Baker’s Dozen: Preview of Top 13 Week 4 Games
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Week 4 of the New Mexico High School Football season is here! It begins Thursday night with a handful of games around the state, and continues with a full slate on Friday and Saturday. Here are the Top 13 Game…
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Continue ReadingWeek 4 of the New Mexico High School Football season is here! It begins Thursday night with a handful of games around the state, and continues with a full slate on Friday and Saturday. Here are the Top 13 Game of Week 13:
GAME OF THE WEEK: Bloomfield (3-0) at Albuquerque Academy (3-0)(Fri., 7 p.m.)
Welcome to the first Class 4A Game of the Year. Bloomfield is currently ranked No. 1 in the Coaches Poll and No. 3 in the MaxPreps poll, while Albuquerque Academy is No. 2 in MaxPreps and No. 4 in the Coaches poll. Two of the top quarterbacks in Class 4A will go head-to-had with Bloomfield’s Ryan Sharpe Ryan Sharpe QB Bloomfield | 2023 State NM and AA’s A.J. Rivera A.J. Rivera 6'2" | 195 lbs | QB Albuquerque Academy | 2023 State NM likely battling to the wire. Through 3 games, Rivera has thrown for 521 yards and 6 TD with just 1 interception. Both quarterbacks have an array of weapons around them. This could be the first of two meetings this season between these teams. When you consider this is a rare Friday night home game for the Chargers, it should be a great game and a great environment.
Volcano Vista at La Cueva: We didn’t hear a whole lot about Volcano Vista in the preseason, and perhaps that was a good thing. The Hawks are unbeaten with wins over Las Cruces, West Mesa and Carlsbad, the latter two on the road. QB Elliot Pasket-Bell has emerged as an early New Mexico Heisman contender, passing for 611 yards and 6 TD in the first three games. La Cueva has become the Kardiac Kids of NM high school football with down-to-the-wire games against Cleveland and Centennial in the last two weeks. RB Gabriel Buie Gabriel Buie 5'10" | 185 lbs | RB La Cueva | 2023 State NM could be available for the Bears this week after missing the Centennial game.
Organ Mountain at Rio Rancho: After riding a tsunami wave of emotion to a 28-0 win over local rival Mayfield last week, Organ Mountain comes to the Albuquerque Metro region. Abraham Romero still lies unconscious in a hospital bed, so the Knights will continue to be a highly motivated football team. Fabian Lozoya Fabian Lozoya 5'11" | 225 lbs | DL Organ Mountain | 2023 State NM had nearly 150 yards rushing on 17 carries in the win over Mayfield. Rio Rancho has bounced back from the disappointing Week 1 loss to La Cueva with victories over Eldorado and Eastlake (TX). Next week the Rams head to Hobbs, so this is a big one for Rio Rancho. WR Mikey Woods suffered a season-ending injury in the last game.
Centennial at Mayfield: How will Centennial bounce back from the last-second road loss to Las Cruces? Most likely, quite well. Aaron Ocampo has built a solid, established program at Centennial. Running back Mikah Gutierrez Mikah Gutierrez 5'8" | 160 lbs | RB Centennial | 2023 State NM is one of the top players at his position in the state, and one of the early favorites for the NM Heisman. Mayfield got off to a 2-0 start but then came last week’s shutout loss to Organ Mountain. The Trojans have moved to Class 5A due to student numbers, but they will never give up facing their city rivals.
Roswell at Los Lunas: These two teams are very familiar with each other as they met in the 2018 and 2019 5A state championship games. The aliens weren’t with the Coyotes last week in a lopsided home loss to Hobbs, one of the best 6A programs. Don’t look for Roswell to be down long. Los Lunas suffered a ‘shocking’ home loss to Farmington last week, but dynamic QB Paul Cieremans Paul Cieremans 5'10" | 195 lbs | QB Los Lunas | 2023 State NM didn’t play due to an injury suffered at Alamogordo. He should be back this week, so the Roswell defense will have its hands full.
Cleveland at Las Cruces: Some Cleveland fans might have panicked after the Week 1 home loss to Centennial. But as the Who once sang, the kids are all right. The Storm held off La Cueva in Week 2 before going to Amarillo (TX) last week and returning home with an impressive win. Las Cruces is 0-2 after losses to Volcano Vista and El Paso (TX) Eastwood, and in danger of falling to 0-3 unless they find a way to beat the No. 1 team in both the MaxPreps and Coaches polls at Field of Dreams. Kickoff at 1 p.m. Saturday in Las Cruces. Yes, it will be hot.
Cibola at Farmington: Aden Chavez Aden Chavez 6'5" | 210 lbs | QB Cibola | 2023 State NM has picked up where he left off before he relocated to Florida by leading Cibola to wins over Valley and West Mesa after sitting out Week 1. Chavez led the Cougars’ comeback from a 21-0 deficit to West Mesa in Week 3. Farmington started 0-2 but took full advantage of the absence of Cieremens last week in Los Lunas. How will Cibola handle the trip to the Four Corners?
Eldorado at Piedra Vista: Through 3 weeks, Piedra Vista is arguably the most fascinating team in Class 5A. The Panthers are ranked No. 1 in MaxPreps and No. 2 in the Coaches poll, and have proven they can win close games with a two-point win over Sandia (14-12) and a one-point win over Durango (CO)(14-13). Eldorado has surrendered 127 points in the first three games. The Eagles must solve their issues on defense before they can put together a winning streak.
West Mesa at Albuquerque: We saw West Mesa in Week 1 pulverize Sant Fe behind QB Elijah Brody Elijah Brody 6'3" | 185 lbs | QB West Mesa | 2024 State NM and a talented WR corps. Since then, they’ve lost big to Volcano Vista and failed to hold a 3-TD lead over Cibola. But the Mustangs always have the potential to put a 50-burger on anybody. Albuquerque has the talent to make some noise in ^A this season. The Bulldogs’ Week 1 road win at Organ Mountain looks even more impressive now. After a bye, Albuquerque lost to Sandia last week.
Clovis at Carlsbad: The Clovis players are still adjusting to new head coach Andrew McCraw’s run-dominated flexbone offense. Through 3 games, Clovis has rushed the ball 99 times for 324 yards and thrown it just 30 times. Carlsbad, led by first-year head coach Oliver Soukup, came THIS close to beating Artesia in the Eddy County War before posting a nice road win over Goddard. Volcano Vista came to Carlsbad last week and dealt the Cavemen a 32-19 loss. Two programs in transition under new head coaches.
Highland at Bernalillo: Highland showed how far the program has come under head coach Philip Lovato by beating St. Pius X in convincing fashion, 38-14, in their last outing. The Hornets had a bye last week. Bernalillo lost to Valley in the opener but have rebounded with wins over Espanola Valley and Del Norte. Here’s a name to remember: Michael Ash Michael Ash 6'0" | 275 lbs | DL Bernalillo | 2023 State NM . He made 27 tackles, a new state record for most tackles in a single game, in the win over Del Norte. Two programs with the goal of reaching the playoffs.
Deming at Artesia: The Bulldog Bowl probably isn’t the best place to snap a two-game losing streak but that’s what the Wildcats will be trying to do Friday night. Ian Ortiz Ian Ortiz 6'3" | 220 lbs | DL Deming | 2023 State NM is an elite defensive end, and likely has FBS or FCS football in his future. Artesia’s offense has scored 92 points in the last 2 games, including a 44-0 win over Belen in Week 3. QB Nye Estrada spread the ball around to his receivers en route to throwing for 189 yards and 3 TD. Peyton Greathouse Peyton Greathouse 5'9" | 175 lbs | WR Artesia | 2024 TN is off to a great start at wide receiver.
Hobbs at Lovington: The Hobbs offense has been as good as advertised in the first three weeks scoring 156 points in wins over Clovis, Artesia and Roswell. QB Omar Argott has already throw for over 700 yards and 11 TD, putting him on pace for a special season. He has a talented group of wide receivers to throw to, starting with Kaden Trevino Kaden Trevino 5'11" | 175 lbs | WR Hobbs | 2023 State NM and Ethan Vanlandingham Ethan Vanlandingham 5'10" | 175 lbs | WR Hobbs | 2023 State NM . As usual, Lovington is playing a challenging non-district schedule. They’ve already faced Roswell, Seminole (TX) and Santa Teresa. Now the reigning 4A champions face a 6A program.
BEST OF THE REST
Capital at Alamogordo: The Jaguars are a better football team than people think.
Portales at Valencia: The Rams are No. 1 in MaxPreps and No. 2 in the Coaches polls.
Valley at Belen: The Eagles looking to rebound from last week’s shutout loss to Artesia
Moriarty at Grants: Moriaty’s Wing-T offense is a treat to watch when it’s humming.
Ruidoso at Robertson: The Warriors make the long trip to Las Vegas.
Silver at Santa Fe: The Fightin’ Colts make an even longer trip to the capital to face the Demons.
Socorro at Hope Christian: Socorro is No. 3 in both polls.
Los Alamos at St. Michael’s: The Horsemen again look to be 3A title contenders.
OTHER GAMES
Del Norte at St. Pius X (Thur.)
Manzano at Atrisco Heritage
Capitan at Loving (Thur.)
Cuba at Newcomb (Thur.)
Gadsden at Clint (TX)
Hatch Valley at Anthony (TX)
Santa Rosa at Tularosa
Pojoaque Valley at Santa Fe Indian
Jal at Dexter
West Las Vegas at Espanola Valley
Montezuma-Cortez (CO) at Kirtland Central
NMMI at Hagerman
Durango (CO) at Aztec
McCurdy at Thoreau
Tucumcari at Raton
Santa Teresa at Cobre
Taos at Gallup
Miyamura at Goddard
Hot Springs at Eunice