Baker's Dozen: Preview of Top 13 Games of Week 2

Week 2 of the New Mexico High School football season gets underway Thurs. night with about a half dozen games around the state and continues in earnest Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Week 1 was filled with plenty of exciting and close games. Here's our Baker's Dozen look at the Top 13 games of Week 2:   GAME OF THE WEEK:  Artesia at Hobbs (Fri., 7 p.m.)   One of the top rivalries in southeastern New Mexico grabs the spotlight this week. Both teams are coming off Week 1 victories, but in different ways. Artesia needed a dramatic kickoff return for a touchdown by Matthew Saiz in the final seconds to beat Eddy County War rival Carlsbad, while Hobbs trounced Clovis at home. Eagles QB Omar Argott posted outstanding numbers in his first career start: 11-of-15 passing for 170 yards and 1 TD.   Just as important, he didn't throw an interception. He also rushed for a team high 52 yards. Receivers [player_tooltip player_id='137921' first='Kaden' last='Trevino'] and [player_tooltip player_id='269534' first='Ethan' last='Vanlandingham'] combined for 9 receptions and 125 yards. Hobbs LB [player_tooltip player_id='138050' first='Kenyon' last='Singleton'] led the defense with 9 tackles. The Eagles will need to bring their stifling defense to Watson Stadium again to keep a powerful Artesia offense in check. Payton Dean is working out nicely so far at QB and he's got plenty of receiver to throw to, including [player_tooltip player_id='274793' first='Peyton' last='Greathouse'].         Cleveland at La Cueva: If Cleveland had beaten Centennial in Week 1, this would have been a tasty No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, according to both the MaxPreps and Coaches polls. But the Storm were stunned at home as Centennial rallied from a two-score deficit in the final quarter to pull out the victory. Cleveland must play MUCH better defensively this week if they want to contain La Cueva QB [player_tooltip player_id='137862' first='Aidan' last='Armenta'] and the Bears' offense. Last week, Centennial QB [player_tooltip player_id='340297' first='Daniel' last='Hernandez'] completed 19-of-23 passes for 225 yards and 4 TD with ZERO interceptions in his starting debut, while RB [player_tooltip player_id='208691' first='Mikah' last='Gutierrez'] rushed for 183 yards on just 19 carries. It's been years since we've seen numbers like that against the Cleveland defense.   Sandia at Piedra Vista: All of a sudden, this matchup in the Four Corners has become one of the most intriguing games of Week 2. Both teams put up 50+ points in their openers last week, with Sandia riding RB [player_tooltip player_id='137923' first='Malachi' last='Thymes'] (269 rushing yards, 7 TD) to a 59-37 over Atrisco Heritage and Piedra Vista thumping rival Farmington, 53-31, behind the strong play of QB Logan Howell. That's 180 points. Are we about to witness another shootout?     Cibola at Valley: The biggest story surrounding this game is the return of [player_tooltip player_id='137861' first='Aden' last='Chavez'] as starting QB for Cibola after moving to Florida for a few months. But it didn't work out and now he's back in Albuquerque. Few teams were more impressive than Valley in Week 1 as the Viking blanked Bernalillo, 36-0. Valley was humming on both sides of the ball in Billy Cobos' debut as head coach. In particular, the Vikings crushed Bernalillo on the ground with 269 rushing yards on 48 carries. The trio of [player_tooltip player_id='138089' first='Caedan' last='Jojola'], [player_tooltip player_id='208776' first='Ricky' last='Henderson'] and Tazhe Wilson did most of the damage.        Volcano Vista at West Mesa: Another matchup between two teams that got off to great starts on the offensive side of the ball. Senior Elliot Pasket-Bell is now the full-time starting QB for Volcano Vista after spot duty in 2021 and he enjoyed a stellar Week 1 against Las Cruces in the Hawks' 34-17 win, showcasing his elite dual threat skills by throwing for 226 yards and running for 97 more. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'] debuted for West Mesa in the Mustangs' convincing 56-12 victory over Santa Fe, and he lived up to the hype by passing for four TD and running for two scores.   Carlsbad at Goddard: How will Carlsbad respond to Week 1's stunning last-second loss to local rival Artesia? The Cavemen need to bounce back quickly because facing Goddard in the Wool Bowl is not an easy task. The Rockets are coming off a hard-fought 19-3 road victory over Santa Teresa. RB [player_tooltip player_id='138088' first='Javyn' last='Morales'] is one of the most exciting offensive players in the state.        St. Michael's at Capital: St. Michael's makes the short trip across town to face the Jaguars. Both teams are coming off Week 1 victories. RB Marcus Leyba led the Horsemen to a 20-8 win over Taos Saturday in the rain with 159 rushing yards on 18 carries. Class 6A newcomer Capital crushed Grants, 57-6, on the strength of a prolific ground game (378 rushing yards). Two teams that proved in Week 1 that they know how to run the football. Folks, something's gotta give.      Mayfield at Santa Teresa: Speaking of teams that know how to run the football, Mayfield has been specializing in a ground-based, physical brand of football for years. But we only got a glimpse of the Trojans for one half last week due to poor weather. Senior QB [player_tooltip player_id='208797' first='Anthony' last='Carrillo'] accounted for 4 TD in the win over Manzano. Santa Teresa's offense was stonewalled by Goddard in Week 1 as the Desert Warriors managed only a field goal. Santa Teresa struggled throwing the football (4-of-15, 45 yards) and being one-dimensional on offense won't get the job done against the Trojans.        Los Lunas at Alamogordo: It's strength against strength in the Chihuahuan Desert. Los Lunas and QB Paul Cieremens possess one of the state' best offenses as the Tigers showed in Week 1's 45-0 victory over Valencia County rival Belen. Los Lunas unleashed its running game with both Cieremens and Cash Aragon eclipsing 100 yards rushing. Alamogordo forced 8 turnovers in shutting out Valencia last week with Jeremiah D'Arezzo collecting 3 interceptions and the Tigers defense return two picks for touchdowns. It's Tigers vs. Tigers. Postgame party at PistachioLand!     Organ Mountain at Deming: Organ Mountain is another team that must bounce back from a disappointing Week 1 loss. The Knights committed too many mistakes in a 22-20 loss to Albuquerque High. Deming made the long trip to the Duke City and returned home with a 54-0 win. Defensive end [player_tooltip player_id='138095' first='Ian' last='Ortiz'] is one of the best players at his position in the state, and he has an offer from FCS Idaho State to prove it.       Moriarty at Albuq. Academy: An interesting contrast in offensive philosophies. Moriarty will run and run and run, unleashing its Wing-T attack with ruthless efficiency. Albuquerque Academy loves to throw the football with QB [player_tooltip player_id='137884' first='A.J.' last='Rivera'] and WR [player_tooltip player_id='137928' first='Kellan' last='Gehres'] being the headliners. Which style will win the day?   Rio Rancho at Eldorado (Sat.): Neither one of these teams expected to start 0-2 but one of them will be winless after Saturday's encounter at Wilson Stadium. Rio Rancho's offense was completely stymied in the Week 1 loss to La Cueva as the offensive line couldn't hold back the Bears' aggressive defensive front seven. Will Eldorado mimic that game plan or come up with something different. Either way, the Rams O-Line must play much better or QB [player_tooltip player_id='274972' first='Noah' last='Nelson'] will be running for his life again.     Roswell at Santa Fe: The Demons' inexperience on defense was exposed in the Week 1 loss to West Mesa. Now they have Roswell, which piled up over 600 yards of offense against Lovington in Week 1, coming to the Capitol City. Will playing in Ivan Head Stadium proved to be the difference for Santa Fe, or will Roswell show their huge offense night against the Wildcats was no fluke?     BEST OF THE REST   Belen at Manzano (Thur.): One of these teams is going to score its first points of the season.   Ruidoso at Portales (Thur.): Portales handled Highland at home in Week 1. Ruidoso blanked Gadsden (20-0).   Hope Christian at Hatch Valley: Hello, [player_tooltip player_id='138201' first='Layton' last='Gillis'].   Pojoaque Valley at Bloomfield: Yeah, the Bobcats are good.   Miyamura at Silver: If the Silver Fightin' Colts don't play Bad Company's ‘Silver, Blue and Gold' during warmups before every home, I'll be greatly disappointed.   OTHER GAMES   Dexter at West Las Vegas (Thur.)   St. Pius X at Highland (Thur.)   Bernalillo at Espanola Valley   Canyon (TX) at Clovis   Seminole (TX) at Lovington   El Paso (TX) at Gadsden   Franklin (TX) at Centennial   Guymon (CO) at Raton   Atrisco Heritage at Rio Grande (Sat.)   Valencia at Del Norte (Sat.)   NMMI at McCurdy   Socorro at Santa Fe Indian   Robertson at Cobre   Farmington at Durango (CO)   Los Alamos at Taos   Santa Rosa at Texico   Grants at Gallup   Cuba at Zuni   Mescalero Apache at Hagerman   Laguna Acoma at Newcomb   Estancia at Eunice   Jal at Tularosa   Tohatchi at Escalante   Thoreau at Tucumcari   Shiprock at Crownpoint   Aztec at Montezuma-Cortez (CO)   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1561813439571320834 </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/artesiafootball/status/1561725728038588418 </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/_NMAA/status/1561813526888321025 </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/LaCuevaFootball/status/1562256754662117376 </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/_NMAA/status/1561813626335289346 </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/VikingsVhs/status/1562456732709703685 </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/_NMAA/status/1561813718878457856 </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/LosLunasFB/status/1561852662055809027 </div></figure>

Week 2 of the New Mexico High School football season gets underway Thurs. night with about a half dozen games around the state and continues in earnest Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Week 1 was filled with plenty of exciting and close games. Here's our Baker's Dozen look at the Top 13 games of Week 2: