Hobbs stays at No. 7 despite big win

Jason Farmer/News-Sun

For the first time in nine years, the Hobbs football team has started the season at 2-0.

The Eagles are one of five teams in the top 10 to start with back-to-back wins, yet they did NOT see any movement in the New Mexico High School Coaches poll when it was released this week. Hobbs is right where it was after Week 1, sitting at No. 7.

For the third straight week, there is a new team atop the standings in Class 6A. Cleveland was the preseason No. 1, but lost its opener and dropped out of the top spot. La Cueva, which was the preseason No. 2 moved up and took the No. 1 spot after Week 1. The Bears, however, lost their Week 2 game, allowing Centennial (2-0) to take the top ranking after two games. The Hawks got 206 points in the latest poll.

Cleveland (1-1) is now ranked No. 2 with 188 points while La Cueva (1-1) is No. 3 with 149.

After the top three, the next six teams are all in the same spot they were a week ago. Volcano Vista (2-0) got 138 points and is at No. 4 while Los Lunas (2-0) is No. 5 with 114 points.

Volcano Vista opened with a 34-17 win over Las Cruces and followed that up with a 50-20 victory over West Mesa. As for Los Lunas, the Tigers blanked Class 5A Belen in the first week and they beat Class 6A Alamogordo 43-30 in Week 2. After opening the season with a 30-7 loss to La Cueva, Rio Rancho – ranked No. 6 with 89 points – got back on the winning track with a 34-17 win over Eldorado.

Back to the Eagles.

While Hobbs remained at No. 7 in the ranking, the Eagles did get a few more points following their Week 2 win over Class 5A No. 2 Artesia (108 points). Hobbs went from 80 points after Week 1 to 87 following its Week 2 win.

Cibola is the final undefeated team in the Class 6A top 10. The Cougars picked up 80 points in their No. 8 ranking. Las Cruces is No. 9 with 50 points. Breaking into the top 10 for the first time this season is Carlsbad. The Cavemen are No. 10 with 15 points. Carlsbad replaced Sandia, which was in the poll for one week.

The Eagles will face the No. 1 team in Class 5 A this week when they play Roswell (111 points) at the Wool Bowl.

As for the rest of Lea County’s football teams, Lovington remained No. 1 in Class 4A despite falling to 0-2 on the season with both losses coming by 40 points. The Wildcats were the preseason No. 1 in Class 4A with 160 points. After losing to Class 5A Roswell in Week 1, Lovington stayed in the top spot with minimal point loss, picking up 158. The Wildcats then fell to Seminole, a Texas 4A school, in Week 2 and still remains at No. 1, with 142 points. This week the Wildcats will host another Class 5A school, Santa Teresa, ranked No. 8.

In Class 2A, Eunice was the preseason No. 1 with 114 points. The defending champs, who have won the last four state championship games they have played in, opened the season with a blowout loss to Raton, and fell to No. 2 with 92 points. The Cardinals bounced back with a blowout victory in Week 3, but that wasn’t good enough to keep them at No. 2, as they dropped to No. 3, picking up just 65 points.

2A’s No. 1 team is Jal. The Panthers moved up from No. 2 to the top spot, with 105 points, after demolishing Tucumcari in Week 1 and kept that spot, though they only got 87 points, with another convincing win in Week 2. Moving up to the No. 2 spot this week is Texico.

Like Hobbs, Tatum maintained its ranking in the 8-man standings this week. The Coyotes were ranked No. 3 in the preseason, but fell to No. 7 with 20 points after a season-opening loss to Magdalena. Tatum then routed its opponent in Week 2, Alamo Navajo, needing just two quarters to get a 50-point rule win. And with that victory, the Coyotes remained at No. 7 with 32 points.