November Madness: Class 4A and 3A Championship Game Previews

<strong>CLASS 4A</strong> <strong>Ruidoso (6) at Lovington (1) </strong> What: 2021 Class 4A State Championship Game Where: Brian Urlacher Field at Wildcat Stadium, Lovington, NM When: Sat., Nov. 27, 1 p.m. Team Records: Ruidoso (8-5); Lovington (9-3) Just like the semifinal matchup between Moriarty and Lovington, the 4A championship game features two offenses with distinctly different styles. Ruidoso loves to run the football, while Lovington throws the ball a lot to a talented array of receivers. May the best scheme win. <strong>WHEN RUIDOSO HAS THE BALL</strong>: The Warriors aren’t like Moriarty, which runs the ball 98 percent of the time. After all, Ruidoso QB <strong>Griffin Hooker</strong> has thrown for 1,083 yards and 13 TD. But they still the run the ball 65 percent of the time. When they do, senior RB <strong>Bracxton Hall</strong> usually gets the ball. He has 20+ carries six times this season, including a 28-carry, 106-yard masterpiece in last week’s semifinal win at Bloomfield. Hall has totaled 1,411 rushing yards in 12 games, an average of 117.58 yards per game. Hooker has 918 rushing yards to go along with his aforementioned passing yardage, putting him 82 yards shy of joining the prestigious 1,000-1,000 club. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135305" first="Mikey" last="Sandoval"]</strong> is Ruidoso’s leading receiver by far with 38 receptions for 511 yards and 7 TD. <strong>WHEN LOVINGTON HAS THE BALL</strong>: Sure, Lovington is willing run the ball, specifically when freshman <strong>Ondalis Cardenas</strong> (697 rushing yards on 96 carries) is on the field, but a lethal passing attack is the DNA of this Wildcats team. Junior QB <strong>Ashton Aranda</strong> has thrown for a shade over 2,000 yards and 27 TD in 10 games this season. We said before the season that Lovington’s wide receiver corps was the best in the state, and they’ve lived up to the hype. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26256" first="Adam" last="Aguilera"]</strong> leads the way with 60 receptions for 923 yards and 8 TD, while two-way standouts <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26233" first="Isaac" last="Hinson"]</strong> (45 catches for 727 yards) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134985" first="Tayten" last="Hilliard"]</strong> (31 for 523) have put together sensational seasons as both wide receivers and defensive backs. Hinson, who also as one of Lovington’s top kick returners, has 1,275 all-purpose yards. <strong>10 MORE PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong>: <strong>Ruidoso</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="208746" first="Cooper" last="Pritchett"] (QB/WR/LB)(18 receptions + 105 tackles); [player_tooltip player_id="138085" first="Dalton" last="Trapp"] (DL)(101 tackles); Gavon Hall (LB)(107 tackles); [player_tooltip player_id="138061" first="Kaden" last="Sago"] (74 tackles); David Sanchez (DB)(68 tackles). <strong>Lovington</strong>: Alex Holguin (RB); [player_tooltip player_id="135336" first="Joseph" last="Perez"] (LB)(116 tackles); Joshua Carrasco (OLB) (78 tackles); DeMarcus Thompson (LB)(73 catches); [player_tooltip player_id="138046" first="Brennan" last="Garcia"] (DL)(56 tackles). *************************************************************************************** <strong>CLASS 3A</strong> <strong>St. Michael’s (4) at Robertson (3) </strong> What: 2021 Class 3A State Championship Game Where: Cardinal Field, Las Vegas, NM When: Sat., Nov. 27, 1 p.m. Team Records: St. Michael’s (9-3); Robertson (10-2). One of the most heated and long-time rivalries in northern New Mexico adds another chapter on Saturday when the St. Michael’s Horsemen travel to Las Vegas to take on the Robertson Cardinals. These two teams began playing each other in the 1950s, back when Robertson was known as Las Vegas High School. This championship game clash will be the fourth time these schools have met in the post-season, the second time for the blue trophy. Robertson’s run to the championship is even more remarkable when you consider the Cardinals didn’t play football for nearly two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic as the Las Vegas School district opted out of the spring season. <strong>WHEN ST. MICHAEL’S HAS THE BALL</strong>: The Horsemen were missing 10 players, including several key contributors on offense, when they faced Robertson the first time this season. The Cardinals trounced St. Mike’s, 44-7, in Las Vegas. But the Horsemen will be fully staffed on Saturday, which means we’ll see QB <strong>Zachary Martinez</strong> direct an offense highlighted by RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26250" first="Daymon" last="Lujan"]</strong> (813 rushing yards; 163 yards on 20 carries in quarterfinal win over NMMI) and WR <strong>Devin Flores</strong>, who made a leaping grab in the end zone for the game’s lone TD in last weekend’s 7-0 victory over Raton. The score capped a 19-play, 81-yard drive that drained 8:10 off the clock. Considering the weapons on Robertson’s offense, the Horsemen will look to mimic that drive Saturday and keep the ball away from the Cardinal offense. Lujan had his number called seven times on the drive. St. Michael’s scored just 19 points in the final three games of the regular season, but they’ve proven they’re able to do just enough to win games. <strong>WHEN ROBERTSON HAS THE BALL</strong>: Since losing its season opener 34-8 to Santa Fe, Robertson offensively has averaged almost 40 points per game. Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26261" first="Matthew" last="Gonzales"]</strong> is one of the most dynamic players in Class 3A, throwing for 1,320 yards and 14 TD and rushing for 1,206 yards and 20 TD. He’s accounted for 2,519 total yards and 34 TD. If St. Michael’s has any chance to win this game, they must find a way to keep Gonzales bottled up. But Robertson has other offensive weapons as well, starting with promising freshman RB <strong>Jesse James Gonzales</strong>, younger brother of Matthew. In his first varsity season, Jesse James has rushed for 808 yards and 7 TD. The Gonzales brothers have combined for 2,014 rushing yards and 27 TD on 269 carries in 2021. Sophomore <strong>Mateo Contreras</strong> is by far [player_tooltip player_id="26261" first="Matthew" last="Gonzales"]’ favorite target in the passing game. He has 40 receptions for 636 yards and 5 TD. He has 30 receptions more than anybody else on the Robertson roster. https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1463515420481052687 https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1462464595684118537 https://twitter.com/joeybutz12/status/1463968944436375587