Eight Quarterbacks On The Rise Entering Week 4

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week 4 of the New Mexico High School football season begins tonight with five game scattered throughout the state. Before the games kick off, let's take a look at seven quarterbacks on the rise after three weeks of action:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2251173' first='Adam' last='Aguirre'], Albuquerque High</strong>: Is Aguirre the quarterback to finally lead the Bulldogs to their first playoff berth in three decades? After three games, he's thrown for nearly 850 yards and 5 TD. He has elite receivers in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2108944' first='Liam' last='Smartt-Saunders']</strong> and <strong>Ray Rackley</strong>. All three are juniors. If Albuquerque High knocks off Sandia Thursday night, it could be time to start talking about AHS and that long coveted playoff spot. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1853724' first='Andruw' last='Fuentez'], Roswell</strong>: The Coyotes' junior quarterback is putting up prolific passing numbers after three weeks, and is currently on a pace to surpass 3,000 yards. In 3 games, he has thrown for 1,060 yards and 12 TD with just 2 INT. Fuentez and talented WR [player_tooltip player_id='2103749' first='Izaic' last='Gonzales'] have already connected 35 times. The Roswell offense is lighting up the scoreboard with 140 points in three games. The Coyotes' two wins have been 64-60 and 39-35 shootouts over 6A foes Hobbs and Rio Rancho.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/andruwfuentez11/status/2096713872090804319","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/andruwfuentez11/status/2096713872090804319 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2182154' first='Aldo' last='Gallegos'], Las Cruces</strong>: When Bulldawgs head coach Mark Lopez told us Gallegos would be different in his playing style from previous Las Cruces quarterbacks, he wasn't kidding. Gallegos has quickly emerged as an elite dual threat QB. He leads the Bulldawgs in rushing with 375 yards and 6 TD in their run-oriented attack. So far, it's working for the 3-0 Bulldawgs. Gallegos will be tested in Week 4 when Las Cruces visits Hobbs to start district play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2256683' first='Jeremiah' last='Garcia'], Valley</strong>: Valley is 1-2 going into Friday's game against Del Norte, but the Vikings offense has been scoring points at the rate of about 38 per game. They scored 27 against Albuquerque High and 39 against West Mesa before scoring 49 last week in the win over Rio Grande. Garcia has thrown for over 700 yards and 10 TD. If the Valley defense finds its footing, the Vikings could take off.         </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Austin Haakma, Texico</strong>: Haakma grabbed the QB reins for a Wolverines program that has won three straight Class 2A championships. Haakma has thrived under the pressure, completing 72 percent of his passes (31-of-43) for nearly 600 yards and 7 TD with zero interceptions. He's done a fantastic job minimizing mistakes and getting the ball into the hands of Texico's playmakers like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613755' first='Cross' last='Figg']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Aldo_football/status/2096725144668721288","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Aldo_football/status/2096725144668721288 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2109033' first='Jude' last='Herrera'], Volcano Vista</strong>: The Hawks are 3-0 going into the start of District 6A-2 play and Herrera is leading the offensive effort by completing 60 percent of his passes for 676 yards and 10 TD. Volcano Vista's defense has contributed two shutouts and was good enough last week in the win over La Cueva. Watch out for the Hawks. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2256783' first='Isaac' last='Melancon'], Eunice</strong>: For those of you thinking there would be a steep drop-off at quarterback for Eunice following the graduation of Elijah Melancon, his younger brother is here to make sure it doesn't happen. Through 3 games, Isaac, who's just a sophomore, has thrown for 756 yards and 9 TD. &nbsp;He has some talented receivers to target like sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2114585' first='Lucas' last='Lopez']. Eunice finishes the regular season with district battles against Loving, Texico and Dexter. Yowza. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nick Miller, Hope Christian</strong>: The freshman has been impressive in leading the Huskies to a 3-0 start. Per MaxPreps, he's the state's second leading passer with 919 yards. He's thrown 13 TD passes with just one interception. Watching him live, he has remarkable composure for a young QB. As Hope Christian head coach Fernando Salinas reminded us after the Huskies mercy rule win over Atrisco Heritage, Miller is only 14 years old. His ceiling is the sky.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/judeherrera9/status/2096781755793465531","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/judeherrera9/status/2096781755793465531 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->