Baker's Dozen: Top 13 Games of Week 7

Week 7 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 Games of Week 7:   GAME OF THE WEEK: Piedra Vista (6-0) at Roswell (5-1)   This week's Class 5A Game of the Year takes place Friday night at the Wool Bowl. Surprising Piedra Vista is No. 1 in the MaxPreps poll while Roswell is No. 2. Who saw this coming for the Panthers? We all presumed before the season that the four teams in District 5A-4 would dominate the season and monopolize the rankings. Safe to say Piedra Vista has crashed the party. Panthers QB Logan Howell and RB Zach Mora-Dotson are two of the season's biggest breakout stars. Has Piedra Vista finally escaped Farmington's shadow? They beat the Scorpions in the season opener, snapping along losing streak to their cross-town rivals.   Roswell has been one of Class 5A's top programs for years, capturing back-to-back state championships in 2018 and 2019. The Coyotes are still playing the brand of physical football that made them so successful. Except for a 35-23 road win at Los Lunas and the loss to 6A Hobbs, Roswell has shredded opponents this season, averaging 50 points per game. QB Manny Fuentes has been outstanding directing the Coyotes offense and getting the ball to the right people. Both these teams love to run the football. So, the clock will run. Best team in the trenches will win. We say that a lot but for this game, count on it.                         Volcano Vista at Cleveland: The Storm have two losses, something we have rarely seen over the past decade. But both setbacks came in shootouts with Centennial (38-35) and Frenship, TX (56-52). So, Cleveland is THIS close to being undefeated. They still possess arguably the most potent offensive trio in the state with QB [player_tooltip player_id='139521' first='Evan' last='Wysong'], RB [player_tooltip player_id='138204' first='Josh' last='Perry'] and WR [player_tooltip player_id='139523' first='Nic' last='Trujillo']. With talent like that, you know they are going to score points. The key question for Volcano Vista is whether the Hawks can keep up. If they can, this has the makings of a fantastic game. QB Elliot Pasket-Bell patiently waited his turn to play QB for the Hawks and so far he's been superb with 1,096 passing yards and over 500 rushing yards, putting him on track to join the prestigious 1,000-1,000 club.   Atrisco Heritage at Cibola: If there's a game on the Week 7 schedule that could potentially turn into a 50-49 shootout, this one is it (Wes Mesa-Sandia is a close No. 2, see below). Both quarterbacks – [player_tooltip player_id='275207' first='Dean' last='Marquez'] (Atrisco Heritage) and [player_tooltip player_id='137861' first='Aden' last='Chavez'] (Cibola) have both surpassed the 1,500-yard passing yard plateau. Both have outstanding receivers at their disposal. Both these teams are going to throw the ball a lot. This one could take 3 hours to play. In fact, it's likely. But it will be a fun 3 hours with the ball flying all over the field and talented receivers making great catch after great catch. Buckle in.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1574866468046454784 </div></figure>   Hobbs at Las Cruces: One of two unbeaten teams left in Class 6A, Hobbs knows if thy can beat Las Cruces, they'll get their shot to finally crack the top three in the polls when they host Centennial Oct. 7 at Watson Stadium. But to get there they must deal with the improving Bulldawgs. Because they're playing just 9 regular season games, Las Cruces has already had two bye weeks. They snapped a three-game losing streak two weekends ago by beating rival Mayfield, 35-7. But now the Bulldawgs face one of Class 6A's top offenses. Hobbs scored 46+ points in each of their first four games before the 30-20 Week 5 win over Rio Rancho at home. QB Omar Argott has thrown for close to 1,100 yards and 14 TD in 5 games. He has array to weapons to help him.          Jal at Loving: The last two undefeated teams in Class 2A square off as district play begins in the highly competitive 2A-4. Four of the top five ranked teams in 2A by MaxPreps are from this district. Jal's balanced and incredibly deep rushing attack is averaging over 220 rushing yards per game. Loving is more balanced on offense between the run and pass. QB [player_tooltip player_id='275462' first='Kaleb' last='Rodriguez'] s thrown for over 1,000 yards and 14 TD. Freshman Bobby Parraz has 557 rushing yards in 5 games. Add him to the list of the best 2026 prospects in the state.         Portales at Valley (Sat.): Last week Valley hosted the No. 1 team in Class 5A (Piedra Vista). This week they get unbeaten Portales., the No. 1 team in Class 4A, at Milne Stadium. Sophomore QB Paxton Culpepper has proven up to the task for the Rams, throwing for 1,082 yards and 13 TD. Senior RB Emmanuel Diahn is on pace for a 1,000-yard rushing season. Valley is licking its wounds after the 48-0 loss to Piedra Vista. But the Vikings fell just one spot in the 5A rankings and remain in serious contention for a top four playoff seed. [player_tooltip player_id='138089' first='Caedan' last='Jojola'] leads the balanced and run-dominated offense with 322 rushing yards.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1574866720174624768 </div></figure>   West Mesa at Sandia (Thur.): The amount of offensive talent on the field for this one is scary good. Thee of West Mesa's five games this season haven't been decided until the final possession of the game. Week 5's 59-54 loss to Atrisco Heritage exemplifies the Mustangs' season. Lots of offense, struggling defense. Halfway through the regular season, QB [player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'] has thrown for 1,260 yards and 13 TD. He has a flock of receivers to throw to, led by [player_tooltip player_id='138047' first='Chris' last='Johnson'] (22 receptions for 396 yards). Sandia RB [player_tooltip player_id='137923' first='Malachi' last='Thymes'] (661 rushing yards) is unheralded but one of the top players at his position in the state.            Santa Teresa at Artesia: Junior Bulldogs QB Nye Estrada has emerged as one of the top passing quarterbacks in the state with 1,857 yards in 6 games, putting him on pace for 3,700 yards during the regular season. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='274793' first='Peyton' last='Greathouse'] has 48 receptions for 820 yards and 6 TD. The good news for Artesia is both Estrada and Greathouse are back in 2023. Santa Teresa has won three of four game since opening the season with losses to Goddard and Mayfield. Junior Jack Bumgardner is a nice dual threat QB for the Desert Warriors.         St. Michael's at West Las Vegas: District play begins in 3A-2 and it's going to be a battle every week. St. Michael's is one of two remaining unbeaten teams in Class 3A (Socorro is the other). RB Marcus Leyba and TE [player_tooltip player_id='269871' first='Taven' last='Lozada'] are two of the top offensive players in Class 3A. West Las Vegas QB C.J. Perea has bounced back nicely after missing a game earlier this season with an injury. He has thrown for 1,056 yards and 8 TD in 5 games. Ethan Tafoya is a top-notch running back and will test the Horsemen's defense.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1574866971765661699 </div></figure>   Aztec at Taos (at Questa): All of a sudden, Taos is now on everyone's radar because: 1) Head coach Art Abreu is back from a brief suspension imposed by school district officials when unfounded allegations of abuse and mistreatment were brought against him by a former player; 2) the Tigers have won four straight game after last week's impressive 21-6 road win at Bernalillo; 3) QB [player_tooltip player_id='269567' first='Daemon' last='Ely'], listed at 6-foot-7, is a big dude. Taos is playing all their home games this season at Questa High School because a new turf is being installed at THS.        Los Lunas at Capital: Don't look now but 6A newcomer Los Lunas brings a four-game losing streak to Santa Fe. However, the losses have come to Farmington,. Roswell, La Cueva and Cibola. [player_tooltip player_id='137885' first='Paul' last='Cieremans'] is still one of the most dynamic dual threat quarterbacks in the state. [player_tooltip player_id='335475' first='Kaden' last='Bell'] gives the Tigers a major edge in the kicking game. Capital has had a rollercoaster season with a victory followed by a loss followed by a victory. On and on. Result? A 3-3 record. With nearly 1,000 yards in total offense, [player_tooltip player_id='208737' first='Julian' last='Munoz'] is Capital's version of Cieremans. This one could go down to the wire.         Mayfield at Deming: How challenging is Mayfield's schedule coming down the stretch? The Trojans (3-3) are No. 7 in the 5A MaxPreps poll and all four of their remaining contests are against teams ranked higher than they are beginning with Friday's contest at Deming. Mayfield snapped a 3-game losing streak last week against Belen. Deming has won two straight games after consecutive losses to Organ Mountain, Goddard and Artesia. [player_tooltip player_id='138095' first='Ian' last='Ortiz'] is one of the top defensive players in the state.   Eldorado at La Cueva: At first glance, this game appears to be a mismatch. But it's a fierce rivalry between neighboring schools and anything can happen. La Cueva is ranked No. 2 in the MaxPreps poll behind Centennial but plenty of people think they're the best team in the state with freshly minted New Mexico commit [player_tooltip player_id='137862' first='Aidan' last='Armenta'] leading the prolific Bears offense and [player_tooltip player_id='270020' first='Ian' last='Sanchez'] catching passes. The struggling Eldorado defense has allowed 34+ points in all five of their losses.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1574867223629406223 </div></figure>   BEST OF THE REST   Gadsden at Valencia   Alamogordo at Carlsbad   St. Pius X at Albuquerque Academy (Sat.)   Lovington at Santa Fe   Socorro at Gallup   Goddard at Belen   Clovis at Albuquerque High   Bernalillo at Los Alamos   OTHER GAMES   Kirtland Central at Shiprock (Thur.)   Centennial at El Paso (TX) Chapin   Hot Springs at Crownpoint   Tucumcari at Ruidoso   Escalante at Tularosa   Bloomfield at Bayfield (CO)   Pojoaque Valley at Robertson   Santa Rosa at Estancia   Raton at Santa Fe Indian   McCurdy at Cuba   Highland at Manzano (Sat.)   NMMI at Hope Christian (Sat.)   Del Norte at Miyamura (Sat.)   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1574867475048431616 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/HobbsEaglesFB/status/1574395540011466752 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/artesiafootball/status/1574569811941564416 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/VHSJagFootball/status/1574432101612498945 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CHSStormFB/status/1573519437654855689 </div></figure>

Week 7 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 Games of Week 7: