Week 13 Scores & Updates Text 505-414-4313

Friday
Artesia 51, Lovington 41
Capital 51, Del Norte 34
Carlsbad 58, Alamogordo 50
Cibola 48, Rio Rancho 47
Cleveland 41, Volcano Vista 21
Cliff 66, Reserve 46
Cobre 48, Hatch Valley 47
Espanola Valley 76, Los Alamos 41
Estancia 61, Native American Community Academy 29
Gadsden 34, EP Cathedral, Texas 29
Grants 71, Albuquerque Academy 47
Hobbs 74, Clovis 42
Hope Christian 63, St. Michael's 50
Laguna-Acoma 96, Cuba 72
Lordsburg 47, Mesilla Valley 43
Menaul 66, Tierra Encantada 45
Moriarty 56, St. Pius 48
Piedra Vista 72, Miyamura 37
Portales 52, NMMI 46
Rio Grande 50, Atrisco Heritage Academy 45
Roswell 68, Goddard 47
Socorro 76, Hot Springs 69
Tohajilee 58, Jemez Valley 56
Tularosa 55, Capitan 45
Valley 41, Albuquerque 40

Thursday
Bloomfield 42, Shiprock 40 (OT)
Carrizozo 66, Lake Arthur 48
Gateway Christian 53, Tatum 15
Hondo Valley 79, Vaughn 52
Kirtland Central 92, Thoreau 52
Los Lunas 44, Belen 36
Magdalena 69, Mescalero Apache 32
Navajo Prep 45, Newcomb 31
Robertson 83, Taos 39
Sandia 52, Manzano 35
Santa Rosa 85, Raton 42
West Las Vegas 60, Pojoaque Valley 46

Wednesday
Rio Grande 54, West Mesa 44
Valley 51, Atrisco 47 2OT

Tuesday
Belen 59, Valencia 38
Capital 53, Bernalillo 34
Carlsbad 46, Clovis 25
Centennial 87, Chaparral 60
Cleveland 67, Santa Fe 27
Espanola Valley 54, Del Norte 49
Gallup 63, Piedra Vista 54
Grants 70, St. Pius X 43
Hobbs 84, Alamogordo 67
Hondo Valley 66, Carizozo 30
Hope Christian 95, Santa Fe Indian 63
La Cueva 68, Manzano 51
Lordsburg 74, Tularosa 50
Los Lunas 40, Santa Teresa 27
Mesilla Valley 63, Capitan 48
Mountainair 57, Tierra Encantada 53
Navajo Pine 80, Ramah 67
Onate 54, Las Cruces 24
Pecos 78, ATC 34
Portales 79, Ruidoso 59
Sandia Prep 51, St. Mikes 49
Silver 75, Hatch Valley 52
Vaughn 81, Corona 52
Volcano Vista 46, Rio Rancho 45

I was shocked to read in the Dallas Morning News that there are 59 Indoor Football Facilities for workouts in DFW. How many in NM now? We will never get them in Mansfield because you would have to build 5, 1 for each HS.

For each classification and overall. Finalist will be announced at the end of the regular season.

Best or Worst: Who Has Had A Good or Bad Week 13?

Just wanted to give an updated on the direction of the player rankings or Top Prospects Report. Next week is the last week. I will update all the player rankings to end the regular season. Basically finishing the Top Prospect Report in different format.

I will break it down into these categories to check them out in different categories.

• Rankings: Top 100 Players
• Rankings: Top Position Rankings (Wings, Forwards and Guards)
• Rankings: Top Freshmen To Watch
• Rankings: Top Classification Rankings (2016, 2017 and 2018)
• Rankings: Top Players in 6A, 5A, 4A & Small School Division.

All will be ranked. Updated and Overhauled the current player rankings after more players, film and games scene.

If you feel I might miss your player or want me to give a last look. Post names here or send me a link to film/highlights. Thanks to those who have sent me some recent!

Ranking The Breakfast Burritos In New Mexico

Please add some nominations!

Week 13: Weekend Wire
Joshua J Grine of NMPreps.com

We take a quick look at the weekend of week 13 and the approach for bracketology talk.

RANKING THE TOP 5 MARQUEE GAMES

1. Valley at Albuquerque High, Fri, 7PM: The Valley Vikings and Albuquerque High Bulldogs are both teams looking for a top seed. The Bulldogs are in the drivers seat for the district title.
2. Lordsburg is ranked #1 in 3A basketball and they face a contender in defending 3A champion Mesilla Valley. (Friday)
3. Cibola at Rio Rancho square off in the top district in the state of New Mexico. Also, the headline of who is the better junior guard? Carpenter or Patterson? Better yet who has the better backcourt, both are solid? (Friday)
4. No. 20 Robertson will host No. 24 Pojoaque Valley in round two. Pojoaque took the first round but they are coming off a loss to unranked West Las Vegas on Tuesday. (Saturday)
5. No. 18 Farmington visits No. 25 Sandia on Saturday in somewhat of a pretender/contender game in their respected classifications. How good is Farmington? Is Sandia a top 8 seed in 6A?

RANKING TOP 2 SEED PLACEMENT GAMES

1. Miyamura visits Piedra Vista. This game mimics the bubble game below and likely should be their but a win for PV and they could be looking for a seed as high as 12 a loss puts them either at 16 (behind Miyamura) or 17, which means they are home.

2. West Las Vegas visits Taos on Saturday. Can Taos upset and West Las Vegas and sneak back into Top-8 conversation? Does a win here put West back at 2?

RANKING THE TOP BUBBLE GAME

1. Las Cruces vs Mayfield on Friday night could be a play-in game conversation. Winner has the likely hood of packing their bags for the state tournament, the loser better hold off on ironing their tux.

Grine Predictions

Mixed the format up a bit for today's prediction feature and will look to have a better weekend than last weekend. Each week I pick 8 most important games or games to watch for the weekend. Today, I did the same with a different look.

Who I'm Taking: Valley, Lordsburg, Cibola, Robertson, Sandia, Piedra Vista, West Las Vegas and Las Cruces.

Last Week: 11-5
Mid-Week Predictions: 6-2
Overall Record: 31-9

1-4A state qualifier,
FINAL:
1. Bloomfield 209.5
2. Kirtland Central 203.5
3. Shiprock 116.0
4. Wingate 38.0
5. Newcomb 27.0

Santa Teresa plays Gadsden next Friday night, the 19th, for their first game. Anyone have their first game sooner than that?

Feature: The Unlikely, Upset Worthy, Favorite to Win It All
Joshua J Grine of NMPreps.com

My first year at NMPreps.com not a single person outside of the 12 basketball players and coaches thought the 7-seed Santa Teresa Desert Warriors would win the State Championship.

Well, they did the unthinkable and won the title that year, in fact most people picked either the 1-2 seeds in Roswell in Goddard it was the 5-seed Gallup who took also played in the title game in the highest two seeds to play for the title.

Today, we give our unlikely favorites.

RIO RANCHO RAMS
Class: 6A
Record: 15-9, 3-3
Seed Potential: 8-11
Why: Many might not consider them an unlikely pick but I don't know a person (maybe one Destiny) who would take the Rams as the upset worthy team to win the title. The Rams would be the unlikely choice however as a potential team on the road in the first road. I like them though with the growing junior talent. Clay Patterson is one of the best guards partnered with Juan Hurt that could be the 1-2 punch in March. Open court on the PIT court could either play either into their favor or hurt them. Throw in the sophomore frontcourt of Joe Emahly and Keyshawn Banks to grow up fast.

Not mentioned because they are either favorites or in top tier: Onate, Cleveland, Cibola, Albuquerque, Carlsbad

LOS LUNAS TIGERS
Class: 5A
Record: 14-9, 6-1
Seed Potential: 5-9
Why: I have a theme going here for the top two classifications going with the junior graduation class. Keyden Walkers paired with an NMPreps.com Mr. Basketball candidate in Martin Trujillo. Throw in freshman point guard Zanen Zeller and Hunter Wisneski in the backcourt along with an underappreciate, high energy forward in Thean Nelson. Pair all of that with a head coach who builds great programs in Travis Julian. This could be his most talented rosters that will go into the tournament as an underdog.

Not mentioned because they are a favorite or top tier: Roswell, Centennial, Grants, Capital

SILVER COLTS
Class: 4A
Record: 15-7, 6-0
Seed Potential: 5-8
Why: A team that his been waiting on the sidelines for a few years but could be the one that you should throw a bet at them. They won't be favorites but definitely have the talent and coach that could take them to the title. The roster is underrated but talents like point guard Joshua Saenz or wing Wyatt Olgesby have been known to go off on any given night. They have several players that could be the leading scoring so the depth is what is under-appreciated with the Colts. Throw in Garrett Laney at the forward spot and Sebastian Cruz in the backcourt.

District Rankings and Who Deserves More Respect From the Committee
Joshua J Grine of NMPreps.com

It is not part of the NMAA selection committees criteria, for the most part, but is it time to consider District strength into the conversation. Likely, it is the unwritten part of the criteria that is taken into the consideration, mentioned before was Manzano not winning a district game a few years ago and getting a 12-seed. Robertson last season didn't and earned a bid in 4A.

Ranking the Districts
1. Northern Rio District (1-6A)
Ranked Teams: Cibola (No. 4), Cleveland (No. 6), Rio Rancho (No. 12)
2. Valley Metro Districts (5-6A)
Ranked Teams: Albuquerque (7), Valley (8), Rio Grande (14), Atrisco (16)
3. SE District (4-6A)
Ranked Teams: Carlsbad (10) Hobbs (13)
4. Border District (3-6A)
Ranked Teams: Onate (1)
5. Metro 5 District (2-6A)
Ranked Teams: Sandia (25)

I don't think we can argue much about the position of the districts this season but where it comes into play is the bubble or what I called the fringe. Teams on the verge of making the big dance but not quit on the green.

Look at Santa Fe High and Volcano Vista, two teams that could arguably be playing for third or second (maybe first) in say district 2-6A. More Volcano Vista as they are a whopping 6-1 against the district and they only have 9 wins so that goes to our argument.

Questions?

Now the question is what do we do with the runner-up for 2-6A? What about for the self-named Border District? Does Gadsden have an argument for an 8-seed? What about Mayfield or Las Cruces, they have wins but are they tournament worthy over 2-6A district runner up?

Login to view embedded media
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO - The House of Representatives of the State of New Mexico honored the Espanola Valley Football Team at the State Capitol Building for having a successful 2015 Football Season. Certificates of Congratulations were handed out to the Football Team on Wednesday, February 10th, 2016 recognizing the Sundevils for being District 2-5A Champs.

The Sundevils went 9-2 during the 2015 season (Best season in school history) under Head Coach Miguel Medina winning the District 2-5A Championship Game before losing to Farmington 48-20 in the first round of the State Playoffs.

Henderson: 10 Teams To Watch In February
By: Kyle Henderson of NMPreps.com | nmpreps@yahoo.com

Cibola - Record of 20-1

The Skinny: Coach Lori Mabrey has the talented roster in New Mexico, there is no denying that. Super Sophomore Star Amaya Brown continues to shine weekly, also contributing is Corbyn Cunningham and Dmitri Fong. Have won two out of three against Volcano Vista this year, also beat Eldorado in November by 17.

Remaining Schedule
Rio Rancho
@ Cleveland
Santa Fe

Carlsbad - Record of 21-2

The Skinny: These Ladies from Carlsbad have proven to be quite a solid club already winning 21 games and we are not even to mid February. Center Kim Best is having a strong year as is Standout Freshman Carsyn Boswell. Key wins over Volcano Vista, Roswell, and Las Cruces.

Remaining Schedule
@ Clovis
@ Alamogordo
Hobbs

Volcano Vista - Record of 17-4

The Skinny: If there is a coach in New Mexico that can get their group to rise up during District and Playoff time it’s Lisa Villareal. Her Lady Hawks have won 17 games and beaten Carlsbad as well as Cibola this year. Deezha Battle and Raven Herrera are a very experienced duo.

Remaining Schedule
@ Rio Rancho
Cleveland
@ Santa Fe

Gallup - Record of 21-0

The Skinny: Riding a 21 game winning streak into February and they have beaten some bigs on the year to prove their stock value. Wins over Eldorado, West Mesa, and Los Lunas speak volumes. Senior Ni’Asia McIntosh is one of the top post players in New Mexico standing 6-foot-0.

Remaining Schedule
Piedra Vista
@ Aztec
Farmington
@ Miyamura

Roswell - Record of 19-2

The Skinny: Head Coach Joe Carpenter continues to have the Coyotes playing at a high level and with only 2 losses on the year, they are a strong pick to at least make the final four you’ve got to think. Their lone losses come against Carlsbad, not bad considering Carlsbad is 21-2 on the year. Roswell is 19-0 against 5A teams and led by Junior Guard Jaedyn De la Cerda and Alexis Angeles.

Remaining Schedule
Goddard
@ Artesia
Lovington

Espanola - Record of 18-4

The Skinny: The Lady Sundevils are 18-4 on the season and are winners of their last 4 in a row including good wins against Rio Rancho and over Los Alamos in a 76-75 thriller. This team has some great experience with Senior Kaitlyn Romero and Alexis Lovato leading the way. Experience comes into play on the big stage as does Coaching, Espanola has both.

Remaining Schedule
Del Norte
Los Alamos
Capital
@ Bernalillo

Next Five To Watch

West Las Veas
The Lady Dons Coached by Jose Medina are 19-3 on the season and riding a 7 game winning streak as they continue district play tonight against Pojoaque. Senior Deanna Bustos along with Jaylen Gutierrez make for a dynamic tandem.

Portales
Winning 8 in a row following their 63-20 victory over Ruidoso, Portales is really a clear favorite to win the whole thing or at least reach the finals. They are 19-0 against New Mexico comp this year, their three losses all come against Texas teams. The Rams are powered by 6-foot-1 Post Kambrey Blakey who is committed to play at Lubbock Christian.

Texico
February 9th, 2016 Texico handed the Eunice Lady Cardinals their first loss of the season. The Wolverines rolled to a 50-37 victory over previously 20-0 Eunice, big statement made clearly. Head Coach Richard Luscombe has a talented group, Senior Brianna Reyna is key to their success. Against Eunice she scored 23 points. In total Texico has 6 seniors. Additional key wins this year come against Elida, Lovington, Tatum, and Lubbock Christian.

Tularosa
The Lady Wildcats are now 23-0 on the season, incredible. Another incredible fact is that they have outscored the comp by a combined 802 points this season. Some of their monster victories include: Beating Socorro 71-13, beating Dexter 79-30, beating Tucumcari 80-34, beating Laguna 78-41, beating Cobre 72-20, beating Santa Rosa 75-30, beating Melrose 71-33, etc. Leading the charge this year is obviously a handful of top tier talent: Kaitlyn Silver, Shania Gilliland, Aviana Garcia, and their leading scorer on the season is junior Cassie Vickery. DANGEROUS

Elida
Head Coach Jaden Isler has continued the winning tradition at Elida following in his father JD's footsteps. The Tigers are 18-3 this year and trying for their 6th straight state championship. Yes, they have won 5 in row dating back to 2011. Sophomore Kasyn Creigton leads the team with 9.5 points per game and Junior Madison Haley is averaging 8.0.

All Feedback Welcomed And Wanted

Week 13: What's On Tap and Roll Call

Thursday
Bloomfield 42, Shiprock 40 (OT)
Carrizozo 66, Lake Arthur 48
Gateway Christian 53, Tatum 15
Hondo Valley 79, Vaughn 52
Kirtland Central 92, Thoreau 52
Los Lunas 44, Belen 36
Magdalena 69, Mescalero Apache 32
Navajo Prep 45, Newcomb 31
Robertson 83, Taos 39
Sandia 52, Manzano 35
Santa Rosa 85, Raton 42
Tucumcari 56, Clayton 50
West Las Vegas 60, Pojoaque Valley 46

Top-25 Action
No. 20 Robertson the surprising margin of victory over Taos.
No. 22 Los Lunas with the County Rivalry win over No. 23 Belen.
No. 24 Pojoaque Valley falls to West Las Vegas on the road, 60-46.
No. 25 Sandia maintains the top spot in 2-6A with a win over Manzano.

Thursday Take-A-Ways

• Hondo Valley moves to 22-2 without a top player in the state, team is only getting better.
• Bloomfield avoids the upset to maintain first place in 1-4A against Shiprock. Kirtland Central takes out frustration on Thoreau. They remain a game behind Bloomfield.
• Now that West Las Vegas beats No. 24 Pojoaque. Pojo beat Robertson, Robertson beat West, West beat Pojo - we are not surprised by this cluster.

Thursday Top Performers
Zanen Zeller - Los Lunas - 13 points vs Belen.
Martin Trujillo - Los Lunas - 12 points vs Belen.
Nick Trujillo - Belen - 10 points vs Los Lunas
Bryan Valdez - Belen - 10 points vs Los Lunas.

Post your top three teams in each class here

Who is the best three point shooter or shooter?

First Practice of the 2016 Season is February 1st, 2016

Just a friendly FYI

Week 12: The Week That Was
Joshua J Grine

Can anyone stop Roswell in the District 4-5A race? Will Grants cruise to the District 5-5A title? What do we make of District 1-6A with all 5 teams going dance (or they should)? What about Rio Grande, the 16 seed?

We try to answer questions and review the crazy week that was week 12.

Yes, I know it's Super Bowl Sunday but for a few minutes we break down all that has gone down, what will go down and we hand out our rewards for the week.

Class 6A

Who had the better week? Volcano Vista took things serious this week and got, not only a win, but win of the week. They beat the No. 2 Cibola Cougars (Week 12 NMPreps.com Rankings) - 45-36 - but also they earned a bid to the state tournament. Many might still be skeptical (maybe not) but if the Manzano Monarchs in 2012 made the state tournament with 0-wins in district play these Hawks are IN. They might even be the team to make an upset in the first round but we will save that for a later feature. Others to mention are Santa Fe beating Rio Rancho (69-65) and

Stock Report: Hobbs up into the Top-8. Carlsbad out of the Top-8 or possibly the 8-seed. Hobbs takes the lead in District play with the win on the road of Carlsbad in week 12. Rio Grande is on a 3-game skid and looking like a 12-16 range is set in stone. Sandia was an 8-seed last week, will still be DC from 2-6A, but the loss to Espanola - 45-44 on a last second shot - and not a bad loss but likely one that kicks them out.

Hot or Not: Albuquerque High (HOT) beat Atrisco Heritage by 28-points (58-30) and took commanding lead of District 5-5A, looking basically unbeatable. Atrisco, was, considered a favorite to play them for the district championship. La Cueva (NOT) after losing 2 in-a-row this week especially to cellar dweller.

Bubble Report: Volcano Vista, Santa Fe IN. La Cueva IN but going against the grain. Highland, the win helped but still need to do work but more in the picture from week 11. Mayfield and Las Cruces helped.

Class Player of the Week: Oscar Perez had 18 points in the upset win over Rio Rancho this week. Perez and the Demons have been under the radar but the notice is here.

Class 5A

Who had the best week? Farmington had the best week because they completely dominated their competition this week. First the crushed their rival in Piedra Vista (67-45) and followed it up by cleaning the floor with Miyamura (77-31).

Stock Report: Centennial UP. Los Lunas stays the same - UP. Bernalillo UP with wins and moving into second place at (3-2) a half game ahead of Espanola Valley.

Class Player of the Week: Cesar Molina of Centennial hits a buzzer beater to add to his 27 points in the win over Los Lunas.

Class 4A

Hot or Not: Bloomfield looked like a top 4A team in terms of seeds. They have impressive wins over Kirtland Central (58-42) and Winate (63-47) moving to (6-0) in district play. Pojoaque Valley now moves to (2-0) and likely the favorite for the 2nd ranked team in 4A basketball beating Robertson. However, we think the royal rumble in this district is only heating up. PVHS plays West Las Vegas on February 11th.

Class Player of the Week: Dominic Roybal of Pojoaque Valley had 14 points in the win over Taos but has been a vital part of the Elks success this week.

Small School Division: 3A - 1A

Stock Report: Hondo Valley and Cliff will be the 1-2 seed in 1A basketball. Hondo Valley moved to 20-2 on the season. Tularosa in 3A is not only on a 5-game winning streak but earned a HUGE win that we haven't talked about beating Mesilla Valley, 42-26 on Friday night. Melrose at 18-3 will be the heavy favorite heading into the state tournament, they went 3-0 this week.

Division Player of the Week: Jacob Esquivel of Lordsburg and John Paul Garcia of Tucumcari both lead their teams to big wins. Esquivel put in 19 points in a win on Saturday. Garcia poured in 31 points in a win over Santa Rosa in a marquee contest.

Elite Eight:
Final Four:
State Champion:
Mr. Basketball:

Top Prospect Report: 2017 Guards
Joshua J Grine

Today, we take a look at our guards for the class of 2017 on our countdown of Top Players in the state of New Mexico. To view the rest of the Player Rankings view our Top Prospects Report homepage.


Desmond Carpenter of Cibola

6A - Guards

#1. Clay Patterson, SG, 6'0'' Rio Rancho HS

Patterson, is one of the better shooters in the state but will also take you off the dribble. But it doesn't stop there he defends well and has great vision.

#2. Desmond Carpenter, G, 6'0'' Cibola HS

The district is loaded with quality guards and Carpenter is among the best of them. Carpenter is a basketball player through and through. He, like Patterson, can beat you with his shooting but has excellent handles and passing abilities.

#3. Juan Hurt, G, 5'10'' Rio Rancho HS

Hurt is the guard or player that will go out there and win you a game. We've seen him several times and every time he is big time. He could be one of the more consistent guards from scoring and doing the little things in a big way.

#4. Hunter Thomas, SG, 5'9'' Onate HS

Thomas, didn't disappoint in either game that we seen in person, actually took home the player of the game in one game we seen. Thomas is clutch as a spot up shooter.

#5. Tristan McCarty, PG, La Cueva HS

I hit on this before, but McCarty might be one of my favorite point guards who has truly made the Bears move. He pushes the tempo and makes smart decisions with the ball.

#6. Joshua Bailey, G, Gadsden HS

Bailey has been good this season and has played well. The game we seen he showed some athleticism and solid shooting. He also moved well without the ball creating points off his court awareness.

7. Tony Zamora, PG, 5'8'' Onate HS
8. Isaac Brito, PG, 5'9'', Cibola HS
9. Jai Douglas, G, 5'9'', Albuquerque HS

5A GUARDS for 2017

1. Matt Vail, G, Grants HS: 6-foot guard who has some of the best instincts. Averaging 11 points per game.

2. Kayden Walker, G, Los Lunas HS: One of our favorite players in the list as Walker is one of the better stop and pop shooters off the dribble. He might have the most weapons off the dribble, 15 footer and passing along with a no nonsense defender.

3. LeAnthoney Harrison, G, Goddard HS: Better playing off the ball on the wing. Harrison at 13.8 points per game has played both some PG and SG. Solid shooter but quality slasher.

4. Tenessee Owens, G, Centennial HS: Owens a new player to NM but one that is putting up consistent numbers in points and assists. Smart player that understands the game.

5. Hunter Wisneski, G, Los Lunas HS: Another 2017 class member that is one of the top players in the state. Wisneski is a solid point guard but super quick in transition.

6. Garret Smothermon, G, Roswell HS: One name that you don't hear often but one that will blow up after you see him in the state tournament.

7. Ethan Duff, PG, Artesia HS: Work horse basketball player that is one of the quickest prospects on the list.

4A Top Guards

1. James Garcia, Pojoaque Valley.
2. Marcus Medina, Hope Christian.
3. Randall Poor Thunder, Ruidoso HS
4. Dominic Roybal, Pojoaque Valley
5. TJ Madrid, Taos HS
6. Jr Ramirez, Portales HS
7. Luke Archuleta, St. Mike's HS
8. Cole Yearout, Hope Christian.
9. Andru Sanchez, Cobre HS
10. Ryan Johnson, Hot Spring HS

What Do Other States Do That New Mexico Should Follow?

Regarding HS Sports?

Top 10 Catchers In New Mexico

Heading into this season

Who are they?

Top Newcomers To Watch For In 2016

Who are they? All classes welcomed!