New Mexico Prep Football: 6A Title Contenders Revealed
October is here. Balloons are in the air, Lobo basketball is around the corner and New Mexico 6A football is heating up, despite the cooling temperatures.
Four regular-season weeks separate us from November postseason play. Who is still considered a contender? Who will fall short a month from now? And who will shock the state?
Here’s the current 6A outlook as of Oct. 5:
Contenders:
Cleveland High School (7-0, 4-0 District)
In a world of programs building hype and momentum, the Cleveland Storm are in the business of shrinking teams back down to size.
Such as Cleveland’s September victory over La Cueva, or their win over Sandia this past weekend, both being double-digit victories in contests that were once framed as “big-time” matchups.
Who is directly responsible for this dream-crushing? Exhibit A: Junior QB Michael Denison. Denison tossed five touchdowns against the Matadors, moving him up to 29 passing touchdowns on the season and 1,955 passing yards.
New year, new roster, no problem. Cleveland is once again a nightmare for the rest of the state, likely en route to its eighth program title.
Volcano Vista High School (6-0, 3-0 District)
25 minutes down the road from Cleveland, another team is emerging as an offense not to mess with.
The Volcano Vista Hawks, who are coming off an 8-4 season, are on pace for their first 10-win season since 2022.
This is in large part thanks to the play of Junior quarterback Jude Herrera. Herrera has 20 passing touchdowns and over 1,000 passing yards, but also five rushing touchdowns and 157 rushing yards as a dual-threat option.
Herrera and Co. proved they were legitimate with an early-September win over La Cueva. Since then, they’ve added impressive victories against Carlsbad and Centennial.
Their next stretch: at Hobbs and vs. Las Cruces. If they can continue to impress against two southern New Mexico powers, watch out for the black and silver come November.
Pretenders:
Sandia High School (5-1, 2-1 District)
The Matadors' turnaround has been quite the story to follow. Finishing 4-6 in 2025, Sandia has already crossed their prior win total as of Oct. 5.
But after a 5-0 start, the Matadors might not be quite ready for the life of a 6A power.
Sandia fell short to Cleveland in a 28-point loss in Week 6, 56-28 at home. Their offense remains their greatest strength, but their other units might be a step behind.
It is still a successful season for Tylon Wilder’s second year, but I am not quite sure they have enough firepower to make a deep November run.
Sandia will have a chance to change the narrative with remaining games against Rio Rancho and La Cueva.
Eldorado High School (3-2-1, 3-0 District)
It has been a bizarre season for the Eldorado Eagles. An overtime tie, a double overtime loss, and a victory in a shortened game due to extreme weather, and they haven’t even played a game in October yet.
The talk of the town in late September was Eldorado’s 21-20 win over Las Cruces. A blocked extra point by the Eagles proved to be the deciding factor in the game. However, the Bulldawgs did not get their final possession due to extreme rain and lightning. Eldorado played a great game, but they were also saved by the (early) bell.
The Eagles have a lot of talent, especially on offense, but their defense raises a lot of questions, such as their 59-21 loss to La Cueva and 42-36 loss to Sandia.
The offensive firepower might not be enough to keep up with the 6A top dogs in November, but we will know more about Eldorado’s playoff outlook once they take on Centennial and Volcano Vista in late October.
Dark Horse:
La Cueva High School (4-3, 2-1 District)
It feels silly to call a six-time state champion program a “dark horse”, but it feels like a lot of people have written off the Bears with their three losses.
Losses to Cleveland (42-26) and Volcano Vista (42-31) stick out on their resume, but as of late, La Cueva has been much better on defense.
This includes a 47-12 win over Albuquerque and a 28-7 win over Rio Rancho. The Bears will also end the season with a light schedule, taking on Farmington and Atrisco Heritage before the season finale against Sandia.
For a program with a winning pedigree such as La Cueva, you can never truly rule them out come playoff time. The Bears are worth keeping an eye on as November draws near.
Dan Allison is a freelance high school and college sports writer. You can reach him at @danlallison on X.
