Baker's Dozen Preview: Top 13 Games of Week 9

We’re almost halfway through October and that means the New Mexico High School football season is entering the final three weeks of the regular season. District play has started all over the state. Here are our Top 13 games for Week 9 (All games Friday night unless otherwise indicated) Game of the Week: Las Cruces at Centennial (Thur. at FOD) What’s on the line Thursday night at the Field of Dreams? Plenty. Centennial and Las Cruces are ranked No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, in Class 6A by MaxPreps. As a result, the winner will strengthen their case for a top four seed and a first round bye in the playoffs. Second, bragging rights in the city of Las Cruces. The Bulldawgs have owned the city for years, and Centennial has sought to claim the title of ‘Best Team In Las Cruces’ for a long time. Behind the dynamic backfield duo of QB [player_tooltip player_id="26267" first="Ian" last="Lopez"] and RB [player_tooltip player_id="208691" first="Mikah" last="Gutierrez"], this might be their best chance the Hawks have ever had to claim the top spot. Finally, both teams have jumped out to 2-0 starts in district play, putting the winner in prime position to claim the district title at the end of October. Las Cruces QB [player_tooltip player_id="26253" first="Dallas" last="Boyd"] is a very capable dual threat QB and the Bulldawgs have an array of weapons around him. https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1448293374646124546 Cleveland (7-0) at Volcano Vista (5-2): The next team to step up and try to beat ‘The Machine’ is Volcano Vista, whose offense is explosive enough to stick with the Storm for a while. The key question, of course, is whether they can sustain it for 48 minutes. QB [player_tooltip player_id="26247" first="Josh" last="Gerardo"] (1,900 passing yards, 18 TD) and his array of receiver must bring their ‘A’ games to Community Stadium because expecting the Hawks defense to hold down Cleveland’s prolific offense led by dynamic QB [player_tooltip player_id="139521" first="Evan" last="Wysong"] for the entire game – or even a majority of it - is unrealistic. Cleveland will score their points, just as they always do. The FEWEST points they’ve scored against a New Mexico team this season is 42 (Las Cruces). They’ve scored 55+ points three times. This has all the ingredients for a classic shootout. Most likely, the winning team will reach 40 points. Artesia (5-2) at Roswell (2-5): One of the fiercest rivalries in southeastern New Mexico is renewed Friday night at the Wool Bowl. Artesia has won five of six games since dropping the season opener against Eddy County War rival Carlsbad. The Bulldogs’ only loss was, understandably, to Cleveland. That success has catapulted Artesia to the No. 4 ranking in the MaxPreps Class 5A poll. RB Jake Barrera has been nearly unstoppable the past several weeks. Don’t be fooled by Roswell’s lackluster overall record. The Coyotes have one of their youngest teams in years and opened the season with four straight losses. But they were competitive against Hobbs, Lovington and Los Lunas. Roswell finally broke through with consecutive victories against Carlsbad and Mayfield. Now they’re back in the 5A playoff picture. https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1448293429998342144 West Las Vegas (6-1) at St. Michael’s (6-1)(Sat, 1:30 p.m.): Another week, another pivotal matchup in District 3A-2, unquestionably the top league in Class 3A. West Las Vegas is coming off a victory over Dexter after dropping its hard-fought district opener at home to Raton two weeks ago. Stocky Dons freshman QB C.J. Perea is one of the most fascinating figures in Class 3A. St. Michael’s has won four games in a row in convincing fashion since losing dynamic QB [player_tooltip player_id="134997" first="Lucas" last="Coriz"] to a season-ending knee injury in Week 3. The Horsemen are battling Raton for the No. 1 seed in the 3A playoffs. They meet Oct. 30 on the final weekend of the regular season. Valencia (5-3) at St. Pius X (5-2)(Thur.): The Class 4A Game of the Week features a Thursday night battle between two of the top five ranked teams in the classification. Valencia has been one of the most pleasant surprises in New Mexico high school football after a very difficult spring for the Jaguars. St. Pius X RB [player_tooltip player_id="26257" first="Marco" last="Ybarra"] enhances his Class 4A Player of the Year credentials every time he touches the football. He has 1,113 rushing yards and 17 TD in addition to his duties as president of the student body. Barring upsets, a win here and next week against Grants by the Sartans would set up a District 4A-5 showdown with Albuquerque Academy on Oct. 28. Santa Fe (5-3) at La Cueva (6-1)(Sat., 1 p.m.): Because Santa Fe has just 1 victory over a Class 6A program (Manzano), this game is basically the Demons’ last stand as far as making the 6A playoffs is concerned. Lose, and they’re probably eliminated from consideration. A win here followed by another victory in Week 9 over Albuquerque would likely put them into the 12-team field. The problem? Santa Fe has fared poorly in their first two district road games. La Cueva has won five in a row since getting mercy ruled by Rio Rancho in Week 2. QB [player_tooltip player_id="137862" first="Aidan" last="Armenta"] has enjoyed an outstanding season. The Bears’ final two games are against Manzano and Albuquerque, so the No. 3 seed for the 6A playoffs is within their grasp. West Mesa (2-4) at Cibola (3-4): The headline grabber, of course, is the battle between two of the best quarterbacks in Class 6A: [player_tooltip player_id="26242" first="Daniel" last="Ayala"] of West Mesa and [player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"] of Cibola. Chavez is our No. 1 2023 prospect, and he’s backed up his lofty ranking with 1,686 passing yards and 18 touchdowns. WR [player_tooltip player_id="134963" first="Nathan" last="Lopez"] is small in stature but big on production (49 receptions). The 6th ranked Cougars have 4 losses, but three have come to teams higher them in the Class 6A MaxPreps rankings: Cleveland, Rio Rancho and La Cueva. West Mesa has Cleveland next week, so this is a big one for the Mustangs. Lovington (4-3) at Silver (5-2): Lovington, MaxPreps’ No. 1 team in Class 4A, begins district play after a challenging non-district slate against mostly 6A and 5A teams. The Wildcats’ offense has been as productive as we expected back in August with the ‘Fantastic Four’ at WR putting up impressive stats. Silver hasn’t garnered a lot of attention but the Fighting Colts have ridden junior RB Aiden Granado (807 rushing yards) all season and they likely won’t stop now with district play getting underway. https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1448293482737455116 Pojoaque Valley (4-2) at Moriarty (3-3): An under-the-radar game featuring two quality Class 4A teams. Pojoaque Valley has emerged this season as a playoff contender thanks in large part to the efforts of RB [player_tooltip player_id="198250" first="Dominic" last="Esquibel"], who has rushed for 1,246 yards and 20 TD for the Elks. This week’s game + next week’s tussle with Taos are crucial for No. 14 Pojoaque Valley. Moriarty, ranked No. 6 in Class 4A, features a balanced rushing attack with several ball carriers handling the duties. Both teams love to run the football, so the clock will move quickly barring a lot of penalties. Deming (4-3) at Santa Teresa (6-1): A District 5A-3 matchup with major playoff implications down the road. Both teams must still play favorite Mayfield in the final two weeks of the regular season. Deming is No. 8 in the Class 5A MaxPreps rankings, while Santa Teresa is No. 10. Desert Warriors QB [player_tooltip player_id="198070" first="Julian" last="Cobos"], an exceptional athlete who’s also a basketball standout, has been dynamic all season with nearly 500 passing yards and 912 rushing yards in his first full season playing football. Hobbs (3-4) at Organ Mountain (3-3): Another key Class 6A game that’s practically a must-win for both teams, especially Organ Mountain (3-3) as the Knights are ranked No. 12 in Class 6A by MaxPreps. Four spots above them, you’ll find Hobbs. Both teams are clearly on the playoff bubble going into Week 9. Eagles QB [player_tooltip player_id="134908" first="Colton" last="Graham"] has thrown for 1,208 yards and 9 TD and rushed for 387 yards and 4 TD. His favorite target is junior [player_tooltip player_id="137921" first="Kaden" last="Trevino"] (28 receptions for 401 yards, 3 TD) Los Alamos (3-4) at Piedra Vista (5-3): A key contest as both teams scramble to qualify for the Class 5A playoffs. Los Alamos has lost four of five games after a 2-0 start and desperately needs a road win. Piedra Vista is ranked No. 9 in Class 5A by MaxPreps and a victory here would bring them a step closer to securing a playoff berth. Lordsburg (5-1) at Tularosa (4-0): Battle between two of the top seven ranked teams in Class 2A. Tularosa is No. 2 behind Jal, while Lordsburg is No. 7. Combined record of the two teams in 9-1. Lordsburg senior QB Maverick Contreras has thrown for more than 1,700 yards and 25 TD. https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1448293588471738368 Best of the Rest Los Lunas at Valley Goddard at Alamogordo (Thur.) Bloomfield at Aztec Portales at Ruidoso Grants at Albuquerque Academy Other Games Atrisco Heritage at Rio Rancho Clovis at Manzano Mayfield at Chaparral Hatch Valley at Cobre Wingate at Crownpoint NMMI at Dexter Capital at Miyamura Socorro at Hot Springs Santa Fe Indian at Raton Loving at Jal Shiprock at Kirtland Central Zuni at Navajo Prep Espanola Valley at Taos Cuba at Thoreau Clayton at Texico Albuquerque at Rio Grande Highland at Del Norte Tucumcari at Hope Christian https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1448293482737455116 https://twitter.com/AlamoFootball/status/1448427321967321090 https://twitter.com/VHSJagFootball/status/1448066011832356865 https://twitter.com/HHS_HornetsFB/status/1447776449650298882 https://twitter.com/Cen10Hawks/status/1447917906197635076