Football Friday Night: Week 1

We have now gone through 2 weeks of high school football, and it is looking like another exciting year of action.  It was officially Week One this past week, and it was full of close, back-and-forth type games.  There were also a few come-from-behind games that made us think twice about writing anyone off this year.

We start with our N3L Optics Game of the Week pitting the Las Cruces Mayfield Trojans with the visiting Franklin Cougars at the Field of Dreams.  For a second week in a row, Franklin found itself in an offensive shootout.  Also for the second week in a row, they found themselves on the losing end of said shootout, as they lost 44-42 to the Trojans.

Del Valle @ El Dorado- This looked like it might be a defensive struggle early on as both teams were able to muster only a touchdown in each of the first two quarters.  Then El Dorado turned it on and sped out to a 35-21 in the second half.  Del Valle answered back with a late TD, but failed on the onside kick attempt.  El Dorado, however, was shutdown by the Conquistador defense, and the ensuing punt was blocked and returned for a Del Valle TD.  Speaking of blocks, the Aztecs sealed their victory with a block of their own on
Del Valle's extra point attempt.

Eastlake @ Andress- Speaking of back-and-forth, this game had just that.  The Falcons jumped out to a halftime lead of 21-14, but the Andress Eagles bounced back to take a 31-28 lead heading into crunchtime.  Eastlake answered back to re-take the lead at 35-31, before Andress answered right back for the final margin of 38-35.

Horizon @Eastwood- Eastwood had a 27-14 at the half, and they extended that lead to 34-14 by the end of the third quarter. Game over, right?  Wrong. The Horizon Scorpions stormed back with a fury to take a 35-34 lead late in the fourth quarter.  But the Troopers weren't done, as this young team showed resilience and came back to score for a final score of 42-35, Eastwood over Horizon.

In other action, Americas dominated Burges 48-0, Chapin lost the early 7-0 and fell to Rio Rancho Cleveland 28-14, Coronado took advantage of Hanks turnovers for a 61-21 victory, Bowie shellacked Riverside 35-8, and Ysleta outlasted Bel Air in a low-scoring affair with an 8-3 win.

Our Greater El Paso Football Showcase Senior Player of the Game went to  LeDerrick Wilson, running back from El Dorado.  Wilson scored all five TDs for the Aztecs in their win over Del Valle.  In total, he had 185 yards rushing for 4 TDs.  He also had one receiving TD.

Our One Source Federal Credit Union Defensive Player of the Game goes to Ysleta linebacker, Robert Samaniego.  He amassed 19 total tackles in the game, while recovering a fumble and making a tackle in the end zone for a safety.