This season, Zach Hernandez of Onate High School has opted to be one of the players to give PrepNewMexico an inside account of what it is like to be a high school football player. Hernandez, a two way starter for Onate, is also a great student who has gained recruiting attention from multiple Ivy League schools. Here is Hernandez’ first take on the season.
Well practice has been well. We are now almost half way through our two-a-days. The team is starting to look a lot sharper now. Players are beginning to adjust to the intensity change and the team, as a whole, is getting into much better shape. It has been very physical and many players are nursing bumps and bruises, some players are more beat up than others. Luckily though, we have had no injuries. Year in and year out we have played in the hardest district in all of 5A and this year it looks no different. Mayfield has improved immensely and Cruces is coming off an undefeated state championship season. Alamo is always a tough opponent and Gadsden just might be getting over the hump. We feel though, as a team, that we have also come a long way this off season. The leadership has improved as well as the work ethic. We are all looking forward to a great season. We also have a saying with this year’s team: "No Kings no Queens. Just Pawns equal Rings."
Onate returns key players across the roster and looks ready for what could be a very good season. As Hernandez points out, his Knights play in possibly the state’s most competitive. Zach and other New Mexico football prepster will be checking in from time to time to update us on their season.