2026 Team Preview: Newcomb Skyhawks

OVERVIEW   Newcomb is coming off a two-win season in 2025, but Skyhawks head coach Vincent Lee says he is ‘really excited' about the 2026 campaign because for the first time in his four years directing the program, he will have a full staff of assistant coaches working with him.   “I'm thrilled about that because I haven't had to be everywhere at the same time,” Lee told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “I've been overseeing everything and working with my offensive backfield and offensive line.”   Newcomb utilized a large number of underclassmen in 2025, but Lee said they stayed the course despite the eight loss-season.   “Our kids never stopped fighting,” Lee said. “We gained a lot of valuable experience. We were in almost every game. We had several opportunities to win but didn't make the plays. We made a lot of mistakes at critical times. That's part of the learning process. Many of our younger players didn't even play JV ball.  We had to bring them up right away. We played a lot of senior laden teams. We were just outplayed. That was the story of our season.”   In addition, a Newcomb coach passed away in the middle of the season, adding to the adversity the Skyhawk players faced throughout the season. When last season ended, Lee asked his players to commit to a disciplined off-season program with weight lifting, speed drills, 7-on-7 and more. They've done that.   “Our message to the players was if they committed, we could have a good season,” Lee said. “If they didn't commit, 2-8 would be the norm. We put the responsibility on our players. They've responded. We had a lot of kids come out for powerlifting. We've had a lot of kids get a lot stronger and leaner this offseason.”              OFFENSE   Newcomb will have a new offensive backfield in 2026 as the Skyhawks' top two rushers graduated after accounting for nearly 2,000 rushing yards last season. Regardless, Newcomb will remain a power running team. They passed the ball just 52 times in 2025 compared to 430 rushes.   “We're still a run team,” Lee said. “We're going to run the ball. That's what we do here. Until we get a 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3 gunslinger and some kids that beat defenders vertically and catch the ball, we're going to run the ball. That's based on our personnel. We've built a culture here with our line. They love to run block. They enjoy the physicality of the game.”   Newcomb's new offensive backfield will be filled with sophomores. The Skyhawks don't have a workhorse as they did the past two seasons, but will utilize a ‘running back by committee' approach in which three or four running backs will share the carries. The Skyhawks will operate largely from the Wing-T.   Junior Ezekiel Bennett will be the new quarterback for the Skyhawks after playing safety in 2025. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2256797' first='Jared' last='Hawley'] is a potential star at running back. Lee said the Newcomb coaches are eying Hawley to be ‘the dude' for Skyhawks.  Sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='2114863' first='Kyle' last='Bryant'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2114828' first='Josiah' last='Nunez'] will also get significant carries.        Lee said this will be the most athletic offensive line Newcomb has had in his four seasons. Most will be juniors in 2026. The biggest O-Linemen could be sophomore Aiden Jones, who weighs about 235 pounds. Junior center Terrence Dick, a three-year starter, has good size as well.   “We're not very big, but we are very athletic,” Lee said. “I will take a fast, athletic over a big, slow line every day of the week. Our offensive line is the most improved unit on our team.      Key Players: Ezekiel Bennett (QB), [player_tooltip player_id='2256797' first='Jared' last='Hawley'] (RB), Aiden Jones (RB).   DEFENSE   Newcomb struggled on defense in 2025 – they allowed 30+ points six times - but Lee expects the Skyhawks will be significantly improved on that side of the ball in 2026.  He hired Daniel Wooten as the Skyhawks' new defensive coordinator. Newcomb will shift to the 4-3 in 2026.   “We have a lot of new faces on defense and many of them are coming up from JV,” Lee said. “Physically, they're ready. We need them to step up.”   Senior MLB Marlen Martin – described by Lee as a student of the game with a high football IQ - returns after leading the Skyhawks in tackles last season. He's three-year starter.   Sophomore Amalikai Allen joins the Skyhawks from the school basketball team. He is expected to make an immediate impact in the secondary. Strong safety Ashton James and Ezekiel Bennett are returning starters in the secondary.   The defensive line is a question mark. Newcomb started three freshmen on the D-Line in 2025 but two of the three have transitioned to offensive line. Sophomore Andrew Lewis is the lone returning starter. Senior Dylan Wheeler returns to the football program and will bring good size (6-1, 210 pounds) to the defensive line.              Key Players: Marlen Martin (LB), Ashton James (DB), Andrew Lewis (DL).   2026 NEWCOMB SCHEDULE   Aug. 21 WINGATE                           Aug. 28 LAGUNA ACOMA                         Sept. 5 at McCurdy (Sat., 1 p.m.)                           Sept. 11 at Crownpoint                  Sept. 18 TOHATCHI                 Sept. 25 at Zuni                 Oct. 2 Bye                      Oct. 9 SHIPROCK*                  Oct. 16 at Santa Fe Indian (6 p.m.)*            Oct. 23 CUBA (6 p.m.)*               Oct. 30 at Navajo Prep (6 p.m.)*              *District 2A-5 Game   All kickoffs at 7 p.m. unless indicated otherwise.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/uCsQYN9lBX">pic.twitter.com/uCsQYN9lBX</a>— Vincent Lee (@CoachVinLee) <a href="https://x.com/CoachVinLee/status/1961813207867355306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>

OVERVIEW