Fantastic Forty: Top Performers of Week 11

Week 11 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:   Jacob Adcox, Sandia: The Matadors earned a Top 4 seed in Class 6A with a fantastic season, which concluded with a 10-6 victory over Cibola. Adcox had 9 receptions for 107 yards to spark the Sandia offense.   [player_tooltip player_id='1103183' first='Anthony' last='Audette'], Alamogordo: The Tigers missed on the 6A playoffs but they finished the regular season strong with a 27-0 victory over Organ Mountain. Audette rushed for 159 yards and 1 TD on 15 carries      Hayes Baum, Cibola: Cibola struggled this season but Baum individually had a strong sophomore season. Against Sandia, Baum had 13 tackles,. 3.0 TFL and 2.0 sacks. For the season, Baum finished with 123 tackles, 19 TFL and 6 sacks.   [player_tooltip player_id='1103794' first='Isaac' last='Bear Eagle'], Thoreau: Bear Eagle led Thoreau to a lopsided district-title clinching victory over Wingate by passing for 131 yards (12-of-18) and rushing for 31 yards. Bear Eagle has thrown for over 1,000 yards and will lead Thoreau into he 3A playoffs as the  No. 8 seed. The Hawks host Raton on Saturday.      Elijah Brody, West Mesa: Brody made sure West Mesa earned a berth in the 6A playoffs by totaling 305 yards in the Mustangs' must-win over Eldorado. Brody rushed for 201 yards to finish the regular season with 1,602 yards on the ground.   Owen Calloway, Hobbs: Hobbs got the win they needed over Carlsbad for a spot in the 6A playoffs as Calloway completed 16-of-23 passes for 171 yards and 3 TD with no interceptions.   Uriel Castro, Bernalillo: Bernalillo's 50-14 road win at Albuquerque Academy was one of the surprising results of Week 11 (not the winner, the score). Castro had one of his best games of the season, throwing for 326 yards and 6 TD on 31-of-47 passing.        [player_tooltip player_id='1103860' first='Jaden' last='Davis'], Cleveland: The Rio Rancho defense had no answers for Davis, who finished with 7 receptions for 141 yards and 1 TD + 40 yards rushing in the Storm's 37-0 victory in the City of Vision rivalry.   Tristen Davis, Hobbs: Davis added to his phenomenal year with 11 tackles, 2 QB hurries and 1 TFL against Carlsbad, which totaled just 219 offensive yards. Going into the playoffs, Davis has 113 tackles, 13.0 TFL and 5.5 sacks.     Zaiden Davis, Centennial: Davis continues to shine filling in for Danny Hernandez at quarterback. In a WTADCG against Las Cruces, Davis was spectacular with 231 rushing yards on 24 carries, combining with Jesus Barraza for 341 rushing yards as the Hawks won, 30-23, and earned the #2 seed in 6A.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119099' first='Aaron' last='Doss'], Robertson: The strong-legged junior placekicker is a legitimate weapon for the Cardinals both on kickoffs and field goals. Doss booted three field goals, one from 47 yards (he had a 50-yarder at Raton in Week 10), and perhaps most impressively boomed a kickoff directly off the crossbar behind the end zone.         Cameron Dyer, La Cueva: Nobody in 6A is hotter than La Cueva, which has won seven straight games after an 0-3 start (1 forfeit). Dyer led the Bears to a district-clinching win over Farmington by throwing for 332 yards, running for 117 yards  and accounting for 7 TD in La Cueva's 63-28 win.       [player_tooltip player_id='1594652' first='Nathan' last='Encinias'], Bernalillo: Who caught all those completions (31) by Bernalillo QB Uriel Castro in the big win over Albuquerque Academy? Encinias had 7 receptions for 174 yards, surpassing his previous season high by 98 yards, and 2 TD.   AJ Flores, Deming: Helped lead Deming to a hard-fought 12-10 WTADCG win over Gadsden with 10 tackles on defense and 2 receptions for 83 yards and 1 TD on offense.     Wyatt Gomez, Lovington: Gomez accomplished something very few QBs have been able to do this season – have a productive game against the Portales defense. Gomez threw for 213 yards and 1 TD on 17-of-27 passing to lead to Wildcats to a 29-21 district-clinching win.   Alijah Gonzales, Volcano Vista: In just over two quarters, Gonzales rushed for 217 yards on 22 carries in the Hawks' victory over Atrisco Heritage. The game was halted early in the third quarter when a Jaguars player suffered a serious back injury. Entering the playoffs, Gonzales has rushed for 1,556 yards on a workhorse 242 carries. He has 8 games of 20+ carries.        [player_tooltip player_id='1103696' first='Ernie' last='Gonzales'], Los Lunas: Collected 23 tackles in the Tigers' heartbreaking loss to Clovis.     Trel Griego, Farmington: The Scorpions senior QB threw for 354 yards and 4 TD in their loss to Las Cueva.   Trenton Hall, Ruidoso: Hall posted 12+ tackles for the fourth straight game in Ruidoso's loss to Dexter. Hall finished with 13 tackles to eclipse the 100-yard tackle mark for the season.      Adan Jacquez, Silver: Jacquez is a serious contender for Class 4A Offensive Player of the Year as he has led the Colts to a top four seed in the playoffs. In the regular season finale, he showed off his running skills by gaining 154 yards on just 10 carries in the win over Valencia.      [player_tooltip player_id='1259046' first='Jacob' last='Lesperance'], Rio Rancho: Lesperance had 14 tackles and 3 TFL – both season highs – in the Rams' loss to Cleveland. He had 26 tackles and 5 TFL in the last two games.   Josiah Lopez, Atrisco Heritage: Collected 14 tackles in the Jaguars' loss to Volcano Vista. Lopez had 6 games this season with 13+ tackles and finished his senior year with 124 tackles, 8.0 TFL and 3 sacks.   Charles Lopez-Burton, Valley: Lopez-Burton surpassed the 1,700-yard rushing mark with 196 yards rushing and 5 TD on 13 carries as well as 10 tackles and 1 fumble recovery on defense.     [player_tooltip player_id='1119136' first='Julian' last='Manzanares'], Dexter: The Demons demolished Ruidoso in the regular season finale as Manzanares had 182 yards rushing and 2 TD on 11 carries.     Zachary Markham, Volcano Vista: Markham is a next level talent. In the regular season finale against Atrisco Heritage, Markham had 9 pancake blocks in just over two quarters as the game was halted early in the third quarter when a Jaguars player suffered a serious injury.    [player_tooltip player_id='1751431' first='Jacob' last='Martinez'], Santa Teresa: The Desert Warriors wrapped up the season with a win over rival Chaparral as Martinez collected 13 tackles, 12 solo, 1 TFL and 1 QB hurry.   Tanner Montano, La Cueva: One of the state's fastest players had 9 receptions for 151 yards and 1 TD in La Cueva's big win at Farmington.   Amiri Mumba, Highland: Mumba piled up 303 rushing yards and 5 TD on a workhorse 31 carries as the Hornets secured a 5A playoff berth with a 43-24 victory over Miyamura.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119659' first='Xavier' last='Nez'], Navajo Prep: The Eagles won a WTADCG on the road at Newcomb as Nez threw for 229 yards and 4 TD on 16-of-25 passing.       Isaiah Ocampo, Socorro: Ocampo has been a regular on this list and for good reason. He's been a dynamic dual threat QB for the Warriors all season long. He passed for 173 yards (13-22) and 2 TD while running for 169 yards on 10 carries in a lopsided win over Hot Springs. Socorro is the No. 7 seed in the 3A playoffs and hosts Hope Christian in the first round.         Camon Ochoa, Lovington: Ochoa was able to rush for 114 yards on 16 carries against the standout Portales defense in a WTSDCG.   Darium Peshlakai, Newcomb: Newcomb fell just short in the WTADCG game vs. Navajo Prep but Peshlakai had 11 tackles for the Skyhawks.   Isaiah Quintana, Moriarty: Two rushes for 96 yards – that's an average of 48 yards per attempt – in Moriarty's loss to Taos.   Kash Roberts, Clovis: The Wildcats pulled off a stunning comeback to nip Los Lunas, 30-29, in a WTADCG at Leon Williams Stadium. Robert led Clovis with 220 rushing yards – matching his season high - on a workhorse 29 carries. He combined with Jett Stone for 361 rushing yards.   Derian Rodriguez, Belen: From a won-loss perspective, it hasn't been a great year for Belen but the Eagles are in the 5A playoffs as the No. 12 seed. Rodriguez had 80 yards rushing and a season-high 11 tackles on defense.           [player_tooltip player_id='1259013' first='Aidan' last='Rutley'], Roswell: The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Rutley, a junior, sparked the Coyotes' defense in the win over rival Goddard with 6 tackles, four TFL and two QB pressures.   Bryce Sanchez, Roswell: Sanchez ignited the Coyotes' offense in the rivalry win over Goddard with 152 rushing yards and 1 TD on 19 carries.   [player_tooltip player_id='1137851' first='McKenzie' last='Tsosie'], Crownpoint: Tsosie rushed for 98 yards and 1 TD on 16 carries (both season highs) and added 4 tackles on defense in Crownpoint's season-ending loss to Cuba.   Fabian Trujillo, Los Lunas: Finished with 271 all-purpose yards in the Tigers; loss to Clovis. He had 185 yards receiving on 8 receptions and 86 yards in kick returns.   A'veion Valdez, Alamogordo: He had 155 yards rushing and 2 TD on 12 carries as Alamogordo amassed 330 yards on the ground in the win over Organ Mountain.   Daniel Valdez, Valley: The senior LB had 13 tackles in the lopsided win over Rio Grande to finish the regular season with 94 tackles and 13.0 TFL.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/charleslb07/status/1719159567454503313?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/therealaidan44/status/1719033194669085111?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/1719044543763689743?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/jacobadcox06/status/1719101301534187748?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/1719033267746173060?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/1719448990016798867?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/1719428411654054203?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/cj_granados10/status/1719392095553859621?s=20 </div></figure>

Week 11 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: