Week 4 Preview: 20 Players To Watch Friday Night

Week 4 of the once-in-a-lifetime (hopefully) abbreviated spring high school season gets underway Friday night with 28 games on the slate. It’s Rivalry Weekend in New Mexico. Here are our 20 players to watch in Week 4’s Friday night games. <strong>Joey Reza, Deming</strong>: The Deming Wildcats surrendered over 200 rushing yards to Mayfield last weekend in a 28-7 loss at the Field of Dreams. This week’s opponent, Alamogordo, just happens to have one of the top running backs in the state in [player_tooltip player_id="26190" first="Sean" last="Hays"] (376 yards on 71 carries). If Deming wants to keep up with the Tigers, Reza will have to ignite the running game. <strong>Bryce Perez, Bloomfield</strong>: The Bobcats’ defense appeared headed in the right direction with a shutout of Piedra Vista two weeks ago, but Farmington scored 49 points in Week 3. Perez had two interceptions and caught a TD pass in the loss. He’ll need to be active again against Aztec. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26210" first="Ayden" last="Madrid"], Bernalillo</strong>: The Bernalillo defense has been lights outs in the first three games, yielding zero points. Madrid is one of the state’s top linebackers and is headed to Fort Lewis College in the fall. The Spartans face a good St. Pius X offense on Friday. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26242" first="Daniel" last="Ayala"], West Mesa</strong>: The Mustangs quarterback enjoyed a solid first game in leading West Mesa to a win over Albuquerque High. Now they face Atrisco Heritage, whose offense brought its ‘A’ game last week in the spring opener against Manzano. Ayala must play well again. <strong>Jaden Cowley, Atrisco Heritage</strong>: Can he do it again? If there was a breakout player in Week 3, Cowley is the guy. He rushed for 166 yards on just 9 carries and multiple touchdowns in Atrisco’s 55-8 victory over Manzano last Thursday night, showing that he’s a tough guy for defenses to bring down. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26172" first="Caleb" last="Carrillo"], Farmington</strong>: The Scorpions offense has been on fire in the first three games, scoring 155 points en route to a perfect 3-0 record. Now they face a Piedra Vista defense that has yet to allow a point when they’ve been on  the field. Carrillo has thrown 12 TD passes in the first 3 games. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26168" first="Karsten" last="Rueckner"], Centennial</strong>: Expect a high-octane quarterback duel between Rueckner and Las Cruces’ [player_tooltip player_id="26160" first="Marcos" last="Lopez"] at the Field of Dreams. The Hawks are looking to bounce back after last week’s loss to Cleveland. Braggin’ rights in Las Cruces on the line. <strong>Jaiden Shaw, Las Cruces</strong>: The Bulldawg wide receiver put on a show in the second half of last week’s 42-14 win over Onate. Shaw caught a pair of TD passes to highlight a 28-0 run by Las Cruces to close out the game. <strong>Trae Jett, Hobbs</strong>: The senior defensive back headed to Benedictine University in the fall leads a Hobbs defense that has played well for the most part in the first three games. Jett and the Eagles defense must figure out a way to keep Artesia WR [player_tooltip player_id="26164" first="Braxton" last="McDonald"] from becoming a big factor in the game. Jett has 3 QB hurries. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26223" first="Cord" last="Cox"], Artesia</strong>: After struggling against Goddard in Week 2, the senior Cox righted the ship last week with a 13-of-16 for 167 yards and 3 touchdowns performance in a 43-28 victory over Roswell at the Bulldog Bowl. Can Cox keep the momentum going? <strong>Tayten Hilliard, Lovington</strong>: The Wildcats’ high-powered offense ran into a major roadblock at Goddard last week. Hilliard is the Wildcats leading receiver with 10 receptions for 167 yards and 4 touchdowns. Lovington host Portales in a Class 4A showdown. <strong>Baylor Diaz, Portales</strong>: Who’s been the best dual threat quarterback in the state so far this spring? You could make the argument it’s been Diaz, who has thrown for 406 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for 295 yards. Containing Diaz is Job 1 for the Lovington defense. <strong>Zeke Gonzales, Roswell</strong>: The Coyotes senior quarterback made his first career start two weeks ago in a come-from-behind victory over Carlsbad, but like everybody else wearing red, he struggled in last week’s road loss to Artesia. Now he faces the stout Goddard defense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26170" first="Fernando" last="Rubio"], Goddard</strong>: What’s the best way to rattle a quarterback? An effective pass rush. Rubio, who signed with Eastern New Mexico, is tasked with pressuring Gonzales. The Rockets did a great job with that last week against Lovington. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26265" first="Martell" last="Mora"], Santa Fe</strong>: The Demons’ top running back ran roughshod over Los Alamos last week with 100+ rushing yards and three touchdowns in Santa Fe’s 40-0 victory. Mora’s matchup with Capital RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26186" first="Luke" last="Padilla"]</strong> is one of the best positional battles of Week 4. <strong>Gino Munoz, Capital</strong>: Expect the Santa Fe defense to key on Padilla. Unlike Los Alamos and Pojoaque Valley, the Demons have the players to make it work., Thus, it could be up to Munoz to make them pay. <strong>Tyler Jenson, Cleveland</strong>: The senior had a monster game against Centennial last weekend, amassing  162 rushing yards on 18 carries. If he puts up similar numbers against Rio Rancho’s defense, the Storm will win. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26227" first="Zach" last="Vigil"], Rio Rancho</strong>: Another high stakes RB battle pits Jenson against Vigil in the annual City of Vision championship game. Vigil has attracted Div. I interest and putting up triple digits against the Cleveland defense will surely more college coaches interested. <strong>Connor Baca, Eldorado</strong>: Baca was the Eagles’ top offensive player in last week’s 47-43 shootout loss to Volcano Vista with 135 rushing yards on 20 carries. La Cueva’s defense looks vulnerable after last week’s loss at Los Lunas. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26171" first="Brad" last="Thomas"], La Cueva</strong>: The tall (6-foot-4) receiver, one of the top players in New Mexico at his position, had a pair of 14-yard TD catches in last week’s 31-20 loss at Los Lunas. Don’t be surprised if Thomas is utilized even more against Eldorado. <strong>TOMORROW</strong>: 20 Players To Watch In Saturday’s Games https://twitter.com/rios552/status/1375153548481064962 https://twitter.com/AlamoFootball/status/1375173546385633281 https://twitter.com/_RRHSathletics/status/1375180703927656449