Fantastic Forty: Top Performers of Week 9
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Week 9 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: Jacob Adcox Jacob Adcox 6'1" | 185 lbs…
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Continue ReadingWeek 9 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:
Jacob Adcox Jacob Adcox 6'1" | 185 lbs | WR Sandia | 2024 State NM , Sandia: Adcox had 11 receptions for 102 yards and 52 kickoff return yards as the Matadors improved to 7-1 overall with a 35-28 victory over Farmington, putting themselves in position to win the district title outright with a victory Friday night over La Cueva.
Soren Annon Soren Annon 5'10" | 175 lbs | RB St. Michael's | 2025 State NM , St. Michael’s: Caught the game-winning TD pass from QB Reed Bass Reed Bass 6'1" | 165 lbs | QB St. Michael's | 2025 State NM with 2:33 left as St. Michael’s rallied past Raton, 27-24.
Trey Archuleta Trey Archuleta 5'9" | 165 lbs | QB Escalante | 2024 State NM , Escalante: Archuleta is one of Class 2A’s best players and he proved it again in Escalante’s 46-18 road victory over McCurdy by rushing for 298 yards and 5 TD on 26 carries.
JJ Arellano JJ Arellano 5'11" | 165 lbs | QB Rio Rancho | 2025 State NM , Rio Rancho: The Rams won their third straight game, 48-17 over Cibola, as Arellano completed 13-of-20 passes for 281 yards and 3 TD while rushing for 78 yards and 2 TD. Rio Rancho makes the short trip to Community Stadium to face Volcano Vista Friday night in a huge District 6A-1 matchup.
Saul Armendariz Saul Armendariz 5'8" | 175 lbs | RB Hobbs | 2024 State NM , Hobbs: Armendariz set a new school record with 347 rushing yards on just 18 carries in Hobbs’ 56-19 rout of Alamogordo. He scored 4 TD and averaged 19.3 yards per rush with a long of 57 yards.
Jacob Baca Jacob Baca 6'1" | 245 lbs | DL Hope Christian | 2024 State NM , Hope Christian: Baca has excelled on both sides of the ball for Hope Christian this season. In the Huskies’ 22-20 win over Tucumcari, Baca had 5 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 5 QB hurries and 1 fumble recovery on defense while totaling 5 pancake blocks and 4 carries for 25 yards on offense.
Elijah Brody Elijah Brody 6'3" | 185 lbs | QB West Mesa | 2024 State NM , West Mesa: Brody is a dynamic dual threat QB and he flashed his skills in Saturday’s loss to La Cueva by passing for 2227 yards and rushing for 146 yards on 23 carries.
Joshua Calhoon Joshua Calhoon RB Estancia | 2024 State NM , Estancia: The state’s leading rusher registered a season high 330 yards on 20 carries to propel Estancia past Mescalero Apache, 39-19.
Isaiah Carpenter Isaiah Carpenter 6'5" | 185 lbs | QB St. Pius X | 2027 State NM , St. Pius X: The Sartans’ freshman QB led his team to a 20-18 victory over Valencia by passing for 230 yards and 2 TD. He also rushed for the game-winning Td with about 3 minutes left.
Cayl Cox-Liggins Cayl Cox-Liggins 6'3" | 150 lbs | WR St. PIus X | 2027 State NM , St. Pius X: Six receptions for 131 yards and 1 TD in the Sartans’ 20-18 win over Valencia.
Paxton Culpepper Paxton Culpepper 6'0" | 150 lbs | QB Portales | 2025 State NM , Portales: Culpepper and the Portales offense were firing on all cylinders against Albuquerque Academy as Culpepper completed 21-of-27 passes for 345 yards and 6 TD in the Rams’ 54-0 win.
Tristan Davis Tristan Davis 6'1" | 195 lbs | LB Hobbs | 2025 State NM , Hobbs: The junior LB was credited with a staggering 26 tackles, 2.0 TFL and 1 forced fumble in Hobbs’ win over Alamogordo.
Zaiden Davis, Centennial: Filling in for Daniel Hernandez Daniel Hernandez QB Centennial | 2024 State NM , Davis threw for 145 yards and rushed for 183 as Centennial crushed Carlsbad, 42-14.
Emi De la Torre, Los Lunas: Rushed for 132 yards and 2 TD in Los Lunas’ lopsided district win over Santa Fe.
Adrick Deleon, Espanola Valley: Keyed Espanola Valley’s 38-25 road win at Taos by rushing for 324 yards and 5 TD on 22 carries. He averaged 14.7 yards per carry. He accounted for 402 total yards.
Cameron Dyer Cameron Dyer 6'3" | 185 lbs | QB La Cueva | 2025 State NM , La Cueva: Dyer did most of his damage with his feet in La Cueva’s 54-26 victory over West Mesa. Dyer had three long TD runs of 38, 53 and 70 yards among his 8 carries and 167 rushing yards. Overall, he accounted for 4 TD.
Mason Espinda-McChriston Mason Espinda-McChriston 6'2" | 175 lbs | ATH Bernalillo | 2024 State NM , Bernalillo: As good an offensive player as Espinda-McChriston has been this season, he might be a better defensive player. Against Lovington, he had 16 tackles, giving him 108 for the season.
