Football Game Preview: West Mesa Mustangs vs. Atrisco Heritage Academy Jaguars

The West Mesa Mustangs will head out to take on the Atrisco Heritage Academy Jaguars at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Neither of those teams managed to put together many points in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.

West Mesa is headed into Saturday's matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight games on Thursday. They were dealt a 49-0 defeat at the hands of La Cueva. While losing is never fun, the Mustangs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico football rankings (they are ranked 29th, while the Bears are ranked fifth).

The losing side was boosted by Victor Aguilar Jr., who rushed for 106 yards on only 14 carries.

Meanwhile, Atrisco Heritage Academy lost 37-13 to Sandia on Friday. The Jaguars haven't had much luck with the Matadors recently, as the team has come up short the last six times they've met.

West Mesa will need to focus on slowing down Gianluca Ramirez, one of several Atrisco Heritage Academy players who made an impact when they last played. He threw for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also rushed for 38 yards. Jude Maldonado also helped out with an impressive 101 receiving yards.

Even if they lost, Atrisco Heritage Academy's defensive line still kept up the pressure with five sacks. In that department, Wa'Qari Walker was the leader with two. Another thorn in Sandia's side was Gabriel Castillo, who picked up a sack and made seven total tackles (3.0 for loss).

Atrisco Heritage Academy's loss dropped their record down to 1-4. As for West Mesa, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 1-4.

West Mesa didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Atrisco Heritage Academy in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, but they still walked away with a 22-16 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mustangs since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.