Football Game Preview: Menaul Panthers vs. Cloudcroft Bears

The Menaul Panthers will face off against the Cloudcroft Bears at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Menaul will be strutting in after a victory while Cloudcroft will be coming in after a defeat.

Menaul is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Mexico's top teams: Questa, who was ranked 18th at the time (Menaul was ranked 15th). The Panthers walked away with a 40-30 win over the Wildcats on Saturday. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Wildcats recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.

Luke Boatman

Passing Touchdowns

10/18/25 @ Questa	2
08/29/25 vs Navajo Pine	1
08/22/25 vs Mesilla Valley Christian School	3

Luke Boatman continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 199 yards and three TDs on only ten carries, while also throwing for 158 yards and a pair of touchdowns. What's more, he posted two passing touchdowns, the most he's had since back in August.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Menaul was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 233 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Questa only rushed for 129.

Menaul didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Carlos Cummins and Kelly Boneza.

Meanwhile, Cloudcroft was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They had to suffer through a 52-0 loss at the hands of Fort Sumner/House.

Menaul's win bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Cloudcroft, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-7.

Everything came up roses for Menaul against Cloudcroft in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 52-12 victory. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bears turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.