Baker's Dozen: Top 13 Games Of Week 3

Here are our Top 13 games for Week 3 of the 2021 New Mexico high school football season (All games Friday night unless otherwise indicated) Game of the Week: Eldorado at Rio Rancho Twenty-four hours after Rio Rancho (1-0) dismantled La Cueva in surprisingly easy fashion in the Rams’ season opener, Eldorado (2-0) pulled out a dramatic overtime victory over Mayfield at the Field of Dreams in La Cueva. Those wins, together with the cancellation of the Carlsbad-Volcano Vista battle, catapulted this game to the top of the heap. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="135326" first="Elias" last="Franco"] was the hero for the Eagles against Mayfield, throwing a late TD pass to tie the score and then throwing for the eventual game-wining TD in overtime. He’s accompanied by RB Aidan St. John, who has 275 yard and 3 touchdowns on 57 carries through the first two games. Rio Rancho’s RB tandem of [player_tooltip player_id="26227" first="Zach" last="Vigil"] and Devin Rice stole the show last week with six combined touchdowns. QB Dominick Priddy directs the offense with precision. St. Michael’s at Santa Fe: The state capitol is known mostly as a basketball town but for at least one night high school football will dominate the headlines. Both teams are coming off impressive victories: St. Mike’s (2-0) walloped cross-town rival Capital, 60-8, last Saturday, while Santa Fe (2-0) went on the road to beat Moriarty. Both teams have outstanding quarterbacks ([player_tooltip player_id="26241" first="Luc" last="Jaramillo"], [player_tooltip player_id="134997" first="Lucas" last="Coriz"]), great running backs ([player_tooltip player_id="26250" first="Daymon" last="Lujan"], [player_tooltip player_id="26265" first="Martell" last="Mora"]) and solid defenses. Ivan Head Stadium will be rockin’ for this one. Certainly one of the Games of the Year in Northern New Mexico. La Cueva at Las Cruces (Sat., 1 p.m.): Redemption Game. After disappointing Week 2 performances, both teams need a victory badly and how they play in this game could tell us a lot about them. Las Cruces (1-1) went to Albuquerque last weekend, fell behind Cibola 26-0 in the second half largely due to a flurry or turnovers before mounting a rally. But it was too little, too late. QB [player_tooltip player_id="26253" first="Dallas" last="Boyd"] accounted for 363 yards and three TDs but he didn’t get much help. La Cueva’s outing against Rio Rancho was even more puzzling. The Bears were outclassed by the Rams in every category in a 50-0 mercy-rule loss. La Cueva’s run defense was particularly lacking. Centennial at Sandia (Wilson): After opening the season with a pair of home games against Cleveland and West Mesa, Centennial (1-1) travels to Albuquerque for another LCPS vs. APS battle. RB Mikah Gutierrez was the Hawks’ offensive star in the 43-13 win over West Mesa last weekend with 150 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 25 carries. Sandia had a bye last week after opening the season with a Week 1 win over Valley. The Matadors unleased [player_tooltip player_id="137923" first="Malachi" last="Thymes"] in that win as he rushed for 239 yards and three touchdowns and caught three passes for 32 yards. [player_tooltip player_id="189577" first="Dalton" last="Speis"] (5 receptions for 100 yards) was the main weapon in the passing game. Organ Mountain at Mayfield: Maybe all it took was a name change to get the Organ Mountain (formerly Onate) program back on track. The Knights have floundered the past several years but victories over Albuquerque and Deming have given Organ Mountain a 2-0 record for the first time in 16 years. But the next five weeks will tell us a lot about the Knights as they face Mayfield, Rio Rancho and Centennial. The biggest surprise from Mayfield’s OT loss to Eldorado was the Trojans’ inability to run the football, finishing with less than 100 yards rushing. QB Anthony Carrillo threw for over 200 yards, while WR Cameron Soward had three receptions for 105 yards. However, the biggest story surrounding the Trojans is head coach Michael Bradley, who tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss his second straight game. Los Lunas at West Mesa (Community): Los Lunas (2-0) is rolling (ranked No. 4 by MaxPreps), outscoring its first two opponents, 92-0, and now they face a West Mesa Mustang team desperate for a victory after a highly disappointing 0-2 start. Few quarterbacks in the state have been better than the Tigers’ dual threat QB [player_tooltip player_id="137885" first="Paul" last="Cieremans"], especially running the football. Cieremans has amassed 305 rushing yards in two games. West Mesa’s offense possessed plenty of promise going into the season