2024 Look Ahead: Strong defense should again fuel Roswell

Roswell was almost perfect in 2023.   The Coyotes beat their first 12 opponents by an average margin of 36.83 points. The closest margin of victory was 21 against Artesia in the Wool Bowl in October. They won eight games by 32+ points.   But the Coyotes ran into the Artesia buzzsaw in the Class 5A state championship game and suffered their first - and only – loss of the campaign at the Bulldog Bowl Thanksgiving weekend.   Don't weep for Roswell, though. Bolstered and replenished by a talented rising junior class, the Coyotes look to be just as good in 2024. Roswell's JV team went undefeated in 2023 and many of those emerging young players are expected to contribute to the varsity in the fall.   For the Coyotes, everything begins on defense. Roswell allowed just 73 points TOTAL in its first 12 games last season. Only two teams reached double figures – Lovington (18) and Mayfield (15) – against the Coyotes until the 5A championship game.   As impressive as that is, Roswell might be just as good on defense in 2024, if not better. The defensive line will arguably be the state's best with 6-foot-3, 235-pound [player_tooltip player_id='1118051' first='Mason' last='Greathouse'], 6-foot-5, 230-pound [player_tooltip player_id='1259013' first='Aidan' last='Rutley'] and 6-foot-3, 255-pound [player_tooltip player_id='613759' first='Noah' last='Lynn']. That's a lot of beef. They will be a handful for every offensive line they face in 2024.   “The strength of our football team will again be the defense,” Roswell head coach Jeff Lynn told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “It starts with the defensive front. Mason may be our best prospect on defense. He's a very good football player. Aidan is very good too. His future might be at tight end.”   UTEP has shown interest in Greathouse, who traveled to El Paso recently for the Miners' Junior Day. Eastern New Mexico extended a Junior Day invitation. Rutley visited New Mexico Highlands earlier this month.     The linebacker corps led by OLB [player_tooltip player_id='836944' first='Keegan' last='Nichols'], also an elite wrestler, should be pretty good too. Newcomer [player_tooltip player_id='1266509' first='Kannon' last='Ramage'], another talented rising junior, will likely join Nichols on the second level.   “Keegan was probably our best defensive player last year,” Lynn said. “He's a three-sport athlete. He's a super kid. One of the best we've ever had here at Roswell.”   Six-foot-3, 180-pound safety [player_tooltip player_id='1118273' first='Xai' last='Carrasco'] is an intriguing next level prospect. Cornerbacks will have all new players.   “I think Xai is as good a prospect as any in the state,” Lynn said. “He plays on both sides of the ball. He can run and jump very well. The one position on our team that's a question mark is cornerback. We have kids there but a lot of inexperience. We have an idea of who they will be but they need to come along and have a great summer and preseason camp. Right now, we have four of five guys competing for those spots.”   The biggest loss on defense might be defensive coordinator Arturo Bolanos, who accepted the job as head coach at crosstown rival Goddard last month. Bolanos won the 2023 Broyles Award as the top assistant in the state.      Offensively, Roswell must replace nearly every major contributor from 2023, including quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='425194' first='Manny' last='Fuentez'] and 1,000-yard rusher [player_tooltip player_id='340165' first='Bryce' last='Sanchez'].   This is where the rising junior class is expected to shine.   “We lost just about everybody on offense,” Lynn said. “We don't return many guys. They were all seniors. So, we'll be a work in progress on that side of the ball. But we have players there. We have good kids in our program that are going to get opportunities. The first couple of games, we'll have to sort some things out. We'll be fine.”     Three contenders will compete for the starting QB job: three-sport standout Jacob Palomino (rising Sr.), [player_tooltip player_id='1594254' first='Andrew' last='Padilla'] (rising Sr.) and 6-foot-3, 200-pound rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='1750685' first='Luke' last='Lynn']. Speedster [player_tooltip player_id='836951' first='Luis' last='Godoy'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1594192' first='Jaylon' last='Cloud'] are the top candidates to replace Sanchez at running back .   “We have two very good candidates to fill in for Bryce this year,” Lynn said. “I feel good about it. And we have a couple of sophomores that are pretty good as well.”   Besides linebacker, Nichols could see action at wide receiver along with Carrasco, so they'll see action on both sides of the ball. Rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='1750777' first='Kolby' last='Sanchez'] is an intriguing newcomer at WR. [player_tooltip player_id='1258088' first='Abey' last='Toscano'] returns at slot receiver.   “We have to get Keegan and Xai on the field, both ways,” Lynn said.     The offensive line returns one contributor from last season – Matthew Avitia. Most of the newcomers are rising juniors. And they're big. The new group is led by C.J. Kennard, [player_tooltip player_id='1266452' first='Ethan' last='Lopez'], [player_tooltip player_id='853055' first='Isaiah' last='Trujillo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1594165' first='Daniel' last='Chavez-Gonzales'].      “Eventually, we have a chance to be better on the offensive line than we were this past season,” Lynn said. “We have really good ones coming up. They've all been in our system for two years. They'll play the same position. They just don't have varsity experience. We'll bring them along and get better every week. I feel good about our offensive line. We just have to get the guys in the right spots.”   2024 Roswell Football Schedule:   8/23 at Los Lunas   8/30 ALAMOGORDO   9/6 HOBBS   9/13 at Lovington*   9/20 at Deming*   9/27 SANTA TERESA*   10/4 GADSDEN*   10/11 Bye   10/18 at Artesia*   10/25 at Mayfield*   11/1 GODDARD*   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MasonGr8house/status/1730658937026789684?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/therealaidan44/status/1728682669658046678?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/n0ahlynn17/status/1732537879262544133?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/KeeganNichols_7/status/1761625412101345290?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/CoyotesRising/status/1747638546691985849?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/AbeyToscano2/status/1594767449437589504?s=20 </div></figure>

Roswell was almost perfect in 2023.