Week 1 Whiparound: Top Performances, Best Games and Fun Stuff

Week 1 of the 2026 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our first edition of the Weekly Whiparound, our comprehensive deep dive into everything that happened on the field. Enjoy!   Teams of the Week: Carlsbad (6A), Piedra Vista (5A), St. Pius X (4A), Silver (3A), Tucumcari (2A).   Carlsbad won the Eddy County War, 20-13, over rival Artesia. The Cavemen built a 20-0 halftime lead before holding off Artesia in the second half. Carlsbad RB [player_tooltip player_id='1605005' first='Brock' last='Wright'] scored a pair of rushing TD and QB [player_tooltip player_id='2101127' first='Marley' last='Munoz'] threw a 64-yard TD strike to Jaden Harper to account for the 1st half scoring. [player_tooltip player_id='2246139' first='Cristian' last='Pando'] scored Artesia's first points of the night on a 6-yard run midway through the 3rd quarter. the Bulldogs scored again with 2 minutes remaining in the game but it was too little, too late.   Piedra Vista dominated crosstown rival Farmington on the ground, amassing close to 500 rushing yards in an impressive 56-20 victory over the Scorpions at Hutchinson Stadium. Piedra Vista led, 28-7, after the first quarter and 36-14 at halftime. With the win, Piedra Vista retained the ‘Milk Jug.' [player_tooltip player_id='1556720' first='Amasi' last='Griego'] scored 3 TD for the Panthers, who moved to District 5A-1 for the next two seasons.   St. Pius X, one of the title favorites in 4A, opened the season with an impressive 44-14 victory over Class 6A West Mesa Saturday at Community Stadium. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1154948' first='Isaiah' last='Carpenter'] was sharp, completing 11-of-15 passes for 316 yards and 5 TD, while UNM Lobos commit [player_tooltip player_id='1154954' first='Hershul' last='Olloway'] had 3 receptions for 100 yards and 2 TD. Carpenter is committed to NM State. The Sartans scored all their points in the first half as they built a 44-7 halftime lead and cruised home from there.   Former ENMU coach Kelley Lee's debut as Silver head coach was a spectacular success as the Colts played fantastic football on both sides of the ball in a 34-0 road win over Legacy Academy at Bernalillo HS. His son, Silver QB [player_tooltip player_id='2114491' first='Kingston' last='Lee'], showed of his elite athleticism by passing for 176 yards and 2 TD, rushing for 137 yards and 2 TD and making 4 tackles with 2.0 sacks on defense.      The Adrian Jones Era at Tucumcari began with a solid 47-16 victory for the Rattlers over Jal. [player_tooltip player_id='1684748' first='Jermy' last='Jones'] rushed for 150 yards and 2 TD to lead the Tucumcari attack. Tucumcari amassed about 300 yards in total offense, while the defense forced six fumbles. Junior QB Jadon Navarro threw for two touchdowns and ran for another for the Rattlers. Tucumcari led, 40-0, at halftime.     <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/2091019072246874290 </div></figure>    Players of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='1605057' first='Junior' last='Medrano'], Hobbs(6A), [player_tooltip player_id='1853724' first='Andruw' last='Fuentez'], Roswell (5A), [player_tooltip player_id='2114514' first='Wyatt' last='Babcock'], Bloomfield (4A), [player_tooltip player_id='2114491' first='Kingston' last='Lee'], Silver (3A), [player_tooltip player_id='1613755' first='Cross' last='Figg'], Texico (2A).   Roswell QB [player_tooltip player_id='1853724' first='Andruw' last='Fuentez'] completed 25-of-29 passes and led a dynamic Coyotes offense to a wild 64-60 victory over Hobbs at the Wool Bowl.   Bloomfield sophomore QB [player_tooltip player_id='2114514' first='Wyatt' last='Babcock'] was sensational in his first career start for the two-time defending Class 4A champions. Babcock completed 16-of-26 passes for 271 yards and 3 TD and rushed for 151 yards on 23 carries (422 total yards) to lift the Bobcats over Clovis, 45-36, in a neutral site game.     [player_tooltip player_id='1613755' first='Cross' last='Figg'] rushed for 142 yards and 3 TD on 18 carries and caught 5 passes for 159 yards to spearhead Texico to a 25-12 win over Santa Rosa. The Wolverines are the 3-time defending Class 2A champions.   Best Team Offensive Performance: Roswell. The Coyotes amassed 672 total yards in their wild 64-60 win over Hobbs.          Best Team Defensive Performance: Las Cruces. The Bulldawgs traveled to Rams Stadium and stifled the Rio Rancho offense, forcing three turnovers and limiting the home team to just a single score. The tone was set early when the Las Cruces defense forced a fumble on the game's first play. The turnover set up the Las Cruces offense for a short TD drive. A second quarter interception set the stage for the Bulldawgs; second TD of the night.        Best Games: Roswell 64, Hobbs 60; Alamogordo 41, Santa Fe 33; West Las Vegas 25, Portales 23.   Roswell and Hobbs combined for 124 points and over 1,100 yards of total offense in a wild game at the Wool Bowl. The Coyotes overcame a superhuman effort by Hobbs QB [player_tooltip player_id='1605057' first='Junior' last='Medrano'] by scoring  late to pull out the thrilling 64-60 win over the Eagles at the Wool Bowl. Medrano's rushing TD gave Hobbs a 60-57 lead with just over 4 minutes left before Roswell drove down the field for the game-winning score. Coyotes QB [player_tooltip player_id='1853724' first='Andruw' last='Fuentez'] took a shotgun snap from the 10-yard line and raced around the left side into the end zone with about 30 seconds left to give the Coyotes the victory. Medrano passed for 265 yards and rushed for 141 yards for the Eagles. [player_tooltip player_id='2103749' first='Izaic' last='Gonzales'] amassed 12 receptions for 171 yards and Danny Castro had 6 receptions for 145 yards for Roswell. The Coyotes totaled 435 yards through the air. There were 12 lead changes in the game. Classic ‘Team With The Ball Last Wins' scenario. Definitely a strong ‘Game of the Year' contender.         Alamogordo and Santa Fe played a roller coaster game. The Tigers jumped out to a 21-6 lead before the Demons rallied by scoring 27 consecutive points to take a 33-21 lead. Alamogordo scored the final three TD of the game to secure the win. QB Rudy Wolfe led an Alamogordo offense that mainly stayed committed to the running game. The Tigers ran the ball 47 times for 316 yards and 4 TD while attempting just 7 passes. Nathaniel Cereceres had a team-high 119 rushing yards on 14 carries. Jesus Navarette returned the second half kickoff 92 yards for a TD to give Santa Fe a 33-21 lead. Alamogordo's final TD came on a Pick-6.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/2091022148361965956 </div></figure>   Sophomore of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='2256783' first='Isaac' last='Melancon'], Eunice. If you thought Eunice would experience a drop-off at quarterback following Elijah Melancon's graduation, think again. Younger brother Isaac completed 16-of-32 passes for 244 yards and 4 TD in the Cardinals' 47-26 home victory over Ruidoso. The Melancon Dynasty in Eunice continues.                                                                     Freshmen of the Week: Cy Saenz, St. Pius X; Nick Miller, Hope Christian and Joel Sandoval, Estancia. Saenz had 2 receptions for 90 yards in St. Piuys X's 44-14 win over West Mesa. Miller completed 19-of-27 passes for 198 yards and 3 TD in Hope Christian's 37-0 road win at Gallup. Sandoval made 7 tackles in Estancia's loss to Loving.   Best Rivalry Win: La Cueva. The Bears walloped rival Eldorado, 59-21, at Wilson Stadium. La Cueva QB [player_tooltip player_id='1183085' first='Monty' last='Melendez'] passed for 298 yards and 5 TD to lead the Bears to the win. WR [player_tooltip player_id='2251188' first='Devyn' last='Williams'] caught a 66-yard TD pass and finished with over 100 receiving yards in the win, while RB [player_tooltip player_id='1684485' first='J' last='Dylan Hathaway'] had a big game running the football. La Cueva already looks like a title contender.     Road Warriors: Los Lunas, Organ Mountain, West Las Vegas, Grants, Hope Christian, Santa Fe Indian.   Los Lunas celebrated the debut of new head coach Stephen Johnston with a solid 23-13 win over Mayfield at Field of Dreams, spoiling the debut of Trojans head coach Joseph Frias in the process. Three times in the second half the Los Lunas defense stopped Mayfield deep in Tigers territory. Los Lunas WR [player_tooltip player_id='2075776' first='Tayson' last='Gaxiola'] scored three TD for the Tigers, including a 90-yard TD return on the opening kickoff. Los Lunas led, 17-7, at halftime and expanded the lead to 23-7 on Gaxiola's 73-yard touchdown early in the 4th quarter.   West Las Vegas rallied past Portales by scoring 12 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for a dramatic 25-23 win at ENMU's Greyhound Stadium. The Dons trailed, 23-13, when the fourth quarter started. [player_tooltip player_id='2108830' first='Fiddel' last='Herrera'] scored on a 5-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 23-19. WLV scored another TD with 2:39 left to take their first lead of the game. Portales was stopped on downs. After exhausting their three timeouts, Portales got the ball back deep in their territory with 33 seconds left. The Dons held on for the impressive road win.         Grants celebrated the debut of new head coach Gene Riedinger with a 28-0 road win at Miyamura.   Hope Christian made the long trip to Gallup and blanked the Bengals, 37-0, for an impressive road win. The Huskies defense held Gallup to less than 100 yards in total offense. WR [player_tooltip player_id='1605990' first='Darrien' last='Williams'] had 12 catches for 128 yards and 2 TD plus an interception on defense.       Successful Coaching Debuts: Several coaches has winning debuts for their respective schools. New Organ Mountain head coach Gregory Mallory's debut for the Knights was a major success as they walloped Deming, 46-14, on the road Thursday night. RB [player_tooltip player_id='1613370' first='Romeo' last='Jones'], finally healthy, rushed for 177 yards and 3 TD while ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1680049' first='Jaden' last='Gonzales'] returned a kickoff 85 yards for a TD and made 8 tackles on defense. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1597499' first='Jaydon' last='Kraft'] had 3 sacks. The Organ Mountain defense registered 21.5 TFL, 10.5 sacks and 3 INT. . .Louis Howell directed Hot Springs to a 35-6 road win at Tularosa as dynamic QB [player_tooltip player_id='1613430' first='Zaiden' last='Baker'] rushed for 146 yards and 2 TD, threw for 109 yards and 2 TD and accounted for 4 TD. [player_tooltip player_id='1155284' first='Nehemiah' last='Smith'] made 14 tackles for the Tigers.     <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/2091026338542997782 </div></figure>   Class 6A Roundup: Cleveland scored on its opening drive of the season and never let up defensively in a convincing 34-7 victory over Centennial Friday night at Lightning Bolt Stadium. New Storm QB [player_tooltip player_id='2181232' first='Michael' last='Denison'] completed 17-of-24 passes for 277 yards and 5 TD, two to dynamic WR [player_tooltip player_id='1613490' first='Evan' last='Nanez'], who finished with 126 receiving yards. Cleveland led, 27-0, at halftime. The start of the second half was delayed by lightning. The Cleveland defense held Centennial to 78 rushing yards. . .Sandia, bolstered by three prized transfers, opened Tylon Wilder's second season as Matadors head coach with a weather-delayed 49-6 victory over Cibola Thursday at Wilson Stadium. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1594010' first='Jahleel' last='Lewis'] was nearly perfect, completing 12-of-13 passes for 193 yards and 2 TD. The ground game was balanced with 4 players gaining 57+ yards. Sandia totaled 476 yards in total offense. . .Volcano Vista QB [player_tooltip player_id='2109033' first='Jude' last='Herrera'] completed 12-of-14 passes for 272 yards as the Hawks mercy-ruled Atrisco Heritage, 51-0. [player_tooltip player_id='1613703' first='Aiden' last='Gonzales'] had 2 INT for Volcano Vista.           Class 5A Roundup: [player_tooltip player_id='1155082' first='Raul' last='Lopez'] rushed for 196 yards and made 7 tackles with 2.0 sacks on defense to lead Chaparral to a 27-14 victory over Hatch Valley, handing new Lobos head coach Anthony Martinez a successful debut. . .Highland's powerful running game was in top form as the Hornets rushed for 417 yards on 33 carries (12.6 yards per attempt) in a 35-6 victory over Rio Grande Thursday night at Milne Stadium. RB [player_tooltip player_id='1688720' first='William' last='Anchondo'] led the way with 103 yards and 3 TD on 11 carries. . .Gadsden retained The Helmet with a 57-7 mercy-rule rivalry win over Santa Teresa. Senior RB [player_tooltip player_id='1790772' first='Armando' last='Ramirez'] rushed for 132 yards on 12 carries. . .Alburquerque High QB [player_tooltip player_id='2251173' first='Adam' last='Aguirre'] completed 20-of-35 passes for 320 yards and 1 TD to lead the Bulldogs over Valley, 37-27, at Milne Stadium Thursday night.  WR [player_tooltip player_id='2108944' first='Liam' last='Smartt-Saunders'] had 9 receptions for 183 yards and 1 TD.                          Class 4A Roundup: Lovington opened the season with a hard-fought 20-14 victory over 5A Goddard as new QB Miguel Perez (nickname is ‘Chicken') amassed 305 yards in total offense (176 passing; 132 rushing) and accounted for 3 TD. DB Edgar Zubia had three INT for the Wildcats. DE [player_tooltip player_id='1606138' first='Amryn' last='Wheeler'] collected 3 tackles and 8 QB pressures in his much-anticipated debut for Lovington. . .Albuquerque Academy QB [player_tooltip player_id='1369761' first='William' last='Braun'] began his senior season in impressive fashion by completing 26-of-31 passes for 378 yards and 5 TD in the Chargers' 40-12 home win over Manzano Saturday. WR [player_tooltip player_id='1605074' first='Logan' last='Hague'] caught 3 TD for the Chargers, who pulled away in the fourth quarter with 14 unanswered points. . .Dynamic Belen QB [player_tooltip player_id='1604925' first='Gonzalo' last='Cano'] rushed for 160 yards and 2 TD to lead the Eagles to a 26-14 home victory over Bernalillo. Belen led, 19-14, at halftime before holding Bernalillo scoreless in the 2nd half. . .Valencia trounced Del Norte, 54-0, at home. The Jaguars led, 27-0, after the first quarter and cruised to the victory. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1604768' first='Santino' last='Mares'] threw for 1 TD and ran for another for the Jaguars. Valencia dominated TOP thanks to its kickoff coverage team recovering three pooch kicks. . .Espanola Valley knocked off Los Alamos, 30-25, in Frank Galvan's debut as the Sundevils head coach.    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/2091251139727790515 </div></figure>   Class 3A Roundup: St. Michael's extended its winning streak to 34 gamesby walloping crosstown rival Capital, 49-6, Friday night. The Horsemen dominated on the ground behind a senior-dominated offensive line, tallying nearly 250 rushing yards and 5 TD. C.J. Valdez rushed for 127 yards for the Horsemen. Capital was held to 36 yards of total offense in the first half. St. Michael's is tied for the second-longest winning streak in state history. . .Pojoaque Valley QB Josh Gonzales had one of the best games of his career as he rushed for 254 yards and 2 TD in the Elks' 41-17 victory over Taos. Pojoaque Valley ran the ball 42 times for 424 yards and 5 TD. . .Robertson scored 30 points in the 3rd quarter to pull away in a 50-6 victory over Socorro. . .Moriarty ripped Thoreau, 52-0., on the road. . .Kirtland Central blanked Shiprock, 53-0.               Class 2A Roundup: Dexter amassed 437 yards in total offense in a 53-7 home win over Hozho Academy. Dynamic QB CJ Granado completed 10-of-13 passes for 227 yards and 5 TD. [player_tooltip player_id='1155310' first='Fernando' last='Prieto'] led the balanced Demons ground game with 67 yards on 6 carries. Senior QB [player_tooltip player_id='1604697' first='Brodie' last='Allen'] rushed for 109 yards and 5 TD on 20 carries in Loving's 46-33 win over Estancia. Sophomore QB [player_tooltip player_id='2114509' first='Devon' last='Chavez'] had 144 rushing yards for Estancia. . .Senior RB [player_tooltip player_id='1604784' first='Cael' last='Walton'] rushed for 185 yards and 3 TD on 14 carries as Raton blanked Navajo Prep, 35-0. . .[player_tooltip player_id='1606066' first='Kory' last='Harvey'] rushed for 67 yards to lead Crownpoint to a hard-fought 14-6 win over Cuba. . .Capitan beat Laguna Acoma, 26-7. . .Cobre hammered McCurdy, 53-0, at home.  . .Santa Fe Indian won, 42-32, at Zuni.                                                                       Week 2 Top Games (Aug. 27-29): Many of the premier programs in the state are facing out-of-state opponents in Week 2. Here are the best games involving New Mexico schools.   Los Lunas at Rio Rancho   Artesia at Hobbs   Alamogordo at Clovis   Dexter at West Las Vegas   Carlsbad at Goddard   Valencia at Grants   Santa Fe at St. Michael's   Albuquerque High at Eldorado   Belen at Miyamura   Sandia at Manzano   Organ Mountain at Mayfield   Albuquerque Academy at Bernalillo   Portales at Espanola Valley   Farmington at Bloomfield   Pojoaque Valley at Moriarty   Robertson at Santa Rosa   Capitan at Santa Fe Indian   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/2091406068018479170 </div></figure>

Week 1 of the 2026 New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is our first edition of the Weekly Whiparound, our comprehensive deep dive into everything that happened on the field. Enjoy!