Terrific Twenty: The Shining Stars Of Championship Saturday

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Championship Saturday saw four new state champions crowned in Classes 6A-3A. That means the 2023 New Mexico high school football season is officially in the books. Here's our list of the top 20 performers (in alphabetical order) from Championship Saturday:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119160' first='Soren' last='Annon'], St. Michael's</strong>: Just a sophomore and a relative newcomer to Football, Annon ran 78 yards for a TD late in the first quarter of St. Michael's victory over Robertson Saturday at Ivan Head Stadium. Also, his 9-yard run on 3^rd-and-6 late in the game sealed the title for the Horsemen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='590700' first='Jesse' last='Armendariz'], Artesia</strong>: His 58-yard punt return in the fourth quarter led to the championship-clinching TD for Artesia on a 29-yard pass.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1118273' first='Xai' last='Carrasco'], Roswell</strong>: With Roswell trailing 28-14 late in the third quarter, Carrasco intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD to cut the Coyotes' deficit to seven points. But Roswell never scored again in a 35-21 loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1118257' first='Ethan' last='Conn'], Artesia</strong>: Two TD receptions in the first half ignited the Bulldogs' passing game &nbsp;in the win over Roswell.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615523' first='Paxton' last='Culpepper'], Portales</strong>: Culpepper posted good numbers in the Rams' defeat against Lovington as he completed 18-of-29 passes for 330 yards and 3 TD. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Juan Diego Duran, Artesia</strong>: Caught 3 TD passes for Artesia, including a stunning 91-yarder with just over a minute left in the second quarter, to help spark Artesia's offense surge in the win over Roswell for the Bulldogs' 32^nd state championship.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275066' first='Matthias' last='Duran'], St. Michael's</strong>: Bouncing back from a costly fumble deep in Robertson territory, Duran fueled St. Michael's productive rushing attack with 16 carries for 73 yards. The Horsemen rushed for 195 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], La Cueva</strong>: If there was a MVP trophy handed out for Championship Saturday, Dyer would likely be the recipient. He was Superman against Cleveland with two long TD runs (88 and 72 yards) in the second quarter and he completed 7-of-7 passes for 119 yards. La Cueva, which won its last 10 games after an 0-3 start (1 forfeit), &nbsp;stuck to the ground with Dyer doing heavy damage with 220 rushing yards on 16 carries. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='590681' first='Nye' last='Estrada'], Artesia</strong>: Estrada capped a fantastic two-year run as Artesia's starting quarterback by throwing for 295 yards and 5 TD as the Bulldogs avenged a regular season loss to Roswell at the Wool Bowl. But Saturday's game was at the Bulldog Bowl, and Artesia took full advantage. Estrada threw 3 TD passes in the first half, including a 45-yarder to [player_tooltip player_id='1118257' first='Ethan' last='Conn'] and a 91-yarder to speedster Juan Diego Duran with 1:06 left until halftime.     </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275459' first='Wyatt' last='Gomez'], Lovington</strong>: Gomez capped off a remarkable senior season with a near perfect performance against Portales in the Class 4A championship game. He completed 27-of-33 passes for 384 yards and 6 TD in Lovington's 57-21 victory at Greyhound Stadium. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119108' first='Nathaniel' last='Gonzales'], Robertson</strong>: Gonzales caught a 23-yard TD from his twin brother, Cardinals QB Jesse James Gonzales, and later returned a kickoff 44 yards to set up Robertson for the go-ahead 43-yard field goal by [player_tooltip player_id='1119099' first='Aaron' last='Doss'] in the second quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275593' first='Cesar' last='Gonzalez'], Lovington</strong>: The senior wide receiver had 10 receptions for 162 yards and 2 TD for the Wildcats against Portales.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1103490' first='Lucas' last='Gurule'], St. Michael's</strong>: The senior made one of the best catches of the year at the most opportune time, hauling in a TD pass from [player_tooltip player_id='1119628' first='Reed' last='Bass'] on a 3^rd-and-16 play from the Robertson 17-yard line with 3:18 left, sealing St. Michael's first state championship since 2012.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='613058' first='Valente' last='Herrera'], Lovington</strong>: Herrera is one of the top 2025 offensive linemen in the state. In the 4A title game, he had 4 pancake blocks and anchored an O-Line that protected QB [player_tooltip player_id='275459' first='Wyatt' last='Gomez'] well and paved the way for 163 rushing yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155019' first='Ryan' last='Hunt'], St. Michael's</strong>: Just a freshman (2027), Hunt tied the school record for most sacks in a season when he tackled Robertson QB Jesse James Gonzales for a 1-yard loss late in the second quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cheeto Lumbrera, La Cueva</strong>: With La Cueva holding a 21-14 lead, Lumbrera broke loose for a 67-yard TD run on the first snap of the third quarter to give the Bears a two-touchdown lead. Lumbrera's scamper was the third of three explosive TD runs by the Bears – 88, 72 and 66 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='590512' first='Harris' last='Mbueha'], Cleveland</strong>: With Cleveland struggling to throw the football, Mbueha provided the Storm with a large chunk of its offense. He scored the first TD of the game on a 4-yard power run. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='611083' first='Mason' last='Posa'], La Cueva</strong>: Posa led La Cueva's spirited defensive performance against Cleveland as he harassed Cleveland QB [player_tooltip player_id='851873' first='Jordan' last='Hatch'] or whoever was carrying the ball all game long. The Storm finished with less than 220 yards in total offense. Posa led La Cueva with 6 tackles and 1 TFL. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137867' first='Elijah' last='Rivero'], Lovington</strong>: Only a sophomore, Rivero showed that he's the future for the Wildcats at the WR position, making 6 receptions for 114 yards and 1 TD against Portales.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nate Silva, La Cueva</strong>: You don't hear Silva's name mentioned much when folks rave about La Cueva's prolific, star-studded offense. But he scored the final TD of the game on a 7-yard pass from [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'] in the fourth quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/camdyer7/status/1728965231408468264?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/camdyer7/status/1728965231408468264?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/sfnmsports/status/1728535480546046331?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <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/1728535480546046331?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/sfnmsports/status/1728543526793953759?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <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/1728543526793953759?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/CruzMarkham/status/1728869392690401374?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CruzMarkham/status/1728869392690401374?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1729175250364256343?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <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/1729175250364256343?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1728559290234089969?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <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/1728559290234089969?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->