Grine: What to Watch This Week
Week 2 is officially here and today we run down the must-see games to watch this week in New Mexico high school football. #nmpreps
GAMES OF THE NIGHT
Thursday Night (August 25th/7p)
Ruidoso (1-0) at Portales (1-0)
It'll be a bit of a quiet night on Thursday night as far as "big" games, so we'll go with this 4A vs 3A clash of eastern New Mexico teams. The Ruidoso Warriors (No. 2 NMPreps 3A) are favored in 3A football to contend for a title and return off a win over 5A Gadsden, 20-0, in week 1. The Portales Rams (No. 4 NMPreps 4A) held their own against a visiting Albuquerque-Highland in week one beating the visiting Hornets, 31-16. The defense will play into this outcome and the all eyes on me could be focused on 6-foot-6 DE Dalton Trapp of Ruidoso.
Friday Night (August 26th/7p)
Cleveland (0-1) at La Cueva (1-0)
Despite being upset in week one, Cleveland playing against La Cueva will still bring the marquee status that you'd want to see in week 2 of the season. La Cueva (No. 1 NMPreps 6A) brings arguably the best offense in the class behind a duo of Aidan Armenta (2023) and Ian Sanchez (2023) which connect 7-times for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns in week 1. Cleveland (No. 3 NMPreps 6A) still features an offense that could light up the scoreboard and Nic Trujillo (2023) lived up to the hype last week scoring all five touchdowns for the Storm. The x-factor in this contest will be on the DL and La Cueva featuring Mason Posa (2025) could be trouble for the Storm.
Saturday (August 27th/11a)
Rio Rancho (0-1) at Eldorado (0-1)
We will mention this game again in this feature for our rapid fire and we will use this spot as the reason why. The Rams and Eldorado both enter the week coming off a loss, the Rams looking for some offensive answers falling last week and not scoring a single offensive point. Eldorado dropped their contest to Cibola, 39-29, and hope for a better finish this week after jumping out early.
RAPID FIRE
Playoff Bubble Talk: Belen (0-1) at Manzano (0-1) on Thursday night could give us an idea of the 10-12 seeds in 5A football. Both are looking for their first touchdown after being shutout in their openers.
A Playoff Team Could Start 0-2: Rio Rancho (0-1) at Eldorado (0-1). This is the best game to watch on Saturday and also fits well into this section for the week.
Rebound Week: St. Pius X (0-1) hopes to rebound after a lackluster opening week loss as they face Highland (0-1). This game is on Thursday night.
Measuring Stick: Carlsbad (0-1) at Goddard (1-0). Carlsbad fell to Goddard district foe Artesia last week, 30-27. This game could give us a small idea of the placement for the Rockets. Also, Carlsbad could be a dangerous opponent and their response to that close loss could make this one very intriguing.
Closed for the Game: Artesia (1-0) at Hobbs (1-0). Artesia and Hobbs are both solid this season, well Artesia is always solid, but Hobbs has one of their best teams under head coach Stevens. This is a sneaky favorite game of mine for the weekend.
Double Take: Sandia (1-0) at Piedra Vista (1-0) and St. Michael's (1-0) at Capital (1-0) will give us an idea of just how good some teams are. In the Sandia-PV game two things intrigue us: Sandia a top-8 team in 6A or did last week show that they are still in the 9-12 spots. Piedra Vista dominated Farmington last week but this week could give us a better of idea of just how dominant they are in 5A football. Capital looked much improved last week but they'll have a tougher competition against St. Michael's.
Western Showdown: Volcano Vista (1-0) at West Mesa (1-0). We missed last week on both of these teams. Volcano Vista beat Las Cruces despite being a 12 point underdog. West Mesa a 6.5 underdog also won last week. Both feature a quarterback that shined. Elliott Pasket-Bell (VV) threw for 226-yards last week. Elijah Brody (WM) controlled the offense for the Mustangs in his first contest.
