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Saturday, December 2, 2000
Full House Expected for Class AAAAA Showdown
By Ken Sickenger
Journal Staff Writer
New Mexico's highways will be jammed with football traffic today.
Fans hoping to witness a championship moment will be racking up the mileage as they head to today's State Farm High School Football Playoff championship games.
Title games are scheduled in classes AAA through AAAAA, and all three involve significant road trips. Cobre visits Lovington for the Class AAA contest. In AAAA, Roswell plays Piedra Vista in Farmington.
In AAAAA, Carlsbad travels to Las Cruces for a much-anticipated meeting with the defending state champion Bulldawgs. The game requires a road trip of more than 200 miles. But Cavemen fans, hoping for their team's first title since 1962, hardly seem to mind.
In fact, the question isn't whether Carlsbad fans will make the trip, but will any seats be available at the Las Cruces Sports Complex when they arrive?
Las Cruces schools sent 4,000 game tickets to Carlsbad on Thursday morning. Within five hours, all of them were gone.
Will the complex's 12,500 seats be sufficient?
"I doubt it," Las Cruces coach Jim Miller says. "Rumor is there'll be about 15,000 people there."
Some fans have questioned why the game isn't being moved to larger Aggie Memorial Stadium, where previous state-championship games have been played. But Miller says the field at Aggie Memorial is in poor condition.
"They weren't expecting another game there, so they haven't really taken care of it since (New Mexico State's) season ended," Miller says.
"It'll probably be a standing-room-only crowd, but I think the teams are better off at the complex. You've got to play a huge game like this on a quality field."
CLASS AAAAA: A rare clash of 2,000-yard rushers highlights this battle between the Bulldawgs (12-1) and Cavemen (11-2). Carlsbad's Travis Gates and Las Cruces' Isaac Gomez have dominated one game after another this season, and both figure to get the ball frequently.
However, Miller and Cavemen coach Kirk Potter suggest that defense and an ability to adjust might be more crucial to the game's outcome than Gates or Gomez.
"There aren't too many mysteries this late in the season," Potter says. "Both offenses like to run the ball, and both defenses will be geared up to stop the run."
Miller agrees, adding that he doesn't expect to succeed merely by slamming the ball straight ahead.
That means quarterbacks Pete Subia of Carlsbad and James Lopez of Las Cruces could end up taking the spotlight. Both played impressive first halves in their respective teams' semifinal wins, but neither finished particularly well.
"Both teams play sound defense, so you've got to mix things up a little in games like this," Miller says.
CLASS AAAA: High-scoring offenses and powerhouse rushers might get top billing when Roswell (9-3) and Piedra Vista (11-1) square off, but defense figures to determine the winner.
The Coyotes can be expected to give the ball to dynamic tailback Dontrell Moore, who has amassed more than 2,300 yards and scored 29 touchdowns this season.
The Panthers will counter with quarterback Jason McClelland and running back Brent Peterson, who have combined for 2,200 rushing yards and 25 TDs.
Both teams average more than 30 points a game but have allowed just 13 a game to opponents.
"Everyone says defense wins championships, and defense always seems to win championship games," Piedra Vista coach Wilson Wilhite says. "I don't expect this one to be any different."
CLASS AAA: With the home field, tradition and even a few intangibles on its side, Lovington (10-3) is a prohibitive favorite over upstart Cobre (7-5).
All the more reason for Wildcats coach Speedy Faith to be nervous.
"Cobre keeps winning games the so-called experts don't think they can win," Faith says. "To me, that makes them very dangerous."
Few expected the Indians to defeat Raton in the quarterfinals, much less win at Portales in last week's semifinals. But thanks to a stout defense and do-it-all quarterback Stan Montoya, Cobre is a win away from its first state title since 1971.
Meanwhile, Lovington is on a serious roll, having won eight straight games after a slow start. The Wildcats have averaged nearly 40 points in their last seven games and blew out their first two playoff foes, Thoreau and St. Michael's. Quarterback Caden Jameson and running back Gilbert Sanchez headline a balanced and effective offense.
Faith says Lovington fans are in a frenzy as the team seeks its first state championship since 1995. But if the players need any extra motivation, a former member of that 1995 squad might provide it.
"(Chicago Bears rookie) Brian Urlacher said he's going to send the team an e-mail before the game," Faith says. "So, you know this is a pretty special time around here."