Week 9 Whiparound: Top Peformances, Best Games & Fun Stuff

Week 9 of the New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is the eighth edition of our Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field:    Team of the Week: Artesia. In the latest No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in Class 5A, the Bulldogs (6-2 overall, 1-0 district) handled Roswell, 46-28, Friday night at the Bulldog Bowl and have ascended to No. 1 spot in the new MaxPreps poll released Sunday afternoon. QB Nye Estrada completed 18-of-31 passes for 288 yards and 3 TD, junior Jesse Leroch rushed for 104 yards and 2 TD on 12 carries and WR [player_tooltip player_id='274793' first='Peyton' last='Greathouse'] had 8 receptions for 120 yards and 2 TD. By the way, all three aforementioned players are back in 2023. Artesia jumped out to a 22-0 lead over Roswell at the end of the first quarter, and 29-7 at halftime. Roswell didn't get closer than 15 points in the second half.   Honorable mention: Portales; Lovington; La Cueva; Socorro; St. Michael's.                       Co-Players of the Week: Las Cruces QB Gunnar Guardiola and Raton RB [player_tooltip player_id='138053' first='Cayden' last='Walton']: Guardiola, who's just 14 years old, became the first freshman quarterback to start a varsity football game for Las Cruces (2-5) in decades (head coach Mark Lopez has been with the program for 26 years) and he led the Bulldawgs to a crucial 31-21 victory over crosstown rival Organ Mountain that kept Las Cruces' playoff hopes alive. Guardiola, pushed into the starting job when regular starting QB Matt Lashley was injured in last week's win over Alamogordo, completed 11-of-16 passes for 142 yards and 1 TD, showing great poise in the process, as the Bulldawgs posted their first win over a 6A opponent this season. Las Cruces plays only nine regular season games, so their margin of error at this point is very slim. A final record of 4-5 should get them into the postseason.             Walton rushed for 234 yards on 30 carries in the Tigers' frustrating 28-21 loss to district rival St. Michael's Sat. night in Raton. Walton became the state's all-time leading rusher with 7,248 career rushing yards, eclipsing the previous record of 7,170 yards held by David McGee (Laguna-Acoma, 2010-14). Walton has rushed for 215+ yards in every game this season and goes into the Oct. 21 regular season finale with 2,400 rushing yards and 32 TD on 193 carries. He needs 624 yards to match the single season rushing record of 3,024 yards established by La Cueva's Ronnie Daniels in 2010. Raton travels to Robertson Fri. night for a Week 10 District 3A-2 showdown.   Honorable Mention: [player_tooltip player_id='137862' first='Aidan' last='Armenta'] (La Cueva); [player_tooltip player_id='208691' first='Mikah' last='Gutierrez'] (Centennial).                                Best Team Offensive Performance: La Cueva and West Mesa. An easy choice. In the highest scoring game in state history, La Cueva outlasted West Mesa, 89-62, in a frantic game at Community Stadium Friday night. Defense? Just a rumor. La Cueva QB [player_tooltip player_id='137862' first='Aidan' last='Armenta'] threw for 475 yards and 8 TD – tying for the second highest single game total in state history – while RB [player_tooltip player_id='269525' first='Gabriel' last='Buie'] rushed for 169 yards and 4 TD on just 12 carries. The Bears finished with 710 total yards of offense. West Mesa had 553 yards of total offense. QB [player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'] threw for 430 yards and 6 TD on 27-of-50 passing. The 151 total points scored by the two teams shattered the previous record of 130 points by a wide margin. The two teams combined for over 1,200 yards in total offense.   Best Team Defensive Performance: Cleveland. The Storm throttled Atrisco Heritage, 54-0, limiting the high-powered Jaguars offensive attack to 89 yards of total offense when the game ended at the 4:00 minute mark of the third quarter. Three Atrisco Heritage QBs combined to completed just 8-of-29 passes and came under constant pressure all game long from the Storm front seven. Cleveland jumped out to a 35-0 lead at the end of the first quarter with QB [player_tooltip player_id='139521' first='Evan' last='Wysong'] throwing 3 TD passes, one a 55-yarder to [player_tooltip player_id='139523' first='Nic' last='Trujillo']. Atrisco Heritage had scored 50+ pints in four games this season.   Best Game: Jal 41, Texico 35. In a weekend filled with lopsided games, Jal (9-0) and Texico engaged in a good ol' fashioned slugfest. Texico tested Jal for the first time this season and nearly came through the upset win. Texico, in fact, led by 2 touchdowns in the first half before Jal cranked up the running game in the second half, scoring on 5 straight possessions, helped by two forced turnovers and a blocked punt. Senior RB [player_tooltip player_id='138194' first='Jacob' last='Lujan'] and senior QB [player_tooltip player_id='138093' first='Alexavier' last='Carreon'] each rushed for 191 yards.   Honorable Mention: St. Michael's 28, Raton 21 (Horsemen rallied from 15-point deficit and drove 70 yards to score winning TD in final minute);   Best Rivalry Win: Deming 21, Santa Teresa 0. In the Borderland Bowl, Deming held Santa Teresa to 150 total yards of offense in shutting out the Desert Warriors. Deming improved to 4-4 overall and is currently ranked No. 6 in the new MaxPreps 5A poll, so the Wildcats are positioned to secure a first-round home game in the playoffs.   Still The Top Three In 6A: Centennial, Cleveland and La Cueva remained the top three teams in Class 6A in the new MaxPreps poll released Sunday afternoon. After La Cueva posted historic numbers in its ultra high-scoring win over West Mesa and Cleveland's defense dominated the Atrisco Heritage offense, Centennial (6-1) took the field at Field of Dreams Saturday and beat Carlsbad, 44-7. Hawks RB [player_tooltip player_id='208691' first='Mikah' last='Gutierrez'] rushed for 243 yards and 3 TD in a battle of teams that entered Saturday with 2-0 district records. Two 60+ yard TD runs by Gutierrez near the end of the first half and the first play of the second half gave Centennial a comfortable 31-0 lead. The win moved Centennial closer to capturing its second straight district title and the Hawks can clinch at least a share of the district championship – and likely a top four seed – with a home win over Alamogordo in Week 10.   Here Comes Rio Rancho: Some folks may have given up on Rio Rancho when the Rams lost badly to La Cueva in the season opener at home, but the Rams are 6-1 since then with the only loss coming at No. 4 Hobbs. Rio Rancho fell down early to Cibola before rolling to a 35-7 victory Friday night at RRHS Stadium. Sophomore QB JJ Arellano was sensational again and got the start even though former starter, senior [player_tooltip player_id='274972' first='Noah' last='Nelson'], is back healthy. Arellano was 10-for-10 passing for 233 yards in the first half with scoring passes of 64 and 80 yards and a pair of TD runs. Rio Rancho hosts Volcano Vista Friday night in a huge game for 6A playoff seeding. It's a must-win for the Rams if they want to snag the No. 4 seed (and the final bye). In the latest poll, Hobbs is No. 4, Rio Rancho No. 5 and Volcano Vista No. 6. These last two weeks are going to be fun.   Four 7-1 Teams In Class 4A: We have a logjam in Class 4A as Bloomfield (see below), Portales, Silver and Taos are all 7-1 going into the final two weeks of the regular season. Portales visited Albuquerque for the second time this season and battered Albuquerque Academy, 42-7, on the Chargers home field in a rare Friday afternoon contest. The Rams scored on 6 straight possessions after Academy took an early 7-0 lead. The defense took over in the second half, allowing Academy just 14 yards in total offense. The Chargers didn't cross midfield after the first quarter. Silver stayed No. 1 in the MaxPreps poll with a 50-0 mercy-rule win over Grants. Three rushers had 68+ yards for the Fighting Colts. Taos won its seventh straight game with an emphatic 61-6 road win at Espanola Valley. The intriguing question for the 4A playoffs is what will the NMAA selection committee do with Lovington (2-6)? Right now, the Wildcats are ranked No. 4 by MaxPreps after going on the road to Bernalillo and winning, 33-7, on Friday night. Lovington punished Bernalillo on the ground with 300 rushing yards – 116 by Ondalis Cardenas and 112 by Camon Ochoa.                       Things You Need To Know: Farmington and La Cueva are tied atop District 6A-2 with 2-0 records after the Scorpions beat Sandia, 43-7, Friday night at Hutchison Stadium. QB [player_tooltip player_id='274791' first='Trel' last='Griego'] threw 4 TD passes (3 to Michael Beck) for the Scorpions, who forced three first-half turnovers (including a scoop and score) and led 36-0 at halftime. If Farmington and La Cueva both win in Week 10, they'll meet Oct. 29 in a winner-take-all district championship game at Community Stadium in Albuquerque. . .Another prominent Four Corners team, Bloomfield pummeled Kirtland Central, 58-8, in its district opener and faces crosstown rival Aztec Friday with the winner improving to 2-0 in the district. The Bobcats led Kirtland Central, 15-0, after the first quarter and 37-0 at halftime. QB [player_tooltip player_id='208748' first='Ryan' last='Sharpe'] threw for 310 yards on 4 TD on just 9 completions. Overall, Bloomfield QBs combined to throw for 425 yards. . .After losing to Roswell two weeks ago, Piedra Vista (7-1) got back on the winning track with a 48-21 win over Miyamura in its district opener. QB Logan Howell threw 3 TD passes and ran for 1 more. The Panthers return to Albuquerque in Week 10 to face Highland Saturday afternoon. If Piedra Vista and Belen win in Week 10, those two teams will meet Oct. 28 in Farmington in a winner-take-all district championship game. . .Aztec jumped out to a 40-0 lead after the first quarter and cruised to a 52-0 win over Gallup. Five different players scored TDs for Aztec. . .With Los Lunas (5-4 overall, 3-0 district) unbeaten in district play with just one regular season game remaining on its schedule, Capital and Clovis meet Thursday night at Leon Williams Stadium with the winner likely securing at least a second place finish in District 6A-5. If Clovis wins, the Wildcats would earn a shot at Los Lunas in a winner-take-all district championship game Oct. 29. Capital beat Albuquerque High, 36-20, Saturday afternoon in Santa Fe as QB [player_tooltip player_id='208737' first='Julian' last='Munoz'] threw for 186 yards and 2 TD and Andrew Rodriguez returned a kickoff 96 yards for a TD. . . .Goddard improved to 6-2 overall/1-0 district with a 42-28 victory over Mayfield at the Wool Bowl. The Trojans led, 21-20, at halftime but Goddard dominated the second half. The Rockets are now No. 4 in the latest 5A MaxPreps poll. They face No. 1 Artesia in Week 10. . .[player_tooltip player_id='274725' first='Diego' last='Avila'] rushed for 198 yards in 18 carries as Belen bested Highland, 30-7. . .Unbeaten Socorro is No. 2 in the latest Class 3A poll after crushing Hatch Valley, 55-0, Friday night. [player_tooltip player_id='138084' first='Brian' last='Armijo'] rushed for 100 yards. . .The Santa Fe New Mexican reported St. Michael's backup QB and starting DB [player_tooltip player_id='137922' first='Jacob' last='Katko'] will miss the remainder of the regular season after he dislocated his shoulder at practice earlier this week.   Key Week 10 Games (Oct. 20-22):   Volcano Vista at Rio Rancho   Artesia at Goddard   Roswell at Mayfield   Raton at Robertson   Las Cruces at Carlsbad   Cleveland at Cibola   Capital at Clovis (Thur.)   Organ Mountain at Hobbs   St. Pius X at Silver   Valley at Los Alamos   Aztec at Bloomfield   Bernalillo at Portales   Albuq. Academy at Lovington   La Cueva at Sandia   Cobre at Hatch Valley   Santa Teresa at Gadsden   Pojoaque Valley at Taos   Deming at Chaparral (Thur.)   Valencia at Grants (Thur.)   Texico at Loving   Hope Christian at Ruidoso   Espanola Valley at Moriarty   Hot Springs at Socorro   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1581128796123516928 </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/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1581132751649923072 </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/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1581137799368962048 </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/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1581408501133238272 </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/HHS_HornetsFB/status/1581774190960857089 </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/1582024396662710272 </div></figure>

Week 9 of the New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is the eighth edition of our Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field: