Bloomfield, Kirtland Central looking to extend win streaks Friday night
FARMINGTON − The Bloomfield High School football team faces perhaps their toughest test this season to their unbeaten record Friday night for a road trip against Silver.
Meantime, Kirtland Central looks to extend their win streak to three in a row when they host Pagosa Springs.
Here's a look at some of the matchups involving local prep football teams.
Bloomfield (6-0) vs. Silver (5-1), Friday, 7 p.m. at Socorro High School
The Bloomfield Bobcats enter this weekend as the top-ranked team in New Mexico at Class 4A and as one of only six teams in the state without a loss. The Bobcats are coming off a hard-fought win at Bayfield last weekend.
Silver lost for the first time this season last weekend in a 7-0 game at home against Deming. The Fighting Colts, with a record of 5-1, already own a pair of wins over local teams this season, having beaten Aztec last month 28-14 and opening the season with a 52-0 rout at home over Kirtland Central.
Ranked third in the state at Class 4A according to MaxPreps, Silver is led by senior running backs Aidan Granado and Mason Lockett, who have combined for more than 830 rushing yards and have scored six rushing touchdowns apiece.
Senior quarterback Emiliano Jimenez has thrown for seven touchdowns while giving up only one interception this season. Among his favorite targets is junior wideout Julian Richard, with 17 catches and a pair of scores.
The Fighting Colts defense has logged 11 turnovers this season, with junior Anthony Rico's two interceptions and senior Matthew Garrison's two fumble recoveries leading the team.
Both teams agreed to a neutral site location for this important matchup, trying to cut down on the cost of travel. The game was originally scheduled to be held at Belen High School, but was relocated late this week to Socorro High School after health concerns arose from both competing schools as well as the original site.
Next year, when these same teams are scheduled to meet again, that game will also reportedly be played at a neutral site, to be determined at a later date.
The top-ranked Bobcats have outscored their opponents by an average margin of 45-10 this season. Their offense is led by quarterback Ryan Sharpe, who's thrown more than 20 touchdown passes and allowed only five interceptions.
Pagosa Springs (0-5) at Kirtland Central (3-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
The Kirtland Central High School football team faces their final non-district rival this season when they host winless Pagosa Springs on Friday night at Bill Cawood Field.
The Broncos are coming off a romping 50-14 win on the road last weekend over Shiprock. Running backs Demusico Edsitty and Bryle Matthews each ran for three touchdowns in the win while sophomore Payton Mike recorded more than 100 yards in total offense.
Pagosa Springs is coming off back-to-back double digit losses, most recently getting shut out on the road 28-0 to unbeaten Delta High School. Currently the third-ranked team in Colorado's Class 2A classification according to MaxPreps, the Pirates offense is led by junior running back Gavin Lindahl, with more than 330 rushing yards.
The Broncos and Pirates will be meeting Friday night on the gridiron for the third time over the past 12 seasons, with Pagosa Springs winning their most recent showdown, last season at home by a final of 41-30.
Navajo Prep (0-5) at Espanola Valley (4-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
The Navajo Prep football team, still in search of their first win this season, face a tough task Friday night when they visit Espanola Valley. The Sundevils have won four in a row and come into the game off a 51-0 blowout win on the road two weeks ago at Santa Fe Indian School.
Senior quarterback Nate Chacon has thrown 14 touchdowns this season, with juniors Kevin Coffeen and Adrick DeLeon combining for 42 catches and seven touchdown receptions. Their running game has recorded more than 1100 yards on the season, with the bulk of them coming from junior Alex Chavez, who's gained more than 430 yards and is the team's leading scorer with six touchdowns.
Navajo Prep was forced to forfeit their most recent scheduled contest against McCurdy two weekends ago due to a lack of players available for the game. Head coach Matt Melvin indicated that the Eagles have suffered a multitude of injuries while also dealing with low roster numbers throughout the season. Navajo Prep had a bye last week and were hoping to be as close to full strength as possible for this weekend's game.
"It's been one step forward and two steps back as far as injuries are concerned," Melvin said. "The guys are getting healthy and that's a positive."
Gallup (0-6) at Shiprock (3-4), Friday, 7 p.m.
The Shiprock High School football team will hope to bounce back from a tough loss at home last weekend when they host winless Gallup on Friday night at Chieftain Stadium.
Shiprock suffered their biggest loss of the season at home last weekend, a 50-14 defeat against longtime rival Kirtland Central. Running back Jarvis Begay leads the Chieftains with 536 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while junior Alexavier Yazzie has nearly 200 receiving yards.
Gallup has been outscored by a combined margin of 277-6 in their six games this season. The Bengals are coming off a 55-0 loss at home against unbeaten Socorro last week. One of the few unbeaten teams remaining in the state, Socorro is the second-ranked team in Class 3A.
Both Aztec and Piedra Vista are on bye weeks and will resume action next week in district competition, with the Tigers visiting Gallup and the Panthers on the road at Miyamura.
This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Local high school football teams get ready for important matchups