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Post your must-see games to watch this week
Week 2 is officially here and today we run down the must-see games to watch this week in New Mexico high school football. #nmpreps
GAMES OF THE NIGHT
Thursday Night (August 25th/7p)
Ruidoso (1-0) at Portales (1-0)
It'll be a bit of a quiet night on Thursday night as far as "big" games, so we'll go with this 4A vs 3A clash of eastern New Mexico teams. The Ruidoso Warriors (No. 2 NMPreps 3A) are favored in 3A football to contend for a title and return off a win over 5A Gadsden, 20-0, in week 1. The Portales Rams (No. 4 NMPreps 4A) held their own against a visiting Albuquerque-Highland in week one beating the visiting Hornets, 31-16. The defense will play into this outcome and the all eyes on me could be focused on 6-foot-6 DE Dalton Trapp of Ruidoso.
Friday Night (August 26th/7p)
Cleveland (0-1) at La Cueva (1-0)
Despite being upset in week one, Cleveland playing against La Cueva will still bring the marquee status that you'd want to see in week 2 of the season. La Cueva (No. 1 NMPreps 6A) brings arguably the best offense in the class behind a duo of Aidan Armenta (2023) and Ian Sanchez (2023) which connect 7-times for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns in week 1. Cleveland (No. 3 NMPreps 6A) still features an offense that could light up the scoreboard and Nic Trujillo (2023) lived up to the hype last week scoring all five touchdowns for the Storm. The x-factor in this contest will be on the DL and La Cueva featuring Mason Posa (2025) could be trouble for the Storm.
Saturday (August 27th/11a)
Rio Rancho (0-1) at Eldorado (0-1)
We will mention this game again in this feature for our rapid fire and we will use this spot as the reason why. The Rams and Eldorado both enter the week coming off a loss, the Rams looking for some offensive answers falling last week and not scoring a single offensive point. Eldorado dropped their contest to Cibola, 39-29, and hope for a better finish this week after jumping out early.
RAPID FIRE
Playoff Bubble Talk: Belen (0-1) at Manzano (0-1) on Thursday night could give us an idea of the 10-12 seeds in 5A football. Both are looking for their first touchdown after being shutout in their openers.
A Playoff Team Could Start 0-2: Rio Rancho (0-1) at Eldorado (0-1). This is the best game to watch on Saturday and also fits well into this section for the week.
Rebound Week: St. Pius X (0-1) hopes to rebound after a lackluster opening week loss as they face Highland (0-1). This game is on Thursday night.
Measuring Stick: Carlsbad (0-1) at Goddard (1-0). Carlsbad fell to Goddard district foe Artesia last week, 30-27. This game could give us a small idea of the placement for the Rockets. Also, Carlsbad could be a dangerous opponent and their response to that close loss could make this one very intriguing.
Closed for the Game: Artesia (1-0) at Hobbs (1-0). Artesia and Hobbs are both solid this season, well Artesia is always solid, but Hobbs has one of their best teams under head coach Stevens. This is a sneaky favorite game of mine for the weekend.
Double Take: Sandia (1-0) at Piedra Vista (1-0) and St. Michael's (1-0) at Capital (1-0) will give us an idea of just how good some teams are. In the Sandia-PV game two things intrigue us: Sandia a top-8 team in 6A or did last week show that they are still in the 9-12 spots. Piedra Vista dominated Farmington last week but this week could give us a better of idea of just how dominant they are in 5A football. Capital looked much improved last week but they'll have a tougher competition against St. Michael's.
Western Showdown: Volcano Vista (1-0) at West Mesa (1-0). We missed last week on both of these teams. Volcano Vista beat Las Cruces despite being a 12 point underdog. West Mesa a 6.5 underdog also won last week. Both feature a quarterback that shined. Elliott Pasket-Bell (VV) threw for 226-yards last week. Elijah Brody (WM) controlled the offense for the Mustangs in his first contest.
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Post your must-see games to watch this week
