Football Game Preview: Albuquerque Bulldogs vs. West Mesa Mustangs

Albuquerque is 1-6 against West Mesa since November of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Bulldogs will challenge the Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. That matchup will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Alberto Landeros and Victor Aguilar Jr..

Albuquerque is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Mexico's top teams: Los Lunas, who was ranked tenth at the time (Albuquerque was ranked 20th). The Bulldogs received a blow on Saturday as they fell 38-24 to the Tigers. The contest was a 14-14 toss-up at halftime, but the Bulldogs couldn't quite close it out.

West Mesa never got on the board in their matchup two weeks ago, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Atrisco Heritage Academy on Saturday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Jaguars 55-14. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 27-0.

Albuquerque better keep an eye on Marcos Ochoa. He was instrumental in West Mesa's win, rushing for 82 yards and one touchdown on only five carries, while also picking up 32 receiving yards and one score. Ochoa got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 60 yards.

West Mesa was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 461 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in August of 2024.

Albuquerque's defeat dropped their record down to 3-3. As for West Mesa, their victory ended a four-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-4.

Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Albuquerque has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 195.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like West Mesa struggles in that department as they've been averaging 201.8 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.

Albuquerque and West Mesa were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, but Albuquerque came up empty-handed after a 21-20 loss. Can the Bulldogs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.