Week 1 Whiparound: Top Performances, Best Games and Fun Stuff
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Week 1 of the New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is the first edition of our Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field: Team of the Week: Centennial. The…
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Continue ReadingWeek 1 of the New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is the first edition of our Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field:
Team of the Week: Centennial. The Hawks overcame a 9-point deficit in the fourth quarter to stun defending 6A champion Cleveland at Thunderbolt Stadium in Rio Rancho, snapping the Storm’s 22-game winning streak. Centennial trailed 35-26 when sophomore Jordan Lucas Jordan Lucas 5'10" | 170 lbs | WR Centennial | 2025 State NM scored on a 45-yard TD pass. After the Hawks defense forced a punt, the Hawks drove down the field and scored the game-winning points on QB Danny Hernandez‘s 5-yard run with less than a minute remaining.
Honorable Mention: Valley; Albuquerque High; Volcano Vista; Bloomfield; Silver; Piedra Vista.
Player of the Week: Malachi Thymes Malachi Thymes 5'8" | 165 lbs | RB Sandia | 2023 State NM , Sandia. The senior RB, one of the most overlooked players in Albuquerque for the past couple of years, rushed for 269 yards and SEVEN touchdowns on 28 carries in Sandia’s wild and wacky 59-37 victory over Atrisco Heritage Thursday night at Wilson Stadium. The two teams combined for 979 yards in total offense.
Honorable Mention: Nic Trujillo Nic Trujillo 6'1" | 160 lbs | WR Cleveland | 2023 State NM (Cleveland); Ryan Sharpe Ryan Sharpe QB Bloomfield | 2023 State NM (Bloomfield); Matthew Saiz (Artesia); Mikah Gutierrez Mikah Gutierrez 5'8" | 160 lbs | RB Centennial | 2023 State NM (Centennial); Latavious Morris (Atrisco Heritage); Cayden Walton Cayden Walton 5'9" | 180 lbs | RB Raton | 2023 State NM (Raton).
Best Team Offensive Performance: Roswell. The Coyotes shredded the Lovington defense all night long in a 69-29 win at the Wool Bowl. Consider this: According to MaxPreps, Roswell ran 64 offensive plays and picked up 22 first downs. Essentially, they gained a first down every three plays. The Coyotes scored 4 TD in the first quarter and 3 in the second quarter take a commanding 49-22 halftime lead. Junior wide receiver Jordan Weathersby, junior fullback Bryce Sanchez Bryce Sanchez 5'10" | 195 lbs | RB Roswell | 2024 State NM , senior slot receiver Sebastian Mendoza and senior Christian Hernandez scored two touchdowns each for Roswell.
Best Team Defensive Performance: La Cueva. The Bears’ defensive front seven dominated Rio Rancho’s offensive line throughout Friday night’s 30-7 win at RRHS. La Cueva registered seven sacks of Rams’ QB Noah Nelson Noah Nelson 5'11" | 170 lbs | DB Rio Rancho | 2024 State NM , four by new starter Nick Mertz, and held Rio Rancho to 7 first downs and 99 total offensive yards, just 25 in the first half. The only points scored by Rio Rancho came on a first-quarter Pick-6 by Rams DB Sebastian Rubio.
Honorable Mention: Alamogordo; St. Michael’s; Roswell; Capital.
Best Game: Artesia 30, Carlsbad 27. When the Cavemen grabbed a 27-22 lead with 20 seconds left on Eli Asay Eli Asay WR Carlsbad | 2023 State NM ‘s 73-yard option run, it looked like Carlsbad would escape the Bulldog Bowl with a dramatic Eddy County War win. But Matthew Saiz had other ideas as he returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD, racing down the right sideline and crossing the goal line with 6 seconds remaining. Artesia scored three TD in the fourth quarter to pull off a furious rally.
Honorable Mention: Sandia 59, Atrisco Heritage 37.
Best Rivalry Win: Hobbs. Kaden Trevino Kaden Trevino 5'11" | 175 lbs | WR Hobbs | 2023 State NM returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a TD as Hobbs rolled past Clovis, 46-7, at Watson Memorial Stadium. Eagles senior QB Omar Argott completed 10-of-15 passes, throwing for one score and running for another. Seven different players scored a touchdown for Hobbs. Senior Ethan Vanlandingham Ethan Vanlandingham 5'10" | 175 lbs | WR Hobbs | 2023 State NM raced 46 yards for a TD.
Honorable Mention: Piedra Vista (53-31 win over Farmington); Los Lunas (45-0 win over Belen).
Dazzling Debut: West Mesa junior QB Elijah Brody Elijah Brody 6'3" | 185 lbs | QB West Mesa | 2024 State NM and his father, Mustangs head coach Landrick Brody, couldn’t have dreamed up a better debut. Brody threw 4 TD and ran for 2 others in West Mesa’s rousing 56-12 rout of Santa Fe Thursday night at Community Stadium. Chris Johnson Chris Johnson 5'9" | 135 lbs | WR West Mesa | 2023 State NM and Chris Jinzo caught 2 TD passes while Robert Ramirez ran for 2 TD for West Mesa. The Mustangs, displaying plenty of offensive firepower, jumped out to a 21-0 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. West Mesa scored TDs on 8 of it first 9 possessions as the Mustangs overwhelmed an inexperienced Santa Fe defense.
Good Start for APS Schools: The Albuquerque Public School District is sometimes accused of not making football as high of a priority as other school districts around the state. But in Week 1 several APS schools rose up and posted impressive victories. Perhaps the most eye-opening was Albuquerque High’s 22-20 road win over Organ Mountain at Field of Dreams in Las Cruces. The Bulldogs forced four turnovers and scored two non-offensive TDs (72-yard scoop and score on a bad snap + kickoff return) in the win. . .Valley made the debut of head coach Billy Cobos a rousing success with a 36-0 victory over Bernalillo in a game played at Cleveland HS because the new turf field at Bernalillo wasn’t ready for use. The Vikings ‘ defense intercepted 4 passes and made a key stop in the red zone late in the first half. Bernalillo managed just 121 total yards. . .Dynamic Volcano Vista QB Eliot Pasket-Bell threw for 2 TD and ran for another in the Hawks’ 34-17 victory over Las Cruces Friday night at Community Stadium. . .Cibola rallied past Eldorado, 39-29.
5,000 Yards and Counting: Raton senior running back Cayden Walton Cayden Walton 5'9" | 180 lbs | RB Raton | 2023 State NM rushed for 354 yards and 5 TD on 32 carries in the Tigers’ convincing 42-14 victory over defending Class 2A champion Eunice in Tucumcari. He also scored a TD on defense. Walton, who raced through the Cardinals defense for a 43-yard TD run less than 2 minutes into the game, now has 5,193 career rushing yards. With a minimum of 9 games left to play, Walton should easily surpass 6,000 career rushing yards by the time the regular season is complete in late October. Why is that important? According to the NMAA record book, only three players in state history have rushed for 6,000 or more yards in their careers. So, Walton is attempting to become just the fourth player ever to achieve the rare feat.
Stormy Saturday: Rainstorms moved through the state but all the games were played. In Santa Fe, St. Michael’s rode a strong defensive effort to a 20-8 victory over Taos at the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex. The Horsemen limited Taos QB Daemon Ely Daemon Ely 6'7" | 210 lbs | QB Taos | 2023 State NM to 4-of-20 passing and intercepted a pass at a key juncture in the fourth quarter. Taos gained just 134 yards. St. Michael’s stopped Taos three times in the red zone in the first half. The Horsemen scored two TDs in the first quarter on a 66-yard run by Marcus Leyba and a 67-yard screen pass to 6-foot-5 Taven Lozada Taven Lozada 6'4" | 220 lbs | TE St. Michael's | 2023 State NM , who has been offered by Eastern New Mexico. . .In Albuquerque, Bloomfield QB Ryan Sharpe Ryan Sharpe QB Bloomfield | 2023 State NM threw for 324 yards and 6 TD as the Bobcats routed St. Pius X, 61-20, at rainy Milne Stadium. Jesse Seitzinger scored 4 TD for the Bobcats, including one on defense wen he recovered a fumble in the end zone. Bloomfield outscored St. Pius X, 28-0, in the second half. . .Hope Christian QB Brent Miller Brent Miller DB Hope Christian | 2023 State NM threw 3 TD passes as the Huskies routed McCurdy, 48-8, at Community Stadium. . .In Las Cruces, Mayfield opened the season with a 35-0 blanking of Manzano at Field of Dreams in a game halted at halftime by rainy weather and lightning. Anthony Carrillo Anthony Carrillo 5'11" | 140 lbs | QB Mayfield | 2023 State NM scored 4 TD for the Trojans.
Things You Need To Know: Not only did Class 6A powers Cleveland and Rio Rancho lose on the same night for the first time in nearly three years (Aug. 30, 2019), but research by the Albuquerque Journal shows it was the first time Cleveland and Rio Rancho had both lost to New Mexico schools on the same night in almost 9 years. Finally, when was the last time Cleveland and Rio Rancho both lost at home on the same night? According to the ABJ, it had NEVER happened before Week 1. Amazing. . .Cibola QB Aden Chavez Aden Chavez 6'5" | 210 lbs | QB Cibola | 2023 State NM has reportedly been cleared by the NMAA to play again for the Cougars. As you recall, Chavez moved to Florida in the spring primarily to boost his recruiting stock. But after a few months in the Sunshine State, he and his father returned to New Mexico. But he still had to be cleared by the NMAA, which initially denied his request. But Chavez won his appeal and will likely start for Cibola against Valley in Week 2. . .A judge in Albuquerque issued a permanent injunction against the NMAA, granting Hope Christian junior Robert Clayton immediate eligibility after transferring from Cibola. . .La Cueva RB Gabriel Buie Gabriel Buie 5'10" | 185 lbs | RB La Cueva | 2023 State NM suffered a left knee injury and exited the Bears’ 30-7 victory over Rio Rancho in the first half. . .Los Lunas sophomore WR Jalin Holland, expected to be one of QB Paul Cieremans Paul Cieremans 5'10" | 195 lbs | QB Los Lunas | 2023 State NM ‘ top targets this season, suffered a broken bone in his arm during practice recently and could miss the entire regular season. . .Capital rushed for 378 yards in a 57-6 win over Grants. The Jaguars defense also scored a pair of TDs on a fumble recovery in the end zone and Pick-6 in a 12-second span early in the second quarter. Capital held Grants to 41 total yards. . .Los Lunas debuted as a Class 6A team with a 45-0 victory over Valencia County rival Belen.
Key Week 2 Games (Aug. 25-27):
Cleveland at La Cueva
Artesia at Hobbs
Carlsbad at Goddard
Cibola at Valley
Sandia at Piedra Vista
Volcano Vista at West Mesa
Los Lunas at Alamogordo
Rio Rancho at Eldorado
Organ Mountain at Deming
Mayfield at Santa Teresa
Moriarty at Albuq. Academy
Hope Christian at Hatch Valley
Belen at Manzano
St. Michael’s at Capital
Dexter at West Las Vegas
St. Pius X at Highland
Ruidoso at Portales
Roswell at Santa Fe
Santa Rosa at Texico
Miyamura at Silver