FARMINGTON – The time has arrived for the high school season to get underway, with several teams looking to make reasonable bids for a chance at state championships.
The Bloomfield High football team, winners of back-to-back state championships in Class 4A, make a trip to Santa Fe High for a neutral site game against Clovis.
Here’s a glimpse of some of this weekend’s games across San Juan County, with a bonus glance at a pair of important contests across the state.
The annual renewal of the “Milk Jug” rivalry is just one of the storylines surrounding the season opener for both teams.
For the Scorpions and Panthers, a win tonight puts a positive spin on what will be an important chase for a postseason berth.
Piedra Vista, returning to Class 5A this season, are expected to contend for a state title. Maxpreps ranks the Panthers fourth overall in Class 5A behind Artesia, Roswell and Los Lunas.
Farmington, looking to rebound off a tough season in which they won only one game last year, will turn to an experienced group of returning starters to get the season off to a fast start.
This is the 27th meeting between the inter-city rivals on the football field with Piedra Vista leading the series 14-12. Last year, the teams met in the final game of the regular season in a district clash that ended with the Panthers scoring a 17-14 win in the final minute of the contest.
The two-time defending Class 4A champs hit the road for the first of two non-district games as the Bobcats will square off against Class 6A Clovis.
The Wildcats, led by head coach Stan Hodges, are ranked 13th out of 16 teams in Class 6A. The team hasn’t had a winning season since 2019, but did win their season opener last year beating Farmington by a score of 32-27. The Bobcats have lost only one game over the past two seasons and enter the contest atop the latest Maxpreps Class 4A rankings.
This is the first meeting between the two teams on the football field. Last year, Clovis surrendered more than 40 points six times. The Bobcats set a state record last year scoring 753 total points, but will have several new skill players debuting this weekend.
A battle of two of the top-ranked teams in Class 6A may be the most consequential game of the season for both teams in the early season.
The two-time defending Class 6A champion Cleveland High will open at home as the top-ranked team in the classification according to Maxpreps.
Centennial, ranked fifth overall, will look to get revenge on the Storm after back-to-back losses in their last two meetings.
The Storm have won the state title five times in the past six seasons and are expected to compete for their third straight championship. They will have to accomplish that with junior quarterback Michael Denison, making his debut this season as the signal-caller.
Junior Damian Rodriguez and senior D’Angelo Mitchell give Cleveland will also be looked upon to contribute from out of the backfield.
The Hawks will welcome back senior Ruiz Laborin for his second season as the starting quarterback. He had a good junior season with a 59.3% completion rate, 1,992 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 501 yards and 11 touchdowns on 95 carries.
Artesia, looking to repeat as Class 5A champions, opens their season at the Bulldog Bowl for for another installment of the Eddy County War.
Artesia capped off a 12-1 season with a 25-24 win over Roswell in the state championship game, while Carlsbad finished last season with a record of 6-6, losing to Hobbs in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A state tournament.
This is the 11th consecutive season the two programs have opened the year against each other. The Bulldogs, led by head coach Jeremy Maupin, have won 33 state trophies and are considered to be the leading football program in the history of the state.
Carlsbad brings back a number of talented skill players from last year’s playoff run, including linebacker Colton McKibben and running back Brock Wright. McKibben, a four-star recruit committed to UCLA, recorded 111 tackles last season. Wright recorded 12 touchdowns and rushed for 1,113 yards.
Last season in Carlsbad, Artesia won by a score of 48-24.
A pair of programs looking for a new identity will square off at Fred Cook Memorial Stadium.
Aztec, with new head coach Colton Weaver, is happy with the turnout of players looking to start off the season on the right path in their first run in Class 3A. Aztec has struggled each of the last several seasons in Class 4A .
Bayfield will be led by legendary head coach Rocky Long on the sidelines. Long compiled a career major college head coaching record of 146–107 losses over 20 seasons, with nine seasons at San Diego State University. The team has been struggling to pull numbers in recent weeks and are trying to reestablish successes from years past.
A total of 10 years have passed since the Chieftains were unbeaten in District 1-4A. However, over the past five seasons, Shiprock has won only eight times, lost 40 and find themselves debuting in Class 2A after a pair of difficult campaigns in Class 3A.
The Broncos, entering their first full season under head coach Bob Shuttleworth, also debut in a new classification. The New Mexico Activities Association announced changes in May which included Kirtland Central dropping into Class 3A.
Kirtland Central quarterback Chance Aspaas will look to improve his numbers off last year’s campaign while Shiprock is hoping to snap a 13-game winless streak against the Broncos which dates back to 2006.
Both Raton and Navajo Prep enter this season with legitimate district championship hopes.
The Tigers return Braylon Walton at quarterback and Cael Walton in the backfield, giving them an experienced and explosive foundation. Defensively, junior Colt Ayon returns after leading the team with 123 total tackles.
Navajo Prep also brings back a strong corps of skill players, including Gracin Vigil, Nijrelle Denetso, Aden Clah and Dallas Wilson.
Earlier this week, the Wingate High School’s official athletics department online page announced that the football team would return in 2027. The Wingate season opener against Newcomb scheduled for Friday has been canceled. No alternate game for Newcomb had been announced at time of publication.
Joshua Griñe of NMPreps.com contributed to this report. For more information, check out NMPreps.com.