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Prep football: Rematches abound in state football finals
St. Michael’s Pete Johnson, center, carries the ball for a first down before being tackled by Eunice’s Maddox Fisher in Santa Fe, September 20.
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Championship Saturday in the 2025 prep football season will look very much like Championship Saturday of the 2024 prep football season.
Class 5A’s final, for the third straight year, will pair Artesia against Roswell. This year, it’s 1 p.m. at Bulldog Bowl.
The 4A title game is a rematch of last year’s final between Bloomfield and St. Pius, 1 p.m. at Nusenda Community Stadium.
Dexter and St. Michael’s will decide the 3A crown for the second straight November, this time on Dexter’s home field, at 1 p.m.
Higher seeds Artesia, Roswell and Bloomfield all went on the road Saturday to post semifinal victories. Both Artesia and Roswell were trailing at halftime.
Class 5A
No. 1 ARTESIA 35, No. 4 LOVINGTON 30: In Lovington, 5A’s top-seeded Bulldogs (11-1) were in a battle all day with the fourth-seeded Wildcats (7-5) before Artesia finally prevailed.
It wasn’t until a 46-yard screen touchdown pass to Jack Byers with 1:51 remaining that Artesia had a cushion, and a 35-24 lead. The Wildcats did score with just under a minute remaining to cut the deficit to five points, but they did not succeed on the ensuing onside kick and Artesia ran out the clock.
“My heart was pumping today,” Bulldogs coach Jeremy Maupin said. “But man, our kids really battled and the way we played in the second half shows the grittiness and resilience of this team.”
Lovington led 17-14 at halftime. There were multiple lead changes in the second half. The Bulldogs led 21-17, the Wildcats led 24-21, the Bulldogs then led 28-24. Trent Egeland caught touchdown passes on Artesia’s first two drives of the second half.
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Artesia was up four when it was intercepted; the Bulldogs’ defense on the ensuing series earned a big stop on a fourth-and-1, and Byers scored moments later.
Bryce Parra rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown for Artesia, and he also returned a kickoff for a score. Quarterback Derrick Warren passed for three touchdowns for the Bulldogs.
No. 2 ROSWELL 35, No. 6 GADSDEN 17: In Anthony, N.M., the Coyotes (9-3) rushed for nearly 400 yards and overcame the Panthers (8-5) to advance to the championship game.
Gadsden led 10-7 at halftime. Roswell, however, had two drives inside the 10 yield no points after a missed field goal and a turnover.
“It was just, relax, and keep doing what we’re doing,” Roswell coach Jeff Lynn said. “Don’t push the panic button. Everybody take a deep breath and play Roswell Coyote football and we’ll be fine.”
Quarterback Luke Lynn rushed for a score and threw a touchdown pass to Olin Ingram in the second half for the defending state champions. Nate Lujan and Luis Rodriguez both rushed for TDs in that decisive second half for Roswell.
Rodriguez, a sophomore, had a huge day, rushing for 219 yards on 17 carries. Lujan finished with 113 yards on 15 tries. Roswell rushed for 386 yards and didn’t punt Saturday.
“I really like this team,” coach Lynn said. “They’re a tight-knit bunch, and there’s not been any drama with them.”
Class 4A
No. 1 BLOOMFIELD 62, No. 4 TAOS 20: In Taos, the Tigers (7-5) scored on a pick-6 in the opening minute of the game, but the Bobcats (11-1) responded with 41 straight points over the next quarter-and-a-half, and the defending 4A state champions steamrolled into the title game.
“We believed we could make it to the state (title) game, and we thought all along it would be against St. Pius,” Bloomfield coach Mike Kovacs said.
Quarterback Manual Chavarria was 15-for-21 for 200 yards and three touchdowns, and he also rushed for 90 yards and two scores in the Bobcats’ triumph.
Bloomfield answered the Taos pick-6 with 27 straight points to close the first quarter. Peyton Duncan ran 11 yards for a touchdown, Chavarria tossed a TD passes of 6 and 1 yards to Kaleb Huchens, and the Bobcats added another rushing score for a 27-7 lead.
Chavarria threw another touchdown pass and ran one in as Bloomfield exploded to a 41-7 advantage midway through the second quarter.
“We really just had some great plays from kids in space,” Kovacs said.
Class 3A
No. 2 DEXTER 24, No. 3 HOPE CHRISTIAN 6: In Dexter, the Demons’ defense was in control most of the way as they moved into the final.
The Dexter defense recorded an early safety for the game’s first points. After the Huskies (8-4) kicked away to the Demons (10-1), senior running back Garet Gonzalez scored on a long run, and with a 2-point conversion, it was 10-0.
“Momentum is a real thing,” Dexter coach Sonny Duran said.
The Demons controlled Hope’s running game and kept quarterback RJ Montoya largely under wraps, Duran said.
“Our guys put it to them.”
Gonzales had two rushing scores for Dexter, Granados had the other.
Now the Demons get a return meeting with St. Michael’s, which won the final by two points last season.
“We’re playing a different caliber of defense. They do what they do and they do it well,” Duran said. “It’s a challenge, but I think our boys are up to it.”
Hope’s only score Saturday came late in the game, after the Huskies were down 24-0.
No. 1 ST. MICHAEL’S 54, No. 5 NEW MEXICO MILITARY INSTITUTE 8: In Santa Fe, senior running back Isaiah Dominguez rushed for 272 yards and four touchdowns on just eight carries, and the Horsemen (12-0) dominated the Colts (8-5), ending NMMI’s season for the third playoffs in a row.
Dominguez also had a receiving touchdown for St. Mike’s, which is seeking a third straight blue trophy in Class 3A. Kamal Stith threw for two TDs and he also had a nice day rushing the ball, with approximately 100 yards and a score.
Class 2A
No. 1 TEXICO 49, No. 4 HOZHO ACADEMY 7: In Texico, the defending state champion Wolverines (8-3) pulled away from the Wolves (9-3) with a 22-point third quarter as Texico earned a home game in the final.
Texico will play host to No. 3 Eunice at 1 p.m. Saturday.
At 13-7, Cross Figg’s 15-yard rushing touchdown upped the score to 20-7 for Texico at halftime.
In the third quarter, Figg completed a pass to Dexter Chapman for a TD and a 26-7 edge. Two lengthy scoring runs by Figg left the Wolverines fully in command, 42-7 after three quarters.
Read full game story — 2A: Eunice-Legacy Academy
Read full game story — 4A: St. Pius-Chaparral