but the first two weeks have been a struggle. So far, the offense has scored just six points in two games. Lovington at Alamogordo: Class 4A Lovington has opened the season with victories over Class 5A schools Santa Teresa and Roswell. Another 5A opponent awaits this week in Alamogordo. The Wildcats’ ‘Fantastic 4’ at wide receiver – [player_tooltip player_id="26256" first="Adam" last="Aguilera"], [player_tooltip player_id="134977" first="Javier" last="Corrales"], [player_tooltip player_id="134985" first="Tayten" last="Hilliard"] and [player_tooltip player_id="26233" first="Isaac" last="Hinson"] – have combined for 34 receptions in the first two games. Alamogordo is looking to bounce back after being mercy ruled by Los Lunas in Week 2. Artesia at Belen: Speaking of bouncing back, that’s exactly what Artesia did in Week 2 against Hobbs after losing the Eddy County War game to Carlsbad by four touchdowns. The Bulldogs beat Hobbs, 27-14 at home. Belen had its scheduled season opener cancelled before traveling to Farmington last week. The Eagles were routed 53-13, so they’re looking for redemption as well. Deming at Goddard: Who does MaxPreps rank at No. 3 in the state behind Cleveland and Rio Rancho? Goddard. The Rockets are another team that had its season opener cancelled due to covid, but they showed few ill effects from the additional week off, beating Carlsbad, 24-7, at home. RB [player_tooltip player_id="138088" first="Javyn" last="Morales"] showed he’s more than just a guy with blazing speed. Deming has a good running back as well in [player_tooltip player_id="134903" first="Joey" last="Reza"]. Los Alamos at Bernalillo: This could be the first time we’ve mentioned Los Alamos in the Baker’s Dozen, but they deserve some love following a 2-0 start. Now we’ll find out if the Hilltoppers are for real. They face Bernalillo, St. Michael’s, West Las Vegas and Farmington between now and Oct. 1. Bernalillo is also 2-0 after mercy rule wins over Gallup and Espanola Valley. The Spartans’ schedule toughens up as well. The winner gets a lot of momentum heading into the middle portion of the schedule. Kirtland Central at Taos: Pair of 0-2 teams battle. Kirtland Central has lost each of its two games by seven points (Silver, St. Pius X). Taos was trounced by St. Michael’s in the season opener and lost by 11 points to Los Alamos last week. Two desperate teams looking for a much-needed win. These often make for the best games. Roswell at Hobbs: Despite the Week 2 loss to Artesia, Hobbs is ranked No. 8 by MaxPreps. QB [player_tooltip player_id="134908" first="Colton" last="Graham"] has showcased his dual threat skills in the Eagles’ first two games with 298 passing yards and 119 passing yards. Roswell’s youth and inexperience have been in display in the first two weeks. But the schedule doesn’t get any easier for the winless Coyotes with upcoming matchups against Los Lunas, Carlsbad and Mayfield. Bloomfield at Grants: Who’s the second-best team in the Four Corners behind Farmington? Piedra Vista has an argument. And so does Bloomfield after the Bobcats pulled out hard-fought wins over St. Pius X and Hope Christian in the first two weeks. Win this one and Bloomfield could be headed for a special season. QB Ryan Sharpe and WR/KR Drew Perez will help lead them there. Grants rebounded from a Week 1 loss by beating Gallup, 40-8, last weekend. Best of the Rest Atrisco Heritage at Piedra Vista: Atrisco is still waiting to play its first game. Gadsden at Santa Teresa: Rivalry game. Trinidad (Co.) at Raton: Winner gets the Coal Bucket trophy. West Las Vegas at Portales: WLV carving out a nice story with its 2-0 start. Hope Christian at Albuquerque Academy (Sat., 11 a.m.): Intriguing Saturday morning matchup. Academy QB [player_tooltip player_id="137884" first="A.J." last="Rivera"] has been on fire. St. Pius X at Valley (Sat., 1 p.m.): [player_tooltip player_id="26257" first="Marco" last="Ybarra"] living up to the hype for St. Pius X. Other Games Manzano at Cleveland Clovis at Frenship (TX) Albuquerque at Del Norte (Thur.) Chaparral at Ruidoso (Thur.) Hatch Valley at Tularosa (Thur.) Farmington at Highland Moriarty at Capital (Sat.) Rio Grande at Valencia Santa Rosa at Robertson Socorro at Espanola Valley (Thur.) Aztec at Durango (Co.) Miyamura at Gallup Texico at NMMI (Cancelled) Cobre at Silver Hot Springs at Lordsburg https://twitter.com/artesiafootball/status/1432762051508809741 https://twitter.com/AlamoFootball/status/1433152209114386436 https://twitter.com/AHSBulldogFB1/status/1432854587027775490 https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1433063784063537158 https://twitter.com/HHS_HornetsFB/status/1432558431257440258 https://twitter.com/Sartan_football/status/1432225680142393344