Week 1 Northern New Mexico prep football takeaways and surprises, Week 2 picks and a soccer preview

School’s back in session, Week 1 of the prep football season is in the books and The Santa Fe New Mexican’s sports writers have purpose in their lives once more. In the latest episode the “The Sports Den” podcast, Will Webber and James Barron share their takeaways and surprises from the first week of action on the gridiron, offer their picks for Week 2, chat about prep soccer and look to the start of the college football season. The guys open the pod by discussing the games they attended on Friday, with James offering his impressions of the St. Michael’s-Capital blowout and Will talking about Santa Fe High’s loss at Alamogordo. Their findings? St. Mike’s is still really good, Capital could use some conditioning, and Santa Fe High could give some teams trouble with its fast pace of play. The guys also chat about Santa Fe Indian School’s win over Zuni, Pojoaque’s victory over Taos, Española Valley's win over Los Alamos and more. College football begins this week, and Will and James have their eye on the matchup between New Mexico Highlands and Eastern New Mexico, where former Baylor coach Art Briles will make his return to the sidelines with the Grehyounds. New Mexico State, meanwhile, will have its hands full in its opener in Tallahassee against Florida State. The University of New Mexico Lobos will make their 2026 debut Sept. 5 against Central Michigan. James then shares his outlook for local soccer squads, focusing on the girls teams at Santa Fe Prep and St. Michael’s. The guys end the show with their Week 2 prep football picks, including the intracity rivalry game between St. Mike’s and Santa Fe High.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.