Week 6 Whiparound: Top Performances, Best Games and Fun Stuff

Week 6 of the 2024 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our sixth edition of the Weekly Whiparound, our deep dive into everything that happened on the field:   Teams of the Week: Hobbs (6A); Artesia (5A); Bernalillo (4A); Zuni (3A); McCurdy (2A).   Hobbs (3-3) traveled to Alamogordo and jumped out quickly to a 28-0 lead after the 1st quarter and cruised to a 49-21 victory over the Tigers. DB [player_tooltip player_id='1601125' first='Adrian' last='Mora']'s Pick-6 gave the Eagles an early 14-0 lead. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119255' first='Brock' last='Beaty'] added a 45-yard TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1599800' first='Justice' last='French'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1604984' first='Shamus' last='Wright'] ran 6 yards for a TD following another interception for the 28-0 lead. Later, RB [player_tooltip player_id='1422014' first='Omarrion' last='Kennedy'] had a 2-yard TD run to give Hobbs a 42-7 lead with 9:01 left. Senior RB Ricky Gonzalez scored the final points of the game for Hobbs with a 13-yard TD run with 5:02 left.         Artesia (4-2) had probably the most impressive victory of Week 6 as the Bulldogs traveled to Lovington and dismantled the Wildcats, 57-21, signaling the road to the Class 5A championship still goes through Artesia. The Bulldogs led, 14-7, after the 1st quarter on TDs by [player_tooltip player_id='1118283' first='Frankie' last='Galindo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1750200' first='Jack' last='Byers'] before taking control of the game with a 22-point second quarter. A key play came when Lovington intercepted a pass but the Wildcat defender was stripped of the football and it was recovered by Artesia's [player_tooltip player_id='1139144' first='Bryce' last='Parra'] at the Lovington 1. Galindo ran it in for the first of three TD in the quarter. A fumble on the ensuing kickoff led to another Galindo rushing TD. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1432984' first='Izac' last='Cazares'] added a rushing TD. Artesia led, 36-13, at halftime and continued to pile up the points in the second half.            Bernalillo had the most heart-stopping victory of the weekend as they first rallied from a 14 point deficit to force overtime and then stopped Espanola Valley inches short of the goal line on a 2-point conversion attempt to pull out a thrilling 21-20 victory over the Sundevils. Bernalillo trailed 14-0 midway through the third quarter before QB [player_tooltip player_id='615632' first='Uriel' last='Castro'] threw a 56-yard TD pass to WR [player_tooltip player_id='1599893' first='Joseph' last='Duran'], who outleaped the EVHS defender for the ball. After a one-hour weather delay, Bernalillo tied the score at 14-14 on Castro's 23-yard run with 2:31 left. In OT, Castro ran for his second TD from 10 yards out. The PAT was good. Espanola Valley scored in the bottom half of the first OT on [player_tooltip player_id='1752753' first='Michael' last='Maestas']' 10-yard TD run. The Sundevils coaches elected to go for 2 but Bernalillo's ‘Goon Squad' defense rose to the occasion.       Players of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='853029' first='Gunnar' last='Guardiola'], Las Cruces (6A);  Juan Rios, Gadsden (5A); [player_tooltip player_id='1594674' first='Tommy' last='Lopez'], Portales (4A); Konstantino Scopelitis, NMMI (3A); [player_tooltip player_id='1119659' first='Xavier' last='Nez'], Navajo Prep (2A).   Las Cruces QB [player_tooltip player_id='853029' first='Gunnar' last='Guardiola'] was a perfect 12-of-12 passing for 253 yards and 3 TD in the Bulldawgs' 55-7 victory over Organ Mountain. Regardless of who a team is playing, a 100 percent completion percentage when a high school QB attempts 10+ passes is impressive.      [player_tooltip player_id='1594674' first='Tommy' last='Lopez'] took over the game in the fourth quarter and led Portales to a 34-21 victory over Valencia at Greyhound Stadium. The score was tied 14-14 when Lopez scored the eventual game-winning TD on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter. After Valencia punted, Lopez tossed a 30-yard TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='613751' first='Kaidyn' last='Cordova'] to give Portales a 27-14 lead. Shortly after Valencia was stopped on downs near midfield,. Lopez raced 25 yards for a TD and a 33-14 Portales lead. Valencia scored a late TD but it was too little, too late.            Best Team Offensive Performance: Bloomfield. The Bobcats put up 55 points against a Taos defense that had allowed just 36 points in its last three games, all victories. But Bobcats QB [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'] and his array of weapons had their way all game long.   Best Team Defensive Performance: Artesia. The Bulldogs went to Lovington and held the Wildcats to 21 points and a 41 percent completion percentage on its 46 pass attempts.                  Best Game: Bernalillo 21, Espanola Valley 20 (OT).   Honorable Mention: Deming 29, Mayfield 27; Navajo Prep 44, Laguna-Acoma 38; Highland 26, Valley 20 (OT).   Class 6A Roundup: In addition to QB [player_tooltip player_id='853029' first='Gunnar' last='Guardiola']'s perfect night throwing the football, [player_tooltip player_id='615455' first='Nate' last='Libby'] returned the second half kickoff 98 yards for a TD to give Las Cruces a 41-0 lead over Organ Mountain. . .Carlsbad QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119650' first='Kason' last='Perez'] had another good game throwing the football as he completed 16-of-27 passes for 270 yards and SIX touchdowns in the Cavemen's emphatic 56-8 victory at struggling Clovis. Carlsbad (3-3, 1-1) also ran for 224 yards to give them nearly 500 yards in total offense. Clovis fell to 0-5. . .La Cueva QB Cam Dyer rushed for 246 yards and 4 TD and threw for 171 yards and 1 TD in the Bears' 48-14 victory over West Mesa. La Cueva pulled away by scoring 24 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter. La Cueva is 5-0 and faces rival Eldorado in Week 7. . .Sandia jumped on Atrisco Heritage early for a 31-7 lead after the first quarter and rolled to a 52-14 victory over the Jaguars. Sophomore QB Jahleel Lewis completed 12-of-15 passes for 235 yards and 2 TD. . .Pedra Vista traveled to Canyon (TX) but lost, 44-30, as the Panthers were outscored 22-8 in the second half. The  score was tied, 22-22, at halftime. Junior Andrew Wood had 10 tackles for PV on defense. . .Eldorado held off Santa Fe, 22-16, at Wilson Stadium Friday night. The Eagles improved to 3-2 and face rival La Cueva in Week 7. How big is Friday's District 6A-2 clash between Albuquerque High and Los Lunas? This big:   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-29-at-16-53-55-6A-District-2-District-Football-Standings.png?w=684" alt="" class="wp-image-1512399" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure>   Class 5A Roundup: Artesia's defense did a great job limiting the effectiveness of Lovington QB Mathew Prudencio, who had been nearly flawless in the Wildcats' first five games. Friday, Prudencio was held to 19-of-45 passing (42.2 percent) for 308 yards and 2 TD with 3 interceptions. Those were the first 3 INT thrown by Prudencio this season. . .In one of the most exciting finishes of Week 6, Deming QB [player_tooltip player_id='837197' first='Ryan' last='Alfaro'] scored on a 2-yard TD run with 12 seconds left as the Wildcats rallied for a 29-27 victory over Mayfield at Field of Dreams. Deming trailed, 27-17, entering the 4th quarter but scored two TD to pull out the road win. . .Roswell walloped Santa Teresa, 47-0, at the Wool Bowl. The Coyotes built a 27-0 lead after the first quarter and 40-0 at halftime in their Homecoming Game to assure a running clock in the second half. Abey Tuscano ran for a TD to open the scoring. [player_tooltip player_id='1118273' first='Xai' last='Carrasco']'s Pick-6 marked Roswell's second TD of the first quarter. Touchdowns by [player_tooltip player_id='1750743' first='Renden' last='Duran'] and Toscano made it 27-0 after 12 minutes and Roswell rolled to the win from there. . .Gadsden scored 27 unanswered points in the second half and rolled to a 34-0 victory over Goddard. The score was just 7-0 at halftime on QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119637' first='Adrian' last='Munoz']'s 