Week 3 Whiparound: Top Performances, Best Games and Fun Stuff

Week 3 of the 2024 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our third edition of the Weekly Whiparound, our deep dive into everything that happened on the field:   Teams of the Week: Las Cruces (6A); Lovington (5A); Chaparral (4A); St. Michael's (3A); Eunice (2A).   One week after losing a heartbreaker to Volcano Vista at Community Stadium, Las Cruces returned to the Albuquerque Metro region to face the Rio Rancho Rams. They trailed 6-0 late in the first quarter when Bulldawgs RB [player_tooltip player_id='1137388' first='Daniel' last='Amaro'] jumpstarted a huge night for him with a 14-yard TD run. [player_tooltip player_id='853029' first='Gunnar' last='Guardiola'] threw a TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='615455' first='Nate' last='Libby'] for a 14-6 lead in the second quarter, capping an impressive 18-play drive. With the score tied 21-21 with just under five minutes remaining, Amaro took over the game with a 75-yard punt return for a TD and a short TD run with 26 seconds left for the final points in the Bulldawgs' 34-21 victory over the Rams.   Lovington pulled out a dramatic 47-44 road victory at Carlsbad as QB Mathew Prudencio scrambled around eluding Carlsbad defenders before firing the game-winning TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1137867' first='Elijah' last='Rivero'] in the middle of the end zone with 38.6 seconds left. DB Jayden Gutierez then intercepted a Carlsbad pass with 16.3 seconds left to seal the win. The fourth quarter saw the two teams trade the lead several times in the fourth quarter. Lovington took a 33-31 lead with 5:15 left when Gutierrez caught a 20-yard TD from Prudencio. After Carlsbad scored, Lovington regained the lead at 40-37 on Prudencio's 45-yard TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='615536' first='Alec' last='Holguin']. When Carlsbad scored again to retake the lead (44-40), Prudencio led the Wildcats down the field for the game-winning TD.       Eunice pulled out a miracle 35-30 victory over NMMI in Roswell when they returned a squib kickoff for a touchdown on the final play of the game. NMMI had booted what looked like the game-winning FG with 1 second left but the Cardinals somehow evaded the NMMI kickoff coverage team for the stunning game-winning TD. Eunice QB [player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon'] completed 18-of-27 passes for 209 yards and 3 TD while rushing for a team high 84 yards. NMMI senior QB Warren Spaniel completed 11-of-17 passes for 102 yards and 1 TD.        Players of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='613746' first='Zaiden' last='Davis'], Centennial (6A), Mathew Prudencio, Lovington (5A); [player_tooltip player_id='1119328' first='Jett' last='Galles'], Albuquerque Academy (4A), [player_tooltip player_id='1155032' first='CJ' last='Granados'], Dexter (3A), [player_tooltip player_id='1119205' first='Alex' last='Fuentes'], Texico (2A).   Centennial quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='613746' first='Zaiden' last='Davis'] is an elite and dynamic athlete, which is why he has committed to play FBS football for New Mexico State. Saturday, Davis took his game to a new level by rushing for close to 400 yards and SIX touchdowns as Centennial ground game tore apart the Artesia defense in a 70-39 victory at Field of Dreams. The two teams, trading big plays, combined for 5 TDs in the final 3 minutes of the first half.        Prudencio is putting up numbers worthy of a serious New Mexico Heisman contender. Friday night, he completed 28-of-36 passes for 347 yards and 6 TD with 0 interceptions to push Lovington past Carlsbad, 47-44, in a wild game. He outdueled Carlsbad QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119650' first='Kason' last='Perez'], who had 375 yards passing with 5 TD for the Cavemen. Prudencio has thrown for 806 yards and 10 TD, completing 72.2 percent of his passes, in three games. He has yet to throw an interception. Three receivers had seven receptions apiece ([player_tooltip player_id='1118377' first='Patrick' last='Sanchez'], [player_tooltip player_id='1137867' first='Elijah' last='Rivero'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1137475' first='Jayden' last='Gutierrez']) in the thrilling win at Carlsbad.   Dexter QB [player_tooltip player_id='1155032' first='CJ' last='Granados'] completed 13-of-23 passes for 211 yards and 1 TD and rushed for 109 yards on 8 carries to lead the Demons to a 34-12 road win at Grants. Granados had 320 total yards. Dexter is 3-0 and faces another unbeaten team, Pojoaque Valley, at home in Week 4.   Texico RB [player_tooltip player_id='1119205' first='Alex' last='Fuentes'] scored 4 TD and amassed over 250 yards in total offense in the Wolverines' satisfying 32-19 victory over cross-border rival Farwell on Friday night.         Best Team Offensive Performance: Lovington and Carlsbad. These two teams put on an offensive show Friday night at Carlsbad, combining for about 900 yards in total offense. Lovington had 423 yards in total offense with Carlsbad not far behind as QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119650' first='Kason' last='Perez'] enjoyed a big night for the Cavemen. The two teams combined for about 700 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns.   Best Team Defensive Performance: St. Michael's. The Horsemen have allowed just three points in three games as they dominated rival Santa Fe Friday night at scenic Ivan Head Stadium. The Demons were coming off a 34-28 comeback win over Belen but they were stymied all night long by the fast and aggressive St. Michael's defense. The Horsemen have become a Class 3A largely through a suffocating defense and a solid rushing attack.         Best Game: Two Way-Tie. Roswell 37, Hobbs 35; Lovington 47, Carlsbad 44.     After regulation ended 29-29, Roswell got the ball first in OT and QB Jacob Palomino scored on a 5-yard rushing TD and added the two-point conversion to give the Coyotes a 37-29 lead. Hobbs had to match it when they got the ball. The Eagles scored a TD but were stopped on the 2-point conversion try to give Roswell the exciting win. A long kickoff return by [player_tooltip player_id='1604984' first='Shamus' last='Wright'] of Hobbs led to QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119255' first='Brock' last='Beaty']'s TD pass with about 3 minutes left to tie the score at 29-29. Roswell drove to the Hobbs 31-yard line in the closing minute but was stopped on fourth down.        Best Comebacks: St. Pius X trailed Moriarty, 22-0, midway through the second quarter when a scoop-and-score by [player_tooltip player_id='1594615' first='Leandro' last='Garcia'] on a fumble by the Pintos ignited the Sartans comeback. Moriarty led, 29-12, in the latter stages of the third quarter when St. Pius X QB [player_tooltip player_id='1154948' first='Isaiah' last='Carpenter'] threw a TD pass and the Sartans converted the 2-point conversion to make it 29-20. RB [player_tooltip player_id='1154954' first='Hershul' last='Olloway']'s rushing TD sliced the deficit to 29-26 with about 10 minutes left in the 4Q. Carpenter's TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1155012' first='Curtis' last='Flakes III'] gave St. Pius the lead at 32-26. Olloway later scored his third TD to make it 38-29. St. Pius scored the final 26 points of the game to rally for the win.  . .Manzano trailed Del Norte, 20-0, due to a flurry of turnovers before scoring the final 27 points of the first half. The Monarchs eventually won, 42-26.  QB [player_tooltip player_id='1258970' first='James' last='Vautier'] threw four TD passes (two to [player_tooltip player_id='1137881' first='Aiden' last='Erickson']) and Khaliq Waites returned a punt for a score.    Best Rivalry Wins: In a battle of 2-0 teams, the St. Michael's defense brought their ‘A' game to Ivan Head Stadium as the Horsemen whipped cross-town rival Santa Fe, 42-3. Four interceptions by St. Michael's led to three touchdowns, including a Pick-6 by LB [player_tooltip player_id='1137830' first='Pete' last='Johnson'] with 29 seconds left in the second quarter that gave St. Michael's a 21-3 halftime lead. The Horsemen held the Demons scoreless in the second half as Santa Fe managed just 28 yards of total offense over the final 24 minutes. St. Michael's deep and talented RB corps rushed for 193 yards and 2 TD. . . Deming QB [player_tooltip player_id='837197' first='Ryan' last='Alfaro'] again made big plays with his legs as he led the Wildcats past Battle of 180 rival Silver, 45-6, Friday night in Silver City. Alfaro rushed for 2 TD and a 2-point conversion in the first half as Deming grabbed a 21-0 lead at halftime. He added a 15-yard rushing TD and a 35-yard TD pass to Justin Bustamante to increase the advantage to 35-0 midway through the third quarter. . .Valencia beat Belen, 20-14, in a battle of schools located just a few miles apart. Jaguars QB [player_tooltip player_id='1595752' first='Aidan' last='Harrington'] scored two TD while Michael Storms added another. Valencia stopped Belen in the red zone towards the end of each half.     Class 6A Roundup: Dynamic sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1155116' first='Jahari' last='Morehead'] did it again for Eldorado as he returned a kickoff for a TD for the second straight week in the Eagles' 27-20 victory over Cibola. Eldorado also scored three TD on the ground. The Eagles host Los Lunas Thur. night at Wilson Stadium in the District 6A-2 opener for both teams. . .Cleveland blanked Clovis, 54-0, at Leon Williams Stadium, continuing Wildcats' new head coach Stan Hodges' difficult introduction to New Mexico high school football. . .Freshman RB [player_tooltip player_id='1423739' first='D'Angelo' last='Mitchell'] rushed for 134 yards and 2 TD on 17 carries and senior [player_tooltip player_id='1257357' first='Mason' last='Gurule'] added 102 yards on 15 carries as Volcano Vista powered past Sandia, 28-6, for head coach Chad Wallin's 100th career victory. The Hawks finished with 300 yards rushing on 41 carries as they attempted just 14 passes. The Volcano Vista defense had 5 sacks and 9 tackles for loss to stymie the Sandia offense. . .Los Lunas sophomore RB [player_tooltip player_id='1604956' first='Jagger' last='Casillas'] rushed for 140 yards as the Tigers won their first game of the season, 37-28, over Farmington at home. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1119303' first='Jordan' last='Howard'] added 84 yards rushing. Los Lunas totaled an impressive 345 yards on the ground as they ran the ball 57 times compared to just 15 pass attempts. [player_tooltip player_id='1137088' first='Kaiden' last='Reese'] scored 3 TD for Los Lunas. Farmington QB [player_tooltip player_id='1595714' first='Waylon' last='Schake'] and WR Mikey Beck connected for 2 TD in the second half but the Scorpions were held scoreless in the 4th quarter. . .Albuquerque High QB [player_tooltip player_id='1258907' first='Isaac' last='Houlihan'] rushed for 3 TD as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead before holding off Alamogordo in the second half for a 24-21 road victory. Tigers QB Nate Best threw a 27-yard TD pass to Drake D'Arezzo midway through the 4th quarter to close the deficit to three points but Alamogordo could get no closer.  . .Atrisco Heritage totaled 443 of total offense in a 61-7 victory over Rio Grande. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1021201' first='Landon' last='Griego'] threw for 160 yards and RB Alijah Lee rushed for 102 yards to spark the Jaguars' offensive explosion.                 Class 5A Roundup: Mayfield QB [player_tooltip player_id='1257289' first='Luke' last='Linnan'] rushed for 195 yards and three TDs to lead Mayfield past city rival Organ Mountain, 30-20, Friday night at Field of Dreams. [player_tooltip player_id='1266489' first='Anthony' last='Nevarez'] had 72 yards and 1 TD rushing for the Trojans. The Mayfield defense stopped Organ Mountain multiple times in the red zone as the Knights remained winless under second-year head coach Kenenth Sanchez. . .Playing without star RB [player_tooltip player_id='615425' first='Amiri' last='Mumba'], Highland struggled on offense in a 30-16 loss to Taos. The Hornets managed just 48 rushing yards on 27 carries and 144 yards total. [player_tooltip player_id='1137423' first='Jose' last='Tapia'] had 4 receptions for 65 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='615426' first='Alex' last='Lopez'] had 10 tackles on defense for Highland. . .Goddard head coach Arturo Bolanos picked up his 1st victory as Rockets head coach with a 14-3 victory over Valley in a defensive struggle at Milne Stadium. Goddard intercepted a pass and scored a TD late in the second quarter for a 7-3 lead at intermission. The Rockets scored a rushing TD in the 4th quarter for the final points of the game. Valley has scored just 9 points in three games. . .Piedra Vista lost to cross-border rival Durando, 17-6, as the Panthers were held to 228 yards in total offense. RB Brig Keiser had 63 yards rushing on 16 carries. Piedra Vista's lone TD came on a 27-yard pass from QB Felipe Moreno to [player_tooltip player_id='1606021' first='AJ' last='Cockrell'] in the second quarter that capped a 13-play, 83-yard drive. . .Gadsden improved to 3-0 with a 48-6 dismantling of cross-border rival Clint (TX). .                           Class 4A Roundup: Bernalillo gutted out a 14-7 victory over Portales at Spartans Stadium with a pair of TD passes by QB [player_tooltip player_id='615632' first='Uriel' last='Castro']. Just like a week ago against Highland, the winning TD scored with about 5 minutes left on Castro's 49-yard heave to [player_tooltip player_id='1599971' first='Kenneth' last='Saiz']. Portales played without QB [player_tooltip player_id='615523' first='Paxton' last='Culpepper'], who reportedly suffered a torn ACL in the Week 2 loss to Lovington and is sidelined for the season. Senior Dallas Lozano filled in at QB for the Rams. Castro was 11-of-16 passing for 168 yards and 2 TD. . .Bloomfield mercy-ruled Miyamura, 55-0, as the Bobcats improved to 2-0 and continued to look like an offensive juggernaut. Led by QB [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'], Bloomfield built a 30-0 lead early in the second quarter and cruised home from there. Spencer tossed a 9-yard TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1137877' first='Kaleb' last='Hutchens'] to open the scoring and the pair connected again early in the 2nd quarter. . . Espanola Valley improved to 3-0 with a grinding 13-6 home  victory over Capital. All 19 points were scored in the fourth quarter. The Sundevils RB tandem of [player_tooltip player_id='854296' first='Dylan' last='Sandoval'] (14 carries for 81 yards) and Ezekial Cuevas (14 carries for 107 yards) combined for 188 yards on the ground. Capital scored for the first time this season on a flea flicker double pass. . .Speedy slot WR [player_tooltip player_id='1119328' first='Jett' last='Galles'] caught 3 TD passes (2 in 2nd quarter) from QB [player_tooltip player_id='1369761' first='William' last='Braun'] as Albuquerque Academy beat 3A Hope Christian, 40-14, Saturday afternoon. Braun and RB Zachary Waghorn ran for TDs in the 1st half as the Chargers led, 34-14, at intermission. . .Aztec lost to cross-border rival Bayfield (CO), 41-7. The Tigers defense allowed 4 TD passes of 49+ yards in the loss. Senior running back Jacob Rutledge scored Aztec's only TD of the game on a 34-yard catch and run early in the second quarter. . .Kirtland Central trounced Shiprock, 49-0.  . .Chaparral beat 5A Santa Teresa, 26-7, despite 225 yards rushing by the Desert Warriors. [player_tooltip player_id='1137846' first='Nicholas' last='Vierra'] had 116 yards rushing on 10 carries for Sanat Teresa.                           Class 3A Roundup: Dexter RBs [player_tooltip player_id='613197' first='Omar' last='Loya'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1119120' first='Kaesn' last='George'] each scored 2 TD for the Demons in their 34-12 road win at Grants. Loya and George combined for 130 rushing yards. George added 7 receptions for 130 yards. Loya had 4 receptions for 55 yards. Dexter amassed 297 yards and 4 TD on the ground. . .Newcomb is 3-0 for the first time since 2018 as they edged Gallup, 20-12. LaDanian John threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kinji Natonabah for the winning TD late in the fourth quarter. . .Robertson improved to 3-0 with an impressive 49-19 road win at Santa Rosa. . .After losing a tough battle at home against Dexter, West Las Vegas rebounded with a 33-7 road win at Ruidoso. [player_tooltip player_id='1600953' first='Zach' last='Friberg'] had 12 tackles for the Warriors. . .Pojoaque Valley beat local rival Los Alamos, 14-13, in a game played in front of no fans at PVHS due to social media threats. Junior RB [player_tooltip player_id='1416992' first='D'Marcus' last='Rodriguez'] (115 yards on 21 carries) and [player_tooltip player_id='1129687' first='Jonah' last='Villegas'] (83 yards on 13 carries) combined for 198 rushing yards for the victorious Elks. . .Socorro QB [player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo'] threw for 284 yards on 15-of-21 passing as the Warriors traveled to Cuba and took home a 46-0 victory. It marked the third straight road game to start the season for Socorro. . .Cobre went on the road to the Lone Star State and beat Anthony (TX), 32-25. The Indians rallied from a 17-7 halftime deficit to take home the win. .Hot Springs trounced 2A Capitan, 54-0. . .Hatch Valley mercy ruled Zuni, 50-0.   Class 2A Roundup: [player_tooltip player_id='1119659' first='Xavier' last='Nez'] threw for 300+ yards and 4 TD on 16-of-24 passing in Navajo Prep's 36-32 loss to Pinon (AZ). [player_tooltip player_id='1613621' first='Ivan' last='John'] caught 2 TD passes for the Eagles, which couldn't hold a 24-14 halftime lead. . .Tularosa blanked Estancia, 48-0, despite 115 rushing yards on 14 carries by Estancia RB Justin Rubio. . .Raton QB [player_tooltip player_id='613159' first='Cannon' last='Walton'] threw for 118 yards and rushed for 122 yards and 2 TD as Raton beat border rival Trinidad, 47-28. Younger brother [player_tooltip player_id='1604784' first='Cael' last='Walton'], a sophomore, rushed for 126 yards and 1 TD for the Tigers. . .Laguna Acoma mercy ruled Santa Fe Indian School, 52-0. The Hawks led, 16-0, after the first quarter and 22-0 at halftime before putting the game out of reach with a pair of rushing TD by [player_tooltip player_id='1595769' first='Derek' last='Victorino Jr.'] (78 yards) and [player_tooltip player_id='1600987' first='Ekahi' last='Tiller'] (4 yards) in the third quarter. . .Legacy Academy improved to 3-0 with an emphatic 53-3 win over Hozho Academy in Bernalillo. Silverbacks QB [player_tooltip player_id='1600087' first='Lorenzo' last='Sedillo-Urban'] passed for 207 yards and 3 TD while bruising RB [player_tooltip player_id='1595657' first='Noah' last='Sanchez'] had 105 yards rushing on 7 carries. . .McCurdy outlasted Tucumcari, 50-42. McCurdy QB Jeremaya Roybal was sensational in the 1st half as he rushed for 176 yards and threw for 110 yards to lift the Bobcats to a 36-16 lead after the opening 24 minutes. Tucumcari closed the gap to 44-42 before McCurdy RB JJ Vigil ran 3 yards for a TD with 3:53 left for the final margin.   Week 4 Top Games (Sept. 12-14)   Roswell at Lovington   Cleveland at Las Cruces (Thur.)   Rio Rancho at Centennial   Los Lunas at Eldorado   Volcano Vista at West Mesa   Deming at Artesia   St. Michael's at Albuquerque Academy (Sat., 2 p.m.)   Moriarty at Bernalillo   Pojoaque Valley at Dexter   La Cueva at Sandia   West Las Vegas at Portales   Silver at Cobre   St. Pius X at Organ Mountain (Sat., 7 p.m.)   Santa Fe at Albuquerque High   <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/1832072873030144119 </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/1832291619405467740 </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/1832295577037533572 </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/1832297776857649643 </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/1832306083987124667 </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/1832611678149607559 </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/1832683845373591603 </div></figure>

Week 3 of the 2024 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our third edition of the Weekly Whiparound, our deep dive into everything that happened on the field: