Prep Roundup: Aug. 26-Sept. 19

The Look Ahead (Sept. 12-19)

FOOTBALL

The Rams (2-1) and the Storm (2-1) are heading south this week. Cleveland will start. They play Las Cruces High School (LCHS) (2-1) on Thursday night. Rio Rancho High School will follow, taking on undefeated Centennial (3-0) under the Friday night lights.

All four squads across the two games are ranked in the top ten, according to the MaxPreps rankings (as of Sept. 8)—Centennial (#2), Cleveland (#3), Las Cruces (#7) and Rio Rancho (#10).

Las Cruces (2-1) is coming off a tighter-than-it-looks 34-21 win in Rio Rancho last week. The week before that, they were in Albuquerque where they lost a heartbreaker to Volcano Vista. They are confident, they are ready, and they are finally on their home turf.

CHS head coach Robert Garza will put his defensive front to the test against Las Cruces game-wrecking running back David Amaro. Luckily, after a brutal week one loss to Centennial, Coach Garza said, “we got to get tougher up front,” and that’s exactly what his team has focused on ever since. And it worked. The Storm have held their opponents to seven combined points over two games. At the same time, the CHS high-flying offense has broken the 50-point mark on offense in both of those games (55-7 vs Los Lunas, Aug. 30 and 54-0 @ Clovis, Sept. 6).

For the Rams, this will be a chance for head coach Nate Pino and his staff to see how well their team bounces back from adversity (see: their game against Las Cruces, mentioned above.) Despite the score, the Rams hung with the Bulldawgs until the final five minutes of the game and remain a dark horse team.

They will certainly have their hands full, however. Centennial is ranked #2 in the state behind the La Cueva Bears. They opened their season by beating #3 Cleveland in Rio Rancho.

Certainly, Coach Pino will have some tricks up his sleeve for the Hawks and Rams QB JJ Arellano should be able to disrupt the tough Centennial front with his big arm stretching the field.

If there was ever a time to take a late-in-the-work-week trip down to Las Cruces, this would be it.

Bernalillo High School (3-0) may be ranked #19 in the state, but they are #2 in class 4A and coming off an impressive 14-7 performance against Portales last week. The Spartans and head coach John Cobos will look to take that momentum into division play, which begins this week.

BHS will face off at home against the 2-1 Moriarty Pintos to start division play.

The Pintos are a tough team who know how to pull victory from the jaws of defeat just as well as they know how to dominate. In week one, Moriarty pulled out a gutsy 28-27 win against Academy and in week two they cruised past an overwhelmed Shiprock squad 54-0.

Schedule

Sept. 12 – CHS @ Las Cruces, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 – RRHS @ Centennial, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 – BHS vs Moriarty, 6 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER

It’s the first week of post-Metro tournament play for the boys and the time has come to settle into the rhythm of the season. For the Rams (5-2) that means facing Los Alamos (4-2) at RRHS. Los Alamos scores far less than the Rams on average, 2.2 goals-per-match to Rio Rancho’s 3.3, but they have a stout defense that will look to slow the game down. Next, they head to Atrisco Heritage to take on the Jaguars (3-2-1). The Jags have been in a bit of a slump lately, but they could discover their early season form at any time.

Bernalillo plays three times in the next week. After a long trip to play Robertson (1-2-1), the Spartans head home to face Taos (5-2) and then Moriarty (1-6). It will be a major endurance test for BHS, who are looking to build on their recent winning form, having won three of their last four matches.

Schedule

Sept. 13 – CHS vs Opponent TBA

Sept. 14 – CHS vs Opponent TBA

Sept. 14 – BHS @ Robertson, 10 a.m.

Sept. 17 – RRHS vs Los Alamos, 6 p.m.

Sept. 17 – BHS vs Taos, 4 p.m.

Sept. 19 – RRHS @ Atrisco Heritage, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 19 – BHS vs Moriarty

GIRLS SOCCER

The girls are entering a lighter section of their calendar. Bernalillo (3-3-1) will play 4A-2 division-leaders Morarity (3-1) in the Pintos home stadium.

Meanwhile, the Storm will face the Los Alamos Hilltoppers (2-2-1) as they look to get their season back on track.

The Rams have a slightly busier week. They also Play Los Alamos, but on the road. Then they will head back to play a feisty Atrisco Heritage (2-5) squad two days later. The Jaguars made waves at the recent Metro Tournament with a 10-0 victory over Rio Grande.

Schedule

Sept. 12 – CHS vs Los Alamos

Sept. 17 – RRHS @ Los Alamos

Sept. 19 – RRHS vs Atrisco Heritage

Sept. 19 – BHS @ Moriarty

VOLLEYBALL

Last week was soccer. This week, it’s volleyball’s turn for the Metro Championship. That’s the good news. The bad news is that RRHS and CHS are in the same pool: Pool D. By the time this goes to print, pool play will be over, and everyone will have their seeding for the knockout stages, which begin Sept. 12.

It’s been a disappointing couple of games for the highly anticipated Cleveland Storm (3-2) team. They fell to both Las Cruces (7-0) and La Cueva (1-0). However, those are two of the best programs in the state and either one could be a championship preview. With CHS’s Emma Wild banged up, Coach Gomez will lean on her other D1 talent in Ceci Vance, Kelsey Hefner and Azlynn Tittmann to help get them back on track.

Unfortunately, they will need to try to get back on track against a rising RRHS Rams squad. After a tricky start to the season, falling in their first two games by a combined six sets to one, a trip south seems to have knocked the rust off. Though the entire pool is difficult, the Rams will get their first real chance to prove themselves when they face off against hometown rivals, the Cleveland Storm.

For more information on the Metro Tournament, please visit nmact.org.

Schedule

Sept. 12-14 – Albuquerque Metro Volleyball Championship 2024 knockout stage (RRHS and CHS seeding determined by pool play, Sept. 10, 2024).

Sept. 12 – BHS vs Moriarty, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 17 – CHS vs Santa Fe, 6 p.m.

Sept. 19 – BHS vs Belen, 6:30 p.m.

CROSS COUNTRY

Things are starting to heat up in the cross country season. CHS and RRHS have three boys ranked in the top 10 in the state: RRHS’s Cody Sullivan (#3) and Mateo Herrera (#4), and CHS’s Vince Madalena (#10), according to MileSplit NM, an online cross country tracking site. The girls have two in the top ten: CHS’s Shahad Akasha (#6) and RRHS’s Mariah Galbraith (#8). Rio Rancho High School’s Abigail Beam is knocking at the top ten, sitting at 13 thanks to a big win at the Macen Holderman Cleveland Invite. This week, RRHS and CHS head to UNM’s North Course for the UNM invite.

Schedule

Sept. 14 – CHS, RRHS - UNM Invite @ UNM North Course, 8 a.m.

Sept. 14 – BHS – Ron Valdez Invitational @ Pecos, 8 a.m.

The Look Back (Aug. 29-Sept. 9)

FOOTBALL

Scores

Aug. 30 – BHS 20, Highland 19

Aug. 30 - RRHS 50, Clovis 0

Aug. 30 – CHS 56, Los Lunas 7

Sept. 6 – BHS 14, Portales 7

Sept. 6 – Las Cruces 34, RRHS 21

Sept. 6 – CHS 54, Clovis 0

6A-1 Standings

Team W-L-T PCT PF PA

Cleveland 2-1-0 0.667 137 42

Rio Rancho 2-1-0 0.667 125 49

Volcano 2-1-0 0.667 55 51

Farmington 2-1-0 0.667 96 65

Piedra Vista 1-2-0 0.333 68 71

Cibola 1-2-0 0.333 47 81

4A-1 Standings

Team W-L-T PCT PF PA

Bernalillo 3-0-0 1.000 80 25

Espanola 3-0-0 1.000 76 31

Bloomfield 2-0-0 1.000 102 34

Moriarty 2-1-0 0.667 111 65

Taos 2-1-0 0.667 65 78

Kirtland 1-2-0 0.333 83 62

Grants 1-2-0 0.333 53 94

Aztec 0-2-0 0.000 22 89

BOYS SOCCER

Scores

Aug. 29 – ABQ Academy 3, CHS 1 (Metro Tournament)

Aug. 29 – RRHS 10, Valley 0 (Metro Tournament)

Aug. 31 – BHS 8, Pojoaque 0

Sept. 4 – RRHS 3, Volcano 1

Sept. 4 – CHS 3, Highland 0

Sept. 6 – RRHS 2, CHS 1 (2OT)

Sept. 7 – Artesia 4, BHS 1

Sept. 9 – BHS 5, Aztec 0

5A-1 Standings

Team W-L-T PCT GF GA

Piedra Vista 4-1-0 0.800 25 3

Rio Rancho 5-2-0 0.714 23 9

Cleveland 4-2-1 0.643 12 9

Farmington 2-3-0 0.400 15 15

Volcano 1-3-2 0.333 6 13

Cibola 1-4-0 0.200 6 15

4A-6 Standings

Team W-L-T PCT GF GA

Hope 5-0-0 1.000 24 4

Academy 4-2-0 0.667 16 8

Del Norte 1-1-2 0.500 11 10

Bernalillo 3-4-0 0.429 22 19

Valley 1-5-0 0.167 4 35

GIRLS SOCCER

Scores

Aug. 29 – BHS 4, Valencia 1

Sept. 3 – Cibola 1, RRHS 0

Sept. 4 – La Cueva 6, CHS 0

Sept. 4 – Highland 3, BHS 2

Sept. 5 – Sandia 2, RRHS 2 (Sandia win on PK, 4-2)

Sept. 6 – Eldorado 2, CHS 1

5A-1 Standings

Team W-L-T PCT GF GA

Volcano 5-1-0 0.833 45 6

Farmington 4-1-0 0.800 34 1

Piedra Vista 4-1-0 0.800 13 3

Cleveland 4-3-0 0.571 9 11

Cibola 2-2-1 0.500 4 8

Rio Rancho 3-4-0 0.429 9 8

4A-6 Standings

Team W-L-T PCT GF GA

Hope 6-0-0 1.000 24 2

Academy 4-2-0 0.667 15 6

Bernalillo 3-3-1 0.500 23 10

Valley 1-3-0 0.250 3 23

Del Norte 0-2-1 0.000 0 15

VOLLEYBALL

Scores

Aug. 29 – Gallup 3, BHS 0

Aug. 29 – CHS 3, Los Lunas 0

Aug. 29 – St. Pius 3, RRHS 0

Aug. 31 – BHS 3, Miyamura 1

Sept. 3 – La Cueva 3, CHS 2

Sept. 3 – BHS 3, Miyamura 1

Sept. 5 – BHS 3, Espanola 2

Sept. 6 – Bosque 3, BHS 2

Sept. 7 – Las Cruces 3, CHS 1

Sept. 7 – CHS 3, Centennial 0

Sept. 7 – RRHS 3, Gadsden 0

Sept. 7 – RRHS 3, Silver 1

Sept. 7 – BHS 3, East Mountain 0

Sept. 7 – BHS 3, Thoreau 1

5A-1 Standings

Team W-L-T PCT SW SL

Piedra Vista 4-1-0 0.800 12 5

Volcano Vista 3-1-0 0.750 10 5

Cibola 3-1-0 0.750 9 5

Cleveland 3-2-0 0.600 12 6

Farmington 3-2-0 0.600 11 8

Rio Rancho 2-2-0 0.500 7 7

4A-6 Standings

Team W-L-T PCT SW SL

Hope 5-0-0 1.000 15 2

Academy 4-1-0 0.800 14 4

Valley 3-2-0 0.600 12 6

Bernalillo 5-4-0 0.556 19 17

Del Norte 3-3-0 0.500 11 10