4-yard TD pass to Christopher Orozco. Rushing TDs by [player_tooltip player_id='615673' first='Alfredo' last='Andrade'] (20 yards) and Juan Rios (60 yards) in the third quarter pushed the lead to 21-0 with 12 minutes remaining. Rios added a 68-yard rushing TD in the 4th quarter. . .Highland RB [player_tooltip player_id='615425' first='Amiri' last='Mumba'] returned from an injury and ran 10 yards for a TD in OT to lift Highland past Valley, 26-20 at Milne Stadium. Valley got the ball in the bottom half of OT but couldn't score. Highland defender [player_tooltip player_id='1751107' first='David' last='Crespin'] had a 100-yard Pick-6 for the Hornets just when Valley looked ready to take the lead late in the second quarter. . .Capital won its second game of the year with a 48-6 win over Rio Grande Friday at Milne Stadium. . .Artesia's victory over Lovington gives the Bulldogs sole possession of first place in District 5A-2 but it's still a close race with Gadsden and Roswell set to clash in Week 7:   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-29-at-17-08-51-5A-District-2-District-Football-Standings.png?w=683" alt="" class="wp-image-1512404" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure>   Class 4A Roundup: While Bernalillo and Espanola Valley were battling into OT, unbeaten Bloomfield (5-0) trounced Taos, 55-0, for the Bobcats' fourth straight shutout and fourth mercy rule win of the season. Bloomfield held Taos to 63 total yards. Offensively, [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'] (305 yards passing + 5 TD; 125 yards rushing) had another huge game for the Bobcats. He connected with WR [player_tooltip player_id='853022' first='Peyton' last='Duncan'] (120 receiving yards)  for a 53-yard TD pass for the game's first score. Duncan later returned a punt for a TD. Bloomfield led, 21-0, after the first quarter and continued to pour it on in the second and third quarters. They led, 35-0, at halftime, assuring a running clock when the third quarter started. . .Manzano (5-1) jumped out to a 24-0 lead after the first quarter and trounced Chaparral, 52-8, Saturday afternoon at Wilson Stadium. [player_tooltip player_id='854302' first='Justin' last='Duran']'s  18-yard TD run made it 14-0 before a safety and [player_tooltip player_id='1137881' first='Aiden' last='Erickson'] TD reception gave the Monarchs a 24-0 lead after 12 minutes. They increased the lead to 39-0 at halftime with two more TDs in the second quarter on QB [player_tooltip player_id='1258970' first='James' last='Vautier']'s 38-yard TD pass to Xavier Nieto and Vautier's 16-yard TD run. The entire 2nd half was played with a running clock. . .St. Pius (3-2) QB [player_tooltip player_id='1154948' first='Isaiah' last='Carpenter'] threw 2 TD passes in the first 13 minutes and the Sartans defense held Silver to a single score in a 14-6 victory for St. Pius X Thur. night at Community Stadium. Carpenter finished 20-of-31 passing for 212 yards while RB [player_tooltip player_id='1154954' first='Hershul' last='Olloway'] had 94 yards on 14 carries. WR [player_tooltip player_id='1119300' first='Bryan' last='Thomas'] led SPX with 6 receptions for 66 yards. . .Grants (3-3) QB [player_tooltip player_id='854297' first='Tristin' last='Fernandez'] ran for touchdowns from 41 and 37 yards in a 28-6 victory over winless Aztec. Fernandez also threw a 30-yard TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1594702' first='Boudy' last='Melonas'] in the second quarter to give Grants a 14-6 halftime lead.                                                 Class 3A Roundup: Socorro continued its march towards an Oct. 11 showdown with district rival Dexter by beating Hatch Valley, 34-7, at home. The score was tied, 7-7, late in the second quarter when Socorro scored to take a 15-7 halftime lead. The Warriors outscored Hatch Valley, 19-0, in the second half. . . Robertson improved to 6-0 with a 51-0 non-district victory over Tularosa. The Cardinals have scored 49+ points in all six games this season. . .Dexter (6-0, 2-0) posted its third straight shutout with a 38-0 victory over Ruidoso, amassing 379 yards in total offense. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1155032' first='CJ' last='Granados'] completed 10-of-16 passes for 136 yards. The Demons have allowed just 32 points in 6 games. They travel to Roswell to face NMMI (4-1, 2-0) Friday in a District 3A-3 showdown and then face Socorro in Week 8. Barring an upset elsewhere, those games will likely decide the district champion. . .Speaking of NMMI, the Colts rushed for 242 yards on 24 carries in a 42-0 victory over Cobre. Junior Konstantino Scopelitis led the way with 89 yards on just 2 carries, including a 67-yard gallop. . . St. Michael's traveled to Raton – the Horsemen's third road trip in as many weeks – and again dominated with a 40-7 victory over the Tigers. . .Watch out for Thoreau in District 3A-1. The Hawks mercy-ruled Gallup, 50-0, to improve to 2-0 in district play. Thoreau has outscored its first two district rivals, 97-8. . .Tohatchi beat Crownpoint, 43-18., pulling away with a pair of TDs in the 3Q on [player_tooltip player_id='1594811' first='Josh' last='Dawes']' 10-yard rushing TD and [player_tooltip player_id='1604910' first='Tristan' last='Begay']'s 45-yard TD pass to Jeffrey Leonard. . .Zuni won a 42-36 shootout over Wingate. . .Hope Christian thumped independent Santa Fe Indian, 48-8, late Saturday afternoon at Community Stadium. . .How close is the race in District 3A-3? Look at these standings. Dexter faces NMMI and Socorro the next two weeks.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-29-at-16-38-20-3A-District-3-District-Football-Standings.png?w=682" alt="" class="wp-image-1512392" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure>   Class 2A Roundup: After beating three straight Texas opponents, defending Class 2A champion Texico traveled to Las Vegas to take on the West Las Vegas Dons. The Wolverines built a 16-0 lead midway through the third quarter on a Pick-6 and rushing TD and held off WLV the rest of the way. . .Navajo Prep QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119659' first='Xavier' last='Nez'], arguably one of the top players in Class 2A, threw for 3 TD and ran for 2 more in the Eagles' wild 44-38 victory over Laguna-Acoma in Farmington. Nez completed 18-of-25 passes for 239 yards and 3 TD to 3 different receivers. The two teams combined for 40 points in a wild third quarter after Navajo Prep led, 22-14, at halftime. The game-winning TD on a 1-yard run by Nez with 5:43 left in the 4th quarter capped Navajo Prep's 12-play, 7-minute drive. Laguna-Acoma QB Derek Victorino, Jr. completed 11-of-17 passes for 166 yards and 2 TD, and rushed for 158 yards and 2 TD. [player_tooltip player_id='1137856' first='Jayden' last='Dailey'] had 5 receptions for 80 yards for Laguna-Acoma. . .McCurdy blanked Newcomb, 34-0, Saturday in Espanola. The Bobcats led, 14-0, after the 1st quarter and 28-0 at halftime on the way to improving to 3-2. . .Cuba won its first game of the season by beating Hozho Academy, 26-8, at home.                                                        Week 7 Top Games (Oct. 3-5)   Dexter at NMMI   Albuquerque High at Los Lunas   Texico at Loving   Gadsden at Roswell   Farmington at Cleveland   Mayfield at Lovington   Eldorado at La Cueva   Organ Mountain at Carlsbad   Goddard at Deming   Portales at Silver   Espanola Valley at Taos   Pojoaque Valley at Robertson (Thur.)   Albuquerque Academy at St. Pius X (Thur.)   Raton at Legacy Academy (Thur.)   Atrisco Heritage at West Mesa   Cibola at Rio Rancho   Thoreau at Tohatchi   Los Alamos at Belen   Hot Springs at Hatch Valley   <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/1839878898277888483 </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/1840168922550579454 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-29-at-13-54-58-23-Prep-Redzone-New-Mexico-@PrepRedzoneNM-_-X.png?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1512304" /></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/jeffmatthews22/status/1839911485004238947 </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/Khensley42/status/1840109630216909057 </div></figure>

Week 6 of the 2024 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our sixth edition of the Weekly Whiparound, our deep dive into everything that happened on the field: