Scrimmage Week: Rio Rancho-Sandia (Video and Story)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ALBUQUERQUE</strong> – Scrimmage Week began last night with Rio Rancho and Sandia battling for about an hour on the Matadors' impressive new turf field in the northeast section of the Duke City.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sandia controlled most of the first half with dynamic sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613284' first='George' last='Smith']</strong>, a transfer from Robertson, showcasing his elite athleticism and proving why he is Prep Redzone New Mexico's top 2028 prospect in the state. Smith made a fantastic leaping catch for a big gain and snapped off several nice runs by eluding tacklers with his speed and shiftiness.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sandia QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1594010' first='Jahleel' last='Lewis']</strong> displayed a strong throwing arm and also scored on a designed QB keeper when he turned the corner and raced down the right sideline for a long TD run. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rio Rancho's best player may have been senior cornerback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137902' first='Quintenn' last='McKinley']</strong>, who had a pair of Pick-6 interceptions for the Rams. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1684446' first='Juaquin' last='Nunez']</strong> also made an interception for the Rio Rancho defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1548456' first='Matthew' last='Stagman']</strong> caught a long TD pass when a defensive breakdown by the Sandia secondary allowed him to roam free about 20 yards downfield. Stagman grabbed the pass around midfield and cruised into the end zone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Numerous scrimmages and jamborees will be held tonight throughout the state, including Las Cruces facing Artesia at the Bulldog Bowl and the Capital Jaguars hosting Pojoaque Valley and Taos in Santa Fe. Defending 6A champion Cleveland hosts a scrimmage at Lightning Bolt Stadium.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week 1 of the New Mexico high school football season gets underway one week from tonight. Here is the schedule for Thur., Aug. 21:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volcano Vista at Las Cueva, 7 p.m. (Wilson Stadium)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Manzano at Highland, 7 p.m. (Milne)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bernalillo at Valley, 7 p.m. (Community)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cuba at Santa Fe Indian, 7 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 1: Rio Rancho vs. Sandia (Scrimmage)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/ck4VQfXXmnA?si=y7LFPyZ3bAcy0U79","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/ck4VQfXXmnA?si=y7LFPyZ3bAcy0U79 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 2: Rio Rancho vs. Sandia (Scrimmage)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/vZB_KRzsk_Y?si=RFGspggezv0AhIdo","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/vZB_KRzsk_Y?si=RFGspggezv0AhIdo </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BIG Sophomore season loading..⏳⏳<a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/coachwilder0917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachwilder0917</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/recruitcoachmc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@recruitcoachmc</a> <a href="https://t.co/d4H48yCQJ3">pic.twitter.com/d4H48yCQJ3</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='1613284' first='George' last='Smith'] (@georgesmithlll) <a href="https://twitter.com/georgesmithlll/status/1955851583524089908?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This Rio Rancho-Sandia scrimmage has been spirited to say the least. Both teams getting after it. Big plays by both teams. <a href="https://t.co/BJzxq1cWm5">pic.twitter.com/BJzxq1cWm5</a></p>&mdash; Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1955796792420745516?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Scrimmage Day! Dawgs vs Dogs in the Bulldog Bowl! 4:00 pm in Artesia <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CONQUERALL11?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CONQUERALL11</a> <a href="https://t.co/m8EIxh5qg0">pic.twitter.com/m8EIxh5qg0</a></p>&mdash; Bulldawg Football (@LCHSFOOTBALL) <a href="https://twitter.com/LCHSFOOTBALL/status/1956018369771061339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Be there Thursday 🫵🏽🏈<a href="https://twitter.com/CoachZekeV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachZekeV</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nmpreps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmpreps</a> <a href="https://t.co/C2Km9P8XoF">pic.twitter.com/C2Km9P8XoF</a></p>&mdash; Pojoaque valley football program (@PojoaqueP) <a href="https://twitter.com/PojoaqueP/status/1955029797999984780?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->