Week 8: Top Performers
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Week 8 of the New Mexico high school football season is complete. Here are last weekend’s top performers: Trey Archuleta Trey Archuleta 5'9" | 165 lbs | QB Escalante | 2024 State NM , Escalante: Escalante loves to run the…
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Continue ReadingWeek 8 of the New Mexico high school football season is complete. Here are last weekend’s top performers:
Trey Archuleta Trey Archuleta 5'9" | 165 lbs | QB Escalante | 2024 State NM , Escalante: Escalante loves to run the football and Archuleta made of that offensive philosophy, rushing a workhorse 30 times for 160 yards and 2 TD as the Lobos beat Laguna Acoma, 22-14.
J.J. Arellano, Rio Rancho: Arellano has been a revelation for the Rams since replacing the injured Noah Nelson Noah Nelson 5'11" | 170 lbs | DB Rio Rancho | 2024 State NM at QB. Most recently, he threw SIX touchdown passes, rushed for 137 yards on 23 carries and ran 70 yards for a score in the Rams’ 49-27 win over Atrisco Heritage. Six of his 12 completions went for TDs.
Eli Asay Eli Asay WR Carlsbad | 2023 State NM , Carlsbad: Asay had a season high 26 carries for 175 yards in the Cavemen’s 33-36 road win at Organ Mountain. Carlsbad improved to 2-0 in the district and return to the Field of Dreams Saturday for an afternoon clash with Centennial.
Julian Butkivich, Valley: The Vikings kept their winning season going with a 49-23 win over Manzano a Butkivich threw for 3 TD to fuel the offense.
Alexavier Carreon Alexavier Carreon 6'1" | RB Jal | 2023 State NM , Jal: Few teams made a bigger statement than Jal as the Panthers routed defending 2A champions Eunice, 50-0. Carreon rushed for 110 yards and 4 TD.
Nate Chacon, Espanola Valley: Completed 10-of-11 passes for 270 yards and 3 TD as Espanola Valley continued to write of the season’s best stories in Class 4A with a 54-0 win over Navajo Prep.
Marcos Chavez, Santa Rosa: Rushed for 116 yards on 9 carries in the Lions’ 61-6 win over McCurdy.
Tristen Cordova, Volcano Vista: Cordova was on the receiving end of 14 of Elliott Pasket-Bell’s passes for 258 yards and 2 TD as the Hawks crushed Cibola, 57-7.
Daemon Ely Daemon Ely 6'7" | 210 lbs | QB Taos | 2023 State NM , Taos: Taos won its sixth straight game as Ely threw TD passes of 49, 54 and 80 yards in a 44-0 Homecoming victory over Grants.
JJ Garcia, Hot Springs: Rushed for 116 yards in a win over Mescalero Apache. He has 313 rushing yards in the last two games.
Ace Gonzales, Robertson: He did everything in the Cardinals’ 28-20 victory over St. Michael’s, quarterbacking the offense, rushing for 98 yards on 13 carries, passing for 54 yards in a driving rain and making 11 tackles on defense.
Kaesn Gorga, Dexter: Caught a TD and threw the winning 2-point conversion pass in double OT as Dexter nipped Hope Christian, 14-13.
Trel Griego Trel Griego 6'3" | 225 lbs | QB Farmington | 2024 State NM , Farmington: In a wild game, Griego completed 20-of-29 passes for 287 yards and 4 TD as Farmington outscored West Mesa, 48-41, in the District 6A-2 opener for the Scorpions. Farmington had 488 yards of total offense and punted just once.
Aidan Granado Aidan Granado 5'9" | 170 lbs | RB Silver | 2023 State NM , Silver: The Fighting Colts have ascended to No. 1 in both 4A polls largely on the shoulders of Granado, who rushed for 154 yards and 3 TD on 18 carries as Silver blasted Bloomfield, 45-6, in a neutral site game at Socorro.
Andrew Gustafson, Rio Rancho: 14 tackles (7 solo) and 3 TFL in a win over Atrisco Heritage.
Mikah Gutierrez Mikah Gutierrez 5'8" | 160 lbs | RB Centennial | 2023 State NM , Centennial: If the Hawks were going to beat Hobbs on the road, they needed a big game from Gutierrez. They got it as the senior RB ignited Centennial’s strong second half with a 64-yard TD run.
