Week 7 Whiparound: Top Performances, Best Games and Fun Stuff

Week 7 of the 2023 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our seventh edition of the Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field over the past three days:   Teams of the Week: Espanola Valley and Sandia. Espanola Valley's offense is firing on all cylinders. The Sundevils scored 50+ points for the third consecutive week in an impressive 54-30 road win at Kirtland Central. Running back Adrick Deleon rushed for a season-high 272 yards on 22 carries to propel the Espanola Valley offense on the road in the Four Corners. Deleon has rushed for 107+ yards in every game this season and ended Week 7 with 1,106 yards and 18 TD on the ground.   After struggling for years, Espanola Valley is now 10-7 overall under second-year head coach Tylon Wilder. The Sundevils were 6-4 last year but didn't make the playoffs (presumably because of strength of schedule). This year, though, could be a different story with upcoming district games against Taos, Moriarty and local rival Pojoaque Valley.           District 6A-2 is arguably the toughest district in the state (Eldorado, Farmington, La Cueva, Sandia, West Mesa) and the rise of Sandia is one of the reasons we can make that claim. The Matadors are off to a 5-1 start after Saturday's 36-28 victory over West Mesa at Community Stadium. The Mustangs led, 14-13, in the late stages of the second quarter before Sandia struck for a pair of touchdown passes from QB [player_tooltip player_id='1103734' first='Cruz' last='Rivera'] to WR [player_tooltip player_id='1119683' first='Joey' last='Harris'] in the final two minutes to take a 28-14 halftime lead.   The second TD was set up by a key fourth down stop by the Sandia defense from the WM 32. Sandia RB [player_tooltip player_id='590746' first='Hunter' last='Maldonado'] rushed for 3 TD, including one from 6 yards out early in the third quarter to give the Matadors a 34-14 lead. West Mesa QB [player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'] threw for 180 yards and rushed for 151 yards but it wasn't enough.              Honorable Mention: Hot Springs (beat 5-1 Crownpoint), McCurdy (knocked Cuba from unbeaten ranks); Las Cruces (won at Hobbs)          Player of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], La Cueva. Dyer and the La Cueva offense ripped apart the inexperienced Eldorado defense in Friday night's rivalry matchup at Wilson Stadium in Albuquerque. In just over a half, Dyer threw for 373 yards and rushed for 134 yards, including an 83-yard sprint for a TD shortly after Eldorado had scored to close the gap to 49-20 late in the second quarter. Dyer closed out the first half with a 42-yard pitch-and-catch TD to the speedy [player_tooltip player_id='853013' first='Tanner' last='Montano'] in the waning seconds. Dyer accounted for nine touchdowns for La Cueva.                          Honorable Mention: [player_tooltip player_id='590512' first='Harris' last='Mbueha'] (Cleveland); [player_tooltip player_id='275599' first='Nicolas' last='Chavez'] (Santa Rosa)       Best Team Offensive Performance: Santa Rosa. It would have taken a special performance to top La Cueva's showing against Eldorado, but the Lions did it in a big win over Estancia in a highly anticipated battle between the top two rushers in New Mexico. Santa Rosa rushed for 489 yards and 8 touchdowns on just 28 carries as the Lions pounded Estancia, 56-14. Senior RB [player_tooltip player_id='275599' first='Nicolas' last='Chavez'] rushed for 309 yards, increasing his season total to 1,324 yards with three regular season games remaining. Chavez has rushed for 200+ yards three times. McCurdy at Santa Rosa is a game to watch in Week 8.                Honorable Mention: La Cueva.          Best Team Defensive Performance: Portales. Portales has one of the most potent offenses in Class 4A but it was the Rams defense that played a major role in their lopsided 45-7 win over 5A Valley at Greyhounds Stadium. Portales intercepted SIX Valley passes and returned two for touchdowns. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='275478' first='Devin' last='Diaz'] and Layton Faust each had two interceptions and a Pick-6. Diaz's interception return for a TD gave Portales a 17-7 lead in the second quarter. Faust's Pick-6 sealed the deal in the fourth quarter and put an exclamation point on a dominant second half by the Rams. District 4A-4 is shaping up to be a fierce battle with Albuquerque Academy (beat St. Pius X, 28-12, Thursday night), Bernalillo, Lovington and Portales all district title contenders.   Honorable Mention: Roswell.