2025 Team Preview: Hope Christian Huskies
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<p><strong>2025 HOPE CHRISTIAN HUSKIES PREVIEW</strong></p>
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<p><strong>OVERVIEW</strong></p>
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<p>The last three seasons have looked very similar for Hope Christian as the Huskies have finished 4-6-1, 4-7 and 4-7. Last season, the Huskies, competing in the rugged District 3A-2, fell to Thoreau by two points in a hard-fought first-round playoff matchup. The encouraging news for Hope Christian is the numbers are up over previous seasons. The Huskies' 2025 roster on MaxPreps lists 45 players.</p>
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<p>“We're trying to get over the 4-6, 4-7 hump, which we've done for three years in a row,” Hope Christian head coach Fernando Salinas told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “Our focus has been not to do that again, pay attention to the details, work a little harder and do the extra things in the offseason. Our guys have done a very good job. We had more guys in our weight room this summer than we've ever had.” </p>
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<p><strong>OFFENSE</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Top 3 Players:</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137124' first='RJ' last='Montoya']</strong> (QB), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248715' first='Noah' last='Carter']</strong> (RB), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605990' first='Darrien' last='Williams']</strong> (WR). </p>
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<p>Senior <strong>R.J. Montoya</strong> returns for his third season as Hope Christian's starting quarterback. Last season he threw for 1,857 yards and 23 TD with just 2 interceptions, and heads into his final season with over 3,100 career passing yards. Salinas said Montoya has been offered by Oklahoma Panhandle State as a receiver. </p>
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<p>“R.J. is a great leader,” Salinas said. “He does all the extra work with his preparation. He's a dual threat. He runs the ball very well. He'll be another running back for us.”</p>
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<p>Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248715' first='Noah' last='Carter']</strong>, who has nice size at 6-foot-0, 185 pounds, spearheads the running back corps. Six-foot-1 sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1827307' first='Elias' last='Harvey']</strong> will likely be the backup.</p>
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<p>“Noah is a big kid that runs very hard,” Salinas said. “He spent the summer working on his speed and footwork. We look for big things from him. Elias is a tough kid. He has good feet.”</p>
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<p>Hope Christian loses graduated senior Breylon Williams, who had 78 receptions in 2024, second most in the state. Williams was Second-Team All State, so he'll be difficult to replace. Who fills the No. 1 WR role in 2025? His younger brother, junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605990' first='Darrien' last='Williams']</strong>. He had 21 receptions in 2024. Sophomores <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613629' first='Ethan' last='Carter']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613624' first='Preston' last='Bevan']</strong> will assume a larger role in the passing game.</p>
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<p>Returning four starters, the Huskies offensive line will be anchored by juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248664' first='Cooper' last='Cecil']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1795184' first='Zachary' last='Bullock']</strong>. Senior <strong>Benjamin Andreas</strong> will be one of the guards. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1827331' first='Waylon' last='Defrisco']</strong> started on the O-Line as a freshman. Freshman <strong>Aden Trujillo</strong> will compete for the fifth starting spot, which is the center position. Trujillo saw action with the varsity as an eighth-grader in 2024. </p>
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<p>“Our strength is our offensive line,” Salinas said. “I think they're going to do some good things to help us be successful on offense.” </p>
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<p><strong>DEFENSE</strong></p>
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<p>Top 3 Players: <strong>Eglesias Eneza</strong> (DL), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248687' first='Styles' last='Vigil']</strong> (LB), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613629' first='Ethan' last='Carter']</strong> (DB). </p>
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<p>Hope Christian suffered a major loss when sophomore DE [player_tooltip player_id='1613280' first='Kashton' last='Ewen'], Prep Redzone New Mexico's No. 2 prospect in the 2028 class, moved to Houston, TX with his family and is currently attending Memorial High, a Class 6A school in the western Houston suburbs. Ewen had 50 tackles, 15.0 TFL and 10 sacks for the Huskies as a freshman in 2024.</p>
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<p>“It's definitely a huge loss for us,” Salinas said.</p>
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<p>Five-foot-11, 320-pound senior <strong>Eglesias Eneza</strong> returns at nose tackle. He figures to be a force in the interior of the defensive line. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248664' first='Cooper' last='Cecil']</strong> and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1827328' first='Landon' last='Cochran']</strong> are slated to be the defensive ends in Hope Christian's 3-4 base scheme. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248687' first='Styles' last='Vigil']</strong> will line up on the edge as a DE/OLB. </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248715' first='Noah' last='Carter']</strong> will be a ILB as he looks to play both ways. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1827331' first='Waylon' last='Defrisco']</strong> joins him at ILB. The secondary will be led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613629' first='Ethan' last='Carter']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605990' first='Darrien' last='Williams'] </strong>with <strong>R.J. Montoya</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613624' first='Preston' last='Bevan']</strong> joining them. All four will play both ways. Juniors <strong>Deacon Sanchez</strong> and <strong>Matthew Wright</strong> will compete for playing time. </p>
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<p>Senior LB [player_tooltip player_id='1137835' first='Krew' last='Ward']'s status for the 2025 season is questionable. </p>
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<p><strong>2025 Hope Christian Football Schedule:</strong></p>
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<p>Aug. 23 at Del Norte (Sat., 11 a.m.) </p>
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<p>Aug. 30 at Legacy Academy (Sat., 11 a.m.)</p>
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<p>Sept. 5 at Albuquerque Academy (7 p.m.) </p>
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<p>Sept. 13 at Manzano (Sat., 11 a.m.) </p>
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<p>Sept. 20 ESTANCIA (Sat., 11 a.m.) </p>
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<p>Sept. 27 at Santa Fe Indian (Sat., 11 a.m.) </p>
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<p>Oct. 4 ST. MICHAEL's (Sat., 11 a.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 11 POJOAQUE VALLEY (Sat., 11 a.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 18 at Robertson (Sat., 1 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 24 at West Las Vegas (7 p.m.)* </p>
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<p>Oct. 31 Bye </p>
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<p>* District 3A-2 Game</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">[player_tooltip player_id='1137124' first='RJ' last='Montoya'] #14 (Junior Year) Highlights - <a href="https://t.co/a4oqcnRmEf">https://t.co/a4oqcnRmEf</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ArturoCafeSeven?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ArturoCafeSeven</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/coachsalinas_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachsalinas_</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/zekeprado?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@zekeprado</a></p>— Roman Montoya (@RJ_Montoya_) <a href="https://twitter.com/RJ_Montoya_/status/1862668303258526036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
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2025 HOPE CHRISTIAN HUSKIES PREVIEW
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