Week 1 Whiparound: Top Performances, Best Games and Fun Stuff

Week 1 of the 2024 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our first edition of the Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field:   Teams of the Week: Centennial (6A); Santa Teresa (5A); Espanola Valley (4A); Hope Christian (3A); Legacy Academy (2A).   Whatever it is, Centennial owns the formula on how to beat Cleveland at Lightning Bolt Stadium. For the second time in three seasons, the Hawks made the long trip to Rio Rancho and beat the Storm, 35-28, on their home field. QB [player_tooltip player_id='613746' first='Zaiden' last='Davis'] and WR [player_tooltip player_id='280925' first='Jordan' last='Lucas'], along with a key fourth quarter defensive stop in the red zone, spearheaded the win. With the score tied, 28-28, Davis threw a TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='837060' first='Rudy' last='Rios'] with about three minutes remaining for the game-winning points.   Santa Teresa equaled their win total from a year ago with a close 15-14 home victory over Silver. Desert Warriors QB Nichola Vierra completed 8-of-11 passes for 107 yards and 1 TD and rushed for 86 yards and 1 TD, while RB [player_tooltip player_id='1137847' first='David' last='Gutierrez'] rushed 20 times for 135 yards. Defensively, [player_tooltip player_id='1119692' first='Ulysses' last='Montes'] had two interceptions.   Espanola Valley ran the ball 61 times for 340 yards without throwing a single pass in a 21-18 victory at local rival Los Alamos, the Sundevils first win at Sullivan Field in 23 years. [player_tooltip player_id='837203' first='Victor' last='Parra'] had 24 carries for 196 yards and 2 TD to power the highly effective run game. Nick Sandoval excelled in the trenches with 4 pancake blocks, 5 QB pressures and 2 tackles for loss. “I don't know if that's good or bad, we just didn't need to throw,” Espanola Valley head coach Tylon Wilder told Prep Redzone New Mexico about his team's unique offensive strategy.   Hope Christian head coach Fernando Salinas' decision to hire former Rio Rancho assistant Arthur Brown as offensive coordinator paid immediate dividends for the Huskies as they beat 5A Del Norte, 25-14, Saturday. Hope Christian scored 25 or more points just twice in their final 10 games last season. Freshman DE Kash Ewen collected five sacks and a fumble return for a TD for the Huskies. [player_tooltip player_id='1137835' first='Krew' last='Ward'] had two rushing TDs and forced the fumble on Ewen's scoop and score.   After competing in the 8-man ranks, Legacy Academy began a new era with its first game of 11-man football. The Silverbacks traveled to Laguna-Acoma Friday and trounced the Hawks, 48-0. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1600087' first='Lorenzo' last='Sedillo-Urban'] completed 10-of-15 passes for 226 yards and 5 TD while rushing for 97 yards to spark the offensive outburst. RB [player_tooltip player_id='1595657' first='Noah' last='Sanchez'] rushed for 86 yards in 11 carries. WR [player_tooltip player_id='1595633' first='Adam' last='Chavez'] caught 4 passes for 120 yards. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1606048' first='Xander' last='Chavez'] had 9 tackles to lead Legacy's stellar defensive performance.   Players of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='613746' first='Zaiden' last='Davis'], Centennial (6A), [player_tooltip player_id='1119239' first='Izac' last='Cazares'] (5A); [player_tooltip player_id='1154954' first='Hershul' last='Olloway'] (4A), [player_tooltip player_id='1595671' first='Landon' last='Noble'], Newcomb (3A), [player_tooltip player_id='613159' first='Cannon' last='Walton'], Raton (2A).     Davis keyed Centennial's run-dominated attack against Cleveland with 109 yards and 2 TD on 21 carries. He also threw for 157 yards and 2 TD. . .Cazares threw TD passes of 87, 74 and 12 yards and rushed for 1 TD in the first half alone as Artesia built a 37-0 halftime cushion over rival Carlsbad in the Eddy County War and eventually cruised to a convincing 50-7 victory at the Bulldog Bowl. . .Olloway, one of the top 2027 prospects in the state, rushed for nearly 250 yards in St. Pius X's loss to 6A West Mesa Saturday. Olloway had three long TD runs in the first half for the Sartans.                Best Team Offensive Performance: Farmington. After severe weather in the Four Corners forced the Scorpions' opener against Clovis to be moved to Saturday morning, Farmington pounced quickly in Stan Hodges' coaching debut for the Wildcats. Scorpions QB [player_tooltip player_id='1595714' first='Waylon' last='Schake'] threw four TD passes and ran for another in Farmington's 47-8 victory at Hutchison Stadium. He finished the game 17-of-28 passing for 225+ yards. Six different receivers caught passes for Farmington, which led, 26-8, at halftime before scoring 21 additional points in the second half to force a running clock. Mikey Beck and [player_tooltip player_id='1118058' first='Alex' last='Serrano'] combined for 9 receptions, 150+ yards and 3 TD to spark the Air Raid attack.          Best Team Defensive Performance: St. Michael's. Unfazed by the absence of head  coach Joey Fernadez, who was suspended for the first two games of the season by school administrators for unspecified reasons, the Horsemen rolled past Taos, 42-0, Saturday afternoon in Santa Fe, ruining the debut of Tigers coach Joey Olguin. St. Michael's stout defense limited Taos to 95 total yards (just 19 yards rushing and 8-of-23 passing) and the Tigers crossed midfield only twice in 48 minutes. The St. Michael's offense amassed 368 yards behind the QB duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1119628' first='Reed' last='Bass'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1600843' first='Kamal' last='Stith'].      Best Game: Cibola 20, Albuquerque High 17 (OT). In a hard-fought battle between a pair of Albuquerque rivals, [player_tooltip player_id='1672439' first='Danny' last='Triplett'] caught a TD pass in OT to hand Cibola its first victory since Sept. of 2022. The Cougars snapped a 15-game losing streak.   Honorable Mention: Centennial 35, Cleveland 28; Cobre 30, McCurdy 26; West Las Vegas 14, Hatch Valley 12; Hot Springs 20, Tularosa 18 (QB sneak for TD with less than 20 seconds left).      Best Rivalry Wins: In addition to Artesia's lopsided win over Carlsbad in the Eddy County War, Las Cruces whipped rival Mayfield, 50-7, Friday night at the Field of Dreams as RB [player_tooltip player_id='1137388' first='Daniel' last='Amaro'] rushed for two TD, including a 39-yarder in the first quarter, and returned a punt 57 yards for another score. The Las Cruces defense added two Pick-6s in the win. WRs [player_tooltip player_id='615455' first='Nate' last='Libby'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1142363' first='Francisco' last='Winnikoff'] each caught a TD pass for the Bulldawgs. . .Santa Fe blanked cross-town rival Capital, 21-0, at Ivan Head Stadium. Senior WR/DB Santiago Villaseñor (TD catch, fumble recovery) was the standout player for the Demons. RB Jasper Nelson recovered his own fumble in the end zone for a TD. Three different quarterbacks saw meaningful action for Santa Fe.  . .Gadsden blanked Chaparral, 33-0, to keep the Battle of the Gap Trophy as Panthers RB [player_tooltip player_id='615673' first='Alfredo' last='Andrade'] rushed for 247 yards and 2 TD on 22 carries. LB [player_tooltip player_id='615429' first='Daan' last='Cano'] made 12 tackles for the stellar Gadsden defense.      Class 6A Roundup: Piedra Vista senior RB Brig Keiser rushed for 222 yards and 2 TD as the Panthers made a successful return to Class 6A with an impressive 28-7 victory over Sandia Thursday night. Sandia freshman QB [player_tooltip player_id='1613382' first='Gad' last='Harris'] threw for 144 yards for the Matadors. Piedra Vista, which last competed in 6A in 2017, stonewalled Sandia's running game by limiting the Matadors to 17 yards on 13 carries. Sandia WR [player_tooltip player_id='1119683' first='Joey' last='Harris'] had 3 receptions for 73 yards. . .Rio Rancho opened  the season Thursday night with a 54-15 victory over Atrisco Heritage at Community Stadium, allowing an early TD before dominating the rest of the game. QB [player_tooltip player_id='613752' first='JJ' last='Arellano'] threw for over 270 yards and 4 TD, all to different receivers and rushed for 1 score as the Rams scored 8 straight TDs to rout the Jaguars. Atrisco QB [player_tooltip player_id='1021201' first='Landon' last='Griego'] threw for 272 yards and 2 TD on 19-of-34 passing. . .La Cueva opened defense of its 6A championship with a weather-shortened 21-0 victory over Volcano Vista Friday night. Bears QB [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'] ran 49 yards for 1 TD and threw to WR [player_tooltip player_id='853013' first='Tanner' last='Montano'] for another. Montano caught a screen pass and ran into the end zone behind a wall of blockers. RB Cheeto Lumbrera ran for 1 TD to make it 14-0 at halftime. . .Clovis RB [player_tooltip player_id='1137899' first='John' last='Royal'] rushed for 108 yards in the first half for Clovis, which ditched the flexbone and revamped its offense after Hodges was hired in June. Royal finished with 148 yards rushing and 1 TD on 23 carries. . .West Mesa totaled 510 offensive yards in a 48-29 victory over St. Pius X Saturday at Community Stadium as RB Jamari Woods, running behind a massive offensive line, amassed 243 yards and 2 TD on 19 carries. The Mustangs dominated the second half against St. Pius X after trailing, 21-20, at halftime. . .Eldorado outlasted Organ Mountain, 21-12, on a hot Saturday afternoon at the Field of Dreams. [player_tooltip player_id='1155116' first='Jahari' last='Morehead'], Emiliano Morrison and freshman Nolan Romero-Williams scored TDs for the Eagles.              Class 5A Roundup: Lovington celebrated its move to Class 5A by beating geographic rival Hobbs for the second straight season as new Wildcats head coach Josh Bailey enjoyed a successful debut. QB Mathew Prudencio completed 21-of-28 passes for 230 yards and 3 TD with 0 interceptions in Lovington's 31-22 home victory. Five Lovington receivers caught 3 or more passes, an impressive display of depth at that position. [player_tooltip player_id='1137475' first='Jayden' last='Gutierrez'] caught 4 passes for 72 yards and 1 TD on offense and intercepted 3 passe son defense. The Lovington D recorded 5 sacks and 15 QB hurries in the win. . .Highland RB [player_tooltip player_id='615425' first='Amiri' last='Mumba'] picked up where he left off last season as he rushed for 291 yards and 5 TD on 26 carries in three quarters of action to power the Hornets past Manzano, 55-28. Highland ran the ball 43 times out of 47 plays in the victory over the Monarchs, who moved to Class 4A for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Highland led, 23-14, at halftime before pulling away in the second half. [player_tooltip player_id='1137423' first='Jose' last='Tapia'] had a 102 yard interception return for a TD for Highland, which faces Bernalillo Friday night. . .Deming made the long trip to Alamogordo and left with a 35-21 victory. Dynamic QB [player_tooltip player_id='837197' first='Ryan' last='Alfaro'] (4 TD runs) sealed the win in the hard-fought game with a 1-yard TD run with just over 3 minutes remaining. Earlier, he had a TD runs of 9 yards and 10 yards in the first half to give the Wildcats a 21-14 halftime lead before adding a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter.       Class 4A Roundup: In the Battle of the Cobos, Bernalillo head coach John Cobos got the best of his uncle Billy Cobos as the Spartans whipped Valley, 46-6. RB Nate Encinias ran for 65 yards and 1 TD for the Spartans. QB [player_tooltip player_id='615632' first='Uriel' last='Castro'] threw 3 TD passes to [player_tooltip player_id='1599893' first='Joseph' last='Duran'], [player_tooltip player_id='853757' first='Ulisses' last='Castro'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1599962' first='Ivan' last='Ruiz'], who added 9 tackles and two interceptions to his tally, one for a Pick-6. . . [player_tooltip player_id='613053' first='Manny' last='Chavez'] added to his impressive career total with 18 tackles as Portales edged Goddard, 22-16, in a hard-fought game at the Wool Bowl, spoiling Arturo Bolanos' coaching debut for the Rockets. Rams QB [player_tooltip player_id='615523' first='Paxton' last='Culpepper'] threw for 2 TD. Portales led, 8-3, at halftime in a low-scoring first 24 minutes. Goddard took a 9-8 lead in the third quarter before Portales rallied with a TD pass from Culpepper to Joel Lujan and a 30-yard TD run by senior RB Dallas Lozano. . .Moriarty edged Albuquerque Academy, 28-27, as the Pintos opened the season with a victory by stopping the Chargers' 2-point conversion attempt in the final minute. . .Valencia beat Kirtland Central, 20-7, in a weather shortened game at Los Lunas. The game started at 6 p.m., which allowed the two teams to play one half of football before severe weather moved into the region. . .Grants beat Miyamura, 34-20, as Tristen Fernandez completed a 47-yard TD pass, a 21-yard TD pass and ran 42 yards for another score in the first half alone.            Class 3A Roundup: Robertsonscored three TD in the second quarter to pull away from Socorro as the Cardinals won its opener, 56-20, over the Warriors. The second TD of the second quarter was a 42-yard TD pass by QB Jesse James Gonzalez to WR [player_tooltip player_id='1155256' first='Nathan' last='Gonzales']. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1613284' first='George' last='Smith'] had a 13-yard TD to cap the 2nd quarter scoring. Robertson led, 28-6 at halftime and added four more TDs in the second half. . .West Las Vegas made the long trip to Hatch Valley and held on for a 14-12 victory over the Bears in a weather-shortened game. Dons QB C.J. Perea threw for 187 yards and averaged 31.2 yards per completion. He added a rushing TD. [player_tooltip player_id='837201' first='Patrick' last='Rodriguez'] Jr. had 2 receptions for 78 yards. . .Sophomore RB [player_tooltip player_id='1129687' first='Jonah' last='Villegas'] rushed for 124 yards on just 5 carries and D'Marcus Rodriguez had 101 yards on 4 carries as Pojoaque Valley walloped Crownpoint, 53-0. Villegas and Rodriguez scored two TDs each. The Elks rushed for 308 yards on just 17 carries, an average of 18.1 yards per carry . . .Thoreau beat Tucumcari, 38-8. . .Dexter showed their summer of success was no fluke as they trounced Jal, 58-7. . .Newcomb beat Wingate, 42-18, behind workhorse RB [player_tooltip player_id='1595671' first='Landon' last='Noble'], who had 173 yards rushing and 3 TD on 35 carries. Newcomb ran the ball 58 times and attempted just 3 passes.            Class 2A Roundup: Loving's dynamic duo of QB [player_tooltip player_id='1137875' first='Tristen' last='Onsurez'] and RB [player_tooltip player_id='854281' first='Bobby' last='Parraz'] combined for 351 rushing yards and 6 TD as the Falcons flew past Estancia, 49-20. . .Raton blanked Tohatchi, 41-0, as QB [player_tooltip player_id='613159' first='Cannon' last='Walton'] threw for 150 yards, rushed for 128 more and accounted for 4 TD. RB [player_tooltip player_id='1119146' first='Joseph' last='Saenz'] rushed for 123 yards as the Tigers amassed 290 yards on the ground. [player_tooltip player_id='1119115' first='Wyatt' last='Berry'] had 6 receptions for the Tigers. . .Class 2A power Eunice started the season on the right foot with a 51-6 victory over Ruidoso as QB [player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon'] completed 16-of-25 passes for 230 yards and 3 TD and RB [player_tooltip player_id='615650' first='Eljan' last='Woods'] rushed for 117 yards on 10 carries. . .Hozho Academy beat Zuni, 36-6. . .Defending 2A champion Texico mercy ruled Santa Rosa, 50-0.           Successful Head Coaching Debuts: Maximus Buckingham had a successful head coaching debut for Hot Springs as the Tigers traveled to Tularosa Thursday and rode home with a 20-18 victory. In a wild finish, Hot Springs connected on a long pass to the 1-yard line before scoring the game-winning TD on a QB sneak by [player_tooltip player_id='854288' first='Tristan' last='Polanco'] with 20 seconds left. . .Anthony Segura's debut as Santa Fe Indian's new head coach ended on a winning note as SFIS beat Cuba, 20-18, on the road. SFIS went independent this year, leaving District 3A-2. They host Newcomb on Thur. night.   Week 2 Top Games (Aug. 29-31)   Las Cruces at Volcano Vista   Lovington at Portales   Highland at Bernalillo   Artesia at Hobbs   Bloomfield at Piedra Vista   Los Lunas at Cleveland   West Mesa at Mayfield   Dexter at West Las Vegas   Gadsden at Valencia   Carlsbad at Goddard (Thur.)   Sandia at Cibola (Thur.)   Rio Rancho at Clovis   Robertson at Cobre   Pojoaque Valley at Hot Springs   Legacy Academy at Hope Christian   La Cueva vs. Phoenix (AZ) Pinnacle (at Flagstaff, AZ)   <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/1827215403900125201 </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/1827222783434145945 </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/1827227592644002254 </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/1827542250718466257 </div></figure>

Week 1 of the 2024 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our first edition of the Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field: