First Round Whiparound: Top Performances, Best Games + Fun Stuff

The First Round of the 2025 Playoffs is complete. Here is our first post-season edition of the Weekly Whiparound, our comprehensive deep dive into everything that happened on the field. Enjoy!   Teams of the Week: Carlsbad (6A), Highland (5A), Grants (4A), Ruidoso (3A), Loving (2A).   Carlsbad made the long trip to Rio Rancho and drove home happy as the Cavemen dominated the final three quarters in a 35-13 win over the Rams. Cavemen QB Marley Munoz threw for 152 yards and rushed for 63 yards. Physical RB [player_tooltip player_id='1605005' first='Brock' last='Wright'] rushed for 120 yards on 15 carries and 1 TD. [player_tooltip player_id='1137066' first='Robert' last='Castaneda'] caught a TD pass and returned an interception about 80 yards for another score. Carlsbad grabbed the momentum in the second quarter by scoring 21 points for a 21-6 halftime lead. They built the lead to 35-6 in the second half and cruised home from there.   Highland unleashed one of the top rushing attacks in the state, amassing 396 rushing yards in a 36-22 victory over Mayfield at Milne Stadium in Albuquerque. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1688720' first='William' last='Anchondo'] rushed for 156 yards on just 6 carries and scored three TDs in the first half, two on long runs. [player_tooltip player_id='1137423' first='Jose' last='Tapia'] rushed for 220 yards on 33 carries, the majority coming in the second half. Anchondo and Tapia combined for 376 rushing yards and 5 TD.     Grants won a defensive battle against Silver, 14-7. Grants QB Deandre Chavez completed 13-of-23 passes for 116 yards and 2 TD to WRs [player_tooltip player_id='854308' first='Isaiah' last='Ortega'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1751781' first='Coudy' last='Melonas']. Both teams struggled to run the ball. Silver managed just 5 rushing yards on 23 carries, while Grants had 36 yards on 31 carries. [player_tooltip player_id='1606164' first='Urijah' last='Arrey'] scored Silver's lone TD.     Ruidoso lost a heartbreaker at West Las Vegas early in the season. But the Warriors flipped the script in the playoffs with a hard-fought 22-13 win over the Dons in Las Vegas. Ruidoso ran for 247 yards and 3 TD on 39 carries. RB [player_tooltip player_id='854298' first='Ashdyn' last='Urban'] rushed for a team-high 93 yards on 17 carries, while [player_tooltip player_id='1267035' first='Tru' last='Camejo'] had 85 yards on 12 carries. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1613409' first='Mason' last='Fikany'] had 2 rushing TDs for the Warriors.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Highland celebrates the 1st round win over Mayfield. <a href="https://t.co/e0WvsxkZe3">pic.twitter.com/e0WvsxkZe3</a>— Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1987015085152477189?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2025</a></blockquote>   Players of The Week: [player_tooltip player_id='1605005' first='Brock' last='Wright'], Carlsbad (6A), [player_tooltip player_id='1137423' first='Jose' last='Tapia'], Highland (5A), [player_tooltip player_id='1155208' first='Mateo' last='Manley']-Griego, Moriarty (4A), Miguel Garcia, NMMI (3A), [player_tooltip player_id='1604784' first='Cael' last='Walton'], Raton (2A)   Best Game: Loving 44, Estancia 40.   Loving fended off Estancia in a classic 2A shootout. Loving RB [player_tooltip player_id='1604697' first='Brodie' last='Allen'] rushed for 176 yards and 4 TD on 23 carries to spark the Falcons offense. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1137875' first='Tristen' last='Onsurez'] completed 11-of-14 passes for 128 yards and had a pair of two-point conversions. Loving totaled 365 offensive yards. The Falcons travel to the Albuquerque Metro area on Saturday at 1 p.m. to face Legacy Academy at Bernalillo High School. Loving beat Legacy Academy convincingly in last year in the 2A quarterfinals, so the Silverbacks will surely have payback on their minds.             Sophomore of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='1688720' first='William' last='Anchondo'], Highland.              Freshman of the Week: Harlem Corley, Raton.        Class 6A Roundup: Los Lunas nearly blew an 18-point second half lead but held on for an exciting 28-24 victory over Piedra Vista. After Piedra Vista closed the gap to 28-24, Los Lunas ran out the clock with a time-consuming final drive to seal a trip to Las Cruces for the Tigers in the quarterfinals. Piedra Vista's [player_tooltip player_id='1556720' first='Amasi' last='Griego'] scored on two long TD runs in the third quarter as the Panthers narrowed a 28-10 deficit to 28-24. He also caught a 9-yard TD pass. Los Lunas kept the ball on the ground in the final drive that ran out the clock. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1787301' first='Luke' last='Cieremans'] ran for a 1-yard TD and threw a 34-yard TD pass to junior WR Tayson Gaxiola. . .Volcano Vista won a defensive battle over Cibola, 14-10. Spirit Penn-Cook returned at quarterback for the Hawks. Senior RB Justus Foutz ran for two TD, including the game-winner from two yards out with 7:07 left after the Hawks blocked a Cibola punt to give the offense favorable field position at the Cibola 8-yard line. Foutz, who stepped in for injured RB [player_tooltip player_id='1423739' first='D'Angelo' last='Mitchell'], also ran for a TD from 4 yards out in the first quarter. Neither team had more than 165 yards in total offense. [player_tooltip player_id='854199' first='Hayes' last='Baum'] scored Cibola's only TD of the night on a 34-yard sprint on fourth-and-4 to give the Cougars a 10-7 lead early in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Jude Herrera led the Volcano Vista defense with 8 tackles while [player_tooltip player_id='1224569' first='Kaleb' last='Vander Wilt'] had 8 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 passes defended. DB [player_tooltip player_id='1613763' first='Houston' last='Brown']'s interception sealed the win late in the fourth quarter. . .La Cueva handled rival Eldorado, 41-7, for the Bears' ninth straight win. Speedy WR [player_tooltip player_id='1686972' first='Chris' last='Lopez'] caught two TD passes for La Cueva, which advances to face No. 1 seed Las Cruces Friday night at Field of Dreams. . .Rio Rancho's eighth grade QB Crew Victor offered a glimpse of the future as he completed 25-of-33 passes for 206 yards and 2 TD in Saturday's loss to Carlsbad. However, Victor suffered a leg injury in the first quarter and found it difficult to plant his leg and throw with velocity over the final three quarters.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Final: Carlsbad 35, Rio Rancho 13. Carlsbad travels to Hobbs in the quarterfinals. <a href="https://t.co/Mft5KNt9dp">pic.twitter.com/Mft5KNt9dp</a>— Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1987284354242883889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2025</a></blockquote>   Class 5A Roundup: Belen lost a heartbreaker to Valley the first time the two district rivals met earlier this season. But Friday's playoff matchup was a different story. Belen rushed for 396 yards on 49 carries as the Eagles trounced the Vikings, 50-23. The senior RB duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1137426' first='Logan' last='Gonzalez'] (172 yards, 3 TD on 16 carries) and Elijah Schaffino-Vallejo (147 yards, 2 TD on 17 carries) combined for 319 yards and 5 TD on the ground. Belen attempted just 8 passes, one of them to Gonzalez for a TD. Belen Gonzalez scored 3 TD as Belen built a 24-7 halftime lead and never looked back. Valley pulled within 37-23 in the fourth quarter on Gabe Gonzalez's sensational run-and-catch TD but Belen scored the final 13 points to keep the Vikings at arm's length. The Eagles travel to Roswell to face the Coyotes in the quarterfinals at the Wool Bowl. . .Goddard senior RB [player_tooltip player_id='1751689' first='Brady' last='Gibbs'] rushed for 100 yards on 18 carries and Zak Arrellano added 81 yards on 11 carries as the Rockets unleashed a powerful ground game in a 35-14 victory over Deming at the Wool Bowl. Goddard rushed for 258 yards and 4 TD on 41 carries. The Rockets attempted just 9 passes. The Goddard defense held Deming to just 69 rushing yards on 25 carries. . .Gadsden mauled Capital, 50-0, in Anthony. The Panthers quickly built a 36-0 halftime lead and outgained the Jaguars by nearly 400 yards. Gadsen travels to Los Alamos in the quarterfinals. The Panthers won a first-round game there a few years ago.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">HIGHLIGHTS - Gadsden played its way to a 50-0 win over Capital in the opening round of the 5A NMAA playoffs at Sal Gonzalez Stadium on Friday night. Gadsden advances to the quarterfinals and will face Los Alamos next week.<a href="https://twitter.com/GadsdenPanthers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GadsdenPanthers</a> <a href="https://t.co/b58gY7gnco">pic.twitter.com/b58gY7gnco</a>— Sam Guzman (@SamGuzmanTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/SamGuzmanTV/status/1987053852953383286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2025</a></blockquote>   Class 4A Roundup: Bernalillo QB [player_tooltip player_id='853757' first='Ulisses' last='Castro'] threw for 111 yards and 3 TD and rushed for 89 yards and 1 TD as the Spartans outlasted Manzano, 31-28. Bernalillo trailed, 14-0, before rallying for the win at home. Spartans placekicker Ryan Mortensen booted a 35-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter for the eventual game-winning points. . .Moriarty did what they do best – run the football – in a 49-13 victory over Portales. The Pintos rushed for 301 yards and 5 TD on 31 carries. RB [player_tooltip player_id='1155208' first='Mateo' last='Manley']-Griego had 151 yards on 13 carries while [player_tooltip player_id='1606079' first='Royce' last='Dennisson'] had 73 yards on 6 carries. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1613262' first='Devin' last='Ortiz'] rushed for 3 TD. Moriarty attempted only 1 pass. Defensively, Moriarty stopped Portales' run game as the Rams mustered just 32 yards on 23 carries, an average of less than 1.5 yards per carry. Moriarty outgained Portales, 301-32, on the ground. . .For the second straight week, Albuquerque Academy beat Valencia convincingly. Chargers QB [player_tooltip player_id='1369761' first='William' last='Braun'] completed 13-of-24 passes for 219 yards and 4 TD as Academy trounced the Jaguars, 42-0. [player_tooltip player_id='851898' first='Gage' last='Conway'] caught two TD passes while [player_tooltip player_id='1137120' first='Finn' last='Thompson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1605074' first='Logan' last='Hague'] had one each. Theo Gutierrez had a Pick-6 INT. Valencia, which played without star RB Michael Storms III, totaled just 64 offensive yards. Albuquerque Academy pulled away in the second quarter by scoring 21 points. The Chargers travel to Taos in the quarterfinals next weekend.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">4A 1st Round State Playoff Silver 🏈 7 Grants 🏈 14 Final<a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_NMAA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nmpreps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmpreps</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesDYodice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JamesDYodice</a> <a href="https://t.co/FdG8fDMdd6">pic.twitter.com/FdG8fDMdd6</a>— Artie Sanchez (@SHS24AD) <a href="https://twitter.com/SHS24AD/status/1987290181570076887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2025</a></blockquote>   Class 3A Roundup: NMMI proved again that the Colts have one of the best rushing attacks in the state as they amassed 345 yards and 7 TD on 45 carries in a 48-7 whipping of Wingate in Roswell. Senior RB Miguel Garcia rushed for 177 yards and 3 TD on 11 carries, while senior Diego Del Rincon contributed 75 yards and 2 TD. Defensively, NMMI's defense held Wingate to 59 yards on 27 carries, an average of just 2.2 yards per attempt. Wingate totaled only 179 yards in total offense. . .Robertson utilized a balanced rushing attack and a stout defense to beat Hatch Valley, 29-8, in Las Vegas. Three Cardinal rushers had between 26 and 46 yards as Robertson totaled 120 yards on 18 carries. Six-foot-5 QB [player_tooltip player_id='1155256' first='Nathan' last='Gonzales'] threw for 87 yards and 2 TD. The Robertson defense limited Hatch Valley to 123 total yards. Hatch Valley QBs completed just 5 of 27 passes and the ground game averaged just 2.2 yards per carry. . .Hot Springs made the long trip to Thoreau and upset the Hawks, 30-8. Tigers QB [player_tooltip player_id='1613430' first='Zaiden' last='Baker'] had 152 total yards. Hot Springs travels to Albuquerque to face Hope Christian in the quarterfinals.   Class 2A Roundup: Raton RB [player_tooltip player_id='1604784' first='Cael' last='Walton'] rushed for 245 yards and 5 TD on 12 carries as the Tigers trounced Tularosa, 53-12. Walton average over 20 yards per attempt. Freshman Harlem Corley ran for 60 yards and 1 TD. Raton amassed 373 yards on the ground. . . Santa Rosa mercy-ruled rival Tucumcari, 50-0, as the Lions rushed for 264 yards and 7 TD. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='854299' first='David' last='Chavez'] led the charge with 118 yards and 3 TD on just 6 carries. Senior Daryn Pacheco rushed for 114 yards and 3 TD on 6 carries. The Lions averaged 15.5 yards per attempt. Defensively, Santa Rosa intercepted 3 passes and forced 2 fumbles for five Tucumcari turnovers. . .Navajo Prep QB [player_tooltip player_id='1605989' first='Aden' last='Clah'] completed 11-of-18 passes for 197 yards and 3 TD to lead the Eagles past Jal, 22-13, Friday night. Jal traveled over 1,000 miles round-trip to play the game. Jal QB [player_tooltip player_id='1600830' first='Daniel' last='Ornelas'] scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter to give the Panthers an early lead. Navajo Prep took the ensuing kickoff and drove 60 yards in 5 plays. Clah threw a TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1613435' first='Gracin' last='Vigil'], who made a one-handed grab in the end zone. Jal responded with a TD drive as RB Zadyn Lujan scored on a 1-yard run for a 13-7 lead, but those would be the final points scored by the Panthers. Navajo Prep led, 14-13, at halftime and added one more score in the second half. Clah threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to MacAllen Cousens. The Eagles travel to Texico in the quarterfinals.    Quarterfinals Schedule (Nov. 14-15)   Class 6A   Los Lunas at Las Cruces, 7 p.m. (Fri)   Volcano Vista at Cleveland, 7 p.m. (Fri.)   Carlsbad at Hobbs, 7 p.m. (Fri.)   La Cueva at Centennial, 1 p.m. (Sat.)   Class 5A   Belen at Roswell, 7 p.m. (Fri.)   Gadsden at Los Alamos, Noon (Sat.)   Goddard at Lovington, 1 p.m. (Sat.)   Highland at Artesia, 2 p.m. (Sat.)   Class 4A   Grants at St. Pius X, 7 p.m. (Fri.)   Moriarty at Chaparral, 7 p.m. (Fri.)   Albuquerque Academy at Taos, 7 p.m. (Fri.)   Bernalillo at Bloomfield, 1 p.m. (Sat.)   Class 3A   Hot Springs at Hope Christian, 7 p.m. (Fri.)   NMMI at Pojoaque Valley, 7 p.m. (Fri.)   Robertson at St. Michael's, 1 p.m. (Sat.)   Ruidoso at Dexter, 1 p.m. (Sat.)   Class 2A   Santa Rosa at Eunice, 1 p.m. (Sat.)   Navajo Prep at Texico, 1 p.m. (Sat.)   Raton at Hozho Academy, 1 p.m. (Sat.)   Loving at Legacy Academy, 1 p.m. (Sat.)   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Playoff Scoreboard: 1st Round (Sat. 11/8) 6A: Carlsbad 35, Rio Rancho 13 5A: Goddard 35, Deming 14 4A: Grants 14, Silver 7 3A: NMMI 48, Wingate 7 3A: Robertson 29, Hatch Valley 8 2A: Raton 53, Tularosa 12 <a href="https://t.co/fPyrOsKM9Q">pic.twitter.com/fPyrOsKM9Q</a>— Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1987323942286266854?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2025</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Unfortunately, our season came to an end last night. But the memories of these season will last! Thank you class of 2026! Go off and be great! 🫶✊🏼 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SWINGTHEAXE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SWINGTHEAXE</a> <a href="https://t.co/kOh42TTW3s">pic.twitter.com/kOh42TTW3s</a>— Valley Football (@ValleyFB54) <a href="https://twitter.com/ValleyFB54/status/1987365096876822986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2025</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Friday's win made Coach Facio the 2nd winningest coach in Gadsden history (since 1953)! Congratulations Coach! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HailGadsden?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HailGadsden</a> <a href="https://t.co/9B0WkEzeZf">pic.twitter.com/9B0WkEzeZf</a>— Gadsden Football (@GadsdenPanthers) <a href="https://twitter.com/GadsdenPanthers/status/1987332025137906079?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2025</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Updated 5A Bracket. Road to 33 🏆 <a href="https://t.co/nqJPAZlV8y">pic.twitter.com/nqJPAZlV8y</a>— BulldogFootball 🏈🏆x32 (@artesiafootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/artesiafootball/status/1987293733180838120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2025</a></blockquote>

The First Round of the 2025 Playoffs is complete. Here is our first post-season edition of the Weekly Whiparound, our comprehensive deep dive into everything that happened on the field. Enjoy!