What we can take away from a wild Week 1 of the prep football season

It was a wild first Friday of high school football.
The drama was supplied by the Las Cruces Bulldawgs — beating El Dorado 23-20 in a back-and-forth affair that went down to the final minute. It was a heart stopper.
Mayfield proved to be, well, Mayfield, hammering Chapin 51-6. The Trojans scored 41 points in the first half to rout the opposition.
And the Oñate Knights? Well, they came up short. Way short, actually, falling to Franklin 49-2. Not fun.
But hey, it was Week 1. A lot can happen between now and the end of the season.
Still, here’s what we can take away from the season’s opening games:

Offensive weapons plentiful at Las Cruces High: One had a feeling that the Bulldawgs would have some toys to play with on the offensive side of the ball. The team didn’t disappoint on Friday.
The 23-20 victory over El Dorado couldn’t have marked a better opening contest of the season at the Field of Dreams — particularly from an entertainment standpoint — as many Bulldawgs shined and big plays were in abundance.
For starters, quarterback Jeremy Buurma had a phenomenal game. Sure, some will point to his erratic performance throwing the football — Buurma was wild on a handful of pass attempts, tossing one interception and could have easily thrown another near the El Dorado goalline.
But what people need to recognize is that Buurma is a playmaker who isn’t afraid to take chances. He recorded close to 300 yards of total offense — both passing and rushing yards — by himself. He had a 10-yard scoring run on 3rd-and-10, a touchdown that eventually put LCHS up 14-12 midway through the second quarter. Later in the period, he avoided the rush and hit Tanner Shoemaker on a fourth-down scoring pass from 18-yards out, as LCHS took a 20-12 lead.
Three crucial El Dorado turnovers aside, Buurma was the MVP of the game for the Bulldawgs.
The team is loaded in the running game, with Xavier Hall grinding out the tough yards on Friday. Another player to watch is Daniel Martinez, who broke off an electric 45-yard touchdown catch-and-run on the first possession of the game.
Buurma, Hall and Martinez will shine on the Friday night highlight videos throughout the prep football season.

Mayfield’s resolve: It happens every season.
The Mayfield Trojans seem to be overlooked, take the field and use such a slight to their advantage.
It occurred once again on Friday. There has been a lot of talk about Las Cruces High this offseason, the season gets under way and — boom — the Trojans dismantle another opponent Week 1.
Mayfield scored 14 points in the first 22 seconds of the contest, 21 in the first five minutes and 28 in the first quarter on their way to a 51-6 win over Chapin — in El Paso no less. Are you kidding?
The funny thing is that I wasn’t even surprised.
This is the most motivated team in the area, there’s no doubt in my mind about it. Always organized, always intense and always prepared to play sound, fundamental football across the board.
Lose their starting quarterback? They’ll just plug in a new one. Return three starters on defense? Keifer Payne will return the opening kickoff 88 yards for a score, then Brock Baca will intercept a pass seconds later and race into the endzone from 20 yards out. Both plays happened within the opening minute of Friday’s cake walk.
The Trojans were up 41-0 at halftime!
Mark it down. MHS, LCHS, set for another collision course once again. Can’t wait for it either.

Tough season ahead for Oñate?: Judging from Friday’s 49-2 loss to Franklin, it could be.
But, it is just Week 1. And Franklin is traditionally an El Paso powerhouse program. So lets look ahead.
The Knights’ next contest will come on a short week, their home opener against Americas.
While a shorter window to prepare for an opponent is often looked at as a disadvantage, in this case, it could work to the Knights’ benefit. They need to get that sour taste out of their mouth as soon as possible following Friday’s romp. And they should have a good week of practice — they certainly shouldn’t lack motivation.
We do know that OHS is very inexperienced. The Knights had a solid team last year, but lost virtually their entire core and must start from scratch once again.
They also run the ball every down. That’s OK when you’re up 14-10, not down 49-2. Somehow, the Knights will need to find some offensive firepower to keep opponents honest.
And, I’ve written it before in a Sun-News column: Why is it in football that I’d rather my team lose 49-0 than 49-2? It just looks like the opposition took a knee in the endzone out of pity.
A simple side note following a long week....

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Friday’s prep football scores
The Associated Press
Artesia 63, Lovington 49
Aztec 49, Los Lunas 0
Carlsbad 34, Roswell 6
Clovis 40, Alamogordo 0
Clovis Christian 47, Dora 0
Fort Defiance Window Rock, Ariz. 44, Wingate 0
Fort Sumner 32, NMMI 17
Goddard 34, Rio Rancho 3
Hagerman 41, Capitan 13
Hobbs 53, Gadsden 6
Lake Arthur 59, Vaughn 7
Las Cruces 23, EP El Dorado, Texas 20
Los Alamos 40, Pojoaque 0
Marfa, Texas 40, Mesilla Valley Christian 30
Mayfield 51, EP Chapin, Texas 8
McCurdy 41, Navajo Pine 0
Melrose 50, Logan 36
Moriarty 33, Bernalillo 8
Mountainair 60, Gateway Christian 12
Piedra Vista 28, Santa Fe 27
Raton 46, Clayton 20
Reserve 20, Menaul 14
Rio Rancho 47, EP Bel Air, Texas 10
Santa Rosa 56, Estancia 22
Socorro 41, West Las Vegas 0
Springer 46, Floyd 20
Tatum 16, Animas 14
Texico 14, Dexter 0
Tularosa 47, Hot Springs 19
Valley 21, Del Norte 13