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1708447291634536937?s=20 </div></figure>   Best Game: West Las Vegas 7, St. Michael's 6. Not all great football games involve a ton of points. This game went down to the wire as St. Michael's scored a touchdown with 1:12 left to pull within a single point. However, WLV's [player_tooltip player_id='853064' first='Devaughn' last='Kensey'] blocked the PAT attempt as the Dons escaped Santa Fe with a  huge district victory. West Las Vegas scored its only points on a 9-yard TD run by RB Johnathan Gonzales with 3:46 left in the second quarter that capped an 81-yard drive. The game was completed Sunday morning after stormy weather Saturday afternoon prevented the game from proceeding beyond the midway point of the first quarter.                          Honorable Mention: Sandia 36, West Mesa 28; Los Alamos 26, Bernalillo 19; Tucumcari 12, Ruidoso 7.      Best Rivalry Win: La Cueva 74, Eldorado 20. The first half of this game was a Picasso for the La Cueva offense, which took advantage of the Bears' significant edge in speed enjoyed by their offensive skill position players compared to Eldorado's defensive back seven. The final play of the first half exemplified the opening 24 minutes as La Cueva WR [player_tooltip player_id='853013' first='Tanner' last='Montano'], one of the fastest players in the state, raced past the Eldorado defensive backs and caught a 42-yard TD pass from QB Cam Dyer to give the Bears an astonishing 62-20 halftime lead. The entire second half was played with a running clock.            Just When You Had Doubts: As NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain once famously said, nobody cheers for Goliath. So, Cleveland's recent two-game losing streak – and three losses in four games – was perhaps met with some gleefulness from high school football folks throughout the state. But the Storm proved Friday night that they're still top dog in Class 6A with an impressive 35-12 victory over Volcano Vista in the district opener for both teams. The Storm won the ground war with the Hawks as RB [player_tooltip player_id='590512' first='Harris' last='Mbueha'], the hero of last November's Class 6A championship game, rushed for 249 yards and 3 TD on a workhorse 29 carries, including a game-clinching 49-yard run with less than three minutes remaining. The Cleveland defense “held” Volcano Vista RB [player_tooltip player_id='274709' first='Alijah' last='Gonzales'] to 128 rushing yards on 24 carries, with most of his yards coming on three long runs. Cleveland's next two games are against Atrisco Heritage and Cibola, setting up a possible winner-take-all district championship game against bitter crosstown rival Rio Rancho on Oct. 27. But, as we often say, plenty of football left to be played.                  Artesia, Roswell Enjoy Byes Before Week 9 Battle: After posting emphatic Week 7 shutout victories, Artesia and Roswell will both enjoy byes heading into their massive Class 5A collision Oct. 13 at the Wool Bowl. Artesia traveled to the El Paso metro region and mercy ruled Santa Teresa, 53-0, in a game that ended at halftime. Mattew Saiz returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a TD and the rout was on. Three minutes later, Artesia QB [player_tooltip player_id='590681' first='Nye' last='Estrada'] hit [player_tooltip player_id='1119239' first='Izac' last='Cazares'] for a 77-yard touchdown on the Artesia offense's first play from scrimmage. RB [player_tooltip player_id='1118283' first='Frankie' last='Galindo'] ran 61 yards for a TD to make the score 21-0 midway through the 1Q and the Bulldogs cruised home from there. . .Roswell gained a measure of revenge on Piedra Vista by blanking the Panthers, 44-0, in the Four Corners. PV beat Roswell in the 5A semifinals last November. In the latest meeting, the Roswell defense forced four turnovers by Piedra Vista, which totaled just 48 yards of total offense in the first half. DB [player_tooltip player_id='1118273' first='Xai' last='Carrasco'] had a Pick-6 in the final seconds of the first half to give Roswell a 24-0 halftime lead. RB [player_tooltip player_id='340165' first='Bryce' last='Sanchez'] rushed 15 times for 80 yards.