The Fantastic Forty: Top Performers of Week 5

Week 5 of the 2023 New Mexico High Schol 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='1103183' first='Anthony' last='Audette'], Alamogordo: The Tigers traveled to El Paso, TX to square off with Riverside in Week 5. Audette carried the Alamogordo offense with 188 rushing yards and 2 TD on 21 carries in the Tigers' 35-28 loss.   [player_tooltip player_id='818754' first='Elijah' last='Barber'], Manzano: Rushed for 145 yards on 22 carries in Manzano's 42-31 loss at Santa Fe.   [player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'], West Mesa: Brody keeps building his 2023 New Mexico Heisman credentials with one stellar performance after another. In Week 5, Brody rushed for 7 TD and passed for another in the Mustangs' 74-36 victory over Atrisco Heritage. West Mesa ran the ball at will against the Jaguars, amassing 542 yards on the ground. Brody had 230 of those yards.   McKay Burtenshaw, La Cueva: Burtenshaw intercepted two passes for La Cueva in the first half as the Bears' stout defense shut down the Los Lunas offense in a convincing 45-6 victory.   [player_tooltip player_id='340316' first='Joshua' last='Calhoon'], Estancia: The state's top rusher had 255 yards on the ground as Estancia walloped Hagerman, 53-0. Calhoon has 171+ yards rushing in all 5 games this season. He has 1,086 rushing yards, putting him on pace for 2,000 by the end of the regular season.        [player_tooltip player_id='817391' first='Owen' last='Callaway'], Hobbs: Hobbs needed a win desperately when they traveled to Rio Rancho to face the Rams. A power outage forced the game to be played at Cleveland HS but the Eagles got what they wanted: 24-21 win. Callaway completed 18-of-32 passes for 294 yards and 2 TD.      [player_tooltip player_id='1103929' first='Ealan' last='Clayton'], Lovington: The Wildcats' senior DB had a season high 18 tackles and 1 QB hurry in Lovington's 51-48 road win at Denver City (TX).     [player_tooltip player_id='1118257' first='Ethan' last='Conn'], Artesia: Conn was virtually unstoppable against the Cleveland defense with 9 receptions for 195 yards and 1 TD in the Bulldogs' thrilling 36-34 victory.   Adrick Deleon, Espanola Valley: The Sundevils crushed Gallup, 58-0, as Deleon rushed for 182 yards on just 6 carries. Deleon has reached triple digits in all five games this season.   [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], La Cueva: Dyer led La Cueva's rout of Los Lunas by passing for 193 yards (16-27) and 1 TD and rushing 5 times for 72 yards and 2 TD. He totaled 265 yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='275206' first='Mason' last='Espinda-McChriston'], Bernalillo: Espinda-McChriston proved again in Bernalillo's hard-fought 14-7 victory over Moriarty that he's one of the best two-way players in the state, Espinda-McChriston caught two TD passes + a 2-point conversion + made 13 tackles on defense with 3 TFL and 1 sack. Through 5 games, he has 21 receptions for 400 yards and 7 TD on offense and 69 tackles (12 TFL) on defense.        [player_tooltip player_id='590681' first='Nye' last='Estrada'], Artesia: The potent Artesia offense was hitting on all cylinders in the Bulldogs' 36-34 victory over Cleveland. Estrada, now in his second season as Artesia's starting QB, completed 28-of-38 passes for 367 yards and 2 TD. He appears to be well on his way to 3,000 passing yards as a senior.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119205' first='Alex' last='Fuentes'], Texico: The Wolverines lost to border rival Farwell (TX) but Fuentes rushed for 142 yards on a workhorse 33 carries.     [player_tooltip player_id='590316' first='Manny' last='Fuentez'], Roswell: The senior QB for the Coyotes threw for 252 yards and 4 TD, completing 75 percent of his passes, in Roswell's 41-7 victory over Carlsbad. Unbeaten Roswell is now ranked No. 2 in the MaxPreps state poll behind only Artesia.   [player_tooltip player_id='275567' first='Jykub' last='Gage'], Santa Rosa: Gage and RB [player_tooltip player_id='275599' first='Nicolas' last='Chavez'] are a formidable offensive combination for the Lions. Gage had 154 yards rushing and 77 yards passing in Santa Rosa's 40-0 victory over Tucumcari.