Baker’s Dozen: Top 13 Games of Week 3

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week 3 of the New Mexico High School Football season begins Thursday night with nearly a dozen games around the state, and continues with a full slate on Friday and Saturday. Just like Week 2, several high profile NM schools are facing opponents from Texas, including Cleveland (at Amarillo), Rio Rancho (hosts Eastlake, TX), Clovis (at Randall, TX) and Las Cruces (at El Paso Eastwood). Here are the Top 13 Game of Week 13:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>GAME OF THE WEEK: Centennial at La Cueva (at Wilson Stadium)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This week's Class 6A Game of the Year marks Centennial's second trip to the Albuquerque Metro region in the first three weeks of the season. The Hawks certainly hope this trip is as successful as the first one when they toppled 6A reigning champions Cleveland, 38-35, at Thunderbolt Stadium in Week 1. These two teams are ranked No. 1 (Centennial) and No. 3 (La Cueva) in the latest Class 6A polls from the coaches and MaxPreps.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The La Cueva defense has one mission: Contain Centennial RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208691' first='Mikah' last='Gutierrez']</strong>, who has rushed for 180+ yards in each of the Hawks' first two games. If the Bears can stop the run and force Centennial to become one-dimensional on offense, their chances of winning rise significantly. The Centennial defense will look to keep La Cueva's prolific passing game led by QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137862' first='Aidan' last='Armenta']</strong> and WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='270020' first='Ian' last='Sanchez']</strong> in check.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Is this a possible 6A title game preview? Yes. But there's still plenty of football left to be played after this weekend. Centennial is 2-0 for the first time since 2019. If they win this week, thy should be favored in every game the rest of the way. In fact, you could make the argument that the winner of this one has the early inside track  to the No. 1 playoff seed. We do know this: Few teams have played more demanding schedules after Week 3 than either Centennial or La Cueva.     </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hobbs at Roswell</strong>: Both offenses are scorching hot heading into this 6A/5A showdown at the Wool Bowl. Hobbs has scored 115 points in their first two games, 69 in last week's victory over Artesia, and Roswell has scored 119 points. The Coyotes traveled to Santa Fe last week and mercy ruled the Demons, 50-0, in an impressive display on both sides of the ball. This could be a fun, high-scoring game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Volcano Vista at Carlsbad</strong>: Volcano Vista QB <strong>Elliot Pasket-Bell</strong>, who's off to a sensational start nd has led the Hawks to impressive victories over Las Cruces and West Mesa to begin the new season, contends the Volcano Vista offense is unstoppable when its clicking on all cylinders. Carlsbad bounced back nicely from the heartbreaking loss in the Week 1 Eddy County War to beat Goddard, 35-28, last week at the Wool Bowl. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137916' first='Dane' last='Naylor']</strong> is a dynamic dual threat QB for the Cavemen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Belen at Artesia</strong>: Belen's season so far has been a tale of two weeks. The Eagles were blanked by rival Los Lunas in Week 1 before mercy-ruling Manzano last Thursday night. Speedy RB [player_tooltip player_id='274725' first='Diego' last='Avila'] gashed the Monarchs defense for 133 yards and 3 TD on just 7 carries after being held to just 29 yards on 12 attempts by Los Lunas the previous week. Artesia doesn't score 48 points and lose very often, so the Bulldogs' defense will be looking to bounce back. They know the offense led by QB Payton Dean will score enough points. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mayfield at Organ Mountain (Thur.)</strong>: This Thursday night matchup will be played with a heavy heart. The biggest story relating to high school football in Las Cruces this week has been the devastating injury suffered by Organ Mountain RB Abraham Romero in last week's win at Deming. Romero is now in a medically induced coma at a local hospital. All four booster clubs of Las Cruces' major high school football teams have united to organize fundraising efforts for Romero and his family.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>West Mesa at Cibola</strong>: Two of the top quarterbacks in Albuquerque highlight this tasty matchup Friday night at Community. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='275488' first='Elijah' last='Brody'] is off to a promising start for the Mustangs in his first action as a starting QB after transferring from Cleveland last spring. Meanwhile, [player_tooltip player_id='137861' first='Aden' last='Chavez'], our #1 prospect for the 2023 class, saw his first action for Cibola last week after returning from Florida and threw for 359 yards and 3 TD against Valley. Considering all the offensive talent surrounding these quarterbacks, expect plenty of fireworks. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Goddard at Deming</strong>: Goddard, still without speedy running back [player_tooltip player_id='138088' first='Javyn' last='Morales'], has played a pair of close, hard-fought games in the first two weeks. Last week they fell short by a touchdown to Carlsbad. The Deming offense started strongly against Organ Mountain but sputtered thereafter. Elite DE [player_tooltip player_id='138095' first='Ian' last='Ortiz'] leads the defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Farmington at Los Lunas</strong>: two of Class 6A's four newcomers battle in Los Lunas. Farmington is off to a disappointing start, surrendering 50+ points in losses to Piedra Vista and Durango (CO). The Tigers' dynamic dual threat QB <strong>Paul Cieremens</strong> has played well in the first two weeks, leading Los Lunas to wins over Belen and Alamogordo. He's on pace to again join the prestigious 1,000-1,000 quarterback club. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Portales at West Las Vegas</strong>: Who's the No. 1 passing quarterback in New Mexico, according to MaxPreps? Meet West Las Vegas QB <strong>C.J. Perea</strong>, who has thrown for 632 yards and 4 TD in the Don's first two games, victories over Escalante and Dexter. Portales is also 2-0 as a result of home wins over Highland and Ruidoso. This will be their first road game of the season. The Rams love to hand the ball off to <strong>Emmanuel Diahn</strong> (136 rushing yards). &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Albuquerque High at Sandia (Thur.)</strong>: Because they had&nbsp; bye in Week 2, this will be our first look at Albuquerque High since their impressive 22-20 road win at Organ Mountain in Week 1. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269966' first='Jabulani' last='Cooper']</strong> is the Bulldogs player to watch. Sandia exploded offensively for 59 points in Week 1 but were held in check by Piedra Vista last weekend. RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137923' first='Malachi' last='Thymes']</strong> is a TD run waiting to happen. You know the AHS coaches have broken down the PVHS-Sandia film in great detail to determine how the Panthers stymied the Matadors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Atrisco Heritage at Eldorado (Sat.)</strong>: Eldorado is winless after two games, making them a desperate football team, and sometimes those are the most dangerous teams to play. Atrisco Heritage's WR quartet of <strong>Latavious Morris</strong> (15 receptions in first 2 games), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274705' first='Marquise' last='Renfro']</strong> (10 receptions), <strong>Manny Sedillo</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138044' first='Diego' last='Winnikoff']</strong> is as good as any in Albuquerque. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Santa Fe at St. Michael's</strong>: Santa Fe snapped a long losing streak to St. Michael's last season but the Demons defense has struggled in the first two games with 106 points allowed in less than eight quarters. They must find a way to limit a Horsemen offense led by QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='335455' first='Zach' last='Martinez']</strong> and 6-foot-5 TE <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269871' first='Taven' last='Lozada']</strong>. St. Michael's is 2-0 after rallying for a 28-24 win over Capital last week.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Santa Teresa at Lovington</strong>: Santa Teresa's challenging early season schedule continues in earnest as they travel to the defending Class 4A champions. The Desert Warriors have battled Goddard and Mayfield but have scored just one TD in the first two games. They'll have to find a way to score points if they want to keep up with Lovington's potentially explosive offense. The Wildcats are another winless tem, although their two setbacks have come to 5A Roswell and a Texas school. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1564704511830024193","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <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/1564704511830024193 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BEST OF THE REST</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hope Christian at Albuq. Academy: The Chargers possess plenty of talent on offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valley at St. Pius X: Valley looks to get back on the winning track while the Sartans look for their first win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Robertson at Santa Rosa: The defending Class 3A champions hit the road for the second straight week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Capital at Los Alamos: How will Capital respond to the heartbreaking loss to St. Michael's last week?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Silver at Cobre: Rivalry game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alamogordo at Gadsden: Alamogordo gave Los Lunas a battle last week. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tularosa at Hatch Valley: HVHS RB [player_tooltip player_id='138201' first='Layton' last='Gillis'] is a name you need to know.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grants at Bloomfield: The Bloomfield offense has been firing on all cylinders through two weeks with 117 points scored.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1564704760283930626","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <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/1564704760283930626 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>OTHER GAMES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kirtland Central at Thoreau (Thur.)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ruidoso at Chaparral (Thur.)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gallup at Miyamura (Thur.)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Estancia at Socorro (THur.)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Del Norte at Bernalillo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Newcomb at Moriarty</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rio Grande vs. Taos (at Questa)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hagerman at Dexter</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McCurdy at Espanola Valley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NMMI at Texico</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Raton at Trinidad (CO)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cuba at Shiprock</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1564705012105740289","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <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/1564705012105740289 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1564705263470329856","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <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/1564705263470329856 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/rick_tripp58/status/1564789970174234625","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/rick_tripp58/status/1564789970174234625 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->