Ricky Henderson Ricky Henderson 6'0" | 175 lbs | RB Valley | 2023 State NM , Valley: Rushed for 121 yards on 8 carries to help Valley beat Manzano.
Chris Johnson Chris Johnson 5'9" | 135 lbs | WR West Mesa | 2023 State NM , West Mesa: Caught 6 passes for 104 yards and 2 TD in West Mesa’s shootout loss to Farmington.
Jaylen Lakes, Manzano: 15 receptions for 191 yards in the Monarchs’ loss to Valley Saturday afternoon.
Dean Marquez Dean Marquez 5'11" | 175 lbs | QB Atrisco Heritage | 2024 State NM , Atrisco Heritage: Passed for 331 yards and 4 TD on 29-of-42 passing in the Jaguars’ loss to Rio Rancho.
Arnold Marquez, Atrisco Heritage: Made 17 tackles (11 solo) in the loss to Rio Rancho.
Amiri Mumba, Highland: Rushed for 2 TD and returned a kickoff for another TD as Highland improved to 5-1 by battering Pojoaque Valley, 56-7.
Brandon Olivas Brandon Olivas 5'10" | 160 lbs | QB Eldorado | 2024 State NM , Eldorado: Passed for 197 yards (21-35) and 6 TD as Eldorado outlasted Sandia, 42-39, in OT.
Elliott Pasket-Bell, Volcano Vista: Our Player of the Week is now on the list of New Mexico’s all-time Top 10 passing performances after he threw for 517 yards and 5 TD in just 3 quarters as the Hawks walloped Cibola, 57-7.
Kaden Sago Kaden Sago RB Ruidoso | 2023 State NM , Ruidoso: 169 yards on 16 rushes as Ruidoso blanked NMMI, 50-0. Sago, one of the top running backs in 3A, now has 1,092 rushing yards and 17 TD on 125 carries.
Jett Stone Jett Stone 5'8" | DB Clovis | 2024 State NM , Clovis: The Wildcats won their second straight game, 53-0, over Santa Fe as Stone engineered the flexbone offense perfectly with 66 passing yards and 74 rushing yards. Clovis had 3 RB with 49+ rushing yards.
Ryan Stovall Ryan Stovall 6'2" | 195 lbs | LB Alamogordo | 2023 State NM , Alamogordo: Keyed the Tigers’ strong defensive effort (5 forced turnovers) in 13-10 win at Las Cruces with 13 tackles, 2 TFL and a fumble recovery.
Logan Tarango, Organ Mountain: Threw for 200+ yards and 4 TD in the Knight’s hard-fought loss to Carlsbad.
Zebadiah Thompson, West Mesa: Thompson recorded 10+ tackles for the 4th time this season with 12 tackles in West Mesa’s loss to Farmington.
NICHOLAS TORRES NICHOLAS TORRES WR Los Lunas | 2023 State NM ,, Los Lunas: Prior to last Friday’s 27-0 win over Albuquerque High, Torres’ highest single game rushing total this season had been 73 yards. However, Torres torched the Bulldogs for 157 yards and 1 TD on 13 carries.
Luka Torrez Luka Torrez 5'10" | 160 lbs | WR Escalante | 2024 State NM , Escalante: 149 rushing yards on just 9 carries in a win over Laguna Acoma.
Kaden Trevino Kaden Trevino 5'11" | 175 lbs | WR Hobbs | 2023 State NM , Hobbs: Caught 10 passes for 157 yards and ran 4 yards for a TD (4 carries, 43 yards), finishing with 219 total yards, the Eagles fell at home, 27-20, to Centennial.
Cayden Walton Cayden Walton 5'9" | 180 lbs | RB Raton | 2023 State NM , Raton: Walton is a fixture on this weekly list and for good reason. He has rushed for 215+ yards in every game this season and now has 2,166 yards on the season as he chases the state’s all-time rushing record. In Raton’s latest game, he rushed for 332 yards and five TD in a 42-7 victory over West Las Vegas.
Erik Wolf Erik Wolf 5'7" | 130 lbs | RB Moriarty | 2023 State NM , Moriarty: Nobody ‘spreads the wealth’ on offense better than Moriarty. Wolf had 60 yards on 7 carries in the Pintos’ 13-0 win over St. Pius X.