Baker’s Dozen Preview: Top 13 Week 5 Games
In this article:
Here are our Top 13 games for Week 5 of the 2021 New Mexico high school football season (All games Friday night unless otherwise indicated) Game of the Week: Cibola at Los Lunas We’ve had this one circled since they…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingHere are our Top 13 games for Week 5 of the 2021 New Mexico high school football season (All games Friday night unless otherwise indicated)
Game of the Week: Cibola at Los Lunas
We’ve had this one circled since they released the schedules back in July. Battle of two of the top quarterbacks in the state: Aden Chavez Aden Chavez 6'5" | 210 lbs | QB Cibola | 2023 State NM (Cibola) and Paul Cieremans Paul Cieremans 5'10" | 195 lbs | QB Los Lunas | 2023 State NM (Los Lunas). What makes the matchup particularly intriguing is they are distinctly different quarterbacks. The 6-foot-5 Chavez is a classic pocket passer, making him a perfect fit for a college that runs a pro-style offense. In three games, Chavez has thrown for 946 yards and 9 touchdowns. Nathan Lopez Nathan Lopez 5'5" | 135 lbs | WR Cibola | 2022 State NM (25 receptions) and Branden Castillo (21) are his favorite targets.
Both had big games last week. How important is Cieremans to the Los Lunas offense? In four games he has rushed for 469 yards and 9 touchdowns while throwing for 561 yards and 6 touchdowns, putting him over the 1,000-yard mark in total yards. We know Los Lunas will try to run the football as the Tigers average just over 250 rushing yards per game. Malachi Roybal (239 yards) and Karlos Cieremans (216) will get opportunities to carry the football as well.
Cleveland at Artesia: The Bulldog Bowl, already one of New Mexico’s best environments, will be rocking from top to bottom as the Storm, arguably the state’s top team (MaxPreps has Cleveland at No. 1 with rival Rio Rancho No. 2) make the long trip to oil country. What haven’t we said already about Cleveland? Not much. The offense has an array of weapons, while the defense has athletes who can run sideline-to-sideline, giving opposing offenses little breathing room to operate. QB Evan Wysong Evan Wysong 5'10" | 165 lbs | QB Cleveland | 2023 State NM is another talented dual threat quarterback with the ability to burn defenses with his arm or his feet. Artesia has bounced back nicely from the opening game loss in the Eddy County War with consecutive victories over Hobbs, Belen and Deming. Expect the Bulldogs to pound the football at the Storm defense with RB Jacob Barrera Jacob Barrera 5'5" | RB Artesia | 2022 State NM carrying the load.
Santa Fe at Eldorado (Sat., 1 p.m.): Albuquerque Journal preps writer James Yodice said it best about this game: “Been a LONG time since Santa Fe came to Albuquerque for a prep football game with this kind of importance.” Indeed, undefeated Santa Fe’s biggest game in years arrives as district play begins. The Demons are a factor in Class 6A due in large part to Martell Mora Martell Mora 5'9" | 185 lbs | RB Santa Fe High | 2022 State NM , who’s undoubtedly one of the top three candidates for Player of the Year honors through four weeks. Mora has amassed over 1,000 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns. If Santa Fe has skeptics, that’s understandable considering they’ve played teams from 3A, 4A and 5A, but none from 6A. Eldorado is looking to get back on track after losses to Rio Rancho and Cibola in their last two games. RB Aidan St. John Aidan St. John 6'1" | 195 lbs | RB Eldorado | 2022 State NM will try to keep pace with Mora in the run game.
Las Cruces at Mayfield (FOD): This rivalry may have lost a little off its fastball in the past few years, but it’s still one of the best rivalries in the state and considered by many high school football experts as historically one of the best rivalries in the country. Both teams are coming off disappointing losses last week when the Bulldawgs fell to Cleveland, 42-7, while Mayfield was trounced by Centennial, 56-23. Dual threat QB Dallas Boyd Dallas Boyd 5'10" | 175 lbs | QB Las Cruces | 2022 State NM is the main weapon in Las Cruces’ offensive arsenal. Mayfield has a solid ground game behind Jose Montoya Jose Montoya 5'8" | RB Mayfield | 2022 State NM and Calvin Cox Calvin Cox 5'9" | 185 lbs | RB Mayfield | 2022 State NM .
Hobbs at Goddard: A very intriguing 6A vs. 5A matchup at the Wool Bowl. Hobbs has won two straight and three of its first four games. Common theme? All three wins have been by shutout. Only Artesia has managed to score on the stout Hobbs defense. Three Eagles rushers have 150+ yards on the ground, so they possess plenty of weapons. Goddard RB Javyn Morales Javyn Morales 5'10" | 155 lbs | RB Goddard | 2023 State NM , arguably the state’s fastest player, has blazed his path to a great season on both sides of the ball for the unbeaten Rockets. He had 137 yards rushing on just 10 carries in last week’s win over a Texas team.
Durango (Co.) at Farmington: This game could be one of the few times this season Farmington is challenged offensively and defensively. The Scorpions are ranked No. 5 overall in the state and No. 3 in Class 5A. They have outscored their opponents by the gaudy margin of 202-19, and none of those 19 points have been scored against the Scorpions defense. QB Brandon Furbee Brandon Furbee 6'3" | QB Farmington | 2022 State NM has been impressive since transferring from Grants. Durango is the defending Class 3A champions in Colorado.
Centennial at Atrisco Heritage (Sat., 1 p.m.): Centennial makes its second trip to Albuquerque in three weeks. This time, they’ll arrive as arguably the top team in Las Cruces and the No. 2 team in southern New Mexico behind Goddard, according to MaxPreps. QB Ian Lopez Ian Lopez QB Centennial | 2022 State NM and RB Mikah Gutierrez are dynamic performers for the Hawks. Atrisco Heritage is technically 3-1, but two of those wins have come by forfeit. Last week they earned their first win with a 27-14 victory over Valley.
Rio Rancho at Organ Mountain (Sat., 1 p.m.): Rio Rancho takes their show on the road to Las Cruces for a matchup with suddenly struggling Organ Mountain. Rio Rancho has one of the most prolific offenses in the state with RB Zach Vigil Zach Vigil 5'9" | 190 lbs | RB Rio Rancho | 2022 State NM leading the way. Both teams are coming off unscheduled byes. Rio Rancho was supposed to play Clovis last week but the Wildcats were unable to play due to covid protocols. Organ Mountain had been scheduled to play Highlands, who opted to travel to Pojoaque Valley instead. The Knights fell to Mayfield in their last game following their first 2-0 start in more than a decade.
Lovington at Denver City (Tex.): Class 4A Lovington travels across the border for a showdown with a nearby Texas school. The Wildcats were blanked last week by Class 6A Hobbs. But they possess plenty of firepower with an abundance of talent at wide receiver.
Sandia at La Cueva: Who’s the highest ranked Class 6A team by MaxPreps behind Cleveland and Rio Rancho? La Cueva. The Bears have shown their mettle with back-to-back impressive wins over Las Cruces and Volcano Vista. Aidan Armenta Aidan Armenta 6'3" | 190 lbs | QB La Cueva | 2023 State NM is one of the top 2023 quarterbacks in the state. Sandia opened the season with an encouraging victory over Valley but have fallen back a bit in their last two games, losses to Centennial and West Mesa.
Piedra Vista at Belen: Piedra Vista (3-1) now occupies the No. 6 spot in the MaxPreps Class 5A ranking following last week’s 34-7 victory over Kirtland Central, and the Panthers now make the four-hour trip to Belen (1-2). The Eagles picked up their first win of the season last week, downing Miyamura, 23-7.
Roswell at Carlsbad: Roswell coach Jeff Lynn predicted back in July that the youthful Coyotes could hit a few speed bumps along the way this season, and so far he’s been proven right. The Coyotes are 0-4 with losses to Farmington, Lovington, Hobbs and Los Lunas. Not exactly Little Sisters of the Poor. Carlsbad features an array of talent on the offensive side of the ball. They beat El Paso (TX) Coronado, 19-0, last week to improve to
St. Pius X at Portales: St. Pius X B Marco Ybarra Marco Ybarra 5'10" | 190 lbs | RB St. Pius X | 2022 State NM , the state’s fifth leading rusher with 651 yards in four games, is worth the price of admission by himself. He’s coming off a sensational 300+ yard effort against Taos last week. In four games, he has 651 rushing yards, putting him on a 1,600-yard pace, and 11 touchdowns. Portales and winning go hand-in-hand, but so far the Rams have struggled this season. They’ve been competitive in every game, but are 0-3.
Best of the Rest
Volcano Vista at Albuquerque: Volcano Vista’s ‘Special K’ unit at wide receiver back in action.
Valley at Deming (Thur.): Both teams are probably better than their respective 1-3 records.
Valencia at Santa Teresa (Thur.): Valencia is 3-1. So is Santa Teresa. Will this be the Julian Cobos Julian Cobos 6'2" | 175 lbs | QB Santa Teresa | 2022 State NM Show?
Bloomfield at Miyamura: Bloomfield has quietly become of the best Class 4A programs in the state.
Alamogordo at Gadsden (Thur.): If they handed out a ‘Hard Luck’ Award to a team, Alamogordo would be the runaway winner after consecutive one-point losses in the final seconds.
Other Games
Rio Grande at West Mesa
Moriarty at Bernalillo
Cobre at Ruidoso
Bayfield (Co. ) at Aztec
Socorro at Estancia
Dexter at Eunice
NMMI at Hot Springs
Gallup at Los Alamos
Escalante at Raton
Espanola Valley at Robertson
Taos at Shiprock
Thoreau at Pojoaque Valley
Kirtland Central at Pagosa Springs (Co.)
Tucumcari at Santa Rosa
Texico at Farwell (TX)
Clayton at Albuquerque Academy (Sat.)
Grants at Hope Christian (Sat.)
Thursday Night Lights for us this week as YOUR ALAMOGORDO TIGERS take on the Gadsden Panthers @ Panther stadium 7p.m. on Thursday night. pic.twitter.com/RQ6fjaSZ5k
— AlamoTigerFootball (@AlamoFootball) September 14, 2021
https://twitter.com/AHSBulldogFB1/status/1438325716651626496
Big game down in the southeast corner of the state! The STORM could use some fan support!!
Game Time – 7pm
Location – The Bulldog Bowl
Date- September 17, 2021 pic.twitter.com/FBuIEmqPTX— Heath Ridenour (@Coach_Ridenour) September 16, 2021
https://twitter.com/Sartan_football/status/1438514029408833552
GAMEDAY!!! pic.twitter.com/JNgIUbzpAs
— Jonathon Croker (@Croker65) September 16, 2021