Week 5 Review: Top Players
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Week 5 of this extraordinary – and abbreviated – New Mexico high school spring football season unfolded this past Easter weekend across the state. Here are the standout performers and units for the weekend: Nathaniel Fresquez, Socorro: One of the…
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Continue ReadingWeek 5 of this extraordinary – and abbreviated – New Mexico high school spring football season unfolded this past Easter weekend across the state. Here are the standout performers and units for the weekend:
Nathaniel Fresquez, Socorro: One of the top players in Class 3A, Fresquez led Socorro to a 5-0 record this spring and has committed to New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) to play JUCO football. Thursday, he led the Warriors to a 48-14 ‘bowl game’ win over Dexter at UNM Stadium.
Jared Jeffrey, Lovington: The Wildcats’ senior quarterback finished his prep career by throwing for 275 yards and three touchdowns in Lovington’s 37-19 win over Bloomfield at UNM Stadium.
Adam Aguilera Adam Aguilera 5'8" | 160 lbs | WR Lovington | 2022 State NM , Lovington: One of three stellar junior wide receivers on Lovington’s roster, Aguilera had eight receptions for 92 yards and one TD in the Wildcats’ season-ending win over Bloomfield in the Class 4A bowl game at UNM Stadium.
Kaden Trevino, Hobbs: Trevino, a talented sophomore, rushed for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns in Hobbs’ convincing 47-0 win over Onate last Thursday night. Hobbs lost three close games to start the spring but finished with victories over Artesia (56-27) and Onate, carrying some momentum into the fall.
Colton Gililland, Tularosa: Gililland showcased his dual threat skills in Tularosa’s 49-8 victory over Estancia Thursday night, completing two passes for 80 yards and rushing nine times for 130 yards. Tularosa should make some noise in Class 2A in the fall with Gililland returning.
Bracxton Hall, Ruidoso: Hall capped his junior campaign by rushing for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns in Ruidoso’s 34-26 win over Gadsden. Hall cemented his status as one of the top 2022 running backs in Class 4A. He’ll be back in the fall.
Daniel Ayala Daniel Ayala 6'0" | 190 lbs | QB West Mesa | 2022 State NM , West Mesa: The Mustangs QB capped his shortened junior campaign by throwing for 210 yards and four TD passes in West Mesa’s 37-26 victory over Sandia last Friday night. Ayala led West Mesa to a 3-0 spring record, whetting the appetite of Mustang fans for the fall.
Malachi Thymes, Sandia: Just a sophomore, Thymes rushed for three touchdowns and a game-high 152 yards for the Matadors in the loss to West Mesa. Definitely one to watch in the future.
Elijah Espinoza, West Mesa: Let’s show some love for the field goal kickers. Espinoza booted three field goals from 35, 30 and 25 yards and was a perfect 4-of-4 on PATs in West Mesa’s win over Sandia. Speaking of FG kickers. . .
Jack Thompson, Piedra Vista: With Piedra Vista trailing 28-27 late in the fourth quarter at Capital, PV coach Jared Howell elected to bring on Thompson for a field goal attempt rather than try to score a TD from short distance. With all the pressure on his shoulders, Thompson nailed the kick to give Piedra Vista a 30-28 win.
Jacob Ramsted, Piedra Vista: The PV running back scored a pair of second-half touchdowns to fuel the Panthers comeback from a 20-13 halftime deficit. His first rushing TD tied the score at 20-20 early in the third quarter and his second gave PV a 26-20 lead.
TJ Martinez, Eunice: Martinez helped Eunice polish off a perfect 5-0 spring season by rushing for a season high 161 yards and one TD in the Cardinals Class 2A Bowl Game win over Texico at UNM Stadium.
Walker Wenzel Walker Wenzel 6'1" | 175 lbs | QB Silver | 2021 State NM , Silver: Wenzel, headed to Western New Mexico, wrapped up his career at Silver High School in style, completing 15-of-23 passes for 219 yards and rushing for 69 yards to lead the Fighting Colts to a 40-7 victory over Kirtland Central at Los Lunas High School. In 3 games this spring, Walker threw for 501 yards and rushed for 329 yards, earning his status as one of the top dual threat quarterbacks in the state.
Caleb Carrillo Caleb Carrillo 5'8" | 160 lbs | QB Farmington | 2021 State NM , Farmington: The Scorpions have an argument to be labeled the spring’s Best Class 5A team after dismantling Mayfield, 48-28, last Friday at UNM Stadium. Carrillo was sensational all spring long and the matchup with the Trojans was no exception. He threw for 268 yards and 4 touchdowns against Mayfield.
Macen Alley, Farmington: Farmington was dominant throwing and running the football against Mayfield. Alley rushed for 139 yards on a workhorse 25 carries in his final prep game.
Jose Montoya, Mayfield: Montoya established himself this spring as one of the top running backs in Class 5A. He rushed for 147 yards in the loss to Farmington. He’s a junior, so he’ll be back in the fall after totaling 372 rushing yards in 3 games.
Ayden Madrid Ayden Madrid 5'11" | LB Bernalillo | 2021 State NM , Bernalillo: Madrid, one of the top players in Class 4A, capped his prep career with another brilliant performance on both sides of the ball in the Spartans’ 7-6 win over Grants. He rushed for 101 yards on 16 carries and spearheaded a Bernalillo defense that stymied Grants all game long.
Terrell Hocker, Grants: Hocker was arguably Grants’ best offensive player all spring. In his final game for the Pirates, he rushed for 157 yards on 12 carries against Bernalillo, finishing the spring with 731 rushing yards on just 48 carries.
Ryan Ray, Aztec: The Aztec Tigers had a difficult spring but managed to finish on a positive note with a 40-8 win over Four Corners rival Miyamura. Ray threw for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Cord Cox Cord Cox 5'10" | 170 lbs | QB Artesia | 2021 State NM , Artesia: After patiently waiting his turn, Cox got just five games to lead the Artesia offense but ended his career on a positive note by throwing for 334 yards and 3 touchdowns in a convincing 55-28 win over Alamogordo.
Jake Barrera, Artesia: Barrera set the stage for what could be a productive senior campaign in the fall by rushing for three touchdowns in the win over Alamogordo.
Amarius Wedlow, Alamogordo: Has Alamogordo found senior Sean Hays Sean Hays 6'0" | 205 lbs | RB Alamogordo | 2021 State NM ’ successor at running back? Wedlow could be the guy after rushing for 127 yards in the loss to Artesia. He’s just a sophomore, so we’ll be watching Wedlow for two more seasons.
Paul Cieremans, Los Lunas: His sophomore year lasted but three games, but Cieremans showed he’ll be a force to reckoned with the future by throwing for two TDs in the first quarter as Los Lunas rolled to a 36-0 halftime lead over rival Belen and captured the Chile Roaster for the fourth straight year.
Hagen Rains, Portales: Rains filled in for injured senior Rams QB Baylor Diaz and led Portales to the only score of the game with a 14-play, 80-yard drive in a 6-0 win over St. Pius X. Rains also made the defensive play of the game, tipping away a fourth-down pass after St. Pius X has penetrated the red zone in the final minute.
Jordan Caballero, Deming: The Wildcats beat Santa Teresa, 40-0, to capture the Borderland Bowl title and Caballero had a lot to do with the win. He threw a 28-yard TD pass to start the scoring, ran 19 yards for Deming’s second score and then scored on a QB keeper in the second half for a 28-0 lead.
Cayden Walton, Raton: Raton’s 2023 RB finished the spring season by rushing for 143 yards in a home loss to Class 3A rival St. Michael’s. The good news for the Tigers is they return virtually every major contributor on offense in the fall. Look for big things from Raton.
Jeston Webskowski Jeston Webskowski 6'0" | 185 lbs | RB Clovis | 2021 State NM , Clovis: The top 2021 running back in the state ended his prep career with a flourish, rushing for 178 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-6 victory over Roswell. Now he heads to the University of New Mexico to begin his college career after finishing the spring with 740 yards and 8 TDs on the ground in five games.
Karsten Rueckner Karsten Rueckner 5'10" | 160 lbs | QB Centennial | 2021 State NM , Centennial: The Hawks’ senior QB directed an offense that amassed 520 yards in a 40-27 victory over Carlsbad at the Field of Dreams. With Centennial clinging to a 34-27 lead in the fourth quarter, Rueckner raced 63 yards for the game-clinching TD with 4:07 left. He finished with 140 yards rushing with two scores and 148 passing yards with two scores. He now heads to Eastern New Mexico.
Kyle Ramirez, Carlsbad: Six receptions for 132 yards in the loss to Centennial.
Zach Vigil Zach Vigil 5'9" | 190 lbs | RB Rio Rancho | 2022 State NM , Rio Rancho: Vigil, who will be back in the fall as a senior, rushed for three touchdowns in the first half as the Rams grabbed a 21-0 halftime lead over Goddard and went on to a 35-20 win at the Wool Bowl.
Luke Wysong Luke Wysong 5'10" | WR Cleveland | 2021 State NM , Cleveland: Wysong, headed to New Mexico later this summer, caught five TD passes as the Storm routed Las Cruces, 56-7. Cleveland finished 4-0, posting victories over Clovis, Centennial, Rio Rancho and Las Cruces.
Elijah Spaulding, Cibola: Spaulding was monster late in Cibola’s stunning 29-22 victory over Eldorado. He first caught a 2-point conversion to tie the score at 22-22. Spaulding then intercepted an Eldorado pass with about 20 seconds left and returned it to about the Eldorado 10-yard line. Finally, he caught a 5-yard TD pass with five seconds left for the game-winning points.
Johnny Herrera, Volcano Vista: Herrera capped off his prep career with a memorable performance, throwing for 472 yards and five touchdowns in the Hawks’ 56-21 trouncing of La Cueva. He completed 20-of-28 passes, and also rushed for 112 yards. Herrera threw for 1,080 yards in three games.
Isaiah Ortiz Isaiah Ortiz 5'7" | RB Del Norte | 2021 State NM , Del Norte: Ortiz rushed for over 250 yards and three scores as the Knights blasted Highland, 49-6. Del Norte finished the spring with a 3-0 record.
Senior year (only played 3 games)
15 receptions, 457 yds, 6 TDs
12 rushes, 66 yds, 1 TD
2 tfl’s & 1 pbu
561 all purpose yards https://t.co/CGwao9MnNC— Luke Wysong ☠︎︎ (@LukeWysong) April 7, 2021
The spring FB season may be over, but here's our weekly Whiparound of the best team performances, games and finishes in Week 5. Back at it in 4-1/2 months!https://t.co/4rd68zgXkx@CHSStormFB @Coach_Ridenour @LukeWysong@AydenMadrid @CibolaCougars@johnny_ix@WalkerWenzel02 pic.twitter.com/etdlLyyfJX
— Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) April 6, 2021
Senior year spring season highlights – https://t.co/HN5AoTS7Vl
— Marcos Lopez (@MarcosLopez_7) April 6, 2021
Head coach of West Mesa. Future bright for the Mustangs. QB @danielayala444 set for a great senior season. https://t.co/HinxrqmWV6
— Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) April 5, 2021