Pojoaque Valley hasn't had much luck against Robertson recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Pojoaque Valley Elks/Elkettes will take on the Robertson Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Pojoaque Valley is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They came out on top against Hozho Academy last Friday by a score of 54-0 (the very same score they lost by in their prior game). The high-scoring effort was just what the Elks/Elkettes needed considering they were shutout in their previous matchup.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Pojoaque Valley to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jonah Villegas, who rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries. That's the most rushing yards Villegas has posted since back in September of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Jukebox2026 D'Marcus Rodriguez, who rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries.
Meanwhile, Robertson put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They really took it to Tularosa for the full four quarters, racking up a 51-0 victory at home. Given the Cardinals' advantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico football rankings (they are ranked 20th, while the Wildcats are ranked 66th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Jesse James Gonzalez, who threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns while completing 84.6% of his passes, and also rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on only five carries. He is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for three or more in the last five games he's played dating back to last season. Nathaniel Gonzalez was Jesse James' top target, picking up 146 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Robertson's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Gonzalez.
Pojoaque Valley's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-1. As for Robertson, their victory bumped their record up to 6-0.
Pojoaque Valley took a serious blow against Robertson in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, falling 45-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Gonzalez, who rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries, and also threw for 234 yards and a touchdown while completing 71.4% of his passes. Now that Pojoaque Valley knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
