Prep football: NM's top teams clash as the the playoffs enter the late rounds

The first of the seven championship games, and quarterfinals in each of the five 11-Man brackets, define this weekend’s prep football playoff slate.

Here's a look at all the action:

Class 6A

The most attractive game this weekend is the quarterfinal showdown between No. 4 Centennial (7-3) and No. 5 La Cueva (9-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Field of Dreams.

The Hawks’ three losses were to the top three seeds in the 6A bracket: Las Cruces, Cleveland and Hobbs. The Bears have won nine in a row.

“We’re playing our best football this time of year, collectively. I like where we’re going,” Centennial coach Aaron Ocampo said. One major adjustment the Hawks have faced is replacing tailback Dailen Ramirez, who was over 1,000 yards when he went down with injury during a district game against Hobbs.

Centennial must be effective when it reaches the red zone, where Ocampo said La Cueva’s defense tends to stiffen.

La Cueva had a rare (for them) first-round playoff game this season, and the Bears beat Eldorado 41-7.

“Playing last week has been to our benefit,” La Cueva coach Brandon Back said.

This game features an attractive matchup at quarterback, between Monty Melendez of the Bears and Ruiz Laborin of the Hawks, both of whom have been extremely effective.

No. 1 Las Cruces (10-0) welcomes No. 8 Los Lunas (8-3), which narrowly got past Piedra Vista 28-24 in the first round. The Bulldawgs’ big 3 — pinpoint quarterback Gunnar Guardiola, dynamic tailback Danny Amaro and excellent receiver Francisco Winnikoff — have proven to be unstoppable. The Tigers’ best hope is to counter with a consistent, chains-moving running attack, led by Jagger Casillas.

No. 2 Cleveland (9-1) comes out of its bye week to face District 1-6A rival Volcano Vista (8-3), a team the Storm shellacked by five touchdowns on Oct. 24. The Storm is arguably playing their best football of the season, particularly on offense as senior quarterback Jordan Hatch and his two dangerous leading targets, Evan Nanez and Jacob Maldonado, create a special edge in the air. The Cleveland defense surrendered just 36 total points in five district wins.

The last of the quarterfinals is the southeast rivalry game featuring No. 3 Hobbs and No. 11 Carlsbad. Not since record keeping began in 1953 have these two faced each other in a postseason game.

The Cavemen (6-5) were impressive in their 35-13 first-round road victory at No. 6 Rio Rancho. The Eagles (8-2) beat Carlsbad 31-13 in the regular season finale on Halloween night.

Class 5A

For the third time in four postseasons, Gadsden and Los Alamos are meeting. The sixth-seeded Panthers (7-4) eliminated the third-seeded Hilltoppers (10-0) last year in the quarters in Anthony, but the unbeaten Hilltoppers have the home game this year, at noon Saturday.

“Our kids are on a roll,” Los Alamos coach Garett Williams said. “We’re looking forward to it.”

Few players in any class have been as important to their team as junior running back Jordan Herrera has been to Los Alamos. He rushed for 2,029 yards and 32 touchdowns in the regular season. Senior Juan Rios has rushed for over 1,100 yards for Gadsden.

“This is a great matchup,” Williams said. “You’ve got two teams that have got pretty similar game plans, two teams with pretty good offensive lines, two big running backs that can run downhill.”

Gadsden is looking to reach the semifinals for the second straight November.

“I feel really good where we’re at, but we have to win these types of games against these types of teams,” Panthers coach Dino Facio said.

The 4-5 game pits Goddard (7-4) at Lovington (6-4), with the Wildcats having won 44-26 in district play. Senior Elijah Rivero had a huge game on offense, defense and special teams in the first meeting for Lovington.

No. 1 Artesia (9-1) and No. 2 Roswell (8-2) are home this weekend to metro-area opponents.

The Coyotes are taking on No. 7 Belen (7-4) on Friday night at Wool Bowl. The Bulldogs and No. 8 Highland (7-4) rarely meet in football, but the Hornets are headed to Bulldog Bowl for a 2 p.m. game Saturday with Artesia. The last time these schools met was in the 1970 playoffs in Albuquerque. The last time they shared a field at Bulldog Bowl was 1966.

Class 4A

Three metro-area teams — Albuquerque Academy, Moriarty and Bernalillo — are on the road, while No. 2 St. Pius (8-1) is home Friday night at Nusenda Community Stadium to No. 7 seed Grants (7-4) at 7 p.m.

The Sartans beat the Pirates 34-20 in the regular season, but Grants has had to make a quarterback change since then and have been piecing things together with their No. 2 QB.

“We know that St. Pius is one of the top teams in the state, and we want to be there with them at some point,” Grants coach Steve Brown said. “It’s definitely not easy, basically what we’re gonna have to do is stay focused on our responsibilities.”

Easier said than done against a St. Pius team that has been averaging over 51 points a game the last month and has a seemingly unlimited ability to strike for big plays both in the run game (led by junior tailback Hershul Olloway Jr.) and in the pass game (led by QB Isaiah Carpenter).

No. 5 seed Academy heads to Taos on Friday night as the Chargers (7-4) look to snap the five-game winning streak by the Tigers (6-4). That five-game streak includes wins over top-eight seeds Bernalillo, Moriarty and Grants.

“We gotta be able to run the ball,” Chargers coach David Lee said. “And we’ve been proven to do that in the last four or five games.”

And while QB William Braun has one of the best collection of receivers in 4A (led by Logan Hague and Gage Conway), it is Academy’s ground game, Lee said, that is key.

No. 6 Moriarty (6-4) visits No. 3 Chaparral (7-3) on Friday night, and the Pintos are hoping their three-headed monster in the backfield — Mario Romero, Mateo Griego Manley and Royce Dennisson — continue to move the chains, as they’ve been doing extremely effectively of late. The Pintos, probably more than any 4A playoff team, must not fall into a large deficit.

“We have to be able to establish a running game,” Moriarty coach Gabe Romero said. “The good thing is, all of our running backs … are all running the ball extremely well.”

For Chaparral, junior Raul Lopez is over 1,000 yards on the season, with 11 scores.

No. 1 Bloomfield (9-1), winners of eight in a row, officially begins its quest for a repeat state title as the Bobcats welcome No. 8 Bernalillo (7-4) on Saturday afternoon. Bloomfield put up 60 points against the Spartans’ solid defense in the regular season and it averages 55 points a game. Senior QB Manual Chavarria has accounted for 52 combined TDs passing (42) and rushing for the Bobcats.

Class 3A

Hope Christian (7-3) comes off a bye week as the third-seeded Huskies are playing No. 11 Hot Springs (6-5) at 6 p.m. Friday at Wilson Stadium. The Tigers upset No. 6 Thoreau in the first round.

Senior QB R.J. Montoya of Hope has been one of the most valuable players in the 3A division this season, and he is a hugely effective dual-threat athlete for the Huskies.

Also in that bottom half of the draw, No. 10 Ruidoso (5-6), fresh off its road win at No. 7 West Las Vegas, faces a daunting task in traveling to second-seeded Dexter (8-1). The high-powered Demons (a lone loss to 4A Grants) won their district encounter 48-0 last month and they average 44 points a game fueled by a strong run game.

Also Friday night, No. 4 Pojoaque Valley (5-4) is home to fifth-seeded New Mexico Military Institute (7-4). The Elks are in rare territory with a first-round bye and quarterfinal home game.

Top-seeded and unbeaten St. Michael’s (10-0) welcomes rival Robertson (7-4), the 8 seed, on Saturday afternoon. These two just met two weeks ago, with the Horsemen battering the Cardinals 40-6. The St. Mike’s defense is in the conversation for the most dominant single unit in the state, having permitted a scant 57 points this season.

Class 2A

All four quarterfinals are Saturday. The bottom half of the bracket features two tremendous matchups, including No. 2 Legacy Academy (9-1) getting a repeat quarterfinal versus No. 7 Loving (8-3). The Falcons came to Albuquerque in this round last year and eliminated the Silverbacks.

“Revenge for extra motivation is great, but at the end of the day, it’s still an opponent we have to prepare for the same way,” first-year Legacy head coach Joey Romero said.

This is just the second year of 11-Man football for the Silverbacks. Chief among their focuses on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m.) at Bernalillo, where this game is being played, is containing Falcons’ dual-threat quarterback Tristen Onsurez. The senior has thrown for 21 scores and rushed for an additional eight.

Onsurez is up against a stout Legacy Academy defense that has permitted just 80 points in 10 games.

“If we’re gonna be a team that plays for something, it comes down to playing good defense,” Romero said. That defense is run by former Las Cruces High star Dante Caro.

The 2A quarterfinal with the most firepower is the one in Eunice, where the third-seeded Cardinals (7-2) play host to No. 6 Santa Rosa (9-2).

“They might be the best 6 seed since the NMAA started seeding the tournament,” Eunice coach Greg Jackson said. “I’m expecting a full-on, physical, four-quarter battle.”

The Lions are facing one of the state’s top QB’s in four-year senior starter Elijah Melancon; Santa Rosa counters with a terrific running attack spearheaded by senior David Chavez, who is over 1,200 yards this season.

No. 1 seed Texico (6-3), the defending champion, comes off its bye week to take on No. 8 Navajo Prep (9-2). No. 4 seed Hozho Academy (8-2), the charter school based in Gallup, nearly beat Legacy this year and did beat 3A’s No. 4 seed, Pojoaque Valley. Hozho Academy is playing host to No. 5 Raton (7-4).

8-Man/6-Man

The 6-Man bracket is into its final, with No. 1 Grady (10-0) playing host to No. 2 Logan (10-1) at 7 p.m. Friday. If this meeting is anything like their regular-season matchup, this could end up being the most exciting of the seven championship games. Grady took a 54-52 decision on Sept. 5 in Logan. The Longhorns are the defending state champion.

The Bronchos have one of the most aptly named running backs in the state in junior Trey Rush, who has scored 20 touchdowns for Grady.

The 8-Man playoffs are down to the final four. Both semifinals are Friday night. No. 3 Tatum (8-3) visits No. 2 Melrose (9-2); the Buffaloes routed the Coyotes by 42 points last month. No. 1 Fort Sumner/House (9-0) plays No. 4 Mesilla Valley (7-2) in a neutral site contest at Bernalillo High School. Both kick off at 7 p.m.