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Prep football: Week 6 games to watch and expert picks
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Games to watch
1. St. Pius at Silver, 7 p.m. Friday: A superb matchup in Class 4A between the Sartans, ranked No. 2 in the division, and the third-ranked Colts. Big question looming is, will St. Pius QB Isaiah Carpenter, who was injured in his team’s last game, be ready to ride in the saddle for the high-powered Sartans, who are coming off a bye week? Silver has been enjoying plenty of success in the first half of the season.
2. Gadsden at Goddard, Wool Bowl, 7 p.m. Friday: Class 5A’s third-ranked Panthers have to be licking their wounds after No. 1 Artesia came into Anthony on Friday night and whipped them. The Rockets, ranked fourth, have been flying under the radar with some solid football, and this game is practically a must for the Panthers if they want to earn a first-round playoff bye down the road.
3. Lovington at Artesia, 7 p.m. Friday: And here’s another great matchup from that district, 2-5A, as the Wildcats roll into Bulldog Bowl for one of southeastern New Mexico’s truly special rivalries. It’s up to the Lovington defense to find a way to slow down what has been an excellent Artesia attack.
4. Española Valley at Bernalillo, 7 p.m. Friday: A pairing of the two teams that fell in the Class 4A state semifinals last November, and a key game in District 1-4A. The Spartans already have a district loss to Moriarty, and can not really afford another one if they hope to challenge for the league title.
5. Mesilla Valley at Melrose, 7 p.m. Friday: Normally, can’t squeeze in any of the non-11 Man matchups for all the obvious reasons. But this week’s slate, which is almost incomprehensibly devoid of strong pairings in the larger divisions, allows me to show some love for this game, featuring two of the top three ranked teams in 8-Man.
