Journal preps editor James Yodice will be tweeting throughout both 5A semifinal games this weekend. Follow @JamesDYodice

You had another, 3-5 Eldorado, that was probably playoff caliber, too, but needed to win to get in.

So here they were, the Hawks and Eagles, their seasons on the brink.

Volcano Vista had to score 20 points in the fourth quarter to get into OT with Cibola. Once there, Josh Lubold’s TD run and Brandon Madrid’s interception were the difference.

Eldorado was nursing a 32-29 lead on the final play against Manzano. Monarchs quarterback Angel Gonzales then heaved a throw into the end zone, where receiver Skyler Walker, for a moment, appeared to come down with it. It was instead intercepted. Echoes of Green Bay-Seattle.

You have to wonder how these 5A playoffs might look today if Cibola had pulled the shocker, and Walker had wrested that ball away from the Eldorado defense?

We know this much – the ninth-seeded Hawks and 11th-seeded Eagles would never have been invited to this dance.

“I think we’re peaking at the right time,” said Eldorado quarterback Zach Gentry. “Our team is emotionally on a high. We started the season rough, but now we’re getting in a groove. Chemistry is a big thing.”

The Hawks squeaked into the playoffs as a .500 team. Then they had a pair of one-point victories. Eldorado just finally climbed over .500 last week.

Volcano Vista quarterback Reid Hendricks (6) has helped the ninth-seeded Hawks advance in the Class 5A playoffs. Volcano Vista had to survive an overtime game against Cibola to advance. (pat vasquez-cunningham/journal)

And something else – Eldorado was trailing Cleveland 20-7 late in the third quarter in a first-round game, and the Storm was on the move with a chance to go in front 27-7.

Moments later, the Eagles returned a blocked punt for a touchdown. They came back to win 28-26, then dominated against La Cueva.

“We were dead in the water,” Eldorado coach Charlie Dotson said. “That play turned our playoff hopes completely around.”

LOS LUNAS-BELEN: Just thinking ahead, just how revved up do you suppose Valencia County would be if Belen and Los Lunas met for the 4A state title?

Remember, this is a series that for decades had to be played in daylight because night-time interaction between these schools’ fans was considered a health hazard, if you catch my drift.

DAWGIN’ IT: Of course, it’s easy to get caught up in having three Albuquerque schools in the 5A final four, but No. 2 seed Las Cruces has of late been living up to all that preseason hype metro coaches heaped upon them.

Las Cruces entered these playoffs on a stronger run than anyone in 5A – including Rio Rancho, the No. 1 seed. And Cruces is going to be a handful for Eldorado on Saturday. Plus, the ‘Dawgs and Eldorado have history. Recent history.

In 2008, both were undefeated going into the championship game. Las Cruces won 26-21.

Two years ago, Eldorado scored late, then tried for a 2-point conversion in the quarterfinals at the Field of Dreams. It failed, and the Eagles lost 28-27.

CRUCES-ELDO: You have to wonder, at least a little, about this matchup on Saturday and just how much of a favorite the Bulldawgs are. Las Cruces has a formidable front seven, but what does that mean when the team you’re playing hardly ever runs?

Clovis came into last week’s quarterfinal game at the FOD with one touchdown pass all season. Then the Wildcats threw for five in a 70-40 loss.

My only in-person viewing of Las Cruces came Sept. 21, when Rio Rancho’s passing game generated four TDs in a 42-21 victory.

Eldorado’s short, controlled passing game is, generally speaking, similar to what the Rams do. The Eagles possess a big, athletic quarterback in 6-foot-7 Gentry, and Eldorado has done itself a service by cultivating its wide-receiving corps during the second half of the regular season.

Since tailback George Pacheco was felled midseason with an arm injury, Eldorado has just about abandoned any semblance of a ground attack and gone airborne the majority of the time.

With the short routes they run, and the athleticism and speed of their receivers, this has to be a concern for Las Cruces coach Jim Miller, whose secondary might be the one true weakness on an otherwise outstanding team.

SEE YOU IN 2013, KAMAL: Clovis junior running back/returner Kamal Cass, who was named the Gatorade Player of the Year on Thursday – and rightly so – finished the season with 37 touchdowns, more than 2,600 yards rushing and more than 3,500 all-purpose yards.

The only player in state history who scored more touchdowns in a season was La Cueva’s Ronnie Daniels, who had 42 during his historic 2010 campaign.
Little Moments Countpat vasquez-cunningham/journalVolcano Vista quarterback Reid Hendricks (6) has helped the ninth-seeded Hawks advance in the Class 5A playoffs. Volcano Vista had to survive an overtime game against Cibola to advance.Journal preps editor James Yodice will be tweeting throughout both 5A semifinal games this weekend. Follow @JamesDYodice

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— This article appeared on page D4 of the Albuquerque Journal