November Madness: Class 6A Semifinal Preview

We truly have a Sweet 16 in the 2021 New Mexico High School football playoffs as four teams are left in the Class 6A-3A playoffs. Let’s first take a look at the intriguing semifinal matchups in Class 6A. Interestingly, both games are rematches from the regular season: <strong>Cleveland (1) at Las Cruces (5)(Fri., 7 p.m.)</strong>: Heavyweights collide at the Field of Dreams. Cleveland pushed its current winning streak to 20 straight games with a 42-14 victory over Hobbs in the quarterfinals. It was a classic Storm win. The score was tied 7-7 late in the second quarter when quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139521" first="Evan" last="Wysong"]</strong>, utilizing his speed, made one of the plays of the year, a 73-yard TD run through the Hobbs defense. Cleveland took it from there, dominating the second half and assuring a semifinal trip to Las Cruces. Las Cruces exorcised some demons in their quarterfinal win over rival Centennial. The Bulldawgs blew a four-touchdown lead to the Hawks in the regular season, but this time Las Cruces held off Centennial for a 35-21 win. Their reward? Another meeting with Cleveland, which beat the Bulldawgs 42-7 on Sept. 10 at Lightning Bolt Stadium. Job No. 1 for Las Cruces is on defense. They must find a way to slow down the Storm’s vaunted running game. If they can’t, the chances of victory are slim. Wysong (821 rushing yards) and <strong>Lucious Dickson</strong> (586) have been the primary ball carriers since [player_tooltip player_id="138204" first="Josh" last="Perry"] was lost for the season with an injury. Wysong, who has thrown for 1,505 yards, needs 179 rushing yards to join the prestigious 1,000-1,000 club for quarterbacks. When he does throw the ball, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139523" first="Nic" last="Trujillo"]</strong> has been his favorite target with 44 receptions for 765 yards. Las Cruces has a talented offensive trio of its own, and all three contributed to the quarterfinal win over Centennial. Dual threat QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26253" first="Dallas" last="Boyd"]</strong>, WR <strong>Zakye Hawkins</strong> and RB <strong>Elias Ogas</strong> are difficult to stop. In last week’s win over Centennial, Boyd and Hawkins combined for over 110 passing yards and 2 TD, while Ogas had 11 carries for 79 yards. They’ll need another performance at that level to keep the Bulldawgs in this one. <strong>Las Cueva (3) at Rio Rancho (2)(Fri., 7 p.m.)</strong>: La Cueva is another team looking for revenge from a regular season whipping. Rio Rancho embarrassed the Bears, 50-0, in Week 2, one of the worst losses in the Bears proud history. But La Cueva was missing some key pieces in that game and, based on their first playoff game, they now appear to be at full strength. Since that dreadful loss, La Cueva has won nine straight games, including a 35-21 win over Volcano Vista in the quarterfinals last weekend, and can legitimately say they are one of the hottest teams in the entire state. La Cueva’s offensive trio of QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137862" first="Aidan" last="Armenta"]</strong>, RB <strong>Gabriel Buie</strong> and WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="208744" first="Exodus" last="Ayers"]</strong> is one of the best in the