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

Week 1 of the New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is the first edition of our Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field:     Team of the Week: Centennial. The Hawks overcame a 9-point deficit in the fourth quarter to stun defending 6A champion Cleveland at Thunderbolt Stadium in Rio Rancho, snapping the Storm's 22-game winning streak. Centennial trailed 35-26 when sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='280925' first='Jordan' last='Lucas'] scored on a 45-yard TD pass. After the Hawks defense forced a punt, the Hawks drove down the field and scored the game-winning points on QB Danny Hernandez's 5-yard run with less than a minute remaining.        Honorable Mention: Valley; Albuquerque High; Volcano Vista; Bloomfield; Silver; Piedra Vista.       Player of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='137923' first='Malachi' last='Thymes'], Sandia. The senior RB, one of the most overlooked players in Albuquerque for the past couple of years, rushed for 269 yards and SEVEN touchdowns on 28 carries in Sandia's wild and wacky 59-37 victory over Atrisco Heritage Thursday night at Wilson Stadium. The two teams combined for 979 yards in total offense.             Honorable Mention: [player_tooltip player_id='139523' first='Nic' last='Trujillo'] (Cleveland); [player_tooltip player_id='208748' first='Ryan' last='Sharpe'] (Bloomfield); Matthew Saiz (Artesia); [player_tooltip player_id='208691' first='Mikah' last='Gutierrez'] (Centennial); Latavious Morris (Atrisco Heritage); [player_tooltip player_id='138053' first='Cayden' last='Walton'] (Raton).       Best Team Offensive Performance: Roswell. The Coyotes shredded the Lovington defense all night long in a 69-29 win at the Wool Bowl. Consider this: According to MaxPreps, Roswell ran 64 offensive plays and picked up 22 first downs. Essentially, they gained a first down every three plays. The Coyotes scored 4 TD in the first quarter and 3 in the second quarter take a commanding 49-22 halftime lead. Junior wide receiver Jordan Weathersby, junior fullback [player_tooltip player_id='340165' first='Bryce' last='Sanchez'], senior slot receiver Sebastian Mendoza and senior Christian Hernandez scored two touchdowns each for Roswell.              Best Team Defensive Performance: La Cueva. The Bears' defensive front seven dominated Rio Rancho's offensive line throughout Friday night's 30-7 win at RRHS. La Cueva registered seven sacks of Rams' QB [player_tooltip player_id='274972' first='Noah' last='Nelson'], four by new starter Nick Mertz, and held Rio Rancho to 7 first downs and 99 total offensive yards, just 25 in the first half. The only points scored by Rio Rancho came on a first-quarter Pick-6 by Rams DB Sebastian Rubio.        Honorable Mention: Alamogordo; St. Michael's; Roswell; Capital.          Best Game: Artesia 30, Carlsbad 27. When the Cavemen grabbed a 27-22 lead with 20 seconds left on [player_tooltip player_id='138043' first='Eli' last='Asay']'s 73-yard option run, it looked like Carlsbad would escape the Bulldog Bowl with a dramatic Eddy County War win. But Matthew Saiz had other ideas as he returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD, racing down the right sideline and crossing the goal line with 6 seconds remaining. Artesia scored three TD in the fourth quarter to pull off a furious rally.             Honorable Mention: Sandia 59, Atrisco Heritage 37.     Best Rivalry Win: Hobbs. [player_tooltip player_id='137921' first='Kaden' last='Trevino'] returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a TD as Hobbs rolled past Clovis, 46-7, at Watson Memorial Stadium. Eagles senior QB Omar Argott completed 10-of-15 passes, throwing for one score and running for another. Seven different players scored a touchdown for Hobbs. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='269534' first='Ethan' last='Vanlandingham'] raced 46 yards for a TD.   Honorable Mention: Piedra Vista (53-31 win over Farmington); Los Lunas (45-0 win over Belen).   Dazzling Debut: West Mesa junior QB [player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'] and his father, Mustangs head coach Landrick Brody, couldn't have dreamed up a better debut. Brody threw 4 TD and ran for 2 others in West Mesa's rousing 56-12 rout of Santa Fe Thursday night at Community Stadium. [player_tooltip player_id='138047' first='Chris' last='Johnson'] and Chris Jinzo caught 2 TD passes while Robert Ramirez ran for 2 TD for West Mesa. The Mustangs, displaying plenty of offensive firepower, jumped out to a 21-0 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. West Mesa scored TDs on 8 of it first 9 possessions as the Mustangs overwhelmed an inexperienced Santa Fe defense.      Good Start for APS Schools: The Albuquerque Public School District is sometimes accused of not making football as high of a priority as other school districts around the state. But in Week 1 several APS schools rose up and posted impressive victories. Perhaps the most eye-opening was Albuquerque High's 22-20 road win over Organ Mountain at Field of Dreams in Las Cruces. The Bulldogs forced four turnovers and scored two non-offensive TDs (72-yard scoop and score on a bad snap + kickoff return) in the win. . .Valley made the debut of head coach Billy Cobos a rousing success with a 36-0 victory over Bernalillo in a game played at Cleveland HS because the new turf field at Bernalillo wasn't ready for use. The Vikings ‘ defense intercepted 4 passes and made a key stop in the red zone late in the first half. Bernalillo managed just 121 total yards. .  .Dynamic Volcano Vista QB Eliot Pasket-Bell threw for 2 TD  and ran for another in the Hawks' 34-17 victory over Las Cruces Friday night at Community Stadium. . .Cibola rallied past Eldorado, 39-29.        5,000 Yards and Counting: Raton senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='138053' first='Cayden' last='Walton'] rushed for 354 yards and 5 TD on 32 carries in the Tigers' convincing 42-14 victory over defending Class 2A champion Eunice in Tucumcari. He also scored a TD on defense. Walton, who raced through the Cardinals defense for a 43-yard TD run less than 2 minutes into the game, now has 5,193 career rushing yards. With a minimum of 9 games left to play, Walton should easily surpass 6,000 career rushing yards by the time the regular season is complete in late October. Why is that important? According to the NMAA record book, only three players in state history have rushed for 6,000 or more yards in their careers. So, Walton is attempting to become just the fourth player ever to achieve the rare feat.       Stormy Saturday: Rainstorms moved through the state but all the games were played. In Santa Fe, St. Michael's rode a strong defensive effort to a 20-8 victory over Taos at the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex. The Horsemen limited Taos QB [player_tooltip player_id='269567' first='Daemon' last='Ely'] to 4-of-20 passing and intercepted a pass at a key juncture in the fourth quarter. Taos gained just 134 yards. St. Michael's stopped Taos three times in the red zone in the first half. The Horsemen scored two TDs in the first quarter on a 66-yard run by Marcus Leyba and a 67-yard screen pass to 6-foot-5 [player_tooltip player_id='269871' first='Taven' last='Lozada'], who has been offered by Eastern New Mexico. . .In Albuquerque, Bloomfield QB [player_tooltip player_id='208748' first='Ryan' last='Sharpe'] threw for 324 yards and 6 TD as the Bobcats routed St. Pius X, 61-20, at rainy Milne Stadium. Jesse Seitzinger scored 4 TD for the Bobcats, including one on defense wen he recovered a fumble in the end zone. Bloomfield outscored St. Pius X, 28-0, in the second half. .  .Hope Christian QB [player_tooltip player_id='138082' first='Brent' last='Miller'] threw 3 TD passes as the Huskies routed McCurdy, 48-8, at Community Stadium. . .In  Las Cruces, Mayfield opened the season with a 35-0 blanking of Manzano at Field of Dreams in a game halted at halftime by rainy weather and lightning. [player_tooltip player_id='208797' first='Anthony' last='Carrillo'] scored 4 TD for the Trojans.    Things You Need To Know: Not only did Class 6A powers Cleveland and Rio Rancho lose on the same night for the first time in nearly three years (Aug. 30, 2019), but research by the Albuquerque Journal shows it was the first time Cleveland and Rio Rancho had both lost to New Mexico schools on the same night in almost 9 years. Finally, when was the last time Cleveland and Rio Rancho both lost at home on the same night? According to the ABJ, it had NEVER happened before Week 1. Amazing. .  .Cibola QB [player_tooltip player_id='137861' first='Aden' last='Chavez'] has reportedly been cleared by the NMAA to play again for the Cougars. As you recall, Chavez moved to Florida in the spring primarily to boost his recruiting stock. But after a few months in the Sunshine State, he and his father returned to New Mexico. But he still had to be cleared by the NMAA, which initially denied his request. But Chavez won his appeal and will likely start for Cibola against Valley in Week 2. . .A judge in Albuquerque issued a permanent injunction against the NMAA, granting Hope Christian junior Robert Clayton immediate eligibility after transferring from Cibola. . .La Cueva RB [player_tooltip player_id='269525' first='Gabriel' last='Buie'] suffered a left knee injury and exited the Bears' 30-7 victory over Rio Rancho in the first half. .  .Los Lunas sophomore WR Jalin Holland, expected to be one of QB [player_tooltip player_id='137885' first='Paul' last='Cieremans']' top targets this season, suffered a broken bone in his arm during practice recently and could miss the entire regular season. . .Capital rushed for 378 yards in a 57-6 win over Grants. The Jaguars defense also scored a pair of TDs on a fumble recovery in the end zone and Pick-6 in a 12-second span early in the second quarter. Capital held Grants to 41 total yards. . .Los Lunas debuted as a Class 6A team with a 45-0 victory over Valencia County rival Belen.         Key Week 2 Games (Aug. 25-27):   Cleveland at La Cueva   Artesia at Hobbs   Carlsbad at Goddard   Cibola at Valley   Sandia at Piedra Vista   Volcano Vista at West Mesa   Los Lunas at Alamogordo   Rio Rancho at Eldorado   Organ Mountain at Deming   Mayfield at Santa Teresa   Moriarty at Albuq. Academy   Hope Christian at Hatch Valley   Belen at Manzano   St. Michael's at Capital   Dexter at West Las Vegas   St. Pius X at Highland   Ruidoso at Portales   Roswell at Santa Fe   Santa Rosa at Texico   Miyamura at Silver   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1561193605418471425 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1560861502621437957 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1560865122934857728 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1560869413904977924 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1561121144442277888 </div></figure>

Week 1 of the New Mexico High School football season is complete. Here is the first edition of our Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field: