Week 5 Review: Top Performers

Week 5 of the New Mexico High School football season was filled with plenty of exceptional performances. Here are some of the top performers: <strong>Eric Aragon, Los Lunas</strong>: Moments after a Cibola WR dropped a sure TD pass, Aragon interpreted a pass from Cibola QB [player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"], who was pressured by the Tigers defense, and returned it 60 yards for a Pick-6 TD. The play loomed big throughout the night as Los Lunas hung on for a 26-19 win. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137862" first="Aidan" last="Armenta"], La Cueva</strong>: With the WR duo of Exodus Ayers and Ian Sanchez available together for the first time this season, Armenta flourished against Sandia, throwing for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns, two to Ayers, as the Bears blanked the Matadors, 35-0. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"], Cibola</strong>: Chavez faced a relentless Los Lunas pass rush all night long, but still managed to throw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns and run for 50+ yards in Cibola’s loss to the Tigers. Two of his TD throws went to Marcus Wilson. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135137" first="Kavin" last="Chavez"], Bernalillo</strong>: Even though the Bernalillo defense was finally scored upon in a 7-6 loss to Moriarty, Chavez was credited with 23 tackles and 3 TFL. For the season, he has 52 tackles in 5 games, putting him on pace to eclipse 100 tackles for the season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138056" first="Cole" last="Conway"], Albuquerque Academy</strong>: Conway rushed for over 100 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Chargers to a convincing 42-6 victory over Clayton. Hope Christian improved to 2-3 in Class 3A. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26260" first="Calvin" last="Cox"], Mayfield</strong>: Cox had a hand in both Mayfield touchdowns against Las Cruces with a 41-yard run and a TD reception. <strong>Deven Dyer, La Cueva</strong>: The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Dyer has emerged this season as a major force on the Bears’ defense. Against Sandia, he collected 6 tackles, 3 QB pressures and 2 tipped passes. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26232" first="Brandon" last="Furbee"], Farmington</strong>: The Scorpions continue to rock their opponents like a hurricane. This past weekend, Furbee threw for a TD and ran for three more as Farmington (5-0) rallied past cross-border rival Durando (Co.), 38-17, outscoring them 24-0 in the second half. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137928" first="Kellan" last="Gehres"], Albuq. Academy</strong>: Gehres is on a 50-reception pace after catching 5 passes for 139 yards against Clayton. He added 31 yards on punt returns, giving him 170 all-purpose yards. <strong>Jeremiah Hartzol, Los Alamos</strong>: Hartzol excelled on both sides of the ball in Los Alamos’ 51-0 victory over Gallup. Playing mostly in the first half, Hartzol scored two touchdowns on a catch-and-run and a running play. Defensively, he added two tackles for loss. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26270" first="James" last="Jenkins"], Hope Christian</strong>: Jenkins rushed for four touchdowns and threw for two as Hope Christian walloped Grants, 69-29, at Milne Stadium. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26267" first="Ian" last="Lopez"], Centennial</strong>: The Hawks’ dynamic dual threat QB rushed for two first half touchdowns as red-hot Centennial (4 straight wins) grabbed an early lead and never looked back in a 35-12 win over Atrisco Heritage that supported their claim to being the No. 3 team in Class 6A behind Cleveland and Rio Rancho. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134963" first="Nathan" last="Lopez"], Cibola</strong>: Lopez was Cibola’s offensive star against Los Lunas with a 42-yard TD reception and several other key catches throughout the game, many of the acrobatic variety. Lopez finished with 175 receiving yards. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138088" first="Javyn" last="Morales"], Goddard</strong>: In one half against Hobbs, Morales rushed for over 100 yards. He was hurt on the second half kickoff and sat out the rest of the game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134990" first="Elijah" last="Ogas"], Las Cruces</strong>: In the biggest rivalry game of the weekend, Las Cruces rode the strong running of Ogas to a 35-14 victory over city rival Mayfield. Ogas finished with 145 rushing yards and four touchdowns, two in the decisive third quarter. The Bulldawgs rushed for 250+ yards in the win. <strong>Brandon Olivas, Eldorado</strong>: Just a sophomore, Olivas came off the bench to replace [player_tooltip player_id="135326" first="Elias" last="Franco"] at QB and proceeded to lead the Eagles to touchdowns on four of his first five drives as Eldorado defeated previously unbeaten Santa Fe, 28-12, in the district opener for both teams. Olivas finished 18-of-24 for 214 yards and ran for one TD. <strong>Aden Pairett, Los Lunas</strong>: Pairett made perhaps the biggest defensive play of the night in Los Lunas’ win over Cibola when he tackled the Cougars’ [player_tooltip player_id="137936" first="Branden" last="Castillo"] for a two-yard loss on fourth-and-goal in the final minutes. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138204" first="Josh" last="Perry"], Cleveland</strong>: Here’s the scary thing about Cleveland – they return both starting QB [player_tooltip player_id="139521" first="Evan" last="Wysong"] and Perry, the No 1 RB, next season as both are 2023 graduates. As a result, the 70-point explosion we saw at Artesia could become the norm for the Storm (hey, that rhymed). Perry rushed for 3 TDs against Artesia. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="198295" first="Devin" last="Rice"], Rio Rancho</strong>: Rice caught two TD passes from Rams QB Dominick Priddy in the opening 63 seconds of the game as Rio Rancho rolled past Organ Mountain, 61-7 Saturday afternoon at Field of Dreams in Las Cruces. <strong>Elijah Romero, Belen</strong>: The Eagles WR is also a superb basketball player and his skills showed on the final play of the game in OT as he leaped high to grab a TD pass in the left corner of the end zone as Belen (2-2) beat Piedra Vista, 20-14, at home. <strong>Blake Spencer, Bloomfield</strong>: Spencer, just a freshman, stepped up in a big way for the Bobcats, replacing injured starting QB Ryan Sharpe in the first quarter of Friday’s 28-14 victory over Miyamura and throwing two TD passes to WR Marc Armenta. Spencer was 6-of-10 passing. Bloomfield is 5-0. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138053" first="Cayden" last="Walton"], Raton</strong>: Walton solidified his credentials as the top running back in Class 3A with 180 yards rushing on just 8 carries in Raton’s 49-6 trouncing of Escalante. For the season, Walton has 702 yards on 58 carries, fifth highest in the state. Mark you calendars: Raton at West Las Vegas, Oct. 1. <strong>Brody Whitaker, Albq. Academy</strong>: Whitaker keyed the Chargers’ defensive effort against Clayton with 8 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 2 QB hurries. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139521" first="Evan" last="Wysong"], Cleveland</strong>: When your team scores 70 points, as the Storm did at Artesia last Friday night, there are plenty of accolades to go around. As Cleveland’s primary’s QB, Wysong ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead the Storm. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26257" first="Marco" last="Ybarra"], St. Pius X</strong>: Ybarra is another talented running back who continues to build his resume for  Player of the Year consideration. He helped St. Pius X slip past Portales, 21-20, on the road with 166 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries. Halfway through the 2021 schedule, Ybarra has rushed for 817 yards and 13 touchdowns. https://twitter.com/nathanlopezNM/status/1439746089805045760 https://twitter.com/Josh23Perry/status/1440136989630603273 https://twitter.com/Hope4NewMexico/status/1440019521679478785 https://twitter.com/Deven38716576/status/1439627545293385734 https://twitter.com/Deven38716576/status/1439627545293385734 https://twitter.com/strat_shufelt/status/1439692217174487040 https://twitter.com/BrodyWhitaker2/status/1439655554167631876