Week 10 Whiparound: Top Performances, Best Games and Fun Stuff

Week 10 of the 2023 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our latest edition of the Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field over the past three days:   Team of the Week: Rio Rancho. At the halfway point of the season, in the days following a three-point ‘home' loss to Hobbs, few people would have predicted Rio Rancho had much of a chance to win a district title. But that's exactly what has happened. The Rams have won four straight games, including Friday's key 24-17 win over Volcano Vista that sets up a winner-take-all district championship game against bitter cross-town rival Cleveland in Week 11. Rio Rancho QB [player_tooltip player_id='613752' first='JJ' last='Arellano'] scored the game winning TD with a 13-yard run around the edge with 23 seconds remaining. RB [player_tooltip player_id='590563' first='Rayce' last='Ramirez'] had four runs totaling 39 yards to put the Rams in position to win the game. Rio Rancho scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to deny Volcano Vista, at least temporarily, a top four seed.                  Honorable Mention: Eldorado; La Cueva; Valley.   Player of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='815932' first='Adan' last='Jacquez'], Silver. Because of geography, Jacquez doesn't get as much attention as he deserved but he's one of the top quarterbacks in Class 4A. Saturday, Jacquez threw SEVEN touchdown passes, six in the first half when the Colts raced out to a 40-0 halftime lead, in a 46-0 trouncing of St. Pius X at Community Stadium. Next level prospect [player_tooltip player_id='591998' first='Julian' last='Richard'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1118045' first='Edgar' last='Melendez'] (one-handed grab in the back of the end zone) had two TD receptions piece. Silver led, 21-0, after eight minutes and cruised home from there. The Colts will win the undisputed District 4A-3 title with a home victory over Valencia Friday.          Honorable Mention: [player_tooltip player_id='1258970' first='James' last='Vautier'], Manzano; [player_tooltip player_id='590712' first='Charles' last='Lopez-Burton'], Valley; Justin Black, Hobbs.   Best Team Offensive Performance: Espanola Valley. The Sundevils took a major step towards securing the undisputed District 4A-2 title by beating Moriarty at its own game. Espanola Valley rushed for 371 yards – 205 by RB Adrick Deleon – in a 50-0 mercy-rule win over the Pintos. While District 4A-2 could still end up in a two-way tie for first, Espanola Valley beat both Taos and Moriarty, so the Sundevils knew that Friday's win over Moriarty gave them the district championship due to possible tie-breakers. Espanola Valley hosts Pojoaque Valley in Week 11.   Best Team Defensive Performance: La Cueva. The fact La Cueva beat Sandia Friday night wasn't a surprise. How they did it certainly was. The Bears, arguably playing the best football of any team in the state, mercy-ruled the Matadors, 51-0, when Sandia had a chance to clinch the district title. The Bears were so dominant the game ended at halftime. FBS prospect [player_tooltip player_id='611083' first='Mason' last='Posa'] (he visited USC on Saturday) had a Pick-6 interception and blocked a punt for a safety. Sandia's offense struggled to gain just a few yards. La Cueva now controls its own destiny, needing just a win at Farmington in Week 11 to claim the undisputed district championship and undoubtedly a top four seed.        Honorable Mention: Portales.                         Best Game: Eldorado 44, Farmington 40. After consecutive losses to Volcano Vista, La Cueva and Sandia, three of the top teams in Class 6A, Eldorado faced a pair of must-win games going into the final two weeks of the season. They got their first win Saturday when RB Johnpaul Ludi scored on a 4-yard run with 25 seconds remaining to lift the Eagles to an exciting 44-40 win over Farmington. Eldorado grabbed on a 38-32 lead when a bad punt snap rolled into the end zone and the eagles fell on it for a TD. Farmington then drove inside the 5-yard line but was stopped on fourth down. After forcing Eldorado to punt, Farmington's [player_tooltip player_id='1118058' first='Alex' last='Serrano'] scooped up the loose ball at the 32-yard line and raced 68 yards for the TD. Farmington added the 2-point conversion for a 40-38 lead, setting the stage for Eldorado's game-winning drive, which was helped by a 15-yard DPI penalty on the Scorpions. Eldorado faces another must-win game Friday night against West Mesa (57-0 win over Rio Grande) at Community Stadium.   Honorable Mention: Rio Rancho 24, Volcano Vista 17; Eunice 35, Loving 28.   Upcoming Winner-Take-All District Championship Games: Five winner-take-all district championship games will be played in Week 11. These are games where both teams have the same district mark and the winner will be the undisputed district champion:   Cleveland at Rio Rancho (6A-1)   Centennial at Las Cruces (6A-3)   Los Lunas at Clovis (6A-5)   Deming at Gadsden (5A-3)   Portales at Lovington (4A-4)   Centennial and Las Cruces meet Friday night at Field of Dreams with identical 4-0 district marks. Centennial would clinch a top four seed with a win over the rival Bulldawgs, who have won five straight games following an 0-4 start and put themselves into the 6A playoff picture. Centennial beat Alamogordo, 42-21, on the road while Las Cruces trounced Carlsbad, 43-14. . .Both Portales and Lovington traveled to the Albuquerque Metro Region Friday and posted impressive road victories. Lovington QB [player_tooltip player_id='275459' first='Wyatt' last='Gomez'] threw 5 TD passes and the Wildcats defense forced six turnovers in a 43-26 victory over Albuquerque Academy. [player_tooltip player_id='1119328' first='Jett' last='Galles'] had an 85-yard TD run for the Chargers. A few hours later, Portales posted its sixth shutout of the season in a 38-0 win over Bernalillo. Rams QB [player_tooltip player_id='615523' first='Paxton' last='Culpepper'] completed 13-of-19 passes for 235 yards and 3 TD. . . Cleveland stayed unbeaten in District 6A-1 with a 61-7 rout of Cibola. Sophomore QB Jordan Hatch threw for 150 yards for the Rams. . .Los Lunas and Clovis will meet in a winner-take-all district (6A-5) championship game for the second straight year. Friday's showdown will take place at Leon Williams Stadium in Clovis. The Wildcats beat Capital, 34-21, to stay unbeaten in district play as [player_tooltip player_id='275376' first='Jett' last='Stone'] and [player_tooltip player_id='275303' first='Kash' last='Roberts'] combined for 333 rushing yards on 43 attempts. . .Demong and Gadsden both posted convincing victories over Chaparral and Santa Teresa, respectively, ahead of their showdown game Friday in Gadsden.                      Valley, Eunice, Santa Rosa Win District Titles: Valley earned the District 5A-2 title with an exciting back-and-forth 26-23 victory over Los Alamos Thursday night at Milne Stadium. Vikings RB [player_tooltip player_id='590712' first='Charles' last='Lopez-Burton'] overcame two early fumbles to rush for 262 yards and 3 TD, including the game-winner on a 2-yard run with 1:30 left. Valley (6-3 overall) finished district play with a perfect 3-0 mark, and has likely earned a home game in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. Valley won its first district title in 10 years. . .Eunice won the District 2A-4 title with a 35-28 victory over Loving Friday night. The Cardinals finished district play with a 4-0 mark, including impressive victories over Texico and Jal. However, media outlets reported Friday that Eunice had been handed a first strike by the NMAA after several players revealed t-shirts with a vulgar message following the emotional Week 9 win over rival Jal. Texico beat Jal on Friday, giving the Wolverines the upper hand in finishing second in the district. . . Santa Rosa (9-1, 3-0) clinched the District 2A-1 title with a mercy-rule 55-0 victory over Escalante as RB [player_tooltip player_id='275599' first='Nicolas' last='Chavez'] rushed for 187 yards and 3 TD on 14 carries.                                         