Baker’s Dozen Preview: The Top 13 Games of Week 4

Here are our Top 13 games for Week 4 of the 2021 New Mexico high school football season (All games Friday night unless otherwise indicated) <strong>Game of the Week</strong>: <strong>Las Cruces at Cleveland</strong> Sure, if the guys in Las Vegas posted a line on this game, Cleveland would likely be favored by three touchdowns. But that’s not the point. These are two of the most visible and prominent programs in the state. It’s akin to a heavyweight boxing match. Regardless of who’s fighting, we watch. The Bulldawgs have plenty of pride and they’ll come to play. And they’re desperate for a win, too, following consecutive losses to Cibola and La Cueva. Hey, nobody thought Rocky could beat Apollo Creed, right? Sometimes desperate teams are the most dangerous opponents. And they won’t back down or be intimidated by the environment. Las Cruces sophomore WR <strong>Zakye Hawkins</strong> has emerged as one of the top young talents in the state. He’s accounted for more than one-third of the Bulldawgs’ receptions in 2021. Cleveland keeps rolling along with three victories to start the season, averaging 46.3 points per game offensively. Junior QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139521" first="Evan" last="Wysong"]</strong> and junior RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138204" first="Josh" last="Perry"]</strong> spark the Storm’s offense. <strong>Mayfield at Centennial</strong> (Thur., 7 p.m.): Mayfield bounced back from the OT loss to Eldorado by trouncing Organ Mountain last week. The Trojans feature one of the top rushing attacks in Class 5A with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134970" first="Jose" last="Montoya"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26260" first="Calvin" last="Cox"]</strong>. Junior QB <strong>Anthony Carrillo</strong> is a talented two-way player. Centennial has regrouped after the Week 1 loss to Cleveland with convincing victories over West Mesa and Sandia. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26267" first="Ian" last="Lopez"]</strong> has developed into an outstanding dual threat quarterback. One of the best games of the year in Las Cruces. <strong>Cibola at Eldorado (Wilson)</strong>: The last time we saw Cibola battle Eldorado was a 7-on-7 event in July. This time, though, the pads are on and the hitting is real. Cibola is coming off a bye week after the Week 2 win over Las Cruces. Junior QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"]</strong> and receivers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134963" first="Nathan" last="Lopez"]</strong> (11 receptions) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137936" first="Branden" last="Castillo"]</strong> (11 receptions) headline Cibola’s passing attack. The Eagles hope to return to their winning ways after last week’s disappointing 41-0 loss at Rio Rancho. But the score was only 7-0 in the third quarter, so Eldorado competed well until things unraveled over the final 20 minutes or so. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="198231" first="Aidan" last="St. John"]</strong> (355 rushing yards) has developed into an elite RB. <strong>La Cueva at Volcano Vista</strong>: The second intriguing matchup between APS schools in Week 4. La Cueva was embarrassed by Rio Rancho in Week 2 but the Bears circled the wagons, made the long trip to Las Cruces and came away with an impressive 28-10 win over the Bulldawgs. Junior QB [player_tooltip player_id="137862" first="Aidan" last="Armenta"] is off to a good start in his first full season as La Cueva’s starting QB. The Bears are dealing with some injuries. Volcano Vista has battled a covid outbreak within its program and had last week’s highly anticipated matchup with Carlsbad in Albuquerque cancelled since so many players were quarantined. <strong>Albuq. Academy at Bloomfield</strong>: Intriguing battle between the two teams ranked No. 2 (Bloomfield) and No. 4 (AA) in Class 4A by MaxPreps. Academy QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137884" first="A.J." last="Rivera"]</strong> has completed 81 percent of his passes (31-38) with 7 TDs through three games while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138056" first="Cole" last="Conway"]</strong> (278 yards on 26 carries) ignites the ground game for the Chargers. Bloomfield (3-0) is undefeated and could stay that way until the regular season finale against Four Corners rival Kirtland Central if they win this game. Bobcats junior <strong>Ryan Sharpe</strong> is developing into an outstanding dual threat quarterback. <strong>Los Lunas at Roswell</strong>: A rematch of the Class 5A state championship games in 2018-19, both won by Roswell. However, the Coyotes are rebuilding, although they still attract a tremendous amount of respect. MaxPreps ranks winless Roswell (0-3) as the No. 7 team in Class 5A. Scoring points has been a problem with 6 or fewer points in two of the first three games. Meanwhile, Los Lunas is rolling with three straight lopsided victories to start the season. Tigers QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137885" first="Paul" last="Cieremans"]</strong> could be the best quarterback in 5A based on his performances so far. He’s a threat to go a long way every time he starts to run with the football. <strong>Lovington at Hobbs</strong>: Possessing one of the most explosive offenses in the state, undefeated Lovington is rightfully ranked No. 1 in Class 4A by MaxPreps. Wildcats sophomore QB <strong>Wyatt Gomez</strong> has been impressive, turning into one of the top 2024 prospects in the state. And the defense led by LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135336" first="Joseph" last="Perez"]</strong> is sneaky good. The Hobbs defense has already posted two shutouts in the first three games. The rushing attack is a three-headed monster consisting of <strong>Diego Baeza</strong> (167 yards), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134908" first="Colton" last="Graham"]</strong> (140) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26244" first="Jayonni" last="Royal"]</strong> (110). <strong>Kirtland Central at Piedra Vista</strong>: The Game of the Week in the Four Corners as the battle to see who’s the No. 2 team in the region behind Farmington rages on. Kirtland Central RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26251" first="Zakk" last="Thomas"]</strong> had a game for the ages last week, scoring 8 touchdowns in a high-scoring win at Taos. Piedra Vista counters with RB <strong>Jacob Ramsted</strong>. <strong>Artesia at Deming</strong>: Artesia has righted the ship since an opening game loss to Carlsbad in the Eddy County War. Victories over Hobbs (27-14) and Belen (21-7) have the Bulldogs north of the .500 mark in Jeremy Maupins’ first season as head coach. Deming has been outscored 70-6 in its last two games, both losses to Organ Mountain and Goddard. <strong>Santa Teresa at Alamogordo</strong>: Santa Teresa QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="198070" first="Julian" last="Cobos"]</strong> is one of the most underrated players in Class 5A with 176 yards passing and 302 yards rushing in three games. Alamogordo lost a heartbreaker to Lovington last week, surrendering a TD and 2-point conversion in the final seconds of a 22-21 loss. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="198241" first="Joshua" last="Sanchez"]</strong> has 223 yards rushing. <strong>Hope Christian at Socorro</strong>: Battle between two of the top teams in Class 3A. Hope Christian is 1-2 but could be undefeated had close games against Bloomfield and Albuquerque Academy gone the other way. Socorro is ranked No. 1 in 3A. <strong>Santa Fe at Capital</strong>: Undefeated after 3 games for the first time in over 30 years, Santa Fe looks to continue its impressive start to the season. They beat rival St. Michael’s last week and now aim to complete the city sweep against the Jaguars. Of course, RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26265" first="Martell" last="Mora"]</strong> will have a big say in whether that happens. <strong>Robertson at Ruidoso</strong>: Robertson, ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, makes the long trip to Ruidoso to face the 4A Warriors. Robertson is led by dual threat QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26261" first="Matthew" last="Gonzales"]</strong> (17-22 passing for 335 yards + 250 yards rushing). Ruidoso QB <strong>Griffin Hooker</strong> (335 yards passing) and RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26248" first="Braxton" last="Hall"]</strong> (253 rushing yards) are a formidable backfield duo. <strong>Best of the Rest</strong> Highland at Pojoaque Valley (Thur., 7 p.m.) Valencia at Portales Goddard at El Paso (TX) Austin El Paso (TX) Coronado at Carlsbad St. Michael’s at Los Alamos Farmington at Aztec Taos at St. Pius X (Sat, 1 p.m.) <strong>Other Games</strong> Sandia at West Mesa (Thur.) Tularosa at Cobre (Thur.) Crownpoint at Navajo Prep (Thur.) Atrisco Heritage at Valley Grants at Moriarty Belen at Miyamura Bernalillo at Shiprock Hatch Valley at Anthony (Tex.) Espanola Valley at West Las Vegas Raton at Tucumcari Santa Fe Indian at Wingate Eunice at Hot Springs Clint (TX) at Gadsden Capitan at Jal Gallup at Silver Santa Rosa at Escalante <strong>CANCELLED</strong>: Clovis at Rio Rancho https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1435999741037330440 https://twitter.com/rick_tripp58/status/1435621528519909376 https://twitter.com/artesiafootball/status/1435588928438816769 https://twitter.com/JamesDYodice/status/1435770045473251328 https://twitter.com/AlamoFootball/status/1435945206419963909