Baker's Dozen: Week 2 Preview of Top 13 Games

Here are our Top 13 games for Week 2 of the 2021 New Mexico high school football season (All games Friday night unless otherwise indicated) Game of the Week: Rio Rancho at La Cueva (at Wilson) We finally get a chance to see Rio Rancho after their scheduled game at Goddard last week was cancelled due to covid protocols. Rams running back Zack Vigil is the top player at his position in the state, and a legitimate Div. 1 prospect. Dominick Priddy will start at quarterback for Rio Rancho, but he missed a portion of the summer while playing baseball. La Cueva is coming off an impressive performance against Cibola, a contest that was billed as a showdown between the top two 2023 quarterbacks in the state. But WR Exodus Ayers, a potent ground game (118 rushing yards in the second half) and relentless pressure (5 sacks, 2 INT) from the Bears’ defensive front seven stole the show. Las Cruces at Cibola (at Community): New Las Cruces QB [player_tooltip player_id="26253" first="Dallas" last="Boyd"] showcased his dual threat skills in the Week 1 win over Volcano Vista at Field of Dreams, amassing 133 passing yards (7-of-12) and 128 rushing yards on 15 carries and accounting for four TDs. Sophomore WR Zakye Hawkins was dynamic, as expected. The Bulldawgs survived a last-minute comeback from Volcano Vista to ensure they carry a 1-0 record to Albuquerque. Cibola is looking for redemption after a subpar performance in the opener against La Cueva. It’s easy to blame QB [player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"] for the offense’s struggles, but the junior QB was running for his life most of the game because the Cougars’ offensive line was overwhelmed. They’ll have to play a lot better against the Bulldawgs. Chavez finished 17-of-40 for 182 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT. Eldorado at Mayfield (Sat, 7 p.m.): Going into the season, we knew Mayfield would have one of the top rushing attacks in Class 5A, if not the entire state. The Trojans lived up to the hype in the Week 1 road win at Manzano with the power duo of [player_tooltip player_id="26260" first="Calvin" last="Cox"] (117 yds rushing, 3 TDs) and [player_tooltip player_id="134970" first="Jose" last="Montoya"] (176 rushing yds) leading the way. Meanwhile, Eldorado unleashed a power running game in a convincing win over West Mesa with Aidan St. John carrying 24 times for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns. Overall, Eldorado had 228 rushing yards against the Mustangs defense. Both teams showed in Week 1 that being physical is going to be their bread and butter. El Paso (TX) Franklin at Cleveland: New year, same ol’ Cleveland. The Storm whipped Centennial at Field of Dreams, 49-21, relying on quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="139521" first="Evan" last="Wysong"]’s uncanny game management skills and a superb swarming defense. Wysong saw action at both quarterback and receiver. [player_tooltip player_id="138204" first="Josh" last="Perry"] contributed 73 yards rushing and two TDS. Top Week 1 takeaway: Cleveland shouldn’t experience any drop off from last season even though they lost numerous key players, especially on offense. Alamogordo at Los Lunas: It’s Tigers vs. Tigers. These two teams combined to outscore its Week 1 opponents by the combined score of 87-6. Alamogordo trounced Valencia, 45-6, behind Joshua Sanchez’s 136 rushing yards on just 10 carries, demonstrating the Tigers should be just fine in the post-[player_tooltip player_id="26190" first="Sean" last="Hays"] Era. Damon Mayberry caught two passes for 85 yards, but both went for touchdowns. Los Lunas is led by junior dual threat QB [player_tooltip player_id="137885" first="Paul" last="Cieremans"], who is quickly emerging as a legit college prospect. Los Lunas went on the road to Farmington in Week 1 and blanked Piedra Vista, 42-0. Both teams aspire to go deep into the Class 5A playoffs. Volcano Vista at Manzano (Thur. at Wilson): Even though Volcano Vista’s comeback bid fell short at Las Cruces, Hawks QB [player_tooltip player_id="26247" first="Josh" last="Gerardo"] (284 yards passing, 3 TD) and the ‘Special K’ wide receiver corps were clicking. [player_tooltip player_id="26258" first="Kieran" last="Gonzales"] had 7 targets with 6 receptions for 68 yards. [player_tooltip player_id="135101" first="Tyler" last="Martinez"] had 12 tackles to pace the VV defense. Manzano seeks to bounce back from a Week 1 home loss to Mayfield. The Hawks’ high-flying offense provides a much different challenge, though, compared to Mayfield’s daunting run game. West Mesa at Centennial (Sat., 1 p.m.): Both these teams lost their openers and neither one wants to fall to 0-2 in a season that began with so much promise. Thus, we have two desperate teams and they usually give us the best type of games. The West Mesa offense fell flat against Eldorado as the offensive line struggled to protect QB [player_tooltip player_id="26242" first="Daniel" last="Ayala"] or open holes for the run game. Centennial RB Mikah Gutierrez was a bright spot for the Hawks in their loss to Cleveland as he rushed for 121 yards on 18 carries. Deming at Organ Mountain: Impressive Week 1 victories by both teams catapulted this game up our board. Deming demolished Gadsden, 44-6, with [player_tooltip player_id="134903" first="Joey" last="Reza"] scoring four touchdowns, including an 86-yard gallop. Organ Mountain (formerly Onate) powered past Albuquerque, 35-14 for its first Week 1 win since 2013. If they beat Deming, they would start 2-0 for the first time since 2005. QB Beto Garcia threw for 63 yards on 9-17 passing and rushed for 133 yards and 1 TD on only four carries. Carlsbad at Goddard: By convincingly beating Eddy County War rival Artesia in Week 1, Carlsbad showed why they are one of the most intriguing teams in Class 6A. The Cavemen defense forced six turnovers from the Bulldogs, serving as a nice complement to an offense led by QB [player_tooltip player_id="137916" first="Dane" last="Naylor"], who threw a touchdown pass, ran for a touchdown and kicked a field goal in the second half. Goddard opens its season after having last week’s scheduled opener against Rio Rancho cancelled due to covid concerns. We finally get to see Rockets RB [player_tooltip player_id="138088" first="Javyn" last="Morales"], arguably the fastest player in the state. Belen at Farmington: After seeing covid wipe out their season opener against West Mesa (who rescheduled vs. Eldorado), Belen finally gets on the gridiron in Week 2. But new head coach Andrew McCraw, who stepped in quickly when Phil Lopez abruptly resigned after just a couple of months on the job, and the Eagles have their work cut out for them as they head to the Four Corners. Farmington sent a strong message last week by traveling to the Wool Bowl and routing Roswell. The Scorpions’ proclamation to the rest of Class 5A: We’re going to Rock You Like A Hurricane. Jal vs. Raton (at Tucumcari): A classic Class 2A vs. 3A neutral site battle. Jal engaged with Texico in possibly the best game of Week 1, a 63-56 offensive shootout. Jal QB [player_tooltip player_id="138093" first="Alexavier" last="Carreon"], younger brother of Boise State commit [player_tooltip player_id="26228" first="Roger" last="Carreon"], rushed for almost 400 yards and 7 touchdowns. Raton had one of the most impressive victories of Week 1, journeying over 400 miles to Eunice and posting a 35-0 win, executing flawlessly on both sides of the ball. Roswell at Lovington: Roswell coach Jeff Lynn warned his Coyotes team was going to be young in 2021 and some of that inexperience showed through last week in the loss to Farmington. Lovington has one of the top offenses in the state, but it was the defense that propelled the Wildcats’ 14-6 victory at Santa Teresa in Week 1. Senior Ashton Aranda won the QB job and threw for 127 yards and 2 TDs, while [player_tooltip player_id="134985" first="Tayten" last="Hilliard"] had 4 receptions. Hobbs at Artesia: Hobbs got the 2021 campaign off to a great start with an impressive 21-0 road win at rival Clovis. QB [player_tooltip player_id="134908" first="Colton" last="Graham"] threw for 136 yards and 73 yards, while Easton Kuykendall grabbed 5 passes for 57 yards and 1 TD. But the Eagles defense won the day by blanking Clovis at Leon Williams Stadium, which rarely happens. Artesia fell flat at Carlsbad in Week 1, souring the debut of head coach Jeremy Maupin. Best of the Rest Capital at St. Michael's Kirtland Central at St. Pius X Santa Fe at Moriarty Santa Fe Indian at Pojoaque Valley Silver at Hatch Valley Bloomfield at Hope Christian Gadsden at Chaparral El Paso (TX) Ysleta at Clovis Other Games Rio Grande at Atrisco Heritage (Thur.) Del Norte at Valencia Piedra Vista at Valley Espanola Valley at Bernalillo Cobre at Robertson West Las Vegas at Santa Rosa Taos at Los Alamos Socorro at Miyamura Eunice at Estancia Gallup at Grants Dexter at Texico Crownpoint at Shiprock https://twitter.com/artesiafootball/status/1430532046309535745 https://twitter.com/AlamoFootball/status/1429921711755956224 https://twitter.com/AdamKedge/status/1430582356142813187 https://twitter.com/SAMOONEY2/status/1429628867375861774