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1708195026403234090?s=20 </div></figure>   Road Warriors: Las Cruces went to Hobbs and had to wait until Saturday morning before beating the Eagles, 42-27. The Bulldawgs scored 21 points in each half. They led, 21-20 at halftime before scoring the first three touchdowns of the third quarter to take an insurmountable 42-20 lead going into the fourth. . .Miyamura might want to play all of its games on the road. The Patriots improved to 3-1 outside of Gallup this season (0-3 at home) with a 56-6 victory over Del Norte Saturday at Milne Stadium. Miyamura beat Moriarty on the road last week in double OT. . .Deming improved to 4-3 with a 20-7 road win over Mayfield at Field of Dreams. The Wildcats had lost three of their previous four games (only win was a forfeit vs. Belen) following a 2-0 start. Deming's next two games are against Santa Teresa and Chaparral (combined 0-11), likely setting up a winner-take all district championship game at Gadsden on Oct. 27. . .Tularosa made the 600-mile round trip to Escalante and rode home with a 68-19 victory. . .Robertson (5-1) protected its No. 1 ranking in Class 3A with a 45-0 victory at Pojoaque Valley. . .Highland reached .500 (3-3) with an 18-8 victory over Manzano. The Hornets have won three straight games after an 0-3 start. Their next three game are on the road at Pojoaque Valley, Belen and Piedra Vista.          Who's Still Unbeaten?: Entering Week 8, just four teams in the state are unbeaten. Here is the breakdown by classification:   6A (0): None.   5A (3): Artesia, Roswell;    4A (3): Bloomfield, Portales;   3A (2): None   2A (0): None.   McCurdy knocked Cuba from the unbeaten ranks with a 26-7 victory Saturday in Espanola. McCurdy, ranked No. 8 in Class 2A by MaxPreps, scored on four long TD runs, three by QB/RB [player_tooltip player_id='1258981' first='Jermiah' last='Roybal']. Cuba's only points came in the first quarter on a Pick-6. McCurdy scored the final 26 points of the contest. . .Los Alamos scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes to stun previously unbeaten Bernalillo, 26-19, on the Spartans home field  for their first loss of the season. Hilltoppers QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119597' first='Kyle' last='Evenhus'] threw TD passes to Hayden Jorgensen and [player_tooltip player_id='1594208' first='Akim' last='Leija'],  the latter coming with 50 seconds remaining to cap the game-winning 69-yard drive. Both teams begin district play in Week 8.               Focus On The Four Corners: Bloomfield (6-0) won its 12th straight game dating back to last season by trouncing geographic rival Bayfield (CO), 42-7, on Homecoming. Bloomfield broke the game open in the second half as QB [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'] threw 3 TD passes and ran for another as the Bobcats outscored Bayfield, 29-0, over the final 24 minutes. Bloomfield's win set the stage for a huge Class 4A showdown at 5-1 Silver (bye in Week 7) on Saturday (1 p.m.) in a rematch of last November's Class 4A championship game. . .Aztec (4-3) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 36-7 home victory over Taos, taking control with three touchdowns in the second quarter for a 29-0 halftime lead. QB [player_tooltip player_id='275457' first='Landan' last='Frost'] threw for 1 TD and ran for another. [player_tooltip player_id='1137468' first='Kale' last='Watson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='275041' first='Baylor' last='Seabolt'] also had rushing scores for the Tigers. Taos (2-4) has lost two straight. Aztec begins district play Friday against Gallup, with a District 4A-1 showdown against Bloomfield looming on Oct. 20.          Finally, This: Clovis started 0-6 last season before winning three straight district games to set up a winner-take-all district championship game at Los Lunas. The Wildcats lost and failed to make the playoffs. This year, Clovis started 1-5 before beating Albuquerque High, 42-12, on Friday night at Leon Williams Stadium. The Wildcats' next two district foes are Santa Fe and Capital, meaning we could have the same scenario as a year ago. However, the season-ending Clovis-Los Lunas battle will be at Leon Williams Stadium. . .Speaking of Los Lunas, the Tiger totaled over 420 yards of total offense in a 57-7 victory over Capital in the district opener for both teams. . . Atrisco Heritage picked up a key victory Saturday when they beat winless Cibola, 36-25, at Community Stadium in the back half of a high school football doubleheader there. Atrisco improved to 5-2 but they still face a final three-game gauntlet of Cleveland, Rio Rancho and Volcano Vista, arguably the toughest October slate of any Albuquerque team. . .Gadsden continued its solid season with a 50-0 mercy-rule home win over Valencia. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119637' first='Adrian' last='Munoz'] threw for 191 yards and the Panthers defense posted its second shutout of the season.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/sfnmsports/status/1708539823060037666?s=20 </div></figure>   Alamogordo outlasted Carlsbad, 32-27, Thursday night in the district opener as RBs [player_tooltip player_id='1103183' first='Anthony' last='Audette'] and A'veion Valdez combined for 218 rushing yards and 3 TD to spark the Tigers. . .Hot Springs won its second game under first-year head coach Dennis Barnes as the Tigers beat Crownpoint, 42-6, at home. Crownpoint came into the game with a 5-1 record. Hot Springs scored the first points of the game on a Pick-6 by [player_tooltip player_id='1137075' first='Lucas' last='Basile'] early in the second quarter before two quick TDs gave the Tigers a 22-0 lead. Moments after Crownpoint scored a TD, Hot Springs QB [player_tooltip player_id='854288' first='Tristan' last='Polanco'] completed a 56-yard TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='615685' first='Ashton' last='Garcia'] for a 30-6 halftime lead. . .Rio Grande won its first game of the year, 54-8, over Navajo Prep in a game that wasn't scheduled until the middle of the week. Ravens QB Joaquin Tafoya accounted for five TDs to hand head coach Christopher Smalls his first victory with Rio Grande. . .Santa Fe made three trips to southern New Mexico in the first seven weeks of the season, and all three ended with losses. Saturday, Lovington trounced the Demons, 62-20, as the Wildcats scored THREE TDs on fourth down plays. [player_tooltip player_id='275459' first='Wyatt' last='Gomez'] connected with WR [player_tooltip player_id='1137867' first='Elijah' last='Rivero'] for a 32-yard TD pass in the 1Q on a 4th-and-20 play. Gomez, who passed for 5 TD, later scored on a 1-yard run. Lovington led, 43-6, at halftime and totaled 464 yards of total offense. Lovington's defense held Santa Fe to minus-17 rushing yards and sacked QB Michael Abeyta 8 times.   Raton jumped out to a 40-0 halftime lead over Santa Fe Indian School and most of the second half was played with a running clock until SFIS scored with 1:23 left in the 4Q. With the 40-7 victory, Raton improved to 4-3 overall, 1-0 in District 3A-2. The Tigers travel to West Las Vegas in Week 8. That game took on greater importance Sunday morning when WLV beat St. Michael's, 7-6, in Santa Fe for the first time since 2003. The winner of the Raton-WLV game will be 2-0 in the district. . .Mescalero Apache jumped out to a 42-13 halftime lead and cruised past Hozho Academy, 56-26. . . Tucumcari scored with less than a minute remaining to beat Ruidoso, 12-7, in a defensive struggle. After going winless in 2022, Tucumcari is 3-3 under first-year HC Tarik Embrack and appears to be a contender for the district championship along with Dexter and Hope Christian. Tucumcari travels to Albuquerque Saturday to square off with Hope Christian.   Socorro QB [player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo'] threw for 328 yards in the Warriors' 57-6 win over Gallup. . .Goddard rode its strong running game and a relentless defense to a 57-7 home victory over Belen. A Tristan Torres TD and a Pick-6 by Gary Roybal gave Goddard an early 14-0 lead and the Rockets led, 44-0, at halftime before eventually mercy-ruling the Eagles. Goddard begins district play Oct. 12 against Mayfield in the always challenging District 5A-4. . .Class 2A's biggest game of the week ended at halftime due to inclement weather with No 2 Eunice defeating No. 1 Texico, 21-14. Eunice QB [player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon'] threw for 208 yards and 2 TD in one half of football. Texico had 179 rushing yards. . .NMMI rushed for 256 yards in a 22-14 home win over Hope Christian with Cole Seidenberger leading the way with 142 yards and 2 TD on 14 carries. NMMI improved to 5-2.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1708004321185648838?s=20 </div></figure>   Week 8 Top Games (Oct. 5-7)   Bloomfield at Silver   West Mesa at Farmington   Atrisco Heritage at Rio Rancho   Hobbs at Centennial   St. Michael's at Robertson   Moriarty at St. Pius X   Highland at Pojoaque Valley   Raton at West Las Vegas   McCurdy at Santa Rosa   Cobre at Tularosa   Loving at Jal   Grants at Taos   Hot Springs at Mescalero Apache   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1707993170402021502?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/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1708335811157246134?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/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1708232018696585542?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/sfnmsports/status/1707968209440419919?s=20 </div></figure>

Week 7 of the 2023 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our seventh edition of the Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field over the past three days: