The Fantastic Forty: Top Performers in Week 1

Week 1 of the 2023 New Mexico High Schol Football season is in the books. Here's our list of the top performers (in alphabetical order), something we're calling the Fantastic Forty:   [player_tooltip player_id='615673' first='Alfredo' last='Andrade'], Gadsden: The Panthers were a surprise team in 2022 but expectations are high in Gadsden that they can make the playoffs again. Andrade started the season with a bang, rushing for  178 yards in Gadsden's win over Ruidoso.   [player_tooltip player_id='817453' first='Jonathan' last='Antonio'], Crownpoint: Antonio is one of the best athletes in Class 3A and he showcased his skills in Crownpoint's 14-6 win over cross border rival Sanders (AZ) Valley. Antonio threw for 176 yards and 1 TD for the Eagles.     [player_tooltip player_id='1103655' first='Saul' last='Armendariz'], Hobbs: The senior RB showed against Clovis that he's ready to fill the void left by Diego Baeza from last season. Armendariz rushed for 126 yards and 1 TD on 13 carries to help propel the Eagles to a big road win over the Wildcats.   [player_tooltip player_id='611107' first='Michael' last='Beck'], Farmington: Beck is probably a mystery figure beyond the Four Corners but he has special skills as a pass catcher. Five of his nine receptions against Piedra Vista produced touchdowns. He totaled 158 receiving yards.   Zadrick Betancourt, Lovington: The Wildcats lost at home to 5A power Roswell but Betancourt was all over the field defensively as he made 14 tackles       [player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'], West Mesa: Brody led the Mustangs to a  solid road win at Santa Fe by throwing for 182 yards and rushing for 200 yards on 13 carries in West Mesa's 42-6 win.   [player_tooltip player_id='340316' first='Joshua' last='Calhoon'], Estancia: Calhoon rushed for 214 yards and 2 TD in Estancia's loss to Texico.     Zaiden Davis, Centennial: Davis had 16 tackles for the Hawks in their loss to Cleveland at Field of Dreams.   [player_tooltip player_id='275478' first='Devin' last='Diaz'], Portales: One of the most impressive units we saw in Week 1 was the Portales defense. Diaz was the sparkplug in the Rams' 45-0 shutout win over Highland with 3 interceptions and 7 tackles.      [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], La Cueva: Dyer's debut as La Cueva's new starting QB was a rousing success as he threw for 325 yards and 2 TD on 24-of-34 passing to lead the Bears to a home win over Rio Rancho. Dyer smartly distributed the ball all over the field as four receivers had 4+ receptions for La Cueva.     [player_tooltip player_id='275206' first='Mason' last='Espinda-McChriston'], Bernalillo: Espinda-McChriston has become one of the top two-way players in the state as he showed against Valley. He had 5 receptions for 63 yards and 1 TD, and made an impressive 16 tackles on defense with 2 TFL, 1 INT and 2 forced fumbles.        [player_tooltip player_id='590681' first='Nye' last='Estrada'], Artesia: Estrada has already earned the right to be called one of the top quarterbacks in the state. In the Eddy County War, he completed 15-of-19 passes for 320 yards and 4 TD to key Artesia's 55-7 win.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119551' first='Javier' last='Filerio'], Gadsden: The 6-foot-4, 290-pound Filerio is a major piece of Gadsden's huge offensive line. Against Ruidoso, Filerio had 12(!) pancake blocks from his left tackle spot. That's called protecting the blind side quite successfully.      [player_tooltip player_id='590316' first='Manny' last='Fuentez'], Roswell: The Coyotes posted a nice road win at Lovington and Fuentez was already in mid-season form by throwing for 238 yards and accounting for 5 TD (3 passing, 2 rushing) along with 76 rushing yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='274709' first='Alijah' last='Gonzales'], Volcano Vista: Gonzales rushed for 128 yards and scored 3 TD as Volcano Vista opened the season with an impressive 24-7 victory over Las Cruces at Field of Dreams.     [player_tooltip player_id='615560' first='Jesse' last='James Gonzalez'], Robertson: After two years at running back, Gonzalez is now the Cardinals' quarterback. In Robertson's 28-13 road win at Socorro, Gonzalez threw for 166 yards (average of 33.2 yards per completion) and rushed for 58 yards on 9 carries.      [player_tooltip player_id='274791' first='Trel' last='Griego'], Farmington: The Scorpions' season got off to a roaring start with a 48-7 rout of rival Piedra Vista. Griego, listed at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, is an imposing presence in the field. Against the Panthers he threw for 306 yards and 7 touchdowns and rushed for 64 yards. Griego is ready for a monster season.      [player_tooltip player_id='590702' first='David' last='Hammond'], Artesia: The Bulldogs DB helped Artesia rout Eddy County War rival Carlsbad with three interceptions, a 67-yard Pick Six and 1 pass breakup.   [player_tooltip player_id='615452' first='Mason' last='Hohsfield'], Hope Christian: Hohsfield rushed for 4 TD as Hope Christian opened the season with a 42-20 road victory at McCurdy.   [player_tooltip player_id='1258907' first='Isaac' last='Houlihan'], Albuquerque High: Houlihan had 2 interceptions to lead the Bulldogs defense against Organ Mountain and make head coach Desmond Anaya a winner in his AHS debut.      Aiden Jaquez, Deming: Jaquez contributed on both sides of the ball in Deming's 56-6 win over Del Norte. Jaquez had 59 yards rushing, 28 yards receiving and made 6 tackles on defense.   [player_tooltip player_id='592369' first='Jeremiah' last='Jaquez'], Hobbs: Now Hobbs' No. 1 WR, Jaquez had 6 receptions for 106 yards and 2 TD in the Eagles' 41-13 win over Clovis.   