The Nifty Fifty (Plus): Top Performers For Week 8

Who were some of the top performers from Week 8 of the New Mexico high school football season? For this edition, we've listed the standout players by class year:   Class of 2025 (Seniors)   Bubba Anderson, Carlsbad: Led the Cavemen with 20 tackles and 2.5 TFL in the win over Alamogordo.   [player_tooltip player_id='615632' first='Uriel' last='Castro'], Bernalillo: Threw for 343 yards (on just 9 completions!) and 7 TD passes as Bernalillo routed Aztec, setting up a District 4A-1 showdown at Bloomfield on Friday night.   [player_tooltip player_id='1595633' first='Adam' last='Chavez'], Legacy Academy: 5 receptions for 132 yards and 2 TD in the Silverbacks' mercy-rule win at Capitan.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119266' first='Tristan' last='Davis'], Hobbs: Made 15 tackles with 1.0 TFL in the Eagles' loss at Centennial.   [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], La Cueva: A leading contender for the 2024 New Mexico Heisman, Dyer threw for over 370 yards and 7 TD and ran 43 yards for another TD in the Bears' 61-31 victory over Los Lunas.   [player_tooltip player_id='1021201' first='Landon' last='Griego'], Atrisco Heritage: Completed 19-of-29 passes for 267 yards and 1 TD in the Jaguars' road win at Santa Fe.   [player_tooltip player_id='615689' first='Trenton' last='Hall'], Ruidoso: Made 17 tackles in Ruidoso's close loss to Hatch Valley.     [player_tooltip player_id='1119623' first='Ilijah' last='Hansen'], Volcano Vista: Completed 16-of-27 passes for 235 yards and 5 TD in Volcano Vista's 41-7 win over Farmington.   Brig Keiser, Piedra Vista: Rushed for 182 yards and 1 TD on 20 carries in Piedra Vista's close loss at Rio Rancho in which the Panthers rallied from a 23-3 halftime deficit and came close to winning the game.     [player_tooltip player_id='280925' first='Jordan' last='Lucas'], Centennial: Had 4 touches (2 rushes, 2 receptions) for 115 yards and 2 TD in Centennial's 51-12 win over Hobbs. Averaged 28.7 yards per touch.     [player_tooltip player_id='615512' first='Noah' last='Lundstrom'], Grants: 9 tackles, 2 interceptions and 3 passes defended in Grant's win over Taos.     Santiago Maestas, Cuba: Rushed for 81 yards and 1 TD, made 11 tackles and had a 30-yard kickoff return in Cuba's 36-32 road win over Navajo Prep.   [player_tooltip player_id='1594872' first='Noah' last='Martinez'], NMMI: Made 13 tackles and 1 pass defended in NMMI's 33-21 road win at El Paso (TX) Cathedral.   [player_tooltip player_id='1595865' first='Eric' last='McAfee'], West Mesa: Made 14 tackles, 3.0 TFL and 2 sacks in the Mustangs' close win over Albuquerque High.   [player_tooltip player_id='1594564' first='Kaden' last='McCown'], Bloomfield: Caught 3 TD passes from QB [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'] in Bloomfield's 42-0 victory at Moriarty.   [player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo'], Socorro: The elite dual threat QB rushed for 112 yards and threw for 177 yards and accounted for 3 TD in Socorro's loss to Dexter.   Jose Olivas, Loving: Made 11 tackles with 4.0 TFL in Loving's loss to Tularosa.   Ralph Ortega, Grants: Rushed for 140 yards on 18 carries, including a 61-yard scamper, to lead Grants to a hard-fought 21-19 victory over Taos.     [player_tooltip player_id='1258091' first='Jayden' last='Parsons'], La Cueva: Caught 4 TD passes in La Cueva's win over Los Lunas.   [player_tooltip player_id='615555' first='CJ' last='Perea'], West Las Vegas: Threw for 128 yards and rushed for 113 yards and 1 TD in WLV's close loss to rival Robertson.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119650' first='Kason' last='Perez'], Carlsbad: Continued his outstanding season by completing 22-of-32 passes for 265 yards and 3 TD in the Cavemen's 26-21 home win over Alamogordo.     [player_tooltip player_id='1594033' first='Jamari' last='Phillips-Woods'], West Mesa: Rushed for 103 yards on 13 carries and combined with QB [player_tooltip player_id='615617' first='Ronnie' last='Gilletti'] (62 yards) for a large portion of the Mustang's rushing attack.     [player_tooltip player_id='1594106' first='Daniel' last='Rios'], Volcano Vista: Made 11 tackles, 2.0 TFL and 2 QB hurries in the Hawks' win over Farmington.   [player_tooltip player_id='837060' first='Rudy' last='Rios'], Centennial: Rushed for 138 yards and 2 TD on 15 carries in the Hawk's big home win over Hobbs.     [player_tooltip player_id='1595795' first='Lavontae' last='Robinson'], Crownpoint: Rushed for 149 yards on 7 carries in Crownpoint's 46-0 win over Zuni. Including kick returns, he totaled 283 all-purpose yards. Defensively, he made 5 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1 sack and 2 forced fumbles.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119084' first='Orlando' last='Romero'], Robertson: Made a season-high 13 tackles in Robertson's 28-26 win over rival West Las Vegas.   [player_tooltip player_id='611058' first='Elycio' last='Roybal'], Atrisco Heritage: 4 QB hurries and 2.0 TFL in Atrisco's win at Santa Fe.   Emir Sandoval, Chaparral: His late-game interception helped preserve Chaparral's lead in a 20-14 win over Silver.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119319' first='Cohen' last='Tomasits'], NMMI: Rushed for 170 yards and 2 TD on 11 carries as the Colts traveled to El Paso, TX to face Cathedral and rode home with a 33-21 victory.   [player_tooltip player_id='1594591' first='Andres' last='Valenzuela'], Espanola Valley: Booted a 45-yard field goal and was 4-of-4 PAT in the Sundevils' road win at Kirtland Central.   [player_tooltip player_id='1258970' first='James' last='Vautier'], Manzano: Threw for 294 yards and 2 TD in the Monarchs' loss at Albuquerque Academy.   [player_tooltip player_id='1595769' first='Derek' last='Victorino Jr.'], Laguna-Acoma: Rushed for 133 yards on 16 carries in the loss to McCurdy.   [player_tooltip player_id='613163' first='Breylon' last='Williams'], Hope Christian: Led the Huskies to a huge road win at Pojoaque Valley with 9 receptions for 212 yards and 2 TD, 1 rushing TD and an interception on defense.       Class of 2026 (Juniors)   [player_tooltip player_id='1137066' first='Robert' last='Castaneda'], Carlsbad: 7 receptions for 87 yards and 2 TD in Carlsbad's win over Alamogordo.   [player_tooltip player_id='851898' first='Gage' last='Conway'], Albuquerque Academy: Taking advantage of his 6-foot-5 frame,Conway caught 4 TD passes in the Chargers in their 57-26 victory over Manzano Saturday.   [player_tooltip player_id='1599893' first='Joseph' last='Duran'], Bernalillo: 4 receptions for 182 yards in Bernalillo's rout of Aztec.   [player_tooltip player_id='1137881' first='Aiden' last='Erickson'], Manzano: 8 receptions for 131 yards and 1 TD in the Monarchs' loss at Albuquerque Academy.   [player_tooltip player_id='1599835' first='Riley' last='Haussler'], Cleveland: Among his 4 tackles in the Storm's mercy rule win over Cibola, he had 2.0 TFL and 2 sacks.   [player_tooltip player_id='1599942' first='Leonard' last='Martinez'], Espanola Valley: Rushed for 106 yards and 2 TD on 14 carries to lead the Sundevils' punishing ground game in a 31-15 road victory over Kirtland Central.      [player_tooltip player_id='613708' first='Maddox' last='Mata'], Eunice: 8 Receptions for 120 yards and 3 TD in Eunice's tough road loss at Texico.   R.J. Montoya, Hope Christian: Threw for 230 yards and 4 TD in Hope's impressive road win at Pojoaque Valley.   [player_tooltip player_id='851884' first='Israel' last='Nieto'], Chaparral: Threw 2 TD passes and ran for another in Chaparral's 20-14 victory over Silver.   [player_tooltip player_id='1595671' first='Landon' last='Noble'], Newcomb: Rushed for 331 yards and 1 TD on a super workhorse 48 carries in Newcomb's loss to Hozho Academy.   [player_tooltip player_id='1267030' first='Kolbe' last='Padilla'], St. Pius X: Collected a season-high 15 tackles with 2.0 TFL and 1 sack in St. Pius X's key road win at Portales.   Xavier Perez, Organ Mountain: Rushed for 4 TD in helping lead the Knights to a big road win at Clovis.   [player_tooltip player_id='1137088' first='Kaiden' last='Reese'], Los Lunas: Even though the Tigers lost at La Cueva, they played the Bears tough for nearly 3 quarters with Reese in particular bothering the defense with his speed and quickness from the QB position. He rushed for 109 yards on 17 carries.      [player_tooltip player_id='1600087' first='Lorenzo' last='Sedillo-Urban'], Legacy Academy: Threw for 252 yards on 11-of-19 passing as Legacy Academy improved to 7-0 in their first season of 11-man football.   [player_tooltip player_id='854298' first='Ashdyn' last='Urban'], Ruidoso: Made 16 tackles with 1.0 TFL in Ruidoso's loss to Hatch Valley.   [player_tooltip player_id='1137886' first='Brandon' last='Wheeler'], Grants: Team-high 14 tackles with 1.0 sack in Grants' two-point win over Taos.   Andrew Wood, Piedra Vista: Made 14 tackles in Piedra Vista's close loss at Rio Rancho.     Class of 2027 (Sophomores)   [player_tooltip player_id='1154948' first='Isaiah' last='Carpenter'], St. Pius X: Carpenter led the Sartans to one of the biggest wins of Week 8 by throwing for 4 TD passes and completing 17-of-25 passes for 312 yards in their impressive 48-18 road win at Portales.     [player_tooltip player_id='1154956' first='Cayl' last='Cox-Liggins'], St. Pius X: 6 receptions for 183 yards and 2 TD in the Sartans' road win at Portales.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119205' first='Alex' last='Fuentes'], Texico: Fuentes sparked the Wolverines comeback from a three-touchdown deficit against Eunice by rushing for 210 yards and 3 TD in Texico's 36-28 victory. The Wolverines are the defending 2A champions and should be the No. 1 seed for this year's playoffs.     [player_tooltip player_id='1155116' first='Jahari' last='Morehead'], Eldorado: Morehead made the play of the game in Eldorado's 14-10 victory over Sandia by fielding a punt and returning it 63 yards for a TD with less than 4 minutes remaining.   [player_tooltip player_id='1154954' first='Hershul' last='Olloway'], St. Pius X: Led the Sartans rushing attack with 151 yards and 2 TD on 20 carries in the road win at Portales. Also had 4 tackles and an interception on defense.   [player_tooltip player_id='1272752' first='J'ven' last='Smith'], Atrisco Heritage: Caught 11 passes for 158 yards and 1 TD in the Jaguars' road win at Santa Fe.   [player_tooltip player_id='1604705' first='Micah' last='Takahashi'], Rio Rancho: Takahashi appears to have become Rio Rancho's No. 1 QB. Against Piedra Vista, he completed 15-of-21 passes for 194 yards and rushed for 60 yards in the Rams' 36-33 victory over Piedra Vista.     Class of 2028 (Freshmen)   [player_tooltip player_id='1613352' first='Broden' last='Price'], Manzano: 5 receptions for 127 yards and 1 TD in Manzano's loss to Albuquerque Academy.     [player_tooltip player_id='1613284' first='George' last='Smith'], Robertson: Is Smith the top freshmen in the state? The way he's playing this season, it's trending in that direction. Smith caught 3 passes for 151 yards, including a long TD reception early in the game, and later returned a kickoff 90 yards for TD in Robertson's thrilling 28-26 victory over crosstown rival West Las Vegas. He finished with 241 all-purpose yards.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/jukes35/status/1845313710505562576 </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/kasonperez18/status/1845549987570364675 </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/I_Hansen07/status/1845334207112835100 </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/Fb78Warble/status/1845190499898097764 </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/SSarge2026/status/1844795995378352600 </div></figure>

Who were some of the top performers from Week 8 of the New Mexico high school football season? For this edition, we've listed the standout players by class year: