2024 Look Ahead: Highland Hornets

Three years ago, Highland had a roster full of freshmen and were one of the youngest teams in the state. But something happened to all that promising talent – it grew up.   Over the last two years, Highland has transformed itself into a Class 5A playoff contender. The Hornets barely missed the postseason in 2022 (5-4) before earning the No. 10 seed in 2023.   The combined 11 victories in 2022-23 by Highland are the most over a two-year period since the Hornets won 13 games in 2010-11.   “Last season was a good year for us going back to the playoffs,” Highland head coach Phillip Lovato told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “It didn't end the way we wanted, but I'm proud of the guys, what they accomplished and the hard work they put in. This year, a lot of players are returning. The goal is to get back to the playoffs and win a playoff game. We need to expect more from ourselves. Winning a playoff game would be huge for our program.”   Biggest sign of progress? Highland's senior class is one of the largest (10-13 players) they've had in years. Most of those players have gutted it out for three years.   If the Hornets return to the Class 5A playoffs, workhorse senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='615425' first='Amiri' last='Mumba'] will likely lead them there. Last season, the 5-foot-10, 200-pound Mumba (former staff at NMHU offered) rushed for 1,847 yards and 16 TD on 238 carries, averaging 168 yards per game. Few will dispute the assertion that Mumba, also a state champion in wrestling and power lifting, is the best running back in the Albuquerque Metro Region.   “We're obviously very fortunate to have Amiri,” Lovato said. “If we can keep Amiri healthy, we're going to give him the ball. There's no hiding that. He's bigger and stronger than he was last year. He'll be the focus of our offense. We just have to be smart on how we use him.”   The key for Highland is to show some semblance of a passing attack to prevent opposing defenses from loading the box and keeping Mumba bottled up between the tackles. Play action passes promise to be a vital component of Highland's scheme.   “People have to account for Amiri,” Lovato said. “That should open up other guys in the passing game. We have a couple of receivers that should stand out this year. We may not throw the ball a whole lot, but when we do there's a good possibility of getting some big plays.   “How we use our formations and motions will be key. My offensive coordinator has come up with some good stuff the past couple of years. We're much farther ahead offensively compared to last year.”   When Mumba needs a rest, junior Jose Topia will get some carries. Topia was also Highland's leading receiver in 2023.   Senior [player_tooltip player_id='854198' first='Alex' last='Lopez'] returns at quarterback after sharing snaps last season.      “We're working very hard with Alex on just doing his job,” Lovato said. “Sometimes in the past, he wanted to be the guy, which led to some poor choices. He wants to win and to well.”   Junior Carnell Platt will get a look at bother running back and wide receiver. He has a bright future.   [player_tooltip player_id='1137428' first='Erick' last='Cordova'] returns to the offensive line. Promising sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1272783' first='Jasper' last='Groves'] will get an opportunity to start at guard after playing middle linebacker in 2023.     Senior defensive end [player_tooltip player_id='1118373' first='Shawn' last='Wharepapa'] will anchor Highland's defense along with being the center. He's extremely athletic, explosive and one of the fastest players on the team. He's a wrestler, power lifter and runs track.   “Shawn is an incredible athlete,” Lovato said.   Cordova will also play on the D-Line along with Groves. Lopez is slated to see action at linebacker because he's the Hornets' best tackler. He played both ways last year and finished with 98 tackles and 6.0 TFL. Erik Ochoa will play OLB and/or DB.   2024 HIGHLAND SCHEDULE:   Aug. 23 at Manzano (7 p.m.)   Aug. 30 at Bernalillo (7 p.m.)   Sept. 5 TAOS (Thur., 7 p.m.)   Sept. 13 at Los Alamos (7 p.m.)*   Sept. 20 RIO GRANDE ( 7 p.m.)*   Sept. 28 VALLEY (Sat., 11 a.m.)*   Oct. 5 MIYAMURA (Sat.)*   Oct. 11 Bye   Oct. 18 BELEN ( 7 p.m.)*   Oct. 24 CAPITAL (Thur., 7 p.m.)*   Nov. 1 at Del Norte (7 p.m.)*   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/kklyps/status/1735137638573830414 </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/kklyps/status/1779637713257336969 </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/10_Alejandro_L/status/1802027452505768234 </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/HHS_HornetsFB/status/1795153172572344436 </div></figure>

Three years ago, Highland had a roster full of freshmen and were one of the youngest teams in the state. But something happened to all that promising talent – it grew up.