Prep football: Eunice, Texico to meet in 2A championship after lopsided semifinal wins

BERNALILLO — A Legacy Academy spectator stopped an opposing fan Saturday after the Class 2A state football semifinals and asked, “Excuse me, where is Eunice?”

The Silverbacks and their backers may not know that the third-seeded Cardinals hail from a town in the far southeastern corner of New Mexico, but, on Saturday, the Legacy players got a healthy education in just how well they play football down there.

When the Eunice caravan headed out of Spartans Stadium, where No. 2 Legacy Academy plays its home games, the Cardinals owned a convincing 62-18 win and will meet two-time defending champ Texico in the title game next week after the top-seeded Wolverines beat Hozho Academy 49-7 earlier in the day.

Eunice quarterback Elijah Melancon had a stellar day, accounting for six touchdowns, running in four and tossing for two more. He threw for 235 yards and ran for 82.

“He’s a special kid, and I’m so happy for him,” Cardinals coach Greg Jackson said. “He deserves all the good things that come his way based on how he works, and he works when nobody else is watching. He’s the best at practice. He’s the best at watching film and he does a great job. I’ve sure enjoyed having him for four years. It’s been a true pleasure.”

Backfield mate Greyson Meek powered his way to 145 yards and two touchdowns — one on the ground and one through the air — providing a devastating one-two punch.

“We thought we’d be able to exploit man coverage and soft boxes, because it’s a Catch-22 if you load the box,” Jackson said. “So we’re going to throw it if you want to run. We have a lot of weapons that (Melancon) can distribute the ball to. So we saw that we had some opportunities to get some kids loose, and we thought we could run the ball and to do both of those things equally well. It was quite fulfilling, quite rewarding.”

Legacy quarterback Lorenzo Sedillo-Ubari threw for 242 yards — 126 of those to tight end Bryant Scales — but also had four interceptions.

The Cardinals (9-2) got right after Legacy (10-2), with a three-and-out stop followed by a 65-yard touchdown — Melancon’s first rushing score. An interception in the end zone ended the Silverbacks’ ensuing possession and Eunice went right back down the field for another score, this one by Meek.

“Eunice started off hot and, like I told the boys ... you match the game at the beginning right away, so it doesn’t get away from you,” Legacy coach Joey Romero said. “And, yeah, it got away from us.”

The Silverbacks trailed 28-0 in the second quarter before scoring, and went into halftime down 35-6.

The Eunice victory sets up a rematch of the 2023 championship game that Texico won 44-7. It will be the sixth time the District 3 rivals have met in the past three seasons.

The Cardinals, which have 16 blue trophies, last won the title in 2021, which was part of a four-year run of championships.

“We’re going to a place we’ve never won before, or at least I’ve never won before,” Melancon said. “And it’s one of the biggest games you can play in high school, so it’s going to be a fun game.”