Fantastic Forty: Top Performers In Week 7

Week 7 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:   Jace Anderson, Volcano Vista: Anderson had 10 tackles and a forced fumble in the Hawks' loss to Cleveland.     [player_tooltip player_id='1103183' first='Anthony' last='Audette'], Alamogordo: Audette has been the Tigers' top rusher all season long and things were no different in the win over Carlsbad as he totaled 128 yards on 17 carries. He has 320 rushing yards in the last two games.   [player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'], West Mesa: Brody puts up big numbers every week. In West Mesa's loss to Sandia, Brody passed for 180 yards, ran for 151 more and accounted for 3 TD.   [player_tooltip player_id='817391' first='Owen' last='Callaway'], Hobbs: Completed 14-of-25 passes for 231 yards and 2 TD in Hobbs' loss to Las Cruces in a game that was played Saturday when severe weather prevented the game from being played Friday as scheduled.      [player_tooltip player_id='1118273' first='Xai' last='Carrasco'], Roswell: The Coyotes defense was phenomenal at Piedra Vista as Carrasco had a Pick-6. Roswell hasn't allowed more than seven points in any of the past six games.     [player_tooltip player_id='613053' first='Manny' last='Chavez'], Portales: If you ranked the top five defenses in the state, Portales would definitely be on the list. With 10 tackles, Chavez led a Rams defense that intercepted six Valley Passes in a 45-7 victory at Greyhound Stadium.      [player_tooltip player_id='275599' first='Nicolas' last='Chavez'], Santa Rosa: Chavez is a weekly fixture on this list and for good reason. Chavez is piling up the rushing yardage and in the Lions' 56-14 victory over Estancia, he ran for a season-high 309 yards and 5 TD on 16 carries. With three regular season games remaining, Chavez has rushed for 1,324 yards and 20 TD. Chavez also made 17 tackles on defense.     Adrick Deleon, Espanola Valley: The Sundevils posted one of the most impressive victories of Week 7, winning on the road at Kirtland Central. Deleon keyed the win by rushing for 272 yards and 5 TD on 22 carries.   [player_tooltip player_id='853022' first='Peyton' last='Duncan'], Bloomfield: Duncan combined with QB [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'] to give the Bobcats a highly effective offensive attack in a win over Bayfield (CO). Duncan rushed for 125 yards on 9 carries.   Cam Dyer, La Cueva: The La Cueva offense was humming on Friday night against rival Eldorado. Dyer accounted for 9 TD – six passing and 3 rushing – as the Bears put up 62 points in the first half and cruised home.     [player_tooltip player_id='1103818' first='Niko' last='Garcia'], Los Alamos: Garcia rushed for 120+ yards for the third time this season as the Hilltoppers picked up a big road win at Bernalillo and knocked the Spartans from the unbeaten ranks. Garcia rushed for 128 yards and 2 TD on a workhorse 28 carries.   [player_tooltip player_id='275459' first='Wyatt' last='Gomez'], Lovington: Gomez passed for 236 yards and 5 TD in the Wildcats' 62-20 victory over Santa Fe. Gomez is enjoying a tremendous season, nearing 2,000 passing yards with 24 TD after 7 games.   [player_tooltip player_id='1118395' first='Logan' last='Gosnell'], Bloomfield: Nicknamed 'Thor,' Gosnell was a defensive beast in the Bobcats' win over Bayfield (CO) with 13 tackles, 5.0 TFL and a 69-yard Pick-6.   [player_tooltip player_id='615689' first='Trenton' last='Hall'], Ruidoso: It's been a tough season for Ruidoso in defense of their Class 3A championship. The Warriors lost to Tucumcari in a close game as  Hall led the Ruidoso defense with 14 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.         [player_tooltip player_id='854282' first='Landyn' last='Hiles'], Mescalero Apache: Hules rushed for 142 yards and 2 TD on 14 carries and had an interception return for a TD on defense to lead the Chiefs past Hozho Academy.      [player_tooltip player_id='1154930' first='Javier' last='Jimenez'], Clovis: Even though he's just a freshman (2027), Jimenez is one of the quarterbacks for the Wildcats as well as one of their top defenders. Jimenez had 9 tackles, 3 TFL and 1 INT in the win over Albuquerque High.   [player_tooltip player_id='853064' first='Devaughn' last='Kensey'], West Las Vegas: Kensey made the biggest play of Sunday's 7-6 victory for the Dons over St. Michael's as he blocked the Horsemen's PAT attempt after they had scored a TD with 1:12 left in the game. WLV beat St. Michael's in Sanat Fe for the first time since 2003.   [player_tooltip player_id='1594244' first='Alejandro' last='Lopez'], Highland: Lopez contributed in multiple way to Highland's win over Manzano as he rushed for 77 yards on 14 carries and made 12 tackles on defnese.   [player_tooltip player_id='1103899' first='Joziah' last='Lopez'], Atrisco Heritage: Lopez led Atrisco's defensive effort against Cibola with 19 tackles. 1.0 TFL and 1 sack.            [player_tooltip player_id='815949' first='Zaeden' last='McPherson'], Hobbs: Made 15 tackles, 1 TFL and 3 QB hurries in Hobbs' loss to Las Cruces.     [player_tooltip player_id='590746' first='Hunter' last='Maldonado'], Sandia: Rushed for 3 TD in Sandia's big win over Sandia.