There is, at last for Kevin Barker, a first time for everything — a fact the Sandia football coach was only too pleased to share.

“I had never beaten Mayfield,” Barker said. “They’ve ended five of my seasons.”

But not this one.

Daniel Cones’ 2-yard touchdown run with 32.5 seconds remaining Friday night was the game-winner for Sandia, as the fourth-seeded Matadors edged No. 5 Mayfield 35-28 in the Class 5A quarterfinals at Wilson Stadium.

“Something you dream about,” Cones said. “It’s something you always want to do.”

Sandia (8-3) will face No. 9 Volcano Vista in the semifinals next Friday night. The Matadors beat the Hawks 31-14 in the regular season, although that game was 14-all midway through the fourth quarter.

Volcano Vista won a very late coin flip Friday and will host Sandia at 7 p.m. next Friday in the semifinals at Milne Stadium.

The Matadors on Friday got the ball with less than 4 minutes to go at their 31 after forcing a Mayfield punt. The Sandia offense went 69 yards to eliminate the Trojans (7-5).

The play that loomed largest was Craig Coffman’s 23-yard strike to Brenden Barker on a third-and-5 that moved the ball into Mayfield territory.

“The tensions were high out there at the end, especially for this group,” said Brenden Barker. “We’ve been playing together since (YAFL) rookies. This is the biggest win we’ve ever had as a group.”

There were, he said, nearly 20 Matadors who ascended through the junior ranks before high school. Barker added a 15-yard reception later in the drive to put Sandia at the Mayfield 19.

After Cones rattled off a 17-yard gain, the Matadors went to him again with a play called “49 sweep.”

“There was perfect blocking by the wide receivers,” Cones said. “I saw an opening and just cut it up.”

There was also a critical holding penalty on the Mayfield defense during the final drive — a recurring theme for the Trojans, who were flagged 11 times for 108 yards.

The game was tied at 7, 14, 21 and 28.

Sandia took a 28-21 lead in the third on a 2-yard run by Aaron Smith, but Andrew Serna fired 32 yards to Seth Bayles late in the quarter to square it at 28.

Sandia QB Craig Coffman threw for 243 yards on just 11 completions.

This marked Sandia’s first football victory against Mayfield since 1982.