Finally, This: Artesia and Roswell continued to assert their dominance over Class 5A with lopsided victories in Week 10. The Bulldogs blasted Goddard, 54-14, while Roswell thumped Mayfield, 48-15. . .After blanking Aztec, Bloomfield just needs to beat 1-8 Gallup to claim the undisputed District 4A-1 title. . .Hobbs (4-5, 2-2) boosted its 6A playoff hopes with a 58-10 win over Organ Mountain. The Eagles probably need to beat Carlsbad in Week 11 to make the playoffs. But they might already be safely in with a No. 9 ranking in the latest MaxPreps 6A poll. . .Hope Christian (4-6) outlasted Ruidoso, 35-28, at Milne Stadium Saturday as Joe Marek caught a 40-yard TD pass from Huskies QB R.J. Montoya with 2:24 remaining in a tie game. Hope Christian may have secured a Class 3A playoff berth with the win.  . .Albuquerque High traveled north to the state's capitol and beat Santa Fe, 28-12, as QB Frank Wren ran for two long TD in the fourth quarter and passed for another. . .Manzano may have earned a Class 5A playoff spot with a 63-8 rout of Del Norte. Manzano QB [player_tooltip player_id='1258970' first='James' last='Vautier'] passed for 6 TD, four to WR [player_tooltip player_id='590686' first='Josh' last='Nieto']. The Monarchs defense forced four turnovers. Manzano is currently ranked 12th in 5A by MaxPreps. . .West Las Vegas enters Saturday's crosstown rivalry showdown game vs. Robertson knowing a victory over the Cardinals would earn the Dons the District 3A-2 championship. WLV routed Santa Fe Indian, 47-2, at home. If Robertson wins, there could be a 3-way tie atop the district standings. Robertson traveled to Raton and beat the Tigers, 34-17, on Friday. . .After routing Hot Springs, 53-0, Cobre can secure the undisputed District 3A-3 title with a home win over Hatch Valley in Week 11. . .Socorro beat Hatch Valley, 37-20, as QB [player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo'] threw for 247 yards and 4 TD, and now must hope Hatch Valley finds a way to beat Cobre in order to share the district title. . .Belen recorded its first victory of the season by beating Miyamura, 28-14, possibly knocking the Patriots out of the Class 5A playoffs. . .In a game for 5A playoff seeding, Piedra Vista walloped Highland, 52-18. Piedra Vista is ranked No. 4 in the new MaxPreps 5A rankings, putting them in position to earn a top four seed. . .Thoreau (6-3, 2-0) sits atop the District 3A-5 standings after a 50-0 win over Crownpoint. Thoreau can win the district title outright with a victory over Wingate in Week 11. . .NMMI (7-2, 3-0) had a bye week and can secure the undisputed District 3A-4 title with a win over Tucumcari in Week 11. . .Grants (5-4) can secure a 4A playoff berth with a Week 11 victory over St. Pius X. The winner of that game will likely finish second in the district behind Silver. Grants is ranked No. 10 in Class 4A by MaxPreps while St. Pius X is No. 8.               Week 11 Top Games (Oct. 26-28)   Cleveland at Rio Rancho (Game of the Week)   Portales at Lovington   Las Cruces at Centennial   Deming at Gadsden   Los Lunas at Clovis   Eldorado at West Mesa   Roswell at Goddard   Mayfield at Artesia   La Cueva at Farmington   Alamogordo at Organ Mountain   Carlsbad at Hobbs   Volcano Vista at Atrisco Heritage   West Las Vegas at Roberton   Bernalillo at Albuquerque Academy   Miyamura at Highland   Valencia at Silver   Taos at Moriarty   St. Pius X at Grants   Aztec at Kirtland Central   Loving at Texico   Mescalero Apache at Tularosa   Cuba at Crownpoint   Pojoaque Valley at Espanola Valley   Hatch Valley at Cobre   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/koat7news/status/1716214360073257342?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/EldoEaglesFB/status/1715867987729846560?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/RGSunSports/status/1716187461854834919?s=20 </div></figure>

Week 10 of the 2023 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our latest edition of the Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field over the past three days: