Week 1 In Review: Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week 1 of the New Mexico High School football season is complete and we saw many fantastic individual performances. Here are the top performers from Week 1 (listed in&nbsp; alphabetical order):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cash Aragon, Los Lunas</strong>: We expect Los Lunas QB <strong>Paul Cieremens</strong> to be great every game and he rarely disappoints but it was Aragon that was the Tigers' leading rusher in their 45-0 blanking of Belen. Aragon had 106 yards on 16 carries and 1 TD. Los Lunas pummeled Belen on the ground with 345 yards on 48 carries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137862' first='Aidan' last='Armenta'], La Cueva</strong>: Except for an ill-advised pass attempt that was intercepted and returned for a TD by Rio Rancho in the first quarter, the Bears' senior QB was nearly flawless in La Cueva's impressive 30-7 road victory over the Rams. By not flinching after the Pick-6, Armenta demonstrated his experience and leadership. He finished 22-of-32 for 188 yards and 3 TD, two to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='270020' first='Ian' last='Sanchez']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Michael Abeyta, Santa Fe</strong>: The Demons QB tried to make up for his team's lack of a running game by completing 15-of-23 passes for 224 yards and 2 TD in Thursday's loss to West Mesa.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'], West Mesa</strong>: The junior QB had quite the debut for the Mustangs, completing 10-of-13 passes for 224 yards and 4 TD and added 80 yards rushing and 2 TD. Overall, he accounted for 6 TD. His 32-yard TD run on a 3^rd-and-13 play was something to behold, and gave West Mesa a 32-13 halftime lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208797' first='Anthony' last='Carrillo'], Mayfield</strong>: In just one half of football, Carrillo accounted for four TD in the Trojans' 35-0 victory over Manzano at Field of Dreams. The game was halted at halftime due to inclement weather and lightning.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208824' first='Chris' last='Coash'], St. Pius X</strong>: The Sartans were beaten Saturday by Bloomfield but Coash was tremendous with 255 receiving yards, inc;luding TD receptions of 35 and 69 yards. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138056' first='Cole' last='Conway'], Albuq. Academy</strong>: The Chargers ‘Big Three' on offense came up big in a win over Rio Grande with Conway rushing for three TD in a 37-0 victory. QB <strong>A.J. Rivers</strong> (2 TD passes) and WR <strong>Kellan Gehre</strong> (2 TD catches) had good games as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269966' first='Jabulani' last='Cooper'], Albuquerque</strong>: Cooper, one of the fastest players in the state, played a key role in Albuquerque High's satisfying 22-20 road victory over Organ Mountain at Field of Dreams. Cooper rushed 10 times for 113 yards and 1 TD on offense and collected 3 tackles and 1 interception on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jeremiah D'Arezzo, Alamogordo</strong>: The senior free safety had 3 interceptions in Alamogordo's 41-0 victory over Valencia. The Tigers defense was sensational, forcing 8 turnovers and scoring 2 TD on Pick-6s by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1103183' first='Anthony' last='Audette']</strong> (90 yd INT return) and <strong>D'[player_tooltip player_id='1748645' first='Andre' last='Martin']</strong> (11 yard INT return).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Manny Fuentez, Roswell</strong>: The Coyotes' junior QB threw for 271 yards and 4 TD on 16-of-22 passing to lead a prolific Roswell offensive attack in a 69-29 victory over Lovington. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208691' first='Mikah' last='Gutierrez'], Centennial</strong>: Gutierrez showed whey he's considered one of the top running backs in southern New Mexico by rushing 21 times for 194 yards, including an 81-yard scoring run in the second quarter, in Centennial's 38-35 upset of Cleveland that snapped the Storm's 22-game winning streak. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274709' first='Alijah' last='Gonzales'], Volcano Vista</strong>: Not only is Gonzales a top-notch linebacker for the Hawks, but he's a pretty good running back as well. He had 15 carries for 105 rushing yards and 3 receptions for 42 yards in Volcano Vista's 34-17 win over Las Cruces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='340297' first='Daniel' last='Hernandez'], Centennial</strong>: The Hawks' new QB engineered arguably the weekend's most surprising result – Centennial's thrilling 38-35 victory over Cleveland at Thunderbolt Stadium in Rio Rancho – by running the read-option offense to perfection. Hernandez scored the winning TD on a 5-yard run with 44.7 seconds left. He finished with 83 yards on 16 carries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Logan Howell, Piedra Vista</strong>: The Panthers dual-threat quarterback &nbsp;ran for three touchdowns and threw two TD passes in Piedra Vista's 53-31 victory over cross-town rival Farmington.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138089' first='Caedan' last='Jojola'], Valley</strong>: The Vikings surprisingly battered Bernalillo, 36-0, Thursday night at Cleveland HS and Jojola was a big reason why as he ran for 105 yards and two TD on 15 carries. He was part of a three-headed monster in he backfield with <strong>Tazhe Wilson</strong> (83 yards) and <strong>Rickey Henderson</strong> (53 yards) also contributing to the cause. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marcus Leyba, St. Michael's</strong>: Leyba keyed the Horsemen's 20-8 victory over Taos by rushing for 159 yards on 18 carries in rainy conditions. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138058' first='Tristen' last='McNeal'], Aztec</strong>: McNeal, one of the top playmakers in the Four Corners, caught 4 TD passes and totaled 173 receiving yards from QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137893' first='Marcquis' last='Henry']</strong> as the Tigers rolled past Miyamura, 27-7, in Gallup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nick Mertz, La Cueva</strong>: The new look Bears defense stifled Rio Rancho Friday night on the Rams' home field and Mertz, just a sophomore, led the way with four sacks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138082' first='Brent' last='Miller'], Hope Christian</strong>: Miller, the Huskies' QB this season, three TD passes and had an interception on defense as Hope Christian beat McCurdy, 48-8, at Community Stadium. <strong>Ronnie Gilletti</strong> caught two TD passes for the Huskies. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208737' first='Julian' last='Munoz'], Capital</strong>: The senior QB, directing the Jaguars' offense largely out of the pistol formation, rushed for a team-high 127 yards and 2 TD while completing 5-of-8 passes for 57 yards and 1 TD as Capital rushed for 378 yards in a 57-6 trouncing of Grants in Santa Fe. <strong>Francisco Diaz</strong> added 121 yards rushing and <strong>Juan Munoz</strong> had 109 yards on the ground. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Elliot Pasket-Bell, Volcano Vista</strong>: The Hawks' new starting QB led his team to a 34-17 victory over Las Cruces at Community Stadium by throwing TD passes of 47 and 14 yards and rushing for a 21-yard TD. His 14-yard TD pass to <strong>Tristan Cordova</strong> (219 receiving yards) with 11 seconds left in the 2^nd quarter gave Volcano Vista a 21-10 halftime lead and they never trailed in the second half. Pasket-Bell finished with 335 passing yards and 5 TD plus 120 rushing yards. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>C.J. Perea, West Las Vegas</strong>: Perea, one of the top young quarterbacks in the state, threw for 278 yards and 1 TD as WLV beat Escalante, 34-13, on the road. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274705' first='Marquise' last='Renfro'], Atrisco Heritage</strong>: The Jaguars have some offensive weapons&nbsp; and Renfro might be the best. He rushed for 91 yards on 13 carries, caught 7 passes for 125 yards and scored 3 TD in a loss to Sandia.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jesse Seitzinger, Bloomfield</strong>: He caught two TD passes, recovered a fumble in the end zone and scored on a late run, finishing with 4 TD in Bloomfield's 61-20 win over St. Pius X. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208748' first='Ryan' last='Sharpe'], Bloomfield</strong>: The Bobcats' QB is healthy again after missing most of the second half of last season with an injury. He proved it in Bloomfield's 61-20 win over St. Pius X Saturday afternoon at Milne Stadium by throwing for 324 yards and 6 TD.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137923' first='Malachi' last='Thymes'], Sandia</strong>: Our Player of the Week has a game for the ages on Thursday night as he rushed for 269 yards and 7 TD on 28 carries to lift the Matadors to a 59-37 victory over Atrisco Heritage. Kudos to the Sandia offensive line, as well. Sandia coach Chad Adcox said it best about Thymes: “We're probably going to live and di with him.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139523' first='Nic' last='Trujillo'], Cleveland</strong>: Trujillo, a New Mexico commitment, was brilliant in a losing cause for the Storm by scoring 4 TD on passes from QB [player_tooltip player_id='139521' first='Evan' last='Wysong'] and a 90-yard kickoff return. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274795' first='Dominic' last='Trujillo'], Los Lunas</strong>: The Tigers CB spearheaded his team's superb defensive effort in the 45-0 shutout of Belen with two interceptions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jordan Weathersby, Roswell</strong>: The Coyotes offense had its way for most of the game in a 69-29 victory over Lovington at the Wool Bowl. Weathersby caught 5 passes for 161 yards and 2 TD, averaging more than 32 yards per reception.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275045' first='Brody' last='Whitaker'], Albuq. Academy</strong>: Whitaker has moved to linebacker this season and so far the move has paid dividends. Whitaker had 14 tackles, 5 sacks and 7 tackles for loss in the Chargers' win over Rio Grande.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/johnsierra2024/status/1561527328743690241","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/johnsierra2024/status/1561527328743690241 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ManginoColt/status/1561535198671429632","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ManginoColt/status/1561535198671429632 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/IsaiahAbeyta2/status/1561491523190935552","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/IsaiahAbeyta2/status/1561491523190935552 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/elliotpaskett55/status/1561441872882520064","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/elliotpaskett55/status/1561441872882520064 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Kbell_31/status/1561387274314518528","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Kbell_31/status/1561387274314518528 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/elijahobrody/status/1561427710496448513","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/elijahobrody/status/1561427710496448513 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/MasonPosa/status/1561161358183346178","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MasonPosa/status/1561161358183346178 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/trujillo_nic/status/1561087247939555328","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/trujillo_nic/status/1561087247939555328 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->