Yodice: Week 1 winners and other observations

Week 1 of the prep football season is in the books, so let’s do some reflecting:

WINNERS: There are a few teams I want to single out for their Week 1 performances.

We will start in Doña Ana County.

In the nearly 60 years of prep football that has been played between bitter rivals Las Cruces and Mayfield, there has never been a game that looked like the one that unfolded Friday night at the Field of Dreams.

The Bulldawgs, who are most definitely a contender to win a Class 6A state championship in November, dismantled the Trojans 61-6. If you know anything about this rivalry, the margin of victory here must have startled you, as it did me.

Never has a Las Cruces football team dominated Mayfield like this. The most the Bulldawgs ever beat the Trojans was by 34 points, in 1992. And the largest margin of victory for either side, before Friday, was Mayfield’s 49-0 triumph in 1971.

This had to be the most impressive win by any team this weekend. But there were other schools with victories of note. This includes the Santa Rosa Lions.

Last season, Santa Rosa lost two games to eventual Class 2A state champion Texico by a combined score of 100-0, including 50-0 in the final.

But Friday night, the Lions scored a hugely important 22-15 victory over the Wolverines.

Texico had taken a 15-14 lead with just a handful of minutes to go, and went for two.

Santa Rosa answered with David Chavez scoring the game-winning touchdown with 20 seconds left. The Lions also went for 2, allowing for the final margin.

Both Chavez and Josh Cordova, who scored Santa Rosa’s other two touchdowns, went over 100 yards. But psychologically, what an enormous step forward for the Lions, especially against a team that had so thoroughly owned them last fall.

Next is the Bernalillo Spartans.

The Spartans’ 16-14 win on Thursday night against Valley in and of itself is not terribly surprising. Bernalillo, after all, was a state semifinal team in Class 4A last November, and the Spartans had a good number of kids from that team on this 2025 roster.

How Bernalillo accomplished this is what impresses. The Spartans’ starting quarterback, Anthony Willie, left the game in the third quarter with an injury.

Bernalillo coach John Cobos had three different players taking snaps during the remainder of the game. One of those three, Mario Molinar, scored out of the Wildcat formation in the fourth quarter to put the Spartans ahead, 15-14.

This is precisely the kind of win that helps illustrate whether a program is truly healthy. Bernalillo overcame much to win this game, and the Spartans also forced six turnovers, including a blocked field goal.

Lastly, props to Roswell High. The Coyotes, even with some new faces, showed off their defensive prowess yet again, and stymied Los Lunas throughout in a 27-8 decision at Wool Bowl on Friday.

Those eight Tiger points arrived via two field goals and a safety. Gotta admit, I believed Los Lunas would show much better than that, and I was somewhat surprised by the complete domination by Roswell. Exceptionally solid opening win for coach Jeff Lynn’s team.

ON THE QB TRAIL: There was a bit of tumult at this position in Week 1.

We talked about Willie at Bernalillo; not sure when he will return.

Very quietly, Volcano Vista managed a 21-20 win over La Cueva even though the Hawks’ starter, Spirit Penn-Cook, left in the middle of the third quarter with an injury.

You’d never want to have to change quarterbacks in the middle of a game, naturally, but the Hawks, like Bernalillo, adapted, and their backup, Aurelius Wiley, managed things nicely down the stretch.

We need to also talk about Manual Chavarria, Bloomfield High’s new quarterback. He chucked five TD passes in his starting debut for the defending Class 4A state champion Bobcats, and you could not ask for a better sign if you were a Bloomfield fan than your new QB — replacing the fantastic Blake Spencer — slinging five scores on opening night.

The one new quarterback under the most scrutiny is La Cueva’s Monty Melendez. He had moments where he performed quite nicely in Thursday’s opener against Volcano Vista, and there were other moments when his newness to the spotlight showed, although that’s to be expected. He threw for just under 200 yards and also had some deft feet when he scrambled. His progression will continue to be of interest.

I don’t want to attach too much significance to any single Week 1 win or loss. (Eldorado falls into this category; let’s not get too worked up just yet, shall we, about one win, though admittedly it was a handsome opener for the burnt orange.) Cam Dyer, now at Arizona State, had his struggles when he first became La Cueva’s regular starting QB a couple of years ago, and look how he turned out. Let’s give this one some more time.

NEW COACHES: Joey Romero of Legacy Academy was the only one of the metro area’s four new head coaches to earn a Week 1 victory, as the Silverbacks battered Laguna-Acoma on Saturday.

Two of the other three, David Howes at Cibola and Tylon Wilder of Sandia, both had leads in the fourth quarters, only to see their opponents (Albuquerque High for Cibola, Piedra Vista for Sandia) rally and win. Sandia’s loss came in overtime.

Dominic Casaus of Atrisco Heritage is the other new head coach, and his Jaguars fell to Rio Rancho.

THIS AND THAT: Former Ruidoso head coach and former Cleveland assistant (before Ruidoso) Greg Crow is back with the Storm this season, coaching wide receivers. … Los Alamos beat Española Valley 54-6 on Saturday; this game had been scheduled Friday night but had to be postponed due to repeated lightning strikes. … Clovis on Friday ended an 11-game losing streak dating to late 2023, as the Wildcats, at home, held off Farmington 32-27.