2024 Look Ahead: Organ Mountain eyes promising future

Kenneth Sanchez is undeterred.   A former MaxPreps National Coach of the Year at powerhouse Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, NV, Sanchez's first season as head coach at Organ Mountain didn't go as planned as the Knights struggled on both sides of the ball and finished with a winless record.   “Our record wasn't good by any means, but it's just the start of building a new program from the ground up,” Sanchez told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “We had some success in some areas as we had a lot of young kids gain experience. The future looks bright.”   Sanchez, who started at Organ Mountain last May, said the Knights' struggles didn't catch him by surprise.   “You don't really know until you get involved in the school, the kids, the program itself and see where everything is at,” Sanchez said. “Based on what you learn, you put a plan together and you follow the plan. All we can do is keep working hard and getting better. Being frustrated is just part of being a competitor. It goes along with the job. It's what you do with those frustrations that matters.”   As you might expect, Sanchez's message to his team following the season was consistent with his plan.   “The message was the same as last summer and throughout the season,” Sanchez said. “The ones that want to ride with the brand and stay and be a part of the program and the expectations, now have an idea of how we're going to run this program.   “We're going to keep climbing the hill. Our guys understand there's nothing easy about the process. We have high expectations for our kids both academically and in football. As long there's buy-in, everything will be OK at the end of the day.”   Just like many teams that struggle, most positions on the Knights are wide open going into the spring and summer, including quarterback and running back. Last season's starters, seniors Logan Tarango and [player_tooltip player_id='1103839' first='EJ' last='Guerra'], graduate.   Who replaces them? TBA.   “It's completely wide open,” Sanchez said.     Rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='615618' first='Damien' last='Avila'] looks to have the edge at RB but he'll have to beat out rising senior [player_tooltip player_id='1595894' first='Riley' last='Test'] and some younger players coming up through the ranks.   Organ Mountain ran the ball about 65 percent of the time in 2023. Sanchez said the Knights's offensive scheme will be designed to fit the talents of the players on the field.   “Our offense will always be geared towards the players we have and how well we can run the offense based on who we have,” Sanchez said. “That can change from year to year. But football, first and foremost, is a running game. In order to throw the ball, you have to have a quarterback who can manage that, an offensive line that can block for him and receivers that are physical and can run routes and block. When we get into the spring and get onto the field, we'll start to identify who we are.”   Test, rising sophomore Ezekiel Weir and rising senior Nick Holgiun are being eyed to emerge as three of Organ Mountain's top receivers.   Both the offensive and defensive lines were ravaged by injuries in 2023, so Organ Mountain rarely had the same starters from week to week.   “We had a lot of injuries and a lot of moving parts,” Sanchez said. “Right now, we have three offensive line starters coming back.”   [player_tooltip player_id='1258875' first='Cody' last='Burk'], [player_tooltip player_id='1594093' first='Diego' last='Ramirez'] and Luis Torres are the returning starters on the offensive line. Newcomers include rising junior Giovanny Lira and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1680164' first='Diego' last='Lopez'].     The Organ Mountain defense was put into some tough spots last season because the offense only scored 67 points in 10 games. As a result, the defense often had to be perfect to give the Knights any chance of winning.   “Our defense played well at times,” Sanchez said. “They were on the field a lot. We were also very young. Some games we had six freshman starters on defense.”   Burk played both ways and was a very good defensive linemen. He'll be joined on the D-Line by rising sophomore Dominic Reyes, who had a solid season as a freshman in 2023. [player_tooltip player_id='1258873' first='Julian' last='Gonzales'] played well at outside linebacker. Rising sophomore defensive back Kendin Mangrum impressed as a freshman in 2023. Rising junior Ezekiel Gomez will be a starter at cornerback.   2024 ORGAN MOUNTAIN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE   Aug. 24 ELDORADO (Sat, 1 p.m.)   Aug. 30 at Deming*   Sept. 6 at Mayfield   Sept. 13 at St. Pius X   Sept. 20 ALAMOGORDO*   Sept. 27 LAS CRUCES*   Oct. 4 at Carlsbad*   Oct. 11 at Clovis*   Oct. 18 CENTENNIAL*   Oct. 25 at Hobbs*   Nov. 1 Bye   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JPGroves/status/1683848979602194433?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/OrganMountainHS/status/1571523427470811137?s=20 </div></figure>

Kenneth Sanchez is undeterred.