Deshaun Kensey, West Las Vegas: Kensey is one of the fastest players in 3A, as he proved during camp season. In Week 1, Kensey had 194 receiving yards and 1 TD in WLV's 28-0 win over Escalante.     Johnpaul Ludi, Eldorado: Ludi powered Eldorado's impressive ground attack against Cibola with 128 yards rushing on a workhorse 22 carries.   [player_tooltip player_id='590746' first='Hunter' last='Maldonado'], Sandia: Maldonado made one of the key plays in Sandia's 21-20 victory over Atrisco Heritage, taking an interception back to the end zone for a 70-yard Pick 6.     [player_tooltip player_id='591958' first='Zane' last='Mayberry'], Portales: The [player_tooltip player_id='615523' first='Paxton' last='Culpepper']-Mayberry connection was working well Saturday against Highland. Mayberry caught 5 passes for 132 yards and 1 TD. Culpepper finished with 3 TD passes and ran for another.   [player_tooltip player_id='590512' first='Harris' last='Mbueha'], Cleveland: The Storm made the long journey to Las Cruces for a Saturday afternoon clash with Centennial at Field of Dreams. Mbueha picked up where he left off last season (100+ rushing yards and 4 TD in state championship game) by rushing for 152 yards on a workhorse 33 carries.   [player_tooltip player_id='275436' first='Josiah' last='Mitchell'], Eldorado: Mitchell was everywhere in Eldorado's big win over Cibola with 6 receptions for 102 yards and a 76-yard kickoff return.   [player_tooltip player_id='275510' first='Elijah' last='Montoya'], Alamogordo: Montoya led the Tigers' comeback win over Silver by completing 14-of-22 passes for 212 yards and 4 TD.   [player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo'], Socorro: Ocampo threw for 201 yards and 2 TD while rushing for 61 yards in a losing effort against Robertson.   [player_tooltip player_id='613065' first='Camon' last='Ochoa'], Lovington: Ochoa began the season by rushing for 140 yards and 2 TD on just 9 carries against the rugged Roswell defense.   [player_tooltip player_id='615555' first='CJ' last='Perea'], West Las Vegas: Perea is one of the top quarterbacks in the state, not just Class 3A where West Las Vegas resides. In the Dons' Week 1 win over Escalante, Perea threw for 331 yards and  3 TD with 1 rushing TD.     Fabian Ryan, Capital: The Jaguars rushed for 172 yards in their win at Grants with Ryan collecting 119 yards and 2 TD.   [player_tooltip player_id='851889' first='Skyler' last='Sargent'], La Cueva: It's rare for a sophomore to start anywhere for La Cueva, let alone the offensive line, a position that demands physical and mental toughness, especially center. In his 1st career varsity start, Sargent had 3 pancake blocks in the Bears' win over Rio Rancho.   [player_tooltip player_id='817244' first='Marcus' last='Sharp'], West Mesa: Sharp was moved from wide receiver to running back and based on his Week 1 performance, the Mustang coaches are geniuses. Sharp rushed for 128 yards on just 7 carries against Santa Fe.   [player_tooltip player_id='274787' first='Jonathan' last='Silva'], Goddard: The Rockets trampled visiting Santa Teresa, 49-0, and Silva was a major reason for the lopsided win. He rushed for 134 yards and 2 TD on 13 carries to lift Goddard to the season opening win.   [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'], Bloomfield: The Bobcats began defense of their Class 4A state championship with a 41-20 home victory over St. Pius X. Spencer threw 4 TD passes, 3 to WR [player_tooltip player_id='275042' first='Drew' last='Perez'].   Lucas Tracy, Albuquerque Academy: Four of Tracy's six completions against Rio Grande produced touchdowns as the Chargers cruised to a 50-0 mercy rule win in David Lee's debut as Academy's head coach.     [player_tooltip player_id='1103800' first='Daniel' last='Villegas'], Valencia: The Jaguars made sure head coach LeDarrius Cage's debut was a successful one as they traveled to the Four Corners and beat Kirtland Central, 48-20. Villegas rushed for 160 yards and 3 TD to spark Valencia's attack.     [player_tooltip player_id='1129687' first='Jonah' last='Villegas'], Pojoaque Valley: Villegas, who's only a freshman, rushed for 166 yards on 10 carries as the Elks dominated Navajo Prep in the season opener.      [player_tooltip player_id='615650' first='Eljan' last='Woods'], Eunice: Our Offensive Player of the Week rushed for 225 yards and totaled 203 yards on seven kickoff returns as Eunice beat Raton, 40-29, in Tucumcari.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/nyeestrada0/status/1693345154890174473?s=20 </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/davhamm22/status/1693354922719265224?s=20 </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/elijahobrody/status/1693411874933768399?s=20 </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/SSarge2026/status/1693455648174874663?s=20 </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/TreGriego/status/1693788580731301893?s=20 </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/MelakiGutierrez/status/1693696855711129944?s=20 </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/BrandonOlivasQB/status/1693662411121738083?s=20 </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/SocoolJp/status/1692976757937234290?s=20 </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/jonsilva_3/status/1693638347334226062?s=20 </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/mannyfuentez0/status/1692985314858479976?s=20 </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/CaraveoVences/status/1693466258216534129?s=20 </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/zane_mayberry/status/1693337914883588130?s=20 </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/JavierFilerio70/status/1693446463853142374?s=20 </div></figure>

Week 1 of the 2023 New Mexico High Schol Football season is in the books. Here's our list of the top performers (in alphabetical order), something we're calling the Fantastic Forty: