Thursday Throwdown: Is Centennial QB top NM Heisman contender?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 Centennial quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='613746' first='Zaiden' last='Davis']</strong> confirmed his status as one of the front runners for this year's New Mexico Heisman Award with another exceptional performance in Thursday night's 35-13 victory by the Hawks over Carlsbad at the Field of Dreams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Davis rushed for two touchdowns, including an impressive 35-yard run midway through the second quarter when he weaved and spun his way through numerous Carlsbad defenders and broke multiple tackles on his way to the end zone. His Heisman moment? Perhaps.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That moment of magic by Davis gave Centennial a 21-7 lead at halftime. Davis added to his night's tally in the third quarter with a 4-yard TD run to give the Hawks a three-score advantage at 28-7.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Centennial RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='837060' first='Rudy' last='Rios']</strong> and WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='280925' first='Jordan' last='Lucas']</strong> ran for TDs in the first quarter, which ended with Centennial holding a 14-0 lead. Lucas' score came on a 55-yard run on the final play of the first period.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Centennial improved to 5-0 and with victories over Cleveland, Artesia and Rio Rancho, the Hawks have a legitimate claim to being the No. 1 team in the state along with La Cueva and possibly Lovington.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carlsbad QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119650' first='Kason' last='Perez']</strong>, who's enjoying a solid season himself, completed 14-of-21 passes for 147 yards and rushed 12 times for 105 yards to lead the Cavemen offense. Linebackers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1594093' first='Diego' last='Ramirez']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248663' first='Colton' last='McKibben']</strong> led the Carlsbad defense with 13 and 11 tackles, respectively. They are the Cavemen's top two tacklers midway through the regular season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With Friday Night Lights for Week 5 just hours away, here are some of the challengers to Davis for the 2024 New Mexico Heisman Award:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615673' first='Alfredo' last='Andrade'], Gadsden (RB)</strong>: The state's leading rusher with 752 yards in 4 games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119255' first='Brock' last='Beaty'], Hobbs (QB)</strong>: &nbsp;He has passed for 896 yards and 13 TD in 4 games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1432984' first='Izac' last='Cazares'], Artesia (QB)</strong>: The state's top passer with 1,225 yards and 14 TD. The engineer of Artesia's prolific offense. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], La Cueva (QB):</strong> He's off to a fantastic start and led the Bears to a huge win over Phoenix (AZ) Pinnacle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853029' first='Gunnar' last='Guardiola'], Las Cruces (QB)</strong>: The junior is having a fabulous season and has led the Bulldawgs to victories over Rio Rancho and &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1566538' first='Brig' last='Keiser'], Piedra Vista (RB)</strong>: The state's second leading rusher with 706 yards in 4 games. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1595671' first='Landon' last='Noble'], Newcomb (RB):</strong> The state's fourth leading rusher and the top rusher outside of Classes 6A and 5A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo'], Socorro (QB)</strong>: One of the state's top dual threat quarterbacks. Well on his way to a 2,000-1,000 season with 958 passing yards and 459 rushing yards. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mathew Prudencio, Lovington (QB)</strong>: You can make the argument no quarterback has been better this season. Thrown for over 1,000 yards and completed 72.1 percent of his passes. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'], Bloomfield (QB)</strong>: The top player in the Four Corners. Bloomfield's offense has been playing at an elite level all season. Passe for over 900 yards and completed 81.5 percent of his passes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Nick_Coppola__/status/1836943263200334254","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/Nick_Coppola__/status/1836943263200334254 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Nick_Coppola__/status/1836955895369970049","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/Nick_Coppola__/status/1836955895369970049 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Nick_Coppola__/status/1836936386450182218","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/Nick_Coppola__/status/1836936386450182218 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->