Isaiah had a 3.9 GPA. He's super smart. He's able to process things when we break down film. He's young and he's learning but he's soaking it up like a sponge. He's a special talent.   Olloway got off to a promising start, rushing for 147 yards in a 28-2 victory over Highland in Week 2. But he suffered a serious injury in Week 3 against Valley and appeared in just 1 more game after that.   “I've been coaching Hershul since he was six years old,” Flakes said. “When you watch him on film, he's different. His burst of speed and vision is special. He's slippery and hard to tackle. He has the stuff you can't coach.”   Lewis had the third most carries for St. Pius X last season. Going into the 2024 season, he and Olloway are projected as the top two ball carriers (before factoring Boykin into the mix) with senior Joaquin Candelaria graduating.   “When Hershul got hurt, Jayshaun came in the next week and did well (12 carries, 61 yards, 3 TD),” Flakes said. “The skill set is definitely there.”   The 6-foot-0 [player_tooltip player_id='1155012' first='Curtis' last='Flakes III'] enjoyed an encouraging freshman season with 13 receptions for 186 yards and 1 TD.   “We moved him around a lot,” Curtis Flakes II said. “He's an athlete. He played quarterback for a couple of games when guys were hurt. He scored a lot of two-point conversions for us. He's definitely a threat on the outside for us. He did roll his ankle and missed three or four games, but he'll be back and ready to go.”   Perhaps the most impressive thing about Cox-Liggins is his size. He's listed at 6-foot-3 and looks every bit that height on film. In 8 games last season, he had 37 receptions for 450 yards.   “Cayl is a special guy,” Flakes said. “He has the potential to become the best wide receiver I've ever coached. He's a unique talent you don't see much. He's tall, deceptively fast and he'll go up and get any ball thrown his way. He promises to be one of the best players in the state for the next three years.”   If all those rising sophomores weren't enough, 8th-grader [player_tooltip player_id='1613476' first='Christian' last='Morales'] started at slot receiver and finished with 15 receptions for 179 yards. He had seven receptions for 107 yards against Bloomfield.     In addition, Chase Nelson started all but one game at center last season as a freshman.   “He's a stud,” Flakes said. “He commanded the offensive line and we had a couple of seniors there. But Chase was often the leader. He was the most consistent offensive linemen we had last season.”   Defensive end [player_tooltip player_id='1790998' first='Lucas' last='Saavedra'] started a couple of games at defensive end as a freshman and finished with 13 tackles in 7 games. Another rising freshman to watch for St. Pius X in 2024 is 6-foot-1 [player_tooltip player_id='1613367' first='Cash' last='Brewer'], who dominated at the JV level and started for the St. Pius varsity at defensive back in the final week of the regular season and the playoff game.   The new District 4A-2 features St. Pius X, Albuquerque Academy, Chaparral, Manzano, Portales, Silver and Valencia. The Sartans face West Mesa, Grants, Moriarty and Organ Mountain in non-district play before starting district competition Sept. 27 with a long trip to Silver City.   St. Pius X 2024 Football Schedule:   Aug. 23 at West Mesa   Aug. 30 GRANTS   Sept. 6 MORIARTY   Sept. 13 ORGAN MOUNTAIN   Sept. 20 Bye   Sept. 27 at Silver*   Oct. 4 ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY*   Oct. 11 at Portales*   Oct. 18 at Chaparral*   Oct. 25 VALENCIA*   Nov. 1 MANZANO*   * District Game   <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/1754262736937329044?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Hersh_Olloway2/status/1743720842847273208?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CaylCoxLiggins/status/1698822023190044970?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Isaiah_3_C/status/1709062235153432711?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1749561777614950436?s=20 </div></figure>

With a roster filled with freshmen and sophomores, Curtis Flakes II understood his first year as St. Pius X head coach could get a little rough.