Week 2 Whiparound: Top Performances, Best Games and Fun Stuff

Week 2 of the 2024 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our second edition of the Weekly Whiparound, our deep dive into everything that happened on the field:   Teams of the Week: Volcano Vista (6A); Lovington (5A); Bloomfield (4A); Dexter (3A); Newcomb (2A).   Volcano Vista faced the difficult task of beating Las Cruces to avoid a 0-2 start to the season. After a slow first half, the Hawks revved things up in the second half and pulled out a much-needed 27-24 victory over the Bulldawgs at Community Stadium. Las Cruces' potential game-tying 44-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds ricocheted off the lower upright. Volcano Vista scored the game-winning TD on a fourth-down, do-or-die 24-yard pass from QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119623' first='Ilijah' last='Hansen'] to Devin Dunkin with 1:03 left in the fourth quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='1257357' first='Mason' last='Gurule'] rushed for 104 yards for the Hawks.              Lovington won at Greyhound Stadium for the second time in 9 months as they continued their strong start to the season with an impressive 30-7 victory over Portales. Wildcats QB Matthew Prudencio completed 16-of-26 passes for 229 yards and 1 TD and RB [player_tooltip player_id='615565' first='Ondalis' last='Cardenas'] rushed for 110 yards and 2 TD on 15 carries. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1137475' first='Jayden' last='Gutierrez'] caught a team-high 7 passes for 89 yards. Lovington's offense was perfectly balanced with 26 pass attempts and 26 rushes.   Bloomfield's high powered offense was hitting on all cylinders in a 47-34 victory over 6A Piedra Vista Friday night in the Four Corners. Bobcats QB [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'], one of the best signal callers in the state regardless of classification, threw for 421 yards and 5 TD while rushing for another in the win. He threw just two incompletions on a 19-of-21 passing night. Piedra Vista RB Brig Keiser followed up his great night against Sandia in Week 1 by rushing for 160 yards on a workhorse 35 carries. However, the Panthers struggled to throw the ball, finishing with just 109 passing yards on 17 attempts through the air.               Dexter made the long trip to northern New Mexico to face West Las Vegas on the Dons' home field and relied on a balanced rushing attack in a 22-13 victory. [player_tooltip player_id='613197' first='Omar' last='Loya'] (70 yards), [player_tooltip player_id='1119120' first='Kaesn' last='George'] (60) and [player_tooltip player_id='1119136' first='Julian' last='Manzanares'] (56) all averaged more than 5.5 yards per carry. In all, Dexter rushed for 229 yards and 2 TD on 34 rushes, an average of 6.7 yards per attempt. The underrated Dexter defense held West Las Vegas to 248 yards in total offense.           Newcomb started Thursday's 26-8 victory over Santa Fe Indian School with one of the most impressive drives of the season, an 11 minute, 46 second masterpiece in which the Skyhawks ran the ball every play. They scored a TD and 2-point conversion on the opening drive for an 8-0 lead and never trailed thereafter. Newcomb finished with 272 rushing yards, 170 by workhorse RB [player_tooltip player_id='1595671' first='Landon' last='Noble']. Santa Fe Indian's only points came on a 57-yard punt return.   Players of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='1119255' first='Brock' last='Beaty'], Hobbs (6A), [player_tooltip player_id='837197' first='Ryan' last='Alfaro'], Deming (5A); [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'], Bloomfield (4A), [player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo'], Socorro (3A), [player_tooltip player_id='1595671' first='Landon' last='Noble'], Newcomb (2A).   Best Team Offensive Performance: Bloomfield. The Bobcats' quartet of QB [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'], [player_tooltip player_id='1594564' first='Kaden' last='McCown'], [player_tooltip player_id='853022' first='Peyton' last='Duncan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1137877' first='Kaleb' last='Hutchens'] was too much for the Piedra Vista defense in Bloomfield's 47-34 victory. Besides Spencer's 421 passing yards, the Bobcats had success on the ground as well. Duncan had a 25-yard TD run, an 82-yard catch-and-run for a TD and a 31-yard TD catch in the first half as Bloomfield led, 33-20, at intermission. Hutchens caught a 33-yard TD pass from Spencer in the second half. Circle your calendars for Oct. 18 when Bernalillo and their aggressive Goon Squad defense travels to Bloomfield for a possible 4A-1 district championship game.   Best Team Defensive Performance: Lovington. The Wildcats' underrated defense stifled Portales' potentially explosive offense, holding Portales to 33 passing yards on 3-of-13 passing and 187 total yards in Lovington's 30-7 road victory at Greyhound Stadium. Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1137465' first='Kyler' last='Reaves'] led the way with 9 tackles, 1.0 TFL. 1 sack and 1 forced fumble. OLB Landon Trevino had 8 tackles.           Best Game: 3-Way Tie. Hobbs 44, Artesia 40; Bernalillo 20, Highland 19; Volcano Vista 27, Las Cruces 24.   Hobbs won a shootout against Artesia as the Eagles defense came up big with four interceptions, two by LB [player_tooltip player_id='1119266' first='Tristan' last='Davis'], including as Pick-6. After Hobbs WR [player_tooltip player_id='1600876' first='Braddock' last='Beaty'] caught a 4-yard TD pass  from older brother [player_tooltip player_id='1119255' first='Brock' last='Beaty'], the Eagles QB, to bring Hobbs to within 40-38 midway through the fourth quarter, the Eagles successfully executed an onsides kick to regain possession at its 48-yard line. From there, Hobbs drove down the field and Beaty tossed the game-winning TD to Justine French with 5:07 left. Artesia got the ball back but turned it over on downs. [player_tooltip player_id='1118283' first='Frankie' last='Galindo'] rushed for 138 yards and two TD for Artesia.   Bernalillo scored on a long TD pass and two-point conversion midway through the fourth quarter to pull out an exciting 20-19 victory over Highland. Spartans QB [player_tooltip player_id='615632' first='Uriel' last='Castro'] connected with WR [player_tooltip player_id='1599893' first='Joseph' last='Duran'] for a 35-yard TD to cut Highland's lead to 19-18. RB [player_tooltip player_id='1594652' first='Nathan' last='Encinias'] then ran to the left corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion for the game-winning points. Highland RB [player_tooltip player_id='615425' first='Amiri' last='Mumba'] rushed for 244 yards on 25 carries, one week after rushing for 291 yards in a win over Manzano.         Honorable Mention: Legacy Academy 21, Hope Christian 20; La Cueva 39, Phoenix (AZ) Pinnacle 32 (2 OT).       Best Bounce Backs, Part 1: In addition to Volcano Vista, several other teams had impressive bounce back wins in Week 2 following Week 1 losses. After losing the Eddy County War, Carlsbad rebounded with a 45-22 victory over Goddard at the Wool Bowl in Roswell. The Cavemen jumped on the Rockets early, grabbing a 29-2 halftime lead. “We took our licking from Artesia, watched the film and learned from it,” Carlsbad head coach Cale Sanders told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “We flushed it. We just focused on us. We didn't worry about Goddard too much because we knew that they didn't matter what they did if we didn't do our thing. We hit the reset button and the guys did well. They trusted us and wanted to do the right thing.”       Six days after throwing for less than 100 yards against Artesia, QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119650' first='Kason' last='Perez'] completed 17-of-27 passes for 175 yards and 4 TD to lead the Carlsbad offense against Goddard. Four receivers had 3+ receptions for the Cavemen. “Kason had a decent game against Artesia,” Sanders said. “He was one of our few bright spots. He's staying within the system and doing what we ask him to do. We've geared our offense around his strengths. Kason is much improved from last season.”       Defensively, 6-foot-2, 210-pound sophomore LB [player_tooltip player_id='1248663' first='Colton' last='McKibben'] led the Cavemen with 10 tackles. Through 2 games, McKibben has 21 tackles and 3.0 TFL. In three career varsity games, McKibben already has 31 tackles. “He's a freak,” Sanders said. “But he understands he still needs to work on some aspects of his game. He's taken a leadership role. Our linebackers played really well.”      Best Bounce Backs, Part 2: Sandia looked to get back on track after a disappointing performance in a home loss to Piedra Vista in Week 1. The Matadors locked horns with Cibola Thursday and took care of business with a 37-7 victory over the Cougars. Sophomore QB Jahleel Lewis completed 15-of-25 passes for 201 yards and 1 TD while freshman RB [player_tooltip player_id='1613382' first='Gad' last='Harris'] rushed for 129 yards on 17 carries. Special teams also contributed to the win with a blocked punt for a TD ([player_tooltip player_id='1119683' first='Joey' last='Harris'] recovered the ball in the end zone) and a kick return for a TD by Isaiah Chavez moments after a poor punt snap gave Sandia a safety. Chavez also scored on a 39-yard TD pass from Lewis in the final minute of the second quarter. Sandia's defense limited Cibola to just one TD, recording 9 tackles for loss, 6 QB hurries and 3 sacks. LB [player_tooltip player_id='1259042' first='Jeremiah' last='Bustillos'] led the way with 11 tackles. . .           New Mexico vs. World: La Cueva traveled to Flagstaff, Ariz. Saturday night to square off with Phoenix (AZ) Pinnacle and emerged with an improbable 39-32 double OT victory. The Bears rallied from a 15-point deficit in the final two minutes to force OT. . .Farmington traveled to nearby Durango, Co. and held the home team scoreless in the second half of a 21-20 victory over the Demons. Scorpions RB [player_tooltip player_id='1595714' first='Waylon' last='Schake']'s 30-yard TD run in the third quarter was the lone score of the second half. Schake also threw for two TD, one to elite WR Mikey Beck. Beck finished with 10+ receptions and 100+ passing yards. Cayden Halliburton had a TD reception in the first quarter. Farmington improved to 2-0 and has allowed just 28 points in the first two games. . .Texico went to Bovina (TX) and won, 50-12. . .Santa Teresa lost, 33-7, to El Paso (TX) Mountain View in a game that was halted early in the fourth quarter due to severe weather. . .Raton lost at home to Lamar (CO), 28-14. QB [player_tooltip player_id='613159' first='Cannon' last='Walton'] had a 34-yard TD run early in the second quarter and then completed a 50-yard TD pass to Camron Edmondson in the 4th quarter to pull the Tigers to within 21-14 but they couldn't muster the tying score. . .Crownpoint lost, 54-0, to Montezuma-Cortez (CO). . .Kirtland Central lost to Pagosa Springs (CO), 42-27. The Broncos fell behind 29-0 before rallying to make it a one-score game (35-28) in the second half. Jharrin Tyler caught 2 TD passes for Kirtland Central.            Class 6A Roundup: Seven days after losing to Centennial at Lightning Bolt Stadium, Cleveland got the running game going in a 56-7 victory over Los Lunas on the same field. The RB trio of [player_tooltip player_id='611120' first='Juan' last='Munoz'], [player_tooltip player_id='1600936' first='Samuel' last='Bustillos'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1595801' first='Isaiah' last='Yannis'] all scored rushing TDs for the Storm, which jumped out to a 48-7 halftime lead. Munoz had three rushing TDs in the first half, which ended in dramatic fashion with Bustillos racing 72 yards for a TD. . .Centennial made its second consecutive trip to the Albuquerque Metro Region to start the season and the Hawks scored 51 points in the first half en route to a 54-27 victory over Atrisco Heritage. Centennial held Atrisco to 15 yards on 12 carries. [player_tooltip player_id='615453' first='Chauncey' last='Lane'] had 173 total yards for Atrisco, 129 on kick returns. . .Rio Rancho's defense swarmed the Clovis offense, limiting the Wildcats to 49 total yards as the Rams posted a 50-0 mercy-rule road win at Leon Williams Stadium. . .West Mesa QB [player_tooltip player_id='1248667' first='Dominic' last='Lucero'] threw for 210 yards and 4 TD as the Mustangs beat Mayfield, 41-33, Saturday afternoon at Field of Dreams in Las Cruces. West Mesa WR Marcos Ochoa had 4 receptions for 144 yards. . . Albuquerque High blanked Valley, 26-0, as [player_tooltip player_id='837213' first='Abran' last='Vigil'] excelled on both sides of the ball. The Bulldogs improved to 1-1. Valley scored just 6 points in the first two weeks. . .Santa Fe rallied past Belen at home, 34-28, as the Demons improved to 2-0, equaling its win total from last season and setting up a battle of unbeatens with city rival St. Michael's Friday night at Ivan Head Stadium. Belen led, 21-7, at halftime before the Demons stormed back with 27 second half points. QB Izaiah Juarez tied the score with a pair of TD runs in the 3rd quarter before adding another game-tying TD run in the 4th quarter. Then, after the Santa Fe defense came up with a key stop, Juarez led a 63-yard drive that ended with his 14-yard TD run with 2:17 left for the game-winning points.                     Class 5A Roundup: After their opener at Los Lunas was cancelled 9 minutes into the game due to severe weather, Roswell finally got a chance to play some football Friday night against Alamogordo at the Wool Bowl. It was worth the wait as [player_tooltip player_id='1258088' first='Abey' last='Toscano'] returned the opening kickoff for a TD and the Coyotes proceeded to roll to a 41-14 victory. [player_tooltip player_id='1594192' first='Jaylon' last='Cloud'] added a rushing TD to give Roswell a 13-0 halftime lead. Cloud added a second rushing TD in the 3rd quarter following a punt return into the red zone for a 20-0 lead. Alamogordo then scored on a 33-yard rushing TD by [player_tooltip player_id='1605059' first='Bryson' last='Bloom'] but Roswell responded with a TD pass from QB Jacob Palomino to [player_tooltip player_id='836944' first='Keegan' last='Nichols'] midway through the 3rd quarter. RB Nate Best had 95 yards on 12 carries for Alamogordo. . .Deming QB [player_tooltip player_id='837197' first='Ryan' last='Alfaro'] continued his torrid early scoring pace as he rushed for three TD to lead the Wildcats to a hard-fought 28-21 victory over Organ Mountain. The Knights trailed 28-6 in the fourth quarter but rallied for two TD to make it a one-score game. Even though they couldn't secure the tying TD, Organ Mountain has shown in the first two games against Eldorado and Deming that they are a much improved and more competitive football team in 2024 compared to last season. . .Gadsden snapped a scoreless tie with 17 points in the second quarter as the Panthers improved to 2-0 with a 38-0 victory over Valencia. [player_tooltip player_id='615673' first='Alfredo' last='Andrade'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1155087' first='Anthony' last='Palomares'] had rushing TDs and [player_tooltip player_id='615429' first='Daan' last='Cano'] booted a field goal to give Gadsden a 17-0 halftime lead. They added two rushing TDs by Andrade and Juan Rios in the third quarter for a comfortable 31-0 lead going into the fourth quarter. . .In a battle of Four Corners teams, Miyamura beat Aztec, 48-15.                     Class 4A Roundup: Another team that rebounded well after a Week 1 loss was St. Pius X, which scored 26 points in the second half on the way to a 40-7 victory over Grants Thursday at Milen Stadium. Sophomore QB [player_tooltip player_id='1154948' first='Isaiah' last='Carpenter'] threw 4 TD passes, two in the fourth quarter when the Sartans pulled away. Carpenter fired 4th quarter TD passes to WR [player_tooltip player_id='1154956' first='Cayl' last='Cox-Liggins'] (3 Td receptions) and [player_tooltip player_id='1155012' first='Curtis' last='Flakes III'] and rushed for the final TD of the night with about 4 minutes to go. RB Jospeh Clawson had a 65-yard TD run for Grants. . .Espanola Valley didn't throw a single pass in their Week 1 win at Los Alamos and it was more the same in Week 2 as they attempted just 1 pass in a 42-7 home win over Cuba. Senior RB [player_tooltip player_id='837203' first='Victor' last='Parra'] rushed for 129 yards on just 7 carries while [player_tooltip player_id='1752753' first='Michael' last='Maestas'] had 82 yards on 4 carries. The Sundevils totaled 366 yards on the ground as 11 different players registered at least 1 rushing attempt against the Rams. . .Albuquerque Academy sophomore QB [player_tooltip player_id='1369761' first='William' last='Braun'] threw for 327 yards and 3 TDs in a 56-6 victory over Del Norte. . .Manzano trounced Rio Grande, 56-6, as Vince Varela contributed in all three phases. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1258970' first='James' last='Vautier'] completed 12-of-17 passes for 156 yards and 3 TD. The Monarchs rushed for 120 yards. . .Moriarty made the long trip to Shiprock and mercy ruled the Chieftains, 54-0. Unleashing their powerful rushing attack, the Pintos led, 16-0, after the 1st quarter, added four TD in the second quarter and cruised home from there. . .Taos beat Los Alamos, 35-20 to drop the Hilltoppers to 0-2 on the young season. . .Silver walloped Gallup, 54-0. Next up for the Colts is the Battle of 180 against Deming.                   Class 3A Roundup: Pojoaque Valley improved to 2-0 with an impressive 48-6 road win at Hot Springs. The Elks built a 21-0 halftime lead and continued to pour it on in the second half. RB [player_tooltip player_id='1416992' first='D'Marcus' last='Rodriguez'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1129687' first='Jonah' last='Villegas'] rushed for TDs in the third quarter to make it 36-6 entering the final frame. Rodriguez had a Pick-6 in the fourth quarter. . .St. Michael's blanked cross-town rival Capital, 37-0, for the Horsemen's 17th straight victory over the Jaguars. [player_tooltip player_id='1137830' first='Pete' last='Johnson'] returned a fumble on a punt attempt by Capital into a short TD return to kickstart the scoring. RB [player_tooltip player_id='1119160' first='Soren' last='Annon']'s 71-yard TD run gave St. Michael's a 16-0 lead late in the 1st quarter and they took it home from there. . .NMMI blanked Loving, 35-0, as Colts QB Colt Seidenberger rushed for two TD in the first half. He began the second half with a 22-yard TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1119319' first='Cohen' last='Tomasits']. NMMI added two more Td in the fourth quarter to pull away. . . QB [player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo'], our Class 3A Player of the Week, threw for 316 yards, rushed for 119 yards and accounted for 6 TD as Socorro beat Thoreau, 37-14. . .Robertson QB Jesse James Gonzalez is off to a flying start through the first two games for the Cardinals, who made the LONG trip to Cobre in southwestern NM and trounced the Indians, 49-0. Gonzalez completed 9-of-11 passes for 204 yards and 3 TD while rushing for 72 yards and another TD. Freshman RB [player_tooltip player_id='1613284' first='George' last='Smith'] scored 4 TD, two rushing and two receiving.   Class 2A Roundup: Eunice continued its strong start to the season with a 62-12 victory over Estancia. . .Tularosa edged Ruidoso, 24-22, after dropping a heartbreaker to Hot Springs in Week 1. Junior LB [player_tooltip player_id='1600953' first='Zach' last='Friberg'] led Ruidoso with 13 tackles. . .Navajo Prep beat Wingate, 40-18. . .Laguna Acoma beat Zuni, 48-18. . .Santa Rosa beat Jal, 39-20, in a battle of 2A powers. . .Hozho Academy improved to 2-0 with a 35-23 victory over Tucumcari. . .Legacy Academy scored two straight touchdowns in the second half to take the lead and then stopped Hope Christian's two-point conversation attempt with just over 2 minutes left for a 21-20 victory at Milne Stadium Saturday (More on this game later with our Small School Spotlight).   Week 3 Top Games (Sept. 5-7)   Artesia at Centennial (Sat., 1 p.m.)   Las Cruces at Rio Rancho   Sandia at Volcano Vista   Hobbs at Roswell   Lovington at Carlsbad   Deming at Silver   Portales at Bernalillo   Farmington at Los Lunas   Santa Fe at St. Michael's (at Ivan Head Stadium)   Taos at Highland (Thur.)   Los Alamos at Pojoaque Valley   Hope Christian at Albuquerque Academy (Sat., 11 a.m.)   Moriarty at St. Pius X (Sat., 11 a.m.)   Dexter at Grants   Robertson at Santa Rosa   Eunice at NMMI   Hozho Academy at Legacy Academy (Sat., Noon)   <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/1829741242441187345 </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/1829749096158032199 </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/1829756613877489954 </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/1830107552379523575 </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/1829540554130264331 </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/1830098832027234679 </div></figure>

Week 2 of the 2024 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our second edition of the Weekly Whiparound, our deep dive into everything that happened on the field: