Thursday Throwdown: Battle Of The Vistas (Recap/Video)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ALBUQUERQUE</strong> – It was Taco Thursday at Community Stadium.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volcano Vista senior wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1245683' first='Ismael' last='Mendez']</strong>, fondly known to coaches and teammates as ‘Taco,' made two fabulous touchdown catches to help lift the Hawks to a 35-7 victory over Piedra Vista in the District 6A-1 opener for both teams. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mendez caught a season high 7 passes for 94 yards and 2 TD as Volcano Vista improved to 5-1 overall, 1-0 in district play. After traveling to Farmington in Week 8, the Hawks conclude the regular season with a three-game gauntlet against Rio Rancho, Cleveland and Cibola.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Piedra Vista, which dressed about 30 players, fell to 3-3 overall with its third loss in the last four games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mendez's first TD reception came late in the second quarter when he snagged a fourth-down pass from quarterback <strong>Aurelius Wiley</strong> in the far left corner of the end zone and managed to keep his feet inbounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>His second TD catch produced the night's final score when he caught a pass, spun and stretched the ball over the goal line for an acrobatic TD just past the midway point of the fourth quarter. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volcano Vista averted disaster on the first possession of the game when Wiley was flagged for intentional grounding at the goal line. The officials ruled he was at the 1-yard line when he attempted the pass.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Piedra Vista took advantage of the favorable field position by driving for the first – and ultimately the Panthers' only – touchdown of the night on a QB keeper by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1556720' first='Amasi' last='Griego']</strong> with 8:26 left in the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After Volcano Vista punted on its second possession, Piedra Vista seemed poised to seize control of the game. But momentum flipped when Volcano Vista blocked a punt and the ball was recovered at the PV 7. Hawks junior RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1423739' first='D'Angelo' last='Mitchell']</strong> carried through the right side for the game-tying TD on the next play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mitchell scored again with 8:29 left in the second quarter when he took a pitch and swept left on 4^th-and-4 from the PV 14. Mitchell followed his blockers into the end zone to give Volcano Vista the lead for good at 14-7.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mitchell finished with 100 yards rushing and 3 TD on 19 carries to lead the Hawk's ground game. It marked the third time this season Mitchell has reached the century mark in rushing yards. Wiley had 67 yards rushing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volcano Vista led, 21-7, at halftime. Mitchell's third TD run of the night came late in the third quarter when he powered over from 1 yard out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Piedra Vista offense struggled to move the ball over the final three quarters against the fast and aggressive Hawks defense, which amassed 9 tackles for loss, 3 QB hurries and 3 interceptions, all by sophomore DB<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1613763' first='Houston' last='Brown']</strong>. Sophomore LB<strong> Jude Herrera </strong>led Volcano Vista with 10 tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THURSDAY SCOREBOARD (WEEK 7)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volcano Vista 35, Piedra Vista 7</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Centennial 42, Alamogordo 32</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hot Springs 41, Socorro 0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valley 7, Capital 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wingate 31, Shiprock 16 &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 1: Early First Quarter (Piedra Vista TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/XcsXG5CvEVo?si=w91ozPu5xzoa3ey0","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/XcsXG5CvEVo?si=w91ozPu5xzoa3ey0 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 2: Middle and Late First Quarter (Blocked Punt &amp; Volcano Vista TD</strong>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/o7qUQE7pKq0?si=8lASfzFR-AKmnlWS","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/o7qUQE7pKq0?si=8lASfzFR-AKmnlWS </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 3: Second Quarter (Two Volcano Vista TDs)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/V5mc3K5b9LQ?si=Gfb5nBWIRsBbYIPK","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/V5mc3K5b9LQ?si=Gfb5nBWIRsBbYIPK </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 4: Third Quarter </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/B5MtKVABHxs?si=HflpNvgwKECw6W-h","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/B5MtKVABHxs?si=HflpNvgwKECw6W-h </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 5: Late Third Quarter (Volcano Vista TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/nCDNizDgqs0?si=r1biI-feJ96Faw5d","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/nCDNizDgqs0?si=r1biI-feJ96Faw5d </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> <strong>ADDITIONAL VIDEO:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FOOTBALL: Volcano Vista beat Piedra Vista 35-7 on Thursday night. The Hawks improve to 5-1 overall.<br>Here are some of the highlights (courtesy KRQE) <a href="https://t.co/HvwD90LKvx">pic.twitter.com/HvwD90LKvx</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1974112191717720354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->