Week 2 Preview: 20 Players To Watch In Friday Night’s Games

Week 2 of the once-in-a-lifetime (hopefully) abbreviated spring high school season gets underway Friday night with 17 games, highlighted by a matchup between two top-shelf Class 4A programs. Nearly two dozen games are on the slate for Saturday. Here are our Players to Watch in Week 2’s Friday night games: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26232" first="Brandon" last="Furbee"], Grants</strong>: One of the top 2022 quarterbacks in the state makes his debut. Furbee has Div. I potential, and now is the time to prove it. <strong>Bryan Hernandez, Grants</strong>: The WR has been a warrior on the camp and all-star game circuit. Now we’ll see how that translates to the field of battle. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26193" first="Aaron" last="Deller"], St. Pius X</strong>: Arguably the top lineman in Albuquerque is committed to NAIA St. Ambrose University in Iowa. He’ll pave the way for. . . <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26257" first="Marco" last="Ybarra"], St. Pius X</strong>: One of the top 2022 running backs in Albuquerque. <strong>Michael Candeleria, Piedra Vista</strong>: The PV offense had its way against Miyamura in Week 1 with Candeleria contributing a 53-yard TD run. Bloomfield should prove a stiffer test. <strong>Hayden Dean, Eunice</strong>: The Cardinals QB was pinpoint accurate (16-of-19 for 218 yards, 2 TD) in the Week 1 win over Hagerman. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26228" first="Roger" last="Carreon"], Jal</strong>: The state’s No. 1 2022 prospect has been crushing it on the camp circuit since last summer. That’s why Power 5 schools are calling the 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive lineman. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26175" first="Isaac" last="Gutierrez"], Centennial</strong>: The Hawks open the spring schedule against crosstown rival Onate. Gutierrez gets his opportunity to be the No. 1 WR for Centennial. College are undoubtedly watching to see how he does. <strong>Aiden Prosser, Onate</strong>: The Knights are still in rebuilding mode under second-year head coach Stephen Castille but Prosser gives them hope of springing the upset over Centennial. <strong>Trae Jett, Hobbs</strong>: Jett played a key role in the Hobbs defense strangling Clovis’ offense last week. He’ll look to do the same thing against Lovington’s vaunted offense. <strong>Tayten Hilliard, Lovington</strong>: The 2022 WR didn’t get a lot of love in the preseason, so he went out and caught 5 passes for 127 yards and scored 3 touchdowns in Lovington’s Week 1 win over Ruidoso. He’s got our attention now. <strong>Max Montoya, Farmington</strong>: The Scorpions wide receiver is a legitimate red zone threat, especially on jump ball throws on corner routes. He’s the top guy on a stacked unit. He should have his way with Miyamura. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26172" first="Caleb" last="Carrillo"], Farmington</strong>: As the Scorpions’ QB, he’s got plenty of weapons to work with on offense, starting with Montoya. He should enjoy additional success against Miyamura this week. <strong>Baylor Diaz, Portales</strong>: Diaz plays both ways for the Rams and he made his mark on both offense and defense last week in the shutout win over Moriarty. Diaz rushed for 120 yards and a TD. <strong>Ethan Conrow, Portales</strong>: Conrow had one of the biggest plays on Week 1 when he returned the second half kickoff for a TD against Moriarty. At the time, Portales led just 6-0. <strong>Marco Munoz, Dexter</strong>: If Dexter wants to pull off a second road win to start the spring season, Munoz will lead them from his QB spot. He ran for a 24-yard TD and threw a 10-yard TD pass in Week 1’s 17-2 victopry at NMMI. <strong>Aaron Cisco, Alamogordo</strong>: Few players in New Mexico impacted a game like Cisco did in Week 1. He blocked a punt that was recovered for a TD and caught a TD pass in the Tigers’ 16-14 win over Bloomfield. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26190" first="Sean" last="Hays"], Alamogordo</strong>: One of the top 2021 running backs in the state boosted his college credentials with 85 yards rushing on 26 carries against Bloomfield. He’ll look to exceed those numbers against a Ruidoso defense that proved no match for Lovington in Week 1. <strong>Xavier Otero, Ruidoso</strong>: When All-State TE [player_tooltip player_id="26167" first="Grant" last="Oberheu"] elected to enroll early at New Mexico State, we knew more of the offensive burden would fall into the lap of Otero. <strong>Bracxton Hall, Ruidoso</strong>: Hall eclipsed the century mark last week, rushing for 115 yards on just 17 carries, an average of 6.8 yards per carry. The Warriors need him to carry the load again. <strong>TOMORROW</strong>: 20 Players To Watch In Saturday’s Games https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1369678583153778695 https://twitter.com/simplyCoachO/status/1370043360937791488 https://twitter.com/OnateFootball/status/1370099525700841473 https://twitter.com/CoachBranTheMan/status/1369818663570706432 https://twitter.com/GrantsFootball/status/1369014684943151104