Week 9 Whiparound: Top Performances, Best Games and Fun Stuff

Week 9 of the 2023 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our ninth 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: Roswell. Of course. Roswell won this season's biggest and most hyped game with a 29-8 victory over Artesia at a packed Wool Bowl. The outplayed and out-physicaled Artesia all night long with the Roswell O-Line and defensive front seven controlling play. Offensively, senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='340165' first='Bryce' last='Sanchez'], as strong and powerful as any ball carrier in the state, rushed for 187 yards on 29 carries. Defensively, the Coyotes blanked the high-scoring Artesia offense as the only points scored by the Bulldogs came on a Pick-6 interception in the fourth quarter.            Honorable Mention: Hope Christian; Escalante; Cobre; Silver; Eunice.     Player of the Week: Demarcus Thompson, Lovington. Thompson had arguably the impressive all-around performance of any player in the state in Week 9. Thompson caught 11 passes for 238 yards and FIVE touchdowns to key a 47-26 victory over Bernalillo. Defensively, he had 8 tackles, 5 TFL and 2 sacks. Thompson set schools records for TD receptions and receiving yards in a game.      Honorable Mention: Adrick Deleon (Espanola Valley); [player_tooltip player_id='275564' first='Trey' last='Archuleta'] (Escalante); [player_tooltip player_id='340165' first='Bryce' last='Sanchez'] (Roswell), [player_tooltip player_id='1103655' first='Saul' last='Armendariz'] (Hobbs)   Best Team Offensive Performance: Lovington. Bernalillo's ‘Goon Squad' defense has been very good for most of the season but they were scorched by Lovington's high-octane offense in the Wildcats' 47-26 victory. QB [player_tooltip player_id='275459' first='Wyatt' last='Gomez'] threw for 463 yards and 6 TD on 27-of-47 passing. In addition to Thompson's 11 receptions, [player_tooltip player_id='275593' first='Cesar' last='Gonzalez'] had 8 catches for 95 yards. Lovington also rushed for 99 yards, giving them 563 yards in total offense.      Honorable Mention: La Cueva.   Best Team Defensive Performance: Roswell. Artesia came into Friday night's showdown averaging close to 50 points per game. But the Coyotes' ‘bend but don't break' defense worked perfectly. Three times in the first half Artesia was stopped on downs in the red zone, twice inside the 10. In the third quarter, the Coyote defenders knocked the ball loose from an Artesia receiver and [player_tooltip player_id='860880' first='Mason' last='Greathouse'] returned the fumble 60 yards for a TD for a 22-0 lead.        Honorable Mention: Cleveland; Cobre.                        Best Game: St. Michael's 27, Raton 24. St. Michael's QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119628' first='Reed' last='Bass'] threw a 26-yard TD pass to sophomore WR [player_tooltip player_id='1119160' first='Soren' last='Annon'] with 2:33 left for the game-winning points as the Horsemen rallied past Raton, 27-24, in a back-and-forth District 3A-2 game. The victory means St. Michael's (6-2 overall, 2-1 in 3A) is still alive for the district championship but they'll likely need Robertson to beat crosstown rival West Vegas in Week 11. St. Michael's led, 13-12, at halftime and held Raton to 9 rushing yards in the second half. But Raton QB Jacon Mattorano passed to WR [player_tooltip player_id='1119115' first='Wyatt' last='Berry'] late in the third quarter to cut St. Mike's lead to 20-18. Raton took advantage of a special teams blunder by St. Mike's to score with 6:25 left in the 4th quarter to take a 24-20 lead.   Honorable Mention: Sandia 35, Farmington 28; Hope Christian 22, Tucumcari 20; Highland 32, Belen 30; St. Pius X 20, Valencia 18.      Centennial, Las Cruces Stay On Collision Course: Centennial and Las Cruces both improved to 3-0 in District 6A-3 and appear headed for a winner-take-all district championship game at Field of Dreams in Week 11. Both teams will be heavy favorites to win their Week 10 games. Centennial travels to Alamogordo while Las Cruces hosts Carlsbad. In Week 9, Centennial QB Zaiden Davis, filling in for Daniel Hernadez, completed 8-of-14 passes for 145 yards and 1 TD and rushed for 183 yards and 2 TD on 11 carries to spark the Hawks past Carlsbad, 42-14. Las Cruces blanked winless Organ Mountain, 42-0, at FOD. In the other District 6A-3 game in Week 9, Hobbs trounced Alamogordo, 56-19, to keep their playoff hopes alive as RB [player_tooltip player_id='1103655' first='Saul' last='Armendariz'] rushed for a school record 345 yards on 18 carries. Three teams are tied for third in the district with 1-2 records.   Current District 6A-3 Standings:   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-16-at-09-34-16-6A-District-3_4-Football-Standings.png?w=794" alt="" class="wp-image-1046058" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure>   Sandia, La Cueva Prepare For Key 6A-2 Battle: After posting Week 9 victories in different ways, Sandia (7-1, 3-0) and La Cueva (5-3, 2-0) are preparing for a Week 10 showdown that will likely decide the District 6A-2 championship. In fact, if Sandia wins, the Matadors clinch the district title. If La Cueva wins, they'll take a half-game lead over Sandia with one more district game remaining against Farmington. Sandia outlasted the Scorpions, 35-28, building a big lead (27-6) early in the fourth quarter before three Farmington touchdowns in a span of about six minutes (a Sandia fumble and 3-and-out helped Farmington) gave the Scorpions a stunning 28-27 lead.   However, Sandia quickly marched down the field (a 45-yard pass completion to WR [player_tooltip player_id='1119683' first='Joey' last='Harris'] was the big play) and scored on Cyruize Galbreath's 3-yard run. However, QB [player_tooltip player_id='274791' first='Trel' last='Griego'] led Farmington down the field into the red zone. But Sandia DB [player_tooltip player_id='1103408' first='Juanito' last='Cruz'] intercepted a pass in the end zone with 11 seconds remaining to seal the tense victory. Saturday, La Cueva got a battle from West Mesa for a half (20-12 halftime lead) before erupting in the second half for 34 points in a 54-26 Bears victory at Wilson Stadium. QB [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'] ran for 3 touchdowns of 38, 53 and 70 yards to spark the La Cueva offense. The Bears scored the first 20 points of the second half to pull away.                Two Week 10 Showdowns in District 4A-4: If you ranked the top five districts in the state, District 4A-4 would definitely be on the list. With four capable teams (Albuq. Academy, Bernalillo, Lovington and Portales), district play is a battle every week. In Week 10, there are two games that will go a long ways towards deciding the district title: Lovington at Albuquerque Academy (Friday at 3 p.m.) and Portales at Bernalillo. Lovington and Portales are both 1-0 in district play and if both win their Week 10 games, they will play a winner-take-all district championship game in Week 11.          District 5A-2 Title Decided Thursday?: Lopsided District 5A-2 victories by Valley (53-0 over Del Norte) and Los Alamos (48-9 over Manzano) sets up a showdown Thursday night at Milne Stadium between the Vikings and Hilltoppers with the winner claiming at least a share of the district championship. It will be the third and final district game for Valley as they conclude the season against 6A independent Rio Grande in Week 11. [player_tooltip player_id='590712' first='Charles' last='Lopez-Burton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='592353' first='Tazhe' last='Wilson'] combined for 303 rushing yards against Del Norte. Los Alamos must face Del Norte (1-7) in Week 11, a game they are very likely to win. So, Thursday's game, for all intents and purposes, will be for the district championship.          Finally, This: Cleveland's offense generated 320 yards and scored seven touchdowns in the first half of a 56-6 mercy-rule win over Atrisco Heritage. RB [player_tooltip player_id='590512' first='Harris' last='Mbueha'] rushed for 99 yards and two TD in the first quarter. . . .Silver bounced back from its Week 8 shutout loss to Bloomfield with a 40-7 road victory over Grants in its district opener. . .Highland won its fifth game in a row, 32-30, over Belen as Hornets QB Axcel Morales threw for 3 TD passes and RB [player_tooltip player_id='615425' first='Amiri' last='Mumba'] rushed for 335 yards on a workhorse 42 carries. Highland travels to Piedra Vista in Week 10 for a contest between two teams that are 1-0 in District 5A-1. . .Espanola Valley traveled north to Taos and knocked off the Tigers, 38-25, as RB Adrick Deleon rushed for well over 200 yards. EV's victory, together with Moriarty's win over Pojoaque Valley, sets up a District 4A-2 showdown on Friday night in Espanola between the Sundevils and Pintos. The winner is assured of finishing no worse than tied for first in the district. . .Los Lunas scored 29 points in the first quarter and cruised to a 57-6 victory over Santa Fe in District 6A-5 action. . .West Las Vegas had a bye and will jump back into District 3A-2 action in Week 10 by hosting Santa Fe Indian. The winner of that district should be decided on Oct. 28 when rivals WLV and Robertson square off. . .Portales crushed Albuquerque Academy, 54-0, as the Rams defense posted its fifth shutout of the season. . .Cobre went to Socorro and handed the Warriors a 34-7 defeat in the district opener for both teams. Hatch Valley beat Hot Springs, 48-0, in the other District 3A-3 matchup. Cobre and Hatch Valley square off in Week 11. . .Rio Grande won its second game of the year, 22-13 over Shiprock in the Four Corners. . .Crownpoint improved to 6-2 overall with a 26-20 OT victory over Wingate.   Texico trounced Hagerman, 63-0. . .In District 4A-3, St. Pius X survived a last-second FG miss by Valencia to beat the Jaguars, 20-18. Freshman QB [player_tooltip player_id='1154948' first='Isaiah' last='Carpenter'] ran for the game-winning TD with about 3 minutes remaining. . .Eunice beat Jal, 42-28, in a Class 2A showdown as QB [player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon'] threw for 243 yards and 5 TD. . . Albuquerque High edged Capital, 14-13, in OT. It was Capital's sixth loss this season by 8 points or less. . .Gadsden won its district opener, 50-0, over winless Chaparral in a game that kicked off Sat. morning at 9 with no fans allowed in the stands following an incident earlier in the week in a subvarsity game between the Panthers and Lobos. District 5A-3 will likely boil down to a winner-take-all district championship game between Gadsden and Deming in Week 11. . .Hope Christian snapped a 6-game losing streak with a 22-20 home victory over Tucumcari. The Huskies led, 22-8, in the fourth quarter before Tucumcari scored a pair of touchdowns. However, the Rattlers failed on the 2-point conversion attempt after each score and that proved to be the difference in the game. Hope Christian closes out the regular season Saturday at home against Ruidoso. Tucumcari has games remaining against Dexter and NMMI. . .Escalante pulled away in the second half for a 46-18 road victory over McCurdy, improving to 2-0 in District 2A-1. Escalante and Santa Rosa (2-0 in district) will play a winner-take-all district championship game Friday night in Tierra Amarilla. It's the final regular season game for both teams. . .Bloomfield walloped Kirtland Central, 52-0, for its 14th straight win dating back to last season. The Bobcats clash with Aztec Friday night in the game that will likely determine the district champion. Both teams are 1-0 in district play. . .NMMI picked up a huge road win, 22-8, at Dexter by rushing for 246 yards on 38 carries. NMMI is 3-0 in District 3A-4 and can claim the undisputed district title by beating Tucumcari in Week 11. The Colts have a bye in Week 10.   Latest MaxPreps Statewide Poll - Monday, Oct. 16   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-16-at-10-40-05-New-Mexico-High-School-Football-Rankings.png?w=502" alt="" class="wp-image-1046285" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure>   Week 10 Top Games (Oct. 19-21)   Sandia at La Cueva (Game of the Week)   Goddard at Artesia   Mayfield at Roswell   Rio Rancho at Volcano Vista   Los Alamos at Valley (Thur.)   Lovington at Albuquerque Academy (Fri. 3 p.m.)   Portales at Bernalillo   Carlsbad at Las Cruces (Thur.)   Centennial at Alamogordo   Hot Springs at Cobre (Thur.)   Bloomfield at Aztec   Robertson at Raton   Highland at Piedra Vista   Moriarty at Espanola Valley   Texico at Jal   Santa Rosa at Escalante   Socorro at Hatch Valley   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/hot_cheeto_abq/status/1713775027995455724?s=20 </div></figure>

Week 9 of the 2023 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our ninth edition of the Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field over the past three days: