October 16, 2012

Kyle Henderson
NMPreps.com Publisher

Welcome to week Eight 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 7 Scores | Week 7 Top Performers | Play-Off Predictions | Midseason All-State

Las Cruces 5-1 @ Alamogordo 2-4
Last weekend the Alamogordo Tigers fell to Deming 29-28 in a midseason setback loss. Alamogordo allowed over 250-yards rushing from Deming which is not a good sign after the numbers that Las Cruces has been posting up as of late. The Bulldawgs rolled past Onate in the District 3-5A opener last weekend 52-20 thanks to 388-yards passing from Jonathan Joy and over 100-yards rushing from JJ Grandados. The Bulldawgs are scoring 42.5 points per game and are ranked No. 2 in the latest NMPreps.com Rankings. Getting to 2-0 in district is something that has to be done this weekend. A monster win over Alamogordo is expected.

Gadsden 3-4 @ Onate 3-4
If Gadsden wants a shot at the play-offs for the first time in many years, they'll have to beat Onate. The Panthers need to look at this game as a play-off game and it's that simple. Last weekend the Panthers were tied with Mayfield 21-21 before the Trojans broke the door down to win 51-21. Gadsden is improved and if Onate sleep walks into this game Gadsden a team that is scoring 23.14 points per game will upset the Knights Friday Night. The Onate Knights now 3-4 on the season after a 52-20 loss to Las Cruces last weekend are still in the play-off mix, but do not control their own destiny. They have to basically win out or beat Gadsden and Alamogordo and hope for some league losses. On the season, the Knights continue to get big efforts from running back Isaiah Fielder who is close to 1,000-yards this year.

Silver 5-1 @ Santa Teresa 1-5
The Silver Colts defeated Ruidoso last weekend 38-6 in route to one of the biggest statewide statements in week seven. Silver seems to be the only 3A team that even has a shot at St. Michael's this year thanks to a solid defense that is allowing just 9.3 points per game. Linebacker duo Dakota and Nevada Bencomo are all-state type players and while Santa Teresa is in Class 4A Silver has beaten the Desert Warriors many, many times before when they used to share District 3-4A. The Desert Warriors are 1-5 this year after losing to EP Cathedral two weeks ago 21-18. This team is more dangerous then they seem and could very well take Silver down to the wire. The reason is the play of quarterback AJ Sedillo and when he is healthy, Santa Teresa looks like a play-off team. Don't be surprised if Santa Teresa keeps it somewhat close.

Centennial 3-3 @ Socorro 4-2
The Centennial Hawks now 3-3 on the season after beating Hot Springs 41-20 take on Socorro this weekend in a game they need to win to continue their play-off hopes. Centennial New Head Coach is Aaron Ocampo and Socorro's Head Coach is Damien Ocampo and this will be the first time ever the two-coaches have coached against each other in football. The Hawks are led by Quarterback Queving Redding who has thrown for 1,086yards this year and 13 touchdowns. Christian Barrera has caught for 740 of those yards and seven touchdowns. Their rushing attack is led by Daniel Conklin who has ran for 616-yards, however Conklin is now done for the year suffering a broken femur against Hot Springs last weekend. The Warriors are coming off a 34-7 win against Taos and led by Zach Binger and Zeb Esquivel.

Hatch 3-3 @ Hot Springs 1-6
The Hatch Bears have lost three in a row, however their top five ranking in Class 2A has not been affected as they've played tight in two out of three of those games against some solid competition. Hatch needs this game for some late season momentum as they are getting ready to continue their very competitive district schedule. Chase Carson at quarterback needs to put the ball in the end-zone several times to beat Hot Springs. The Tigers might be 1-6 this year, but their record does not indicate their talent. They have played a good schedule with solid teams week in and week out. If Running Back Nati Villa is healthy, Hot Springs is in this game for fourth quarters.

Cobre 3-4 @ Mesilla Valley 3-2
The Cobre Indians are now 3-4 after losing to Lordsburg last weekend 42-6. Cobre much improved this year playing in Class 2A has been up and down all season and while they enter this game as the underdog against Mesilla Valley over the course of the season Cobre has shown that they can win the close game. Mesilla Valley is one 2A team that is still a question mark, but over the last three weeks Mesilla Valley has beaten NMMI and Hot Springs for some late season momentum. On the year Christian Jimenez has been their play-maker catching nine touchdowns this season. We still have Mesilla Valley as a play-off team, but a loss to Cobre and they are out.

Lordsburg 4-3 @ Tularosa 5-2
The Mavericks coming of a massive 42-6 win over Cobre is ready for their challenge to have a shot at the Wildcats. What we like about Lordsburg is their rushing attack helping the Mavericks post 31.0 points per game on the scoreboard. Their strength at rushing the football comes from next level prospect Wendell Hayes who has ran for 1,000-yards in seven games this season. The Wildcats are 5-2 and ranked No. 2 in the NMPreps.com Class 2A Rankings after a 34-28 win over Hatch. Last weekend Jim Coleman caught three touchdowns for Tularosa making it clear that he is one of the top prospects in Class 2A this season. The Wildcats are a play-off lock, but their seeding position would be greatly affected with a loss to Lordsburg. The two teams are rivals, so expect anything to go down in this game.