The Fantastic Forty: Top Performers In Week 2

Week 2 of the 2023 New Mexico High School Football season is in the books. Here's our list of the week's top performers (in alphabetical order), something we're calling the Fantastic Forty:   [player_tooltip player_id='818754' first='Elijah' last='Barber'], Manzano: The senior RB/DB keyed the Monarchs' win over Belen by excelling on both sides of the ball - 50 yards receiving, fumble recovery and interception.     Darrius Begay, Wingate: Begay never came off the field in Wingate's victory over Navajo Prep as he rushed for 52 yards on 11 carries, caught 7 passes for 94 yards, amassed 225 yards in kick returns and made 7 tackles on defense. Solid Player of the Week contender.       [player_tooltip player_id='853757' first='Ulisses' last='Castro'], Bernalillo: The 6-foot-2, 170-pound freshman is a four-sport standout and is quickly establishing himself as a top 2027 prospect. In Friday's win over Espanola Valley, he caught 4 passes for 100 yards and 1 TD. The Bernalillo QB? Older brother [player_tooltip player_id='615632' first='Uriel' last='Castro'].   [player_tooltip player_id='613053' first='Manny' last='Chavez'], Portales: Chavez is a junior and already he has 250+ career tackles. The Portales defense pitched its second straight shutout in a 54-0 win over Ruidoso Friday. Chavez had 10 tackles, 2 TFL and 1 sack and now has 253 career tackles.        [player_tooltip player_id='275599' first='Nicolas' last='Chavez'], Santa Rosa: The Lions lost a heartbreaker to Texico, 28-26, but Chavez was  outstanding in the ground game with 127 yards rushing on 24 carries. He also made a team-high 12 tackles on defense.   [player_tooltip player_id='275206' first='Mason' last='Espinda-McChriston'], Bernalillo: McChriston is a two-way standout for Bernalillo and Friday against Espanola Valley he really stood out on defense with 18 tackles. He was one of FIVE Bernalillo defenders with 10+ tackles. The Goon Squad was flying to the football in the first two games.   A.J. Flores, Deming: The Wildcats defense was outstanding in Saturday's 33-14 win over Organ Mountain. Flores had 8 tackles, 3 pass breakups and a Pick-6 to spark the Wildcats' effort.      [player_tooltip player_id='1118283' first='Frankie' last='Galindo'], Artesia: The Bulldogs have so many offensive weapons, you need a calculator to keep track of them all. The latest hero is Galindo, a junior, who scored 5 TD in the Bulldogs' big win over Hobbs. Two of his scores came on runs of 68 and 40 yards.   Jet Galles, Albuquerque Academy: If you don't know the name, you will. Galles rushed for 182 yards on just 11 carries and had 44 yards in kickoff returns to finish with 226 total yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119224' first='Luis' last='Gomez'], Eunice: Gomez made 18 tackles with 1 fumble recovery in Eunice's 49-12 win over Estancia. He now has 27 tackles in two games.   [player_tooltip player_id='274709' first='Alijah' last='Gonzales'], Volcano Vista: In just three quarters of action before the game was halted because of poor weather, Gonzales had 148 yards rushing on 21 carries and 2 TD in the Hawks' 29-14 victory over West Mesa. Saturday, Gonzales took an unofficial visit to New Mexico State  for the Aggies' season opener.   [player_tooltip player_id='275593' first='Cesar' last='Gonzalez'], Lovington: Even though Lovington lost at Seminole (TX), Gonzalez had 5 receptions for 102 yards and 2 TD as well as being a major contributor on defense. Gonzalez has made an impact on both sides of the ball in two years with the Wildcats.   [player_tooltip player_id='853029' first='Gunnar' last='Guardiola'], Las Cruces: The Bulldawgs lost to El Paso (TX) Americas last Thursday at Field of Dreams but Guardiola was outstanding, especially in the first half. He finished 20-of-32 passing for 285 yards and 2 TD. [player_tooltip player_id='615455' first='Nate' last='Libby'] was his favorite receiver.       Danny Hernandez, Centennial: The senior quarterback for the Hawks led a spirited effort against El Paso (TX) Franklin (a school with 3,000 students) by running for two long touchdowns and 149 yards overall, and completing 17-of-25 passes for 170 yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='854282' first='Landyn' last='Hiles'], Mescalero Apache: Hiles, just a sophomore, was the offensive sparkplug for Mescalero Apache in its 28-0 win over Hagerman as he rushed for 156 yards and 2 TD on a workhorse 25 carries.   [player_tooltip player_id='1155065' first='Tyvin' last='Howard'], Chaparral: Howard is just a freshman but he already has 363 all-purpose yards in 2 games. In Week 2, he rushed for 100 yards on just 3 carries and had 73 yards in kick returns against Fabens (TX).      [player_tooltip player_id='815932' first='Adan' last='Jacquez'], Silver: Jacquez continued his excellent start to the season by throwing for 282 yards on 12-of-13 passing (92.3 completion pct.) in a 53-0 road win over Miyamura. His primary targets were [player_tooltip player_id='591998' first='Julian' last='Richard'] (4 catches for 91 yards) and Diego Madrid (3 catches for 95 yards).     Aiden Jaquez, Deming: For the most part, Deming stuck to the ground game in Saturday's 33-14 victory over Organ Mountain at Field of Dreams. Jaquez had 5 receptions for 115 yards and rushed 6 times for 26 yards.          [player_tooltip player_id='275479' first='Kaidyn' last='Lanham'], Hot Springs: Lanham helped give new Hot Springs head coach Dennis Barnes his first career coaching victory by accounting for 236 offensive yards and making four tackles on defense.   Marcus la Cuesta, Cleveland: The Cleveland defense, and la Cuesta in particular, is off to a sensational start to the 2023 season. La Cuesta had two interceptions in last Friday's weather-interrupted victory over La Cueva in a clash between the top two teams in the Class 6A polls.     [player_tooltip player_id='613060' first='Andres' last='Lazos'], Grants: Lazos keyed Grants' first win of the 2023 season with 123 rushing yards and 3 TD on just 6 carries against Gallup.   [player_tooltip player_id='615455' first='Nate' last='Libby'], Las Cruces: In the first half of the Bulldawgs' matchup with El Paso (TX) Americas, Libby and QB [player_tooltip player_id='853029' first='Gunnar' last='Guardiola'] connected on multiple TD passes. Libby finished with 10 receptions for 187 yards and 2 TD.   [player_tooltip player_id='815958' first='Nathaniel' last='Lopez'], Gadsden: Lopez is emerging as one of the top defensive linemen in the entire state. He led Gadsden's stellar defensive effort last Thursday at El Paso (TX) High in the Panthers' impressive 21-14 road victory with 13 tackles, 3 TFL and 3 sacks.   [player_tooltip player_id='1103899' first='Joziah' last='Lopez'], Atrisco Heritage: Lopez had 13 tackles in Atrisco's lopsided win over Rio Grande Thur. night. The game was halted midway through the third quarter when a Rio Grande player was seriously injured.   [player_tooltip player_id='590712' first='Charles' last='Lopez-Burton'], Valley: After a disappointing loss to Bernalillo to open the season, Valley bounced back with a solid 15-3 win over Cibola. Lopez-Burton had 120 rushing yards and 2 TD on 18 carries for the Vikings. Defensively., Lopez-Burton was part of a stellar defensive performance that held Cibola to a single field goal. He had multiple sacks and a forced fumble. Tayvon Norris had a blocked punt, sack and forced fumble.   [player_tooltip player_id='280925' first='Jordan' last='Lucas'], Centennial: All those camps are starting to pay off for Lucas, who is steadily becoming a star. He had 10 receptions for 79 yards in the Hawk's hard-fought loss at El Paso (TX) Franklin.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119136' first='Julian' last='Manzanares'], Dexter: The junior RB helped spearhead Dexter's 40-27 victory over West Las Vegas by rushing for 100 yards and scoring 3 TD on 20 carries.   [player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon'], Eunice: Melancon, only a sophomore, is off to a red hot start as the Cardinals QB. He completed 15-of-22 passes for 271 yards and 4 TD in Eunice's 49-12 win over Estancia. Senior WR [player_tooltip player_id='274788' first='Ashton' last='Thompson'] had 6 receptions for 129 yards and 3 TD.     [player_tooltip player_id='590551' first='Ulysses' last='Mendoza'], Carlsbad: The Cavemen have a more balanced offensive attack this season under new head coach Cale Sanders and it showed in a nice victory over Goddard. Mendoza rushed for 175 yards and 2 TD on 29 carries, while QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119650' first='Kason' last='Perez'] threw for 175 yards. Carlsbad visits Volcano Vista Saturday in what should be a very intriguing game.   R.J. Montoya, Hope Christian: The Huskies are 2-0 with Montoya having a huge role in their early season success. Saturday, he threw 3 TD passes, two in the second half, as Hope Christian rallied for a 23-20 win over Hatch Valley.     [player_tooltip player_id='611116' first='Latavious' last='Morris'], Atrisco Heritage: The junior totaled 147 yards on 3 punt returns in Atrisco Heritage's 50-2 rout of Rio Grande Thur. night.   [player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo'], Socorro: Ocampo completed 10-of-11 passes for 177 yards and 3 TD as the Warriors trounced Santa Fe Indian School.   [player_tooltip player_id='1103314' first='Ethan' last='Olguin'], Los Lunas: The Tigers are off to a 2-0 start with a pair of lopsided victories. Olguin had 81 receiving yards on just 2 receptions in the Week 2 weather-shortened win over Alamogordo.   Hershul Olloway, St. Pius X: The St. Pius freshman had 158 rushing yards and scored 3 TD in the Sartans' 28-2 victory over Highland.      [player_tooltip player_id='590564' first='Anthony' last='Raymer'], Rio Rancho: Raymer, one of the fastest players anywhere, accounted for 175 total offensive yards and scored 3 TD in the Rams' much-needed 40-26 win over Eldorado Saturday in a weather-delayed game.          [player_tooltip player_id='275303' first='Kash' last='Roberts'], Clovis: Roberts has powered Clovis' flexbone offense in the first two games this season, totaling 186 yards on 23 carries. Against Canyon (TX) last Thursday, he rushed for 111 yards on just 10 carries. However, Clovis lost on the road and is still searching for its first victory of the season.   [player_tooltip player_id='275041' first='Baylor' last='Seabolt'], Aztec: After rushing for 121 yards and 5 TD in the season season-opening win over Miyamura, Seabolt posted even better numbers against local rival Montezuma-Cortez (CO). He rushed for 142 yards and 3 TD to spark Aztec's 28-6 victory. Aztec is 2-0.      [player_tooltip player_id='274701' first='Stratton' last='Shufelt'], Cleveland: We figured the No. 1 prospect in the 2024 class would take his game to the next level this season and so far he has. The Storm's defense has been stellar in the first two games with Shufelt serving as the undisputed leader. He had two interceptions in last Friday's 27-7 win over La Cueva.          [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'], Bloomfield: All eyes were on Bloomfield coming into the season as the defending Class 4A champions. So far, they've lived up to the hype by scoring 91 points in the first two games. Spencer carved up the Pojoaque Valley defense by completing 16-of-22 passes for 189 yards  in just one half of football.  Spencer has already thrown for close to 400 yards in two games.     [player_tooltip player_id='1103800' first='Daniel' last='Villegas'], Valencia: Valencia is off to a 2-0 start in Darrius Cage's first year as Jaguars head coach. Villegas had 120 yards rushing and the lone TD of the game in a 6-0 win over Del Norte. Valencia's next four games are against Portales, Santa Teresa, Bloomfield and Gadsden.      [player_tooltip player_id='590673' first='Diego' last='Wesson'], Artesia: Artesia's defense shut down the Hobbs offense in the Bulldogs' 42-6 victory, limiting the Eagles' top rusher to just 39 yards on 17 carries and intercepting three passes. Wesson led the way with 14 tackles (7 solo, 7 assist), which should be a common theme all season long.      [player_tooltip player_id='275045' first='Brody' last='Whitaker'], Albuquerque Academy: Whitaker is one of the top 2024 prospects in the state and against Moriarty he amassed 21 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack and 1 fumble recovery.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/FinnThompson_12/status/1695976867998892182?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/BrodyWhitaker54/status/1695887432443711936?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/MarkHandy75/status/1692966022079229960?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/AAIsaiah_Rivera/status/1695964460958335299?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/Rickyamrendariz/status/1696006016713085386?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/ajflores_7/status/1695886711803568499?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/ZacharyMarkham4/status/1696203529126396156?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/JayGod_19/status/1696214709907898675?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/OchoaCamon/status/1695968999815987383?s=20 </div></figure>

Week 2 of the 2023 New Mexico High School Football season is in the books. Here's our list of the week's top performers (in alphabetical order), something we're calling the Fantastic Forty: