A crucial week looms for the local prep football teams with postseason berths, playoff seedings and even potential playoff home games on the line.
Española Valley vs. Bloomfield, 1 p.m. Saturday
Coming off a bye week, the Sundevils (4-4, 2-3 in District 1-4A) take on defending state champion and top-ranked Bloomfield (7-1, 4-0).
“We’re excited for the challenge,” Sundevils coach Caleb Holbrook said. “We know it’s going to come down to execution. Four quarters and here phases. We stick by that. If we can do that, it usually falls in our favor.”
The problem is the Bobcats have a history of doing that extremely well.
“Players just seem to forget what to do sometimes when they play Bloomfield,” he said. “It’s the wildest thing to see when you watch the film.”
But what the Bobcats, who also won the state title in 2022, have is that championship mentality.
“I’d just say they know how to win,” Holbrook said. “They expect to win. That’s what they do well. They’ve created a culture over there to where they don’t accept anything less than winning.”
Española did put its off week to good use, with the coaches poring over Bloomfield film and also continuing to give freshman quarterback Isaiah Gallegos a crash course in the Sundevils playbook.
“We’ve put in a lot of hours, the coaching staff and I think we’ve come up with a great game plan,” Holbrook said. “I’m excited for Isaiah, for him to step up like he did the week before. He sees a lot. He’s doing really well. Excited for him to take on this challenge, the whole team in general.”
Of course, taking on the Bobcats is a whole different level than facing Kirtland Central like Gallegos did in his first start.
“Bloomfield is a great team,” Holbrook said. “They execute and they’re efficient. They’re great in all three phases and they take advantage of all of them. You can be down 7-0 and then a mistake or two, then out nowhere, it’s 30-0. They’re a great team all around.”
The Bobcats boast a robust and balanced offense led by quarterback Manuel Chavarria, who has thrown for 2,128 yards and 33 touchdowns, with just four interceptions. Much of that production has gone through Kaleb Huchens, who has 34 receptions for 757 yards and 10 TD catches. For good measure, running back Peyton Duncan has 600 yards rushing with nine touchdowns.
Defensively, the Bobcats turn to Cole Gosnell, who leads the team in tackles with 56, including seven for losses, while Huchens and Duncan each have three interceptions.
Still, Holbrook believes the Sundevils are capable of getting the win.
“No matter what our record says, we believe in ourselves,” he said. “We’re a lot better than that on paper. Still a lot to be said about what’s going down in the valley.”
Pojoaque Valley at St. Michael’s, 1 p.m. Saturday
The Elks (4-3, 1-1 in District 2-3A) have already made history this season by knocking off one nemesis in Robertson for the first time, but now face another in two-time defending champion St. Michael’s, who are ranked No. 1 and carry an 8-0 record, 2-0 in district. Pojoaque has never beaten the Horsemen in 12 meetings.
“They’re the state champs for a reason,” Elks coach Zeke Villegas said. “We watched a couple of their games live and we have a couple of films on them and the reason they’re state champion is because they play sound football. They rarely make mistakes and they run the system and they’re just really good at it.”
Even though the Horsemen have suffered a rash of injuries, that hasn’t seemed to slow them down, Villegas said.
“The program is just great. They have the kids and it’s that winner mentality, mental toughness built over the years. We are happy we have five days to prepare. It gives us an extra day of preparation. We’re going to need it to see that we can do against them on Saturday.”
The Elks have the offensive firepower to move the ball against St. Mike’s, especially since top receiver Joaquin Baca got great news in that his injured knee — which was originally thought to be an ACL tear, was not, and he’s good to go for this game.
“That just opens up our offense because he’s our deep threat,” Villegas said.
Jaden Leyba-Moya also has become a reliable running and receiving threat to ably complement the backfield of quarterback Josh Gonzales, explosive runners Jonah Villegas and D’Marcus Rodriguez.
The Horsemen are led by quarterback Jamal Stith, who has thrown for 1,273 yards with 21 touchdowns and only three interceptions, while adding another 436 yards on the ground with 10 more TDs. He’s complemented by running back Isaiah Dominguez, who has 533 yards with 11 touchdowns.
“They’re the same kind of team like us,” Zeke Villegas said. “They can run the ball. They can pass the ball. From what I watched, they’re not about the offensive flash. They don’t give you a lot of eye candy, just a lot of good football players who have just mastered their jobs.
McCurdy at Navajo Prep, 6 p.m. Friday
Coming off consecutive District 1-2A forfeit losses, the Bobcats (4-4, 1-2 in district) are scrambling for their playoff lives against the Eagles (6-2, 2-1), who have a powerful offense, averaging 32 points a game, although they are coming off a 9-8 loss to Hozho Academy.
The Eagles rely on a two-headed quarterback system behind Aden Clah and Kaleil Benally, who have combined for 1,239 yards and 16 touchdowns, but they’ve also combined for 10 interceptions. Nijrelle Denetso is the top receiving threat with 562 yards on 20 catches, nine of which went for scores.
Dallas Wilson carries the ground game with 418 yards and six touchdowns.
McCurdy will counter with running back JJ Vigil, who has 562 yards and 10 touchdowns, and quarterback Julian Niño, who has 508 yards.
Escalante vs. Fort Sumner/House, 7 p.m. Friday
Coming off an emotional win over a former coach, the Lobos (7-2, 4-0 in District 2) now face a huge challenge to wrap up the regular season in 8-man’s top ranked team, the Foxes (7-0, 4-0).
Fort Sumner has only allowed 22 points all season while scoring 356 points and six of its games have ended early on the mercy rule.
“Fort Sumner has a very good, disciplined, physical team,” Escalante coach Carlos Casados said. “They’re undefeated on the season and have a full head of steam coming into this game. They have been running the ball very well, yet also have deep passing threats.”
That versatility has been unstoppable so far, as only Tatum held the Foxes reasonably in check in losing 24-14.
“The key is going to be stopping their run by shutting down the outside and putting pressure on their quarterback,” Casados said. “Our defensive line is going to have to be full speed every play. We can’t let their quarterback set his feet to throw. We have to minimize penalties and turnovers on offense and have all players executing their role on defense.”
There is a lot riding on the outcome, the coach also pointed out.
“This game will not only determine the champion of our district but it sets the tone for upcoming playoff games,” he said. “Our end goal is to obtain a high seed and secure a home game for the first playoff game and hopefully a first-round bye week. We’ve played a full schedule and having a full week to recover and prepare before playoffs would be key.”
Dulce at Navajo Pine,
1 p.m. Saturday
The Hawks (0-6, 0-2 in District 1) wrap up their first season under coach Jeremy Wooten, who was essentially building the program from scratch.
But in facing the Warriors (1-6, 0-2), Dulce has a shot at closing the season on a high note.
Navajo Pine runs its offense through quarterback Josh Martinez, who is primarily a ball carrier with 370 rushing yards and three of the team’s five touchdowns.