Jason Farmer/News-Sun For the first time this season, there was no change in the Top 5 teams of the New Mexico High School Coaches poll in Class 6A. Cleveland, La Cueva, Centennial, Hobbs and Volcano Vista remained in the Top 5 spots, just like the schools were a week ago. Cleveland, with 166 points and 13 first-place votes, is the …

Jason Farmer/News-Sun There was a party at Watson Stadium on Friday night as the Hobbs football team won its fifth straight game, got a victory over Rio Rancho on homecoming, and wide receiver Ethan Vanlandingham was named Homecoming King. “It feels great (to be 5-0), especially beating a northern team, showing them what we are about,” Hobbs senior Kenyon Singleton …

Peter Stein/News-Sun For John ‘Patrick’ Shellman, life changed in an instant. That’s because what started as a joke swiftly turned into a career change. Shellman, who had a coaching connection to Jal, saw that the Lady Panthers girls basketball team was looking for a head coach after Dusty Loftis stepped down. While en route to a club basketball tournament in …

Jason Farmer/News-Sun And then there were two. After four weeks, only two teams remain undefeated in Class 6A, Hobbs and Cibola. Of course, neither team is ranked in the Top 3 of the most recent New Mexico High School Coaches poll. In fact, while the top three teams have flip-flopped around following losses, it’s been the same three teams in …

Jason Farmer/News-Sun Three weeks complete and there are just three undefeated teams in Class 6A football, Volcano Vista, Hobbs, and Cibola. Coincidently, all three schools are sitting together in the latest New Mexico High School Coaches poll. However, none of them are in the top three. Cleveland, which was the preseason No. 1 team is back atop the standings. The …

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 …

Peter Stein/News-Sun So the Lovington football team is off to an 0-2 start. And then there’s the 115-point elephant in the room, as in, the total amount of points given up by the Wildcats in their games against Roswell and Seminole over the past two weekends. Concerning? Maybe. Time to panic? Hardly. Lovington expected a challenging pre-district stretch with the …

Jason Farmer/News-Sun When the NMHSCOA preseason polls came out, the Hobbs Eagles were sitting at No. 9 in the Class 6A poll with 50 points. Cleveland was No. 1 with 187 points while La Cueva was not far behind at No. 2 with 170. Rio Rancho (126), Centennial (123), and Volcano Vista (103) rounded out the top five. The top five …

Peter Stein/News-Sun Even at two years old, Parker Hooks was a man with a plan. When his parents, Derrick Hooks and Latoya Jackson-Hooks, took him to the Lea County Rodeo, the little man wanted to ride the bulls. “Of course he couldn’t ride a bull,” Jackson-Hooks said. “He was so mad, he wanted to leave the Lea County Rodeo.” But, …

Jason Farmer/News-Sun The Hobbs football team enters year four of the Ken Stevens era and for the first time, everything has gone according to plan. The Eagles held their summer program and workouts with no issues, something that has not been able to happen the previous three years. As the Eagles take the field this year, it will mark the …