Week 1 Preview: Top 10 Games

We finally have high school football in the state of New Mexico after 15 long, long months of waiting. Week 1 of the once-in-a-lifetime (hopefully) abbreviated spring season gets underway Friday night with nine games, highlighted by one of the state’s most heated regional rivalries. 18 more games are on the slat for Saturday and two on Monday. Here are the Top 10 games of Week 1: Game of the Week: Hobbs at Clovis (Sat., 5 p.m.) If life was fair, Clovis would have squared off against another team for the Class 6A state championship three months ago, just based on the talent level alone. Sure, All-State quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="26155" first="Chance" last="Harris"] enrolled early at Colorado State, leaving the Wildcats without an experienced signal caller. But plenty of talent remains on both sides of the ball and the Wildcats begin a challenging four-game slate against Hobbs, which is trying to bounce back from a disappointing season in 2019. “I can’t hardly describe the excitement there’s been on the practice field this week,” Clovis head coach Cal Fullerton told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “The players cannot wait for the ball to be kicked off.” With Harris in Fort Collins, Co. getting a jump start on his college career, Wildcats running back [player_tooltip player_id="26162" first="Jeston" last="Webskowski"]’s importance to the offense jumps two or three levels. And this is a guy who rushed for over 1,700 yards and 27 touchdowns as a junior in 2019. The defense is led by DE [player_tooltip player_id="26157" first="Jaden" last="Phillips"] and LB [player_tooltip player_id="26219" first="Ernesto" last="Acuna"]. What do Webskowski, Phillips and Acuna have in common? They’ve all signed with the University of New Mexico. The most often asked question, though, around town this week is the most obvious one: Who’s going to play quarterback? Fullerton isn’t giving away many clues, although he hinted at a unique quarterback-by-committee approach. “It will probably be a game time decision based on what package we run,” Fullerton said. “We have four guys that can all get the job done and will play at different times.” Hobbs’ chances in this game essentially boil down to the Eagles’ ability to stop the run. If they do, and force Clovis to throw the football, they’ve got a chance to pull the upset. The Hobbs defense is led by LB [player_tooltip player_id="26165" first="Roe" last="Forrest"], who was a tackling machine in 2019 with 118 tackles, and DB Trae Jett, who has already signed with NAIA Benedictine College. [player_tooltip player_id="26211" first="Jarren" last="Lewis"] returns at quarterback and junior [player_tooltip player_id="26244" first="Jayonni" last="Royal"] leads the rushing attack after topping Hobbs in carries in 2019. Artesia at Carlsbad (Fri., 7 p.m.): The Eddy County War is one of the most fierce rivalries in the state. Artesia’s offense centers around WR [player_tooltip player_id="26164" first="Braxton" last="McDonald"], who is holding a PWO offer from New Mexico State. Who will throw him the football? Somebody must step up and fill the void left by 3,500-yard passer Clay Houghtaling. Is senior [player_tooltip player_id="26223" first="Cord" last="Cox"] the guy? Carlsbad had two quality receivers in 2022 prospects John Fuentes and Brandon Rameriz. McDonald surely summed up the feelings of a lot of people in that region of the state with this quote to Prep Redzone New Mexico: “There is no better way to start the season then with the Eddy County War!” Alamogordo vs. Bloomfield (at Bernalillo, Sat., 2 p.m.): In this neutral site clash, Alamogordo features one of the most underappreciated 2021 prospects in the state – RB [player_tooltip player_id="26190" first="Sean" last="Hays"]. He rushed for 1,844 yards and 15 touchdowns in leading the Tigers to the Class 5A playoffs in 2019. Bloomfield’s offense is led by arguably the top trio of senior receivers in northern New Mexico: Raymundo Alcantar (35 receptions), Ethan Beevers (29) and Bryce Perez (24) return after helping Bloomfield to a 12-1 record in 2019. The key question, of course, is who will be throwing the passes to them as Vincient Marquez has graduated. Farmington at Aztec (Fri, 7 p.m.): This Four Corners clash is highlighted by a battle between two of our top five quarterbacks in Northern New Mexico: Farmington’s [player_tooltip player_id="26172" first="Caleb" last="Carrillo"] and Aztec’s Marcquis Henry. Carrillo threw for 36 touchdowns in leading the Scorpions to a top four seed and the quarterfinals of the Class 5A playoffs in 2019. Henry, just a freshman in 2019, is one of the emerging dual threat quarterbacks in the state. We anticipate an entertaining duel. Ruidoso at Lovington (Fri., 7 p.m.): Ruidoso faces a situation similar to Clovis. The face of the program left early for college. Tight end [player_tooltip player_id="26167" first="Grant" last="Oberheu"] signed with New Mexico State in December and is now attending classes in Las Cruces. Running back Bracxton Hall must carry a heavier load with Oberheu gone. Lovington’s WR duo of [player_tooltip player_id="26256" first="Adam" last="Aguilera"] and [player_tooltip player_id="26233" first="Isaac" last="Hinson"] will be tough to stop. Miyamura at Piedra Vista (Fri., 7 p.m.): Another intriguing Four Corners battle. Miyamura lost its talented quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="26238" first="Cael" last="Stewart"] when his family moved to Arizona. Piedra Vista RB Michael Candelaria is one of the best at his position in northern New Mexico. Hot Springs at Socorro (Sat., 1 p.m.): Battle of running backs. The hosts went 11-2 and reached the 3A state championship game in 2019 on the strength of a highly productive ground game (5 rushers with 280+ yards) led by junior Jordan Armijo, who totaled 588 yards and five touchdowns in 71 carries, an average of 8.3 yards per carry. Hot Springs RB Cameron Zamora will try to keep pace. Portales vs. Moriarty (at Santa Rosa, Fri., 7 p.m.): Portales QB Baylor Diaz is one of the best at his craft in Class 4A. He threw for 1,344 yards and rushed for 486 yards in 2019 in leading the Rams to a 12-1 record and the Class 4A state championship. Moriarty finished with a 2-9 record in 2019, which explains why junior RB Cayden Dunn is practically a mystery man outside of his hometown heading into the spring season. Dunn rushed for 791 yards and averaged 7.1 yards per carry in 2019. Hope Christian at Albuquerque Academy (Sat., 1 p.m.): If you’re a high school football fan in the Duke City and you want to catch a game this weekend, your options are limited. In fact, because APS schools are still sidelined (approval was finally given late Wed. afternoon), this is the only game that will be played within city limits. Go check out Academy QB A.J. Rivera, a promising sophomore who posted impressive numbers as a freshman in 2019. St. Michael’s at Raton (Sat., 1 p.m.): So, how prolific is that Raton offense? We’re about to find out. Well, not really. We received word late Wednesday afternoon from the NMAA that the game has been cancelled. Other Games To Watch: Kirtland Central at Gallup Newcomb at Shiprock Dexter at NMMI Texico at Tucumcari Crownpoint at Cuba Eunice at Hagerman Estancia vs. Questa (at Capital High School) Loving at Jal (Top 2022 prospect OL [player_tooltip player_id="26228" first="Roger" last="Carreon"] in action) https://twitter.com/chs_wildcats/status/1365348691717029895 https://twitter.com/artesiafootball/status/1364731145368215554 https://twitter.com/AlamoFootball/status/1366812340096704515 https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1367209170844409858