Week 7 Whiparound: Top Performances, Best Games and Fun Stuff

Week 7 of the New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here are some of the best performances, best games, fascinating numbers and other fun stuff from the seventh weekend of the 2021 season. Four weekends remain in the regular season: Team of the Week: Sandia. The Matadors came into Friday night’s game against Santa Fe at Wilson Stadium with a meager 1-4 record after losing four straight games following a season-opening win over Valley. Sandia’s playoff hopes looked bleak. But the Matadors dominated the Demons in a 55-28 victory, punting twice and rolling up 483 yards in total offense. QB Dalen Moyer completed 14-of-21 passes for 239 yards and three TDs, while RB [player_tooltip player_id="137923" first="Malachi" last="Thymes"] ran for 141 yards and two scores. Sandia rushed for 244 yards. The much-needed victory catapulted Sandia back into the district race and with games remaining against Albuquerque, Eldorado, Clovis and Manzano, they have an opportunity to get into the Class 6A playoff discussion. Honorable Mention: Las Cruces (42-13 win over Carlsbad). Player of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id="26227" first="Zach" last="Vigil"], Rio Rancho. Our No. 1 RB in the 2022 class was first named Homecoming King in a pregame ceremony before going out and rushing for 339 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries in Rio Rancho’s 65-35 victory over Cibola in the District 6A-1 opener. Vigil had 241 yards rushing in the second half alone when Rio Rancho opened up a 51-14 lead, forcing a running clock. Honorable Mention: [player_tooltip player_id="138053" first="Cayden" last="Walton"] (Raton) Best Team Offensive Performance: Rio Rancho. The Rams continued to dominant opponents with their explosive offense led by Vigil, of course, and quarterback Dominick Priddy, who threw three TD passes and ran 29 yards for another score. Like cross-town rival Cleveland, the Rams have so many offensive weapons you need a calculator to keep track. Overall, Rio Rancho piled up 525 yards in total offense against Cibola, which hadn’t allowed more than 26 points in any of their previous 3 games (not including forfeit win over Highland). Rio Rancho has scored 266 points in 5 games, an average of 53.2 points per game. They’ve won three of their five games by the mercy rule. Honorable Mention: Cleveland (6+ players scored TDs in 48-0 win over Atrisco Heritage). Best Team Defensive Performance: Hope Christian. Pojoaque Valley had scored 50 or more points in four of its first five games, compiling an impressive 4-1 record. But the Hope Christian defense limited the Elks to just three touchdowns in a 42-22 road victory. The Huskies have won three straight games and should be a factor in the Class 3A playoffs. Honorable Mention: Las Cruces; La Cueva. Best Game: Raton 14, West Las Vegas 7. Tensions ran high on the field and in the stands for most of the night in Las Vegas – especially the second half - as Raton and West Las Vegas fought tooth-and-nail for 48 minutes before the Tigers ultimately prevailed in the District 3A-2 opener for both teams. The score was tied 7-7 early in the fourth quarter when Raton gained possession around its 20. Feeding junior RB [player_tooltip player_id="138053" first="Cayden" last="Walton"] over and over, the Tigers drove steadily down the field. Walton capped the 8-minute drive with a TD run with 3:10 remaining. West Las Vegas QB C.J. Perea was sacked on third down and the Dons, buried deep in their own territory with two timeouts left, chose to punt with 1:30 left, hoping for a quick 3-and-out. But Walton foiled the strategy by gaining a first down on the second play from scrimmage, securing the victory for the undefeated Tigers. Multiple fans were ejected from the stadium in the second half for screaming obscenities at the officials. Honorable Mention: Clovis 25, Albuquerque 24; Dexter 25, Portales 21. Best Finish: Clovis 25, Albuquerque 24. Was this the Play of the Year? Clovis trailed Albuquerque, 24-19, with less than two minutes left and faced a perilous fourth-and-21 from its own 9-yard line. Wildcats quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="134999" first="Milo" last="Acosta"] was flushed from the pocket and as he was being tackled by an Albuquerque defender, flung a desperation pass to [player_tooltip player_id="138039" first="Robert" last="Nora"], who caught the ball in stride at the 30 and raced down the left sideline about 70 yards for the stunning game-winning score. Just 1:40 remined when Nora crossed the goal line. Clovis (1-4) won its first game of the season. Best Rivalry Win: La Cueva 41, Eldorado 0. The Bears and Eagles enjoy one of the most heated rivalries in the Albuquerque Metro area, but this game was one-sided from the beginning. La Cueva rolled up 427 yards in total offense in just over three quarters before the Bears called off the dogs. Meanwhile, the La Cueva defense completely shut down the Eldorado offense, which mustered just 15 yards in total offense. La Cueva drove 98 yards in 7 plays for the first TD of the game. Moments later, the Bears recovered an Eldorado fumble and scored on a 46-yard TD run by Gabriel Buie for a 14-0 lead. La Cueva never looked back. Things You Need To Know: The date for the Centennial-Las Cruces Week 9 battle to determine the best team in that city has been moved to Thursday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. due to a shortage of officials. Las Cruces beat Carlsbad, 42-13, on Thursday night, grabbing a 21-7 lead after the first quarter and cruising home from there. Centennial, which rushed for 300 yards, scored 52 consecutive points after falling behind early in a 52-14 victory over Organ Mountain. . .Local rivals Los Lunas and Belen appear headed for a winner-take-all game for the district title on Oct. 30. The other three teams in District 5A-5 are Highland, Valley and Del Norte. Saturday, Belen scored 21 points in the first quarter and later scored in the third quarter on a Pick-6 for a 28-13 victory over Valley at Milne Stadium in Albuquerque. Los Lunas (7-0) mercy ruled Highland, 50-0, Friday night. . .Hope Christian placekicker [player_tooltip player_id="210966" first="Logan" last="Fuller"] boomed a 54-yard field goal in the Huskies’ 42-22 victory over Pojoaque Valley Saturday and also caught a TD pass. . .There are six undefeated teams left in New Mexico: Cleveland, Rio Rancho, Farmington, Los Lunas, Tularosa and Raton. . .Albuquerque Academy installed temporary lights at its home field and faced district rival Bernalillo in the first night game in school history. The Chargers beat the Spartans,14-7 as QB [player_tooltip player_id="137884" first="A.J." last="Rivera"] threw a TD pass to WR [player_tooltip player_id="26263" first="Mark" last="McIntosh"] and [player_tooltip player_id="138056" first="Cole" last="Conway"] rushed for another score. Bernalillo, which has struggled offensively the past three games, scored its only TD on a 50-yard pass from QB [player_tooltip player_id="208750" first="Jacob" last="Pino"] to [player_tooltip player_id="135136" first="Tristen" last="Ludi-Herrera"] with 4:43 left in the fourth quarter. Bernalillo has lost three straight games by the scores of 7-6, 14-7 and 14-7. . .Robertson freshman RB Jesse James Rodriguez (leader in the clubhouse for best name in NM High School football) rushed for 126 yards in a 53-0 victory over Santa Fe Indian School. James has 618 rushing yards in 6 games. Destined for Class 6A?: Speaking of Los Lunas, Albuquerque Journal preps writer James Yodice reported Sunday that Los Lunas, which has grown quickly over the past several years, is likely headed to Class 6A when the NMAA unveils the new realignment and classifications for 2022-24 in December. The Board of Directors has the final say in where Los Lunas lands. . .Unbeaten Farmington (7-0) could also be headed to Class 6A. The Scorpions pummeled Los Alamos, 54-0, Friday night in their District 5A-1 opener for their 12th consecutive victory. . .However, starting QB [player_tooltip player_id="26232" first="Brandon" last="Furbee"] exited the game late in the first half with an injury. The injury is not deemed serious and he could return in time for Farmington’s next game. Week 7 Lookahead (Oct. 7-9): Volcano Vista at Atrisco Heritage (Thur.) Sandia at Albuquerque (Thur.) Cleveland at Cibola Las Cruces at Hobbs Centennial at Carlsbad Goddard at Mayfield Clovis at Santa Fe St. Pius X at Bernalillo Albuq. Academy at Valencia Eldorado at Manzano Miyamura at Farmington Silver at Taos West Las Vegas at Dexter Organ Mountain at Gadsden Piedra Vista at Capital Robertson at Raton Jal at Eunice https://twitter.com/zacharyvigil21/status/1444347711327703046 https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1444177262207635468 https://twitter.com/LCHSFOOTBALL/status/1444731568312840200 https://twitter.com/JamesDYodice/status/1444475402458525702 https://twitter.com/JamesDYodice/status/1444482611095564288