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119328' first='Jett' last='Galles'], Albuq. Academy: Galles has emerged this season as an elite running back. Saturday, he rushed for 158 yards on 21 carries to lift the Chargers past Capital, 20-14.     [player_tooltip player_id='275459' first='Wyatt' last='Gomez'], Lovington: The Wildcats' senior QB threw for 352 yards and 5 TD in a wild 51-48 road win at Denver City (TX). In 5 games, Gomez has passed for 1,467 yards and 19 TD.      [player_tooltip player_id='274709' first='Alijah' last='Gonzales'], Volcano Vista: Gonzales continued his outstanding season with 187 rushing yards and 2 TD on 25 carries in a bounce back 30-14 victory for the Hawks. Per MaxPreps, Gonzales is the state's 4th leading rusher with 780 yards, putting him on pace for close to 1,500 rushing yards during the regular season.   [player_tooltip player_id='274791' first='Trel' last='Griego'], Farmington: The Scorpions won their second straight game by shutout as Griego threw for 300+ yards and 5 TD in a mercy-rule 50-0 victory over Albuquerque High. Farmington will be tested in Week 6 when they travel to Rio Rancho to face the Rams.   [player_tooltip player_id='592369' first='Jeremiah' last='Jaquez'], Hobbs: The Rio Rancho secondary had few answers on how to stop Jaquez, who finished with 7 receptions for 132 yards and 1 TD in the Eagles' 24-21 victory. Jaquez has 33 receptions at the halfway point of the season.   [player_tooltip player_id='613060' first='Andres' last='Lazos'], Grants: The Pirates junior RB led the way in Grants' 35-18 road win at Hope Christian by rushing for 145 yards on 20 carries and contributing 7 tackles on defense.      [player_tooltip player_id='1594244' first='Alejandro' last='Lopez'], Highland: Lopez was the defensive star in Highland's 54-32 win over Del Norte as he finished with 20 tackles on defense + 91 passing yards and  159 rushing yards and 3 rushing TD on offense.   [player_tooltip player_id='604669' first='Bryle' last='Matthews'], Kirtland Central: The Broncos traveled to Albuquerque on Saturday and trounced Rio Grande, 57-6. Matthews had 6 carries for 83 yards, 2 receptions for 63 yards and scored 3 TD. He totaled 173 yards on 9 touches. Matthews has scored 10 TD this season, tying him for 4th most in the state.     [player_tooltip player_id='591958' first='Zane' last='Mayberry'], Portales: Portales is a very good football team on both sides of the ball. In a 41-0 victory over St. Pius X, Mayberry had 135 receiving yards, an 88-yard kickoff return for a TD and 233 all-purpose yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='1103773' first='Jacob' last='Mattorano'], Raton: The Tigers cruised past Escalante, 33-8, as Mattorano threw for 244 yards and 2 TD, both to WR Matthew Munoz.     [player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon'], Eunice: Melancon surpassed 1,000 yards passing for the season by throwing for 250 yards and 3 TD in a wild 44-43 loss to Dexter. It was Eunice's first loss of the season.      [player_tooltip player_id='1119637' first='Adrian' last='Munoz'], Gadsden: The Panthers rolled to their fourth victory of the season as they defeated Organ Mountain, 40-7. Munoz passed for 251 yards and 3 TD in support of a strong running game with a pair of 100-yard rushers.            [player_tooltip player_id='615425' first='Amiri' last='Mumba'], Highland: Highland posted its first win of the season in Week 5as Mumba rushed for 210 yards on 21 carries in a 54-32 victory over Del Norte. He added 4 tackles on defense.   [player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo'], Socorro: A coach's son, Ocampo is the Warriors quarterback. He had 200 yards passing and 94 yards rushing in Socorro's close 28-27 victory at Miyamura.   [player_tooltip player_id='275430' first='Brandon' last='Olivas'], Eldorado: Olivas led one of the greatest comebacks in recent memory as Eldorado trailed by 29 points at halftime before rallying for a 64-56 shootout win over Clovis. Olivas passed for 318 yards and 4 TD to spark the comeback.       [player_tooltip player_id='275303' first='Kash' last='Roberts'], Clovis: The Wildcats lost a wild 64-56 shootout to Eldorado on Saturday but Roberts and [player_tooltip player_id='275376' first='Jett' last='Stone'] had spectacular performances. Roberts rushed for 220 yards and 3 TD as Clovis totaled 439 yards on the ground on 50 rushing attempts. Stone had 180 rushing yards.      [player_tooltip player_id='275462' first='Kaleb' last='Rodriguez'], Loving: Rodriguez carved up the Mescalero Apache defense by completing 17-of-23 passes for 216 yards and 3 TD with zero interceptions in the Falcons' 53-6 win.     [player_tooltip player_id='340165' first='Bryce' last='Sanchez'], Roswell: Roswell's rushing attack ranks among the best in the state. Sanchez rushed for 242 yards on a workhorse 29 carries in Roswell's 41-7 win over Carlsbad.      [player_tooltip player_id='817244' first='Marcus' last='Sharp'], West Mesa: Sharp had a key role in West Mesa's impressive ground game display against Atrisco Heritage with 208 rushing yards on 17 carries. Sharp and [player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'] combined for 438 rushing yards and 9 TD on 33 carries.   Demarcus Thompson, Lovington: Thompson had an outstanding all-around game in Lovington's 51-48 road win at Denver City (TX). Offensively, he caught 7 passes for 157 yards and 3 TD. Defensively, he made 10 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 forced fumble and 1 blocked punt.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119319' first='Cohen' last='Tomasits'], NMMI: Tomasits rushed for a season-high 156 yards in NMMI's 41-8 victory over Hot Springs.   [player_tooltip player_id='1103825' first='Tydon' last='Tsosie'], Crownpoint: Rushed for 117 yards and 1 TD in Crownpoint's 12-6 win over Newcomb. He finished with 140 total yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='1103800' first='Daniel' last='Villegas'], Valencia: After winning just four games a season ago, the Jaguars are 3-1 and Villegas has been the sparkplug. He rushed for 172 yards and 2 TD on 22 carries in Valencia's 51-13 win at Santa Teresa.     [player_tooltip player_id='613159' first='Cannon' last='Walton'], Raton: Just like his older brother Cayden (now with New Mexico Highlands), Walton is an outstanding two-way player for the Tigers. Against Escalante, he had 61 yards rushing, 1 reception and 11 tackles on defense with an interception and forced fumble.       [player_tooltip player_id='275045' first='Brody' last='Whitaker'], Albuq. Academy: Whitaker had 10 tackles, 4 TFL and 1 sack in the Chargers' 20-14 home victory over Capital. Through 5 games, Whitaker has 62 tackles, 8.0 TFL, 4 sacks and 1 fumble recovery.     [player_tooltip player_id='615650' first='Eljan' last='Woods'], Eunice: Woods is tracking to eclipse 1,300 rushing yards during the regular season. He had 178 yards rushing (2nd most this season) and 3 TD in the 44-43 loss to Dexter.      [player_tooltip player_id='590677' first='Kyler' last='Young'], Los Alamos: The Hilltoppers defense is the major reason Los Alamos is undefeated after 5 games. Young had 12 tackles and 2 forced fumbles in a 45-7 victory over local rival Pojoaque Valley.   <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/1703867152942669886?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/1703478807326314697?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/1703572756472988116?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/brylematthews34/status/1703446960827703538?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/ElijahBarber05/status/1703633949472502148?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/10_Alejandro_L/status/1703560732602978718?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/BryceSanchez_/status/1703177570093609089?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/1703415471822016849?s=20 </div></figure>

Week 5 of the 2023 New Mexico High Schol 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: