November Madness: Preview of Class 6A First Round Playoff Games

After a drama-filled Week 11 containing a half dozen winner-take-all district championship games, the first round of the playoffs are finally here. There are a total of 16 games in Classes 6A-3A, four in each classification. The NMAA released the brackets Saturday night. Generally, the No. 5 seed plays the No. 12 seed, No. 6 vs. No. 11, No. 7 vs. No. 10 and No. 8 vs. No. 9 in the first round. Four teams received byes in each classification. Those teams will see their first action next weekend in the quarterfinals. Here is a look at the four first-round playoff games in Class 6A: <strong>Eldorado (9) at Hobbs (8)(Sat. 2 p.m.)</strong>: How often have we seen 8-9 matchups turn into barn burners? This one has the potential to be another close, hard-fought battle. Eldorado (7-3) thrives on running the football and playing sound fundamental defense. Their run-pass ratio is close to 70-30. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="198231" first="Aidan" last="St. John"]</strong> is the primary ball carrier with 1,078 yards on 228 carries. He’s averaging 107.8 yards and a workhorse 23 carries per game. Nobody else has more than 62 carries, and that’s QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135326" first="Elias" last="Franco"]</strong> (62 carries for 186 yards). Franco shares QB duties with sophomore Brandon Olivas. Hobbs (5-5) relies extensively on QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134908" first="Colton" last="Graham"]</strong>, who has thrown for 1,862 yards and 18 TD while rushing for 453 yards on 92 carries. So, Graham wins games with his arm and his feet. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="208821" first="Diego" last="Baeza"]</strong> is the Eagles’ leading rusher with 582 yards on 95 carries. Graham has a big-time weapon at his disposal in junior WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137921" first="Kaden" last="Trevino"]</strong>, who has 46 receptions for 756 yards and 9 TD. Trevino is one of the top 2023 prospects in the state. https://twitter.com/HobbsEaglesFB/status/1455675705883246601 <strong>Sandia (10) at Cibola (7)(Fri., 7 p.m.)</strong>: Currently riding a 4-game losing streak, Sandia (5-4) is one of the hottest teams in the state entering the playoffs. The Matadors have averaged 47.8 points per game during that stretch. Twice they have eclipsed 50 points. The ringleader on offense is junior RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137923" first="Malachi" last="Thymes"]</strong>. He has rushed for 1,158 yards and 16 TD, surpassing 100 yards seven times. He has scored 3+ TDs four times. Junior QB <strong>Dalen Moyer</strong> has passed for 1,009 yards and 14 TD. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="189577" first="Dalton" last="Speis"]</strong> is an elite WR with 39 receptions for 658 yards and 6 TD during the regular season. Don’t be fooled by Cibola’s 5-5 record. The Cougars played one of the toughest schedules in the state, a fact recognized by the NMAA when they seeded Cibola No. 7 for the playoffs. Cibola has arguably the most high-powered offense in the state with top 2023 prospect <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"]</strong> at quarterback and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134963" first="Nathan" last="Lopez"]</strong> and WR. The 6-foot-5 Chavez, drawing interest from Div. I programs, has thrown for 2,505 yards and 26 TD in 10 games. More than 40 percent of his completions have landed in the arms of Lopez, who has caught a state-leading 79 passes for 1,078 yards and 9 TD He combines the speed to outrun defensive backs with the acumen to find the holes in the defense and get open. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137936" first="Branden" last="Castillo"]</strong> is a nice No. 2 receiver with 48 receptions for 679 yards. https://twitter.com/cibolafootball/status/1455941448612806662 <strong>Carlsbad (11) at Volcano Vista (6)(Fri., 7 p.m.)</strong>: These two teams were supposed to play during the regular season but Covid protocols forced the cancellation of the game. Now we’ll finally get to see them battle and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Carlsbad (3-6) enters the playoffs with losses in five of its last six games. The Cavemen have allowed an average of 36 points per game during that stretch. WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135081" first="Jonathan" last="Fuentes"]</strong> is Carlsbad’s top offensive threat. In the final regular season game, he had seven receptions for 102 yards. Pacific University in Oregon has offered and has taken an unofficial visit to New Mexico. The Carlsbad defense must bring its ‘A’ game to Community Stadium in Albuquerque Friday night if the Cavemen have any realistic hope of slowing down a prolific Volcano Vista offense that features QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26247" first="Josh" last="Gerardo"]</strong> (2,129 passing yards + 20 TD) and two of the top six receivers in the state in term of receptions. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="198052" first="Kieran" last="Cordova"]</strong> (53 receptions for 933 yards) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135097" first="Kaden" last="Valdez"]</strong> (49 for 1,026) have combined for 102 catches for 1,959 yards and 19 TD. Few WR duos in the state are better. When the Hawks want to run the ball, they usually give it <strong>to [player_tooltip player_id="208826" first="Elliot" last="Paskett-Bell"] </strong>(373 rushing yards) or <strong>Niko Salazer</strong> (388). <strong>Clovis (12) at Las Cruces (5)(Sat., 2 p.m.)</strong>: When two heavyweights clash, we sit up and pay attention even when the talent disparity is wide as it is here. Clovis (3-6) started slowly with four straight losses before a miracle TD in the final minute against Albuquerque High saved its season. They won three straight games and looked to be on the right path. But the Wildcats closed the campaign with lopsided losses to Sandia (41-14) and Eldorado (50-14). QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134999" first="Milo" last="Acosta"]</strong> has thrown for 1,444 yards and 10 TD, and is Clovis’ leading rusher with 304 yards on 89 carries. Las Cruces dual threat QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26253" first="Dallas" last="Boyd"]</strong> is now a card-carrying member of the prestigious 1,000-1,000 club. The senior has thrown for 1,085 yards on 55 completions (19.73 yards per completion) and rushed for 1,221 yards on 156 carries, giving him 2,306 all-purpose yards. He is clearly the heart and soul of the Bulldawgs’ offense. WR <strong>Zakye Hawkins</strong> is one of the top sophomores in the state and usually makes at least one crowd-pleasing catch per game. Las Cruces, averaging 37.5 points per game since the Week 4 loss at Cleveland, should be well motivated to win this game as a rematch with local rival Centennial (No. 4 seed) awaits should the Bulldawgs prevail. Those two teams played a 42-41 thriller in Week 9. https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1454657416109256708 https://twitter.com/dallas2boyd/status/1455952177042755592 https://twitter.com/cibolafootball/status/1455930076738961410 https://twitter.com/jonathanfu2nt2s/status/1450139903937826820