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119699' first='Zakk' last='Minjarez'], Gadsden: The Panthers continued their season-long surge with a mercy-rule win over Valencia. Minjarez had 4 receptions for 112 yards and 2 TD to spark the Gadsden offense.   [player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon'], Eunice: In a weather shortened game, Melancon threw for 208 yards in 24 minutes of football as Eunice edged Texico, 21-14, in a Class 2A showdown.   [player_tooltip player_id='590551' first='Ulysses' last='Mendoza'], Carlsbad: Even though Carlsbad lost a close game to Alamogordo, Mendoza was spectacular with a season high 256 rushing yards on a workhorse 32 carries.     [player_tooltip player_id='853013' first='Tanner' last='Montano'], La Cueva: Montano showed off his blazing speed throughout La Cueva's big win over Eldorado, catching 4 passes for 155 yards and scoring 3 TD, including a 42-yarder on the final snap of the first half.   [player_tooltip player_id='590512' first='Harris' last='Mbueha'], Cleveland: The Storm showed they're still the top team in 6A by beating district rival Volcano Vista as Mbueha rushed for 249 yards and 3 TD on a workhorse 29 carries.      [player_tooltip player_id='615425' first='Amiri' last='Mumba'], Highland: Mumba rushed for 192 yards and 1 TD on 25 carries as the Hornets beat Manzano with a punishing ground game. Highland ran the ball 43 times.   Matthew Munoz, Raton: Returned a punt 85 yards for a TD in Raton's lopsided win over Santa Fe Indian.      [player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo'], Socorro: Ocampo has taken it upon himself to make sure Socorro didn't take a step back from last season's team that went undefeated in the regular season and earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Ocampo threw for 328 yards and 4 TD and ran for 97 more in Socorro's lopsided win over Gallup.     [player_tooltip player_id='854288' first='Tristan' last='Polanco'], Hot Springs: Complementing a defense that forced numerous turnovers, the sophomore QB led the Tigers to a huge win over Crownpoint by throwing for three TDs and rushing for another.   [player_tooltip player_id='1137088' first='Kaiden' last='Reese'], Los Lunas: Reese was a major component of a balanced rushing attack as the Tigers trounced Capital. Reese averaged almost 15 yards per carry (6 rushes for 88 yards) and 1 TD.   [player_tooltip player_id='1103734' first='Cruz' last='Rivera'], Sandia: The Matadors' QB led Sandia to a huge win over West Mesa, throwing for 2 TD in the final minutes of the first half and directing a key clock-draining drive in the fourth quarter that limited West Mesa's ability to come back.   [player_tooltip player_id='1258981' first='Jermiah' last='Roybal'], McCurdy: Rushed for three long TDs in McCurdy's 26-7 victory over Cuba. Roybal is a tough, physical runner in the Bobcats' old-fashioned Wing-T offense.        Cole Seidenberger, NMMI: The Colts' QB, Seidenberger rushed for 142 yards and 2 TD to lead NMMI past Hope Christian, 22-14.     [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'], Bloomfield: The Bobcats remained unbeaten with a win over local rival Bayfield (CO) as Spencer completed 18-of-27 passes for 296 yards and 3 TD. In 6 games, Spencer has thrown for over 1,500 yards and 22 TD.   Joaquin Tafoya, Rio Grande: The Ravens won their first game of the season against Navajo Prep as Tafoya accounted for 5 TD, two rushing and three passing.   Demarcus Thompson, Lovington: Eleven tackles, including 7.0 for loss and 5.5 sacks, in Lovington's big win over Sanat Fe. He added a fumble recovery and blocked kick.   [player_tooltip player_id='274796' first='Fabian' last='Trujillo'], Los Lunas: Trujillo caught 3 TD passes and ran for another in the Tigers' lopsided win over Capital.     Andres Villalobos, Atrisco Heritage: Atrisco is known for its explosive passing attack but against Cibola the Jaguars ran the ball 26 times. Villalobos carried 17 times for 208 yards and 2 TD.        [player_tooltip player_id='275045' first='Brody' last='Whitaker'], Albuquerque Academy: Whitaker is one of the top LBs in the state. In the Chargers' win over St. Pius X, Whitaker had 9 tackles, 3 TFL and 4 QB hurries. As the offensive right tackle, Whitaker had 5 pancake blocks.        [player_tooltip player_id='1137080' first='Ryan' last='Williams'], Albuquerque Academy: The sophomore WR/RB caught three passes for 97 yards, averaging 32.3 yards per reception, in the Chargers win over St. Pius X.   <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/1708840233217777799?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/1708594169562947715?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/kklyps/status/1708674074841677907?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/AdanJacquez3/status/1708571429242044816?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/DemusicoE/status/1708575995530518595?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/logangosnell3/status/1708302226077499506?s=20 </div></figure>

Week 7 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: