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New Mexico High School Football First Round Preview

NMPreps guide to the first round of the 3A New Mexico high school football playoffs. #nmpreps

No. 5 Thoreau Hawks (8-2) vs No. 12 Hope Christian (4-5-1)

Saturday, November 5th (1:00 p.m.)

The Thoreau Hawks had themselves an historic season winning 8-games and earning a 5-seed in the 2022 playoffs. Ray Long (2024) has carried the Hawks forward with 809 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. Well, the 5-game win streak is predicted to come to an end as the host visiting 12-seed Hope Christian on Saturday afternoon. Although the Huskies were the last team selected and dropped three of the final five games are favored to win this game. Brent Miller (2023) continues to play well for the Huskies leading the team in rushing yards -- 777-yards. Jacob Baca (2024) is a defensive force leading the way with 78 total tackles and 13-sacks, expect him to have a big day.

Prediction: Hope Christian 35, Thoreau 12

No. 6 Raton Tigers (7-3) vs No. 11 Hatch Valley Bears (6-3-1)

Saturday, November 5th (1:00 p.m.)

If you love the run attack, Saturday afternoon will have two of the state's leaders in rushing yards squaring off. Raton's Cayden Walton leads the state with 2,472 yards and 33 rushing touchdowns. For the Hatch Bears it is Layton Gillis (2023) ranked in the top three with 1,482 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns. Walton and Anderson Weese (2023) provide the x-factor in this contest as they guide a stout defense. Weese leads the team in total tackles with 92 along with 2 INTs.

Prediction: Raton 24, Hatch Valley 13

No. 7 West Las Vegas Dons (5-5) vs No. 10 Newcomb Skyhawks (8-2)

Friday, November 4th (6:00 p.m.)

West Las Vegas enters the post season after another brutal battle in the tough District 2-3A. The Dons have dropped three of the final four games but hopeful to secure a playoff win as a heavy favorite. Dons quarterback CJ Perea (2025) has 1,578-yards and 14-touchdowns this season; look for go-to targets Jaydin Vigil (2023) and Ethan Montano (2023) to continue their success. The duo have over 1,000 combined receiving yards and 10-touchdowns. Newcomb enters the post season with an automatic bid after winning the District 4-3A championship. The three names to know for the Skyhawks start with Javarius John (2023) who has rushed for over 1,000-yards on the season -- quarterback Matthew Barber (2023/QB) and Rashaad Keedah (2023/RB) are the other two offensive threats.

Prediction: West Las Vegas 33, Newcomb 18

No. 8 Dexter Demons (5-5) vs No. 9 Cobre Indians (4-6)

Saturday, November 5th (1:00 p.m.)

A rematch from a September 24th Dexter win, 18-12. Already expected to be the matchup to watch the fact that the two met this season will add to the excitement. That win for the Demons was the first of four straight wins that led them to an 8-seed. The Demons started the season 1-4 before then. Quarterback Kevin Villalobos (2024) and running back Kaesen George (2025) are the top players to watch on offense for the Demons. Villalobos has over 500-yards passing and 400-yards rushing. The Cobre Indians finished runner up in district play behind top-seed Socorro and will look to junior quarterback Caleb Martinez. Defense will lean on Eric Harrington (2024) and Gabe Gutierrez (2023).

Prediction: Dexter 21, Cobre 20

Post your predictions to win each round:

Post State Champion picks

Receiving Leaders to Watch During the Playoffs

Who do you have?

Who should they hire?

Passing > Running During the Playoffs

Friday Night > Saturday Playoff Games (Why do we play all season on Friday night, in most cases, and then shift to Saturdays?)

SOS > Wins vs DC in criteria replacement

Artesia, Roswell > Field to Win SC

12 > 8 Making the Playoffs

Most likely to lose first/not win the state championship

FRIDAY NIGHT

1. Alamogordo (5-5) at Rio Rancho (6-4)
2. Valencia (4-6) at Aztec (4-6)
3. Bernalillo (2-7) at Albuquerque Academy (6-4)
4. Dora (7-3) at Gateway Christian (9-0)
5. Estancia (6-4) at Eunice (6-3)
6. Tularosa (4-6) at Texico (7-3)
7. Elida (8-2) at Mountainair (10-0)
8. Magdalena (7-3) at Lordsburg (9-0)
9. Melrose (7-4) at Fort Sumner (9-0)
10. Santa Teresa (4-6) at Mayfield (4-6)
11. Atrisco Heritage (5-5) at Volcano Vista (8-2)
12. Loving (7-3) at Santa Rosa (8-2)
13. Kirtland Central (4-5) at Moriarty (7-3)
14. Belen (2-8) at Deming (6-4)
15. Newcomb (8-2) at West Las Vegas (5-5)
16. St. Pius X (2-8) at Portales (8-2)

Alamogordo-Rio Rancho: This one should have the clock moving with both teams running the ball. Rio Rancho quarterback JJ Arellano and Alamogordo RB Damon Mayberry provide a must-watch headline.

Valencia-Aztec: The Valencia Jaguars have played well in October and fought to get an upset last week in the district championship losing 13-0 to top ranked Silver. Aztec has been on a roller coaster of a season from off field, some on field, issues.

Bernalillo-Academy: Round 2? They met a week ago with Academy winning in overtime. They will square off at 3pm at Academy in what could be the favorite upset pick of the week.


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Rank the top games to watch this weekend. What is the best game?

New Mexico High School Football Preview: 2A Football matchups and predictions

NMPreps preview and predictions for the opening round of the 2A New Mexico high school football 2022 State Playoffs. #nmpreps

No. 1 Jal Panthers (10-0) vs No. 8 Escalante Lobos (5-5)

Saturday, November 5th (1:00 p.m.)

Jal's offense runs through the dynamic duo of Alexavier Carreon (2023) and Jacob Lujan (2023), who are legitimate Mr. Football contenders. Carreon is averaging 9.5 yards per carry this season totaling 638 yards on 67 runs. Lujan is sitting at 531 yards on 51 carries (10.4 per) and 12 rushing touchdowns. The 8-seed Lobos will look to do-all quarterback Trey Archuleta who has over 1,300 offensive yards (951 rushing) and 20 total touchdowns (14 rushing).

Prediction: Jal 48, Escalante 10

No. 2 Texico Wolverines (7-3) vs No. 7 Tularosa Wildcats (4-6)

Friday, November 4th (7:00 p.m.)

For the Wolverines it will be junior quarterback Cade Figg and running back Alex Fuentes taking the lead in the post season. On defense Kyle Gonser (2024) will look to shutdown the Wildcats offense. After a 1-4 start the Tularosa Wildcats won 3 of the final five games to earn a playoff spot. The Texico Wolverines have too much fire power and will likely cruise to victory.

Prediction: Texico 38, Tularosa 14

No. 3 Santa Rosa Lions (8-2) vs No. 6 Loving Falcons (7-3)

Friday, November 4th (7:00 p.m.)

The strength of Santa Rosa's offense is its running backs. Andres Madrid (2023) leads the way this season with 1,327 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns. Marcos Chavez (2023), 994 yards, and Auriello Gonzales (2023), 421 yards, also putting in solid numbers this season. Loving will focus on its 1-2 punch of Kalen Rodriguez (QB-2024) and Amari Benavidez (WR-2023). Rodriguez has hit his targets for 1,375 passing yards and 16 passing touchdowns.

Prediction: Santa Rosa 40, Loving 18

No. 4 Eunice Cardinals (6-3) vs No. 5 Estancia Bears (6-4)

Friday, November 4th (7:00 p.m.)

This will be a rematch from an August 26th Eunice, 41-12 win. The Cardinals have plenty of weapons to make another run at a state championship after winning the last four state championships, hoping to make it a five-peat. Freshman quarterback Elijah Melancon has passed for 1,800-yards and 27-passing touchdowns to guide the offense. The Bears also have some key players in quarterback Ja'Brae Boyer (2023) along with running backs Josh Calhoon (2024) and Aiden Boyle (2023). Calhoon leads the team in rushing yards with 1,206-yards. It will be close ultimately Eunice does just enough to pull off a victory.

Prediction: Eunice 33, Estancia 26

2-12 seed to win the state championship?

5-12 seed to win two or more games in the playoffs?

1st Round upset?

Post Here

What do you have?

Week 12 New Mexico High School Football Team Rankings

NMPreps New Mexico high school football team rankings for the week of October 31st. #nmpreps

6A FOOTBALL

12 to 1: 4A Rankings Review

12 to 1: 5A Rankings Review

12 to 1: 6A Review our NMPreps Rankings

Week 12: October 31st
1. Cleveland
2. La Cueva
3. Centennial
4. Volcano Vista
5. Hobbs
6. Rio Rancho
7. Carlsbad
8. Farmington
9. Los Lunas
10. Alamogordo
11. Atrisco Heritage
12. West Mesa
13. Las Cruces
14. Eldorado
15. Sandia
16. Cibola
17. Clovis
18. Capital
19. Albuquerque
20. Organ Mountain
21. Santa Fe

Week 1: August 15th, 2022
1. La Cueva
2. Cleveland
3. Rio Rancho
4. Las Cruces
5. Los Lunas
6. Cibola
7. Centennial
8. Volcano Vista
9. Sandia
10. Eldorado
11. Hobbs
12. Carlsbad
13. Clovis
14. Farmington
15. Organ Mountain
16. Santa Fe
17. Capital
18. West Mesa
19. Alamogordo
20. Albuquerque
21. Atrisco Heritage

This is for each class 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A.

Post nominations here.

FINAL: How does your final bracket prediction look like?

Grine: 2022 New Mexico High School Football Playoffs

5-12 Seed Most Likely to Make Semifinals: (6) Raton. 3A Bracket. This is the favorable pick with the first game between the district opponents being a narrow, 12-7 loss in favor of Robertson. The road would be a first round win over Hatch Valley (11-seed) and then upsetting district opponent Robertson (3-seed) in the semifinals.

Most Likely Too Upset in the 1st Round: (11) Bernalillo Spartans at (6) Albuquerque Academy Chargers. 4A Bracket. Playing back-to-back weeks could seem tough for the Chargers who escaped with an overtime week on Friday night. The Chargers struck by injuries will need to contain a Bernalillo defense behind senior Michael Ash who had 8 total tackles (4 TFL) and 2 sacks this weekend.

Obvious Upset in 6A: (9) Los Lunas over (8) Cibola. Two teams that have been headed in different directions as of late. The Los Lunas Tigers went 4-0 winning their district and looking healthy and hitting on all cylinders. Cibola is coming off an upset loss to Sandia in the final week of the season and without star quarterback Aden Chavez will likely struggle.

Most Likely 3-Seed: Taos Tigers. The Tigers are 9-1 and entering the post season on a 9-game win streak. The road to a state championship will put the Tigers against the winner of the 6-11 game (Academy-Bernalillo) and then a likely match-up with 2-seed Bloomfield. Taos is 9-1 on the season and playing solid football over the last month allowing only 13-points. The 1, 4, and 5, seeds will beat each other up on the top half. I really like Silver (had to plug).

Unmatched. The 1-seed in the eight team 2A bracket is the 10-0 Jal Panthers. Behind the duo of Alexavier Carreon and Jacob Lujan, the Panthers should move along easy to a 2A State Championship.

Picks
6A Final Four: 1) Cleveland, 2) La Cueva, 3) Centennial, 4) Hobbs
5A Final Four: 1) Artesia, 2) Roswell, 3) Piedra Vista, 5) Deming
4A Final Four: 1) Silver, 2) Bloomfield, 3) Taos, 4) Lovington
3A Final Four: 1) Socorro, 2) Ruidoso, 3) Robertson, 4) St. Michael's

--No excitement this season. There has been a clear divide but to make it fun we went with Deming. Almost went with Volcano Vista (5 in 6A).

6A FOOTBALL





5A FOOTBALL





4A FOOTBALL





3A FOOTBALL






2A FOOTBALL




Note: We will continue to update all classifications and each week. One place for all records and standings.

New Mexico High School Football Team Rankings for 2022

Updated: 10/22/22: Started in Week 6 we continue our daily ranking. These rankings are that of publisher J Grine and not related to the NMPreps weekly team rankings that are voted on by several people.

1. Cleveland Storm
2. La Cueva Bears
3. Centennial Hawks
4. Hobbs Eagles
5. Volcano Vista Hawks
6. Rio Rancho Rams
7. Artesia Bulldogs
8. Roswell Coyotes
9. Piedra Vista Panthers
10. Carlsbad Cavemen
11. Farmington Scorpions
12. Los Lunas Tigers
13. Goddard Rockets
14. Alamogordo Tigers
15. Las Cruces Bulldawgs
16. West Mesa Mustangs
17. Mayfield Trojans
18. Atrisco Heritage Jaguars
19. Eldorado Eagles
20. Sandia Matadors
21. Cibola Cougars
22. Organ Mountain Knights
23. Clovis Wildcats
24. Deming Wildcats
25. Silver Colts
26. Portales Rams
27. Bloomfield Bobcats
28. Ruidoso Warriors
29. Robertson Cardinals
30. St. Michael's Horsemen
31. Socorro Warriors
32. Lovington Wildcats
33. Capital Jaguars
34. Raton Tigers
35. Jal Panthers
36. Gadsden Panthers
37. Taos Tigers
38. Albuquerque Academy Chargers
39. Albuquerque Bulldogs
40. Santa Teresa Desert Warriors
41. Highland Hornets
42. Aztec Tigers
43. Miyamura Patriots
44. Los Alamos Hilltoppers
45. Moriarty Pintos
46. Valley Vikings
47. Belen Eagles
48. West Las Vegas Dons
49. Valencia Jaguars
50. Santa Fe Demons
51. St. Pius X Sartans
52. Dexter Demons
53. Hope Christian Huskies
54. Bernalillo Spartans
55. Espanola Valley Sundevils
56. Manzano Monarchs
57. Texico Wolverines
58. Eunice Cardinals
59. Santa Rosa Lions
60. Estancia Bears
61. Hatch Valley Bears
62. Cobre Indians
63. NMMI Colts
64. Tularosa Wildcats
65. Kirtland Central Broncos
66. Loving Falcons
67. Grants Pirates
68. Chaparral Lobos
69. Rio Grande Ravens
70. Hagerman Bobcats
71. Del Norte Knights
72. Escalante Lobos
73. Thoreau Hawks
74. Pojoaque Valley Elks
75. Newcomb Skyhawks
76. Shiprock Chieftains
77. Gallup Bengals
78. Hot Springs Tigers
79. Wingate Bears
80. Crownpoint Eagles
81. McCurdy Bobcats
82. Tohatchi Cougars
83. Tucumcari Rattlers
84. Laguna-Acoma Hawks
85. Cuba Rams
86. Santa Fe Indian Braves
87. Capitan Tigers
88. Mescalero Apache Chiefs
89. Navajo Prep Eagles
90. Zuni Thunderbirds

Rankings differ from the NMPreps weekly rankings.

***Week 11 Pick 'Em Challenge***

Final week of the season! You pick, we track, one champion!

Games
Rio Rancho at Cleveland, +2,000 (RR is the upset 2,500)
Goddard at Roswell, +2,000 (Goddard is the upset 2,500)
Hobbs at Carlsbad, +2,000 (Carlsbad is the upset 2,500)
Eunice at Texico, +2,000 either way
Moriarty at Taos, +2,000 either way

How to Pick
Rio Rancho
Goddard
Hobbs
Carlsbad
Eunice
Moriarty

*****WEEK 11 SCOREBOARD (OCT. 27TH-29TH)*****

The one place for all your scores and updates! Post yours or text in your scores to 505-414-4313.

Thursday, October 27th
Alamogordo 7, Organ Mountain 3 - F
Monument Valley, AZ 56, Shiprock 13 - F
Newcomb 46, Navajo Prep 12 - F
St. Pius X 23, Grants 0 - F
Tularosa 52, Mescalero Apache 0 - F
West Mesa 34, Eldorado 8 - F

Friday, October 28th
Albuquerque Academy 27, Bernalillo 24 - F/OT
Aztec 56, Kirtland Central 14 - F
Bloomfield 49, Gallup 0 - F
Capital 42, Santa Fe 6 - F
Centennial 35, Las Cruces 14 - F
Cleveland 35, Rio Rancho 14 - F
Crownpoint 31, Cuba 18 - F
Deming 29, Gadsden 12 - F
Dora 61, Ramah 6 - F
Estancia 54, Capitan 0 - F
Fort Sumner 50, Clayton 0 - F
Gateway Christian 61, NMSD 8 - F
Hobbs 42, Carlsbad 7 - F
La Cueva 62, Farmington 19 - F
Lordsburg 50, Menaul 0 - F
Los Alamos 56, Del Norte 6 - F
Los Lunas 54, Clovis 0 - F
Loving 34, Hagerman 18 - F
Lovington 20, Portales 14 - F
Magdalena 54, Tatum 6 - F
Miyamura 50, Highland 0 - F
Mounainair 60, Roy-Mosquero 6 - F
NMMI 54, Tucumcari 16 - F
Piedra Vista 50, Belen 0 - F
Robertson 37, West Las Vegas 0 - F
Roswell 42, Goddard 7 - F
Ruidoso 43, Dexter 6 - F
Santa Teresa 48, Chaparral 0 - F
Silver 13, Valencia 0 - F
Taos 28, Moriarty 7 - F
Texico 36, Eunice 35 - F
Thoreau 36, Wingate 0 - F
Tohatchi 32, Zuni 26 - F
Volcano Vista 50, Atrisco Heritage 0 - F

Saturday, October 29th
Animas (5-4) at Elida (7-2)
Artesia (7-2) at Mayfield (4-5), 12pm
Hot Springs (2-7) at Hatch Valley (5-3-1), 12pm
Rio Grande (2-6) at Valley (6-3), 11am
Sandia (3-6) at Cibola (6-3), 11am
Santa Fe Indian (1-7) at St. Michael's (8-1), 11:30am
Socorro (9-0) at Cobre (4-5)

Last night I was in Andrews Texas as Andrews was hosting Brownwood. Brownwood spanked Andrews. These are Texas 4a schools.

Brownwood punted the ball to Andrews. The Andrews returner had to attempt to catch that ball over his head as it was a great punt. The returner touched the ball at the 9 and the ball went into the end zone and the returner went and fell on it. The officials spent 21 minutes trying to decide on how to rule on it. Literally a coaches wife timed it. They ruled it a safety. The referee thought he made a mistake later and should have ruled it a touchback.

Should it have been a Safety or a Touchback.

My best friend is the head coach at Andrews. The referee told him if he missed the call he would call him today to apologize. My buddy told him that call cost him the game. Of course he had a grin on his face when he told the official that. Brownwood was up 42-3 late in the 4th when it happened. LOL!!!