Football Recap: West Mesa Comes Up Short

West Mesa had lost three straight at home, but on Thursday they dropped down to 2-6 to make it four. They were outmatched by the Sandia Matadors and fell 54-0. If the Mustangs were looking for revenge after losing 41-7 to the Matadors when the teams met back in October of 2024, then they'll just have to keep looking.

Despite the loss, West Mesa still got an impressive performance from Victor Aguilar Jr., who rushed for 176 yards on only 13 carries. Aguilar Jr.'s longest rush was for an impressive 59 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.

As for Sandia, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 3-5 record this season. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to yards per carry: they averaged an imposing 5.93 yards per carry in those games compared to only 1.83 in the others.

Jahleel Lewis was his usual excellent self, throwing for 335 yards and six TDs while completing 72% of his passes, and also rushing for 58 yards and one score on only seven carries. What's more, he racked up 153.8 passer rating, the most he's had since back in September of 2024. Sandia's leading receiver George Smith was Lewis' top target yet again, picking up 93 receiving yards and one touchdown, while also rushing for 32 yards and one TD.

West Mesa didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next contest, a 31-18 loss against Eldorado on the 23rd. As for Sandia, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next game, a 38-14 win against Albuquerque on the 24th.