Football Game Preview: Escalante Lobos vs. Clayton Yellowjackets + How To Watch

The Escalante Lobos will challenge the Clayton Yellowjackets at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Escalante's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last three games.

Escalante is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Mexico's top teams: Menaul, who was ranked 16th at the time (Escalante was ranked seventh). The Lobos blew past the Panthers 42-0 on Saturday. The Lobos might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by 34 points or more this season.

Jacoby Valdez

Rushing Yards (Career)

10/11/25 @ Menaul	125
10/03/25 vs Cloudcroft	104
09/12/25 @ Dove Creek	45
08/29/25 @ Gateway Christian	42
09/27/25 @ Questa	38

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Escalante to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jacoby Valdez, who rushed for 125 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries. Those 125 rushing yards gave Valdez a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Braylon Emery, who rushed for 176 yards and one score while picking up 10.4 yards per carry.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Escalante was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 415 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 182 rushing yards in six consecutive contests.

Escalante didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of RJ Atencio and Emery.

Meanwhile, after some red-hot attacks on offense in their last three games, Clayton finally came back down to earth on Saturday. They were outmatched by Fort Sumner/House and fell 58-8. The Yellowjackets have struggled against Fort Sumner/House recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive lost matchup.

Escalante's victory was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-2. The road wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 44.7 points over those games. As for Clayton, their loss dropped their record down to 2-5.

Escalante was taken down by Clayton 46-0 in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. Thankfully for the Lobos, Isaac Quintana (who picked up 103 receiving yards and one TD, and also rushed for 146 yards on only 13 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.