6A Football Power Rankings Index: The Contenders Have Arrived
Every high school football team across the state of New Mexico starts its season with a fresh sense of optimism, lofty goals, and hopes of being the last team standing. Every Friday night, the scoreboard tells us what happened, but every Saturday, the question becomes: what did it all mean?
The Pit Press is launching a 6A/5A/4A High School Football Power Rankings Index focused on looking past the rankings to provide context behind the wins, losses, and blowouts while highlighting a jam-packed week of top performances.
Which contender just made the biggest statement? Who quietly moved into the championship conversation? And which favorite suddenly has more questions than answers?
Here is a weekly look at the teams, players, and performances shaping New Mexico’s three highest classifications.
Class 6A: The games that mattered.
Cleveland 34 - Centennial 7
Cleveland and quarterback Michael Denison proved why they are the class favorite in a drubbing of Centennial 34-7. Despite Denison making his first career varsity start, the junior threw five touchdown passes, completing two of them to standout wide receiver Evan Nanez and another two to Kaeleb Escudero. The defense was just as impressive in a first-half shutout of the Hawks and only allowed one touchdown the rest of the way.
La Cueva 59 - El Dorado 21
Bears quarterback Monty Melendez (what a name) proved why he is one of the best signal callers in the entire state of New Mexico. Melendez used a spirited rivalry game to unleash five touchdown passes to several receivers on Friday night. Devyn Williams caught two of them and racked up 109 yards on five receptions while counterpart Chris Lopez had another two touchdowns and finished the night with six catches for 105 yards. Tag on an impressive rushing performance by J Hathaway for 104 yards and the Bears offense proved they could crush with a true balanced attack.
Sandia 49 - Cibola 6 (Thursday)
Sandia debuted their new-look roster injected with high-level transfers and looked impressive in their dominating win over Cibola. Matador mainstays George Smith (2 rushing touchdowns) and Gad Harris (1 touchdown) flashed in the running game, while import wide receivers Deon Session and J’Ven Smith both recorded touchdowns for their new team. Senior quarterback Jahleel Lewis was equally impressive completing 12 of 13 passes for 193 yards and 2 passing touchdowns.
Las Cruces 14 - Rio Rancho 7
The class 2026 6A runner-up leaned heavily on its defense to secure its first win of the season at Rio Rancho. The Bulldawg’s defense set the tone early and created turnovers (3) for new starting quarterback Aldo Gallegos to convert to points. Gallegos finished the day with two rushing touchdowns. However, Rio Rancho and quarterback Micah Takahashi picked up some momentum in the second half. His 34-yard scoot to the endzone in the third quarter kept the Rams in it. But that was about all the offense the Rams could draw up the rest of the game. Ultimately, it came down to Las Cruces’ stingy defense and ability to create turnovers that left the Rams with no answers.
Volcano Vista 51 - Atrisco Heritage 0
Volcano Vista starting quarterback Jude Herrera threw 6 touchdown passes and the Hawks routed Atrisco Heritage Friday night at Community Stadium. Big, chunk explosive plays early for Volcano Vista made this game out of reach in the first quarter. On the second play from scrimmage, Herrera hit Hawk wide receiver Isaiah McCary for a 77-yard touchdown bomb. On their second drive, a jet sweep call to wide receiver Arelius Wiley resulted in a 64-yard touchdown for Volcano Vista. The Hawk defense was equally impressive in the win. Junior linebacker Aiden Gonzales snagged two interceptions, while senior linebacker Ixaiver Hansen had 5 tackles for a loss. The Hawks special team unit also recovered blocked punt in the end zone.
6A Player of the Week:
Cleveland Quarterback - Michael Denison. Officially making his first varsity start for the Storm, tossing 5 touchdowns against one of the better squads in class 6A. Denison finished with 277 passing yards completing 17 of 24 attempts.
The Pit Press Power Ranking Index
The Pit Press Power Rankings Index considers record, strength of schedule, quality wins, margin of victory, head-to-head results, recent performance and overall team trajectory.
Overall Record - 25%
Strength of Schedule - 25%
Quality Wins - 20%
Performance/Margin - 15%
Current Team Evaluation - 15%
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No change; the blowout win at home against one of the better teams in Class 6A only solidifies their case as the No. 1 team in 6A.
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No change; the Bears have a true balanced run/pass attack and elite talent at skill positions. The domination of a good El Dorado Eagles team in a rivalry game provides a credible win.
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Stock up, the Dawgs defense came ready to play in a tough road environment and delivered. Las Cruces stifled Rams’ quarterback Micah Takahashi and created three turnovers that resulted in just enough offense to secure the win.
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Stock up; the Matadors have real weapons and a healthy balance of a run/pass attack. With elite talent (mainstays and newcomers) and depth at skill positions, the question goes from “how fast can this team rise into contention?,” to “can this team compete with Cleveland and La Cueva?”
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Stock up; Despite losing top playmaker D’Angelo Mitchell to Cleveland, the Hawks’ passing game looked dynamic. Quarterback Jude Herrera was comfortable running the offense, finishing with 272 passing yards. The Hawks will look for another early-season win against Cibola next week.
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Stock down; the Hawks will remain as one of the better teams in 6A, but a crooked score against powerhouse Cleveland leaves me with more questions than answers. They travel to Andress in El Paso next week and host a good Artesia (4A) team at home the week after.
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Stock down; the Rams struggled to get anything going offensively outside of quarterback Takahashi creating with his legs off of broken plays. The defense played up to par and held Las Cruces in check for most of the night, but the lack of offensive playmaking leaves too much to be desired.
If Week 1 is any indication, Class 5A is set to deliver pure, unadulterated high school football theater all autumn long. From Roswell and Hobbs setting the scoreboard ablaze in a 124-point track meet to Carlsbad marching into the legendary Bulldog Bowl and holding off a desperate second-half surge, New Mexico’s mid-tier classification kicked off with a explosive statement. Dynamic individual performances dominated the headlines - whether it was Roswell signal-caller Andruw Fuentez putting up video-game numbers with an eight-touchdown masterclass, or Los Lunas playmaker Tayson Gaxiola taking over the Field of Dreams single-handedly. The early-season optimism has given way to cold, hard film: here is what Week 1 taught us about the real contenders, stock shifts, and power rankings shaping 5A.