October 11, 2012

Kyle Henderson
NMPreps.com Publisher

Welcome to week seven of the New Mexico High School Football Season. Leading up to each Friday of the Season, we'll preview over 40 games by region starting on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The four New Mexico Regions are Northern, Metro Area, Southeast, and Southwest. Friday Night we need your help collecting game scores. Please text us to 505.577.5953 and if you tweet high school football scores, please type in a score then use the hastag #nmpreps.?

More: Week 6 Scores | Week 6 Top Performers | Play-Off Predictions | Midseason All-State

Las Cruces 4-1 @ Onate 3-3
The Las Cruces Bulldawgs posted more than 500-yards off offense against Artesia last weekend in a 54-27 victory in the Bulldog Bowl. Their offense has been led by Jonathan Joy at quarterback who has passed for 1,088-yards and 11 touchdowns. The Bulldawgs featured back is JJ Grandados who has ran for 475-yards and 10 touchdowns. Up front as mentioned several times on NMPreps.com, their offensive and defensive line are massive. The play of defensive tackles Taylor Tisby along with Jacob Benegas has been stellar. The Knights are 3-3 this year scoring 26.0 points per game and have paled in some very tight game this year, just last week they beat West Mesa 28-27 thanks to a late field goal miss from the Mustangs. Onate has a quarterback by the name of Curtis Hynes that sees the field well throwing for just over 1,000-yards. Onate's rushing game is led by Isaiah Fielder who has ran for 747-yards this year. Onate's play-off hopes are shot if they don't take at least third in District 3-5A. Playing Las Cruces within 10 points will almost serve as a win.

Ruidoso 6-0 @ Silver 4-1
The marquee 3A contest is between two of the top teams in Class 3A. The winner will likely be ranked No. 2 overall in the next NMPreps.com Class 3A Rankings. As we go inside the numbers, Ruidoso is scoring 38.3 points per game this year and is off to their best start ever under Head Coach Kief Johnson. Ruidoso Quarterback Bryce Pompos has thrown for 810-yards and 10 touchdowns this year and has also ran for 506-yards on the ground. Ruidoso is also has a prime receiving threat in Parker Johnson who has caught for 490-yards and five touchdowns. If this becomes a scoring shootout, Ruidoso has the talent to win, also watch for Dylan Demerest on defense. The Silver Fighting Colts are 4-1 this year coming off their first loss of the season against Deming losing 14-12. At Quarterback is Junior Derek Salas and at Running Back is Nevada Bencomo who has ran for 200-yards a few times this year. On the defensive side of the ball, Silver has some big time players like Frank Castillo who has six interceptions and Dakota Bencomo, one of the top linebackers regardless of Class

Alamogordo 2-3 @ Deming 3-2
The Alamogordo Tigers defeated Hobbs last weekend 34-14 thanks to 200-yards rushing from John Matzke. This Tiger team is still a question mark and they still have play-off hopes if they can put together a couple late season wins. They don't throw the football well and are not going to try to re-invent what they do this weekend. Stop the run and stop Alamogordo. The Wildcats now at 3-2 this year after a big 14-12 victory over Silver has a good amount of momentum and also has a power run game powered by Ismael Garrett who ran for over 200-yards last weekend against Silver. The Wildcats are scoring 24.8 points per game and have wins over Hot Springs, Santa Fe, and Silver. Beating Alamogordo would be huge for continued team morale.

Mayfield 3-3 @ Gadsden 3-3
The Mayfield Trojans are 3-3 after a 34-24 victory over the Volcano Vista Hawks last Saturday and once again proved that they are a tough match up for any New Mexico team. Remember, Mayfield is 3-1 this year against New Mexico Teams, but their offense has been very slow to put points on the board scoring just 21.17 points per game. Mayfield Running Back Marcus Inglemon has ran for 519-yards and seven touchdowns. As for the Gadsden Panthers they are now .500 after losing to Roswell 15-12. The Panthers are scoring 23.5 points per game and allowing just 26.7.

Taos 4-1 @ Socorro 3-2
The Taos Tigers are coming off a 41-7 win over the Espanola Valley Sundevils and are scoring 24.0 points per game. On the season this surprise team of the season has been led by running backIsaac Gonzales who has ran for 636-yards and seven touchdowns. The Socorro Warriors lost a huge game last weekend against Hope Christian losing 21-14 and need this win to stay in the home field play-off race. Zeb Esquivel and Zach Binger are their top two scoring threats.

Tularosa 4-2 @ Hatch Valley 3-2
The Wildcats now 4-2 this year have a great opportunity to flex their muscle as the team to beat in District if they can get past Hatch Valley. Most seem to still have Hatch Valley as a question mark team, but from the looks of it Hatch Valley is a 2A contender. Tularosa is scoring 25.7 points per game and led by do-it-all threat Jim Coleman at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds. Hatch Valley is led by Chase Carson at Quarterback who has thrown for 603 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Bears lost last weekend against Centennial 44-37, but are scoring 37.4 points per game which is impressive. We expect a high scoring shootout.

Cobre 3-3 @ Lordsburg 3-3
Another 2A marquee match up in district 3-2A and a rivalry game simply. The Cobre Indians are coming off a 41-8 win against Zuni and are scoring 20.38 points per game game. Lordsburg is coming off two wins in row over Anthony, Texas and Tornillo, Texas. The difference in this game is next level Lordsburg Running Back Prospect Wendell Hayes who has ran for 723-yards and 5 touchdowns this year.

Southeast Regional Preview Here

Northern Regional Preview Here

Metro Area Preview Here

High School Hoops Preview Here