Super Sophomores: 12 Defensive Standouts Who Made An Impact

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've been revealing the top sophomores from the just completed 2024 season. Here are some of the top defensive players of the 2027 class:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604762' first='Joaquin' last='Aragon'], St. Pius X</strong>: The Sartans are stacked with young talent on the offensive side of the ball, but the same is true for the defensive side as well. Aragon had 73 tackles, 4.0 TFL and 5 passes defended. St. Pius X will again be a title contender in 2025. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605059' first='Bryson' last='Bloom'], Alamogordo</strong>: Solid sophomore season for Bloom as he collected 70 tackles, 4.0 TFL and 2 forced fumbles on defense, in addition to contributing on offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606048' first='Xander' last='Chavez'], Legacy Academy</strong>: Legacy's first year playing 11-man football was a huge success, and Chavez contributed heavily on the defensive side with 82 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 10 QB hurries from his LB spot. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606054' first='Alejandro' last='Guerra'], Organ Mountain</strong>: Guerra had a pivotal role on a young and vastly improved Organ Mountain team. From his strong safety spot, Guerra had 78 tackles, 3.0 TFL and 3 INT. Watch out for the Knights in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606066' first='Kory' last='Harvey'], Crownpoint</strong>: Strong nose for the football as he had 69 tackles and 3 fumble recoveries for Crownpoint. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248663' first='Colton' last='McKibben'], Carlsbad</strong>: The 6-foot-2, 210-pound McKibben was a tackling machine for the Cavemen's defense in 2024, finishing with 95 tackles, 11.5 TFL and 1 INT. He'll be a leader for Carlsbad in 2025. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604768' first='Santino' last='Mares'], Valencia</strong>: One of the top young defensive backs in the Albuquerque Metro Region. Finished with 86 tackles, 3.0 TFL and 3 INT for an up-an-coming Valencia team that looks to make more noise in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155310' first='Fernando' last='Prieto'], Dexter</strong>: One of the young stars on a Dexter Demon squad filled with them. Prieto finished with 91 tackles, 15.0 TFL, 11 sacks and 2 INT. He led all sophomores with the 11 sacks. &nbsp;Dexter lost a heartbreaker to St. Michael's in the 3A state championship game, but the Demons will definitely be a contender again next season. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606046' first='Mario' last='Romero'], Moriarty</strong>: Played on both sides of the ball, but his biggest contribution came on defense, where he made 85 tackles and 3.0 TFL for the Pintos.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604734' first='Jacari' last='Smith'], Rio Rancho</strong>: Smith showed he knows how to wreak havoc in the opposing offensive backfield as he totaled 9.0 TFL, 8 sacks and 13 QB hurries for the Rams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Vincent Varela, Manzano</strong>: Nearly half of Varela's tackles this season went for negative yardage (14.0 TFL out of 32 tackles). He also had 5 sacks and 15.0 QB hurries. Great size at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds. Another young talented DE.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Denton Walter, Las Cruces</strong>: Named ‘Newcomer of the Year' by the Las Cruces Sun-News, Walter enjoyed a fantastic sophomore season, leading the Bulldawgs in tackles with 163, 14.0 TFL, 5 sacks, 9 QB hurries and 2 INT. Incredible year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sophomore Season Stats:<br>95 Tackles<br>11.5 TFL's<br>2.5 Sacks<br>1 INT<a href="https://t.co/ZEmT4cxLZb">https://t.co/ZEmT4cxLZb</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='1248663' first='Colton' last='McKibben'] (@COLTONMCKIBBEN9) <a href="https://twitter.com/COLTONMCKIBBEN9/status/1868496518069866591?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Full season highlight for Sophomore year<br>7 sacks <br>Forced fumble<br>18 TFL's <br>2 TD's <br>Blocked punt <br>1 extra pt block <a href="https://t.co/5oiFbNc7Wn">https://t.co/5oiFbNc7Wn</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='1272795' first='Vincent' last='Varela Jr.'] (@VinnyVarela84) <a href="https://twitter.com/VinnyVarela84/status/1855675315546108298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->