Kyle Evenhus Kyle Evenhus 6'1" | 180 lbs | QB Los Alamos | 2025 State NM , Los Alamos: The Hilltoppers prepared for Thursday’s showdown game against Valley by trouncing Manzano, 48-9. Evenhus threw for 247 yards and 5 TD on 12-of-17 passing
Wyatt Gomez Wyatt Gomez 6'2" | 180 lbs | QB Lovington | 2024 State NM , Lovington: Gomez had one of the best Week 9 games of any quarterback in the state as he threw for 463 yards and 6 TD on 27-of-47 passing against a solid Bernalillo defense. For the season, Gomez has thrown for 2,367 yards and 30 TD. He visited New Mexico Highlands on Saturday.
Mason Greathouse, Roswell: Returned a scoop-and-score fumble 60 yards for a TD in the second half as the Roswell defense dominated Friday’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup with Artesia. The prolific Artesia offense didn’t score a point.
Melaki Gutierrez Melaki Gutierrez 6'1" | 150 lbs | WR Los Alamos | 2024 State NM , Los Alamos: Flashing his impressive speed, Gutierrez had 112 receiving yards on just 3 receptions (average of 37.3 yards per catch) in the Hilltoppers’ win over Manzano.
Frank Hren, Albuquerque: Hren scored on a run in overtime to lift Albuquerque High past Capital, 14-13.
Charles Lopez-Burton Charles Lopez-Burton 6'0" | 205 lbs | RB Valley | 2024 State NM , Valley: Lopez-Burton is a fixture on this list, and for good reason. He’s become of the top running backs in the Albuquerque Metro region. He rushed for 172 yards in Valley’s 53-0 win over Del Norte.
Eliseo ‘Cheeto’ Lumbrera III, La Cueva: Rushed for 135 yards on 6 carries, including a 90-yard TD sprint, in La Cueva’s 54-26 victory over West Mesa.
Zane Mayberry Zane Mayberry 6'0" | 160 lbs | WR Portales | 2024 State NM , Portales: Caught 7 passes for 164 yards and 2 TD as the Rams mercy-ruled Albuquerque Academy.
Nick Mertz Nick Mertz 5'11" | 185 lbs | LB La Cueva | 2025 State NM , La Cueva: Mertz led the Bears’ defensive effort against West Mesa with 11 tackles and 4 TFL.
Harris Mbueha Harris Mbueha 5'11" | 190 lbs | RB Cleveland | 2024 State NM , Cleveland: Rushed for 127 yards and 2 TD in one half of football in Cleveland’s 56-6 mercy rule win over Atrisco Heritage.
Elijah Melancon Elijah Melancon 5'11" | 170 lbs | QB Eunice | 2026 State NM , Eunice: The Cardinals posted their biggest win of the season, a 42-28 victory over Jal, as Melancon threw for 243 yards and 5 TD on 15-of-23 passing.
Amiri Mumba Amiri Mumba 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Highland | 2025 State NM , Highland: Highland won its fifth straight game, 32-30 over Belen, as Mumba rushed for 335 yards and 1 TD on a super workhorse 42 carries.
Adrian Munoz Adrian Munoz 5'9" | 150 lbs | QB Gadsden | 2025 State NM , Gadsden: Completed 14-of-18 passes for 209 yards and 5 TD in Gadsden’s mercy-rule win over Chaparral.
Lincoln Page, Moriarty: Page helped Moriarty snap its three-game losing streak by rushing for 152 yards and 3 TD against Pojoaque Valley.
Anthony Raymer Anthony Raymer 5'9" | 155 lbs | WR Rio Rancho | 2024 State NM , Rio Rancho: One of the fastest players in the Albuquerque Metro region, Raymer had 103 receiving yards and scored 3 TD in Rio Rancho’s win over Cibola.
Cruz Rivera Cruz Rivera 6'0" | 160 lbs | QB Sandia | 2024 State NM , Sandia: Entrenched as one of Albuquerque’s best quarterbacks, Rivera completed 24-of-38 passes for 254 yards and 3 TD in the Matadors big win over Farmington.
Derian Rodriguez, Belen: Belen lost a thriller to Highland but Rodriguez rushed for a season high 164 yards on 18 carries to spark the Eagles’ offense.
Jeremaya Roybal, McCurdy: Rushed for 155 yards and 2 TD on 16 carries in McCurdy’s loss to Escalante.
Bryce Sanchez Bryce Sanchez 5'10" | 195 lbs | RB Roswell | 2024 State NM , Roswell: Sanchez and the Roswell defense were the main storylines of Roswell’s impressive 29-8 victory over Artesia in a #1 vs. #2 battle at the Wool Bowl. Sanchez rushed for 187 yards on 29 carries.
Demarcus Thompson, Lovington: Our Player of the Week was a two-way standout in the Wildcats’ 47-26 victory over Bernalillo. Offensively, he caught 11 passes, five for touchdowns, for 238 yards, an average of more than 21 yards per reception. Defensively, Thompson had 8 tackles, 5 TFL and 2 sacks.
Tazhe Wilson Tazhe Wilson 5'8" | 160 lbs | RB Valley | 2024 State NM , Valley: Rushed for 131 yards and 3 TD in Valley’s win over Del Norte.
Francisco Winnikoff Francisco Winnikoff 6'1" | 185 lbs | WR Las Cruces | 2026 State NM , Las Cruces: The 2026 receiver had 3 TD receptions among his 5 catches for 177 yards in the Bulldawgs’ win over Organ Mountain.
Gavin York, Carlsbad: York led the Cavemen with 12 tackles and 2 TFL in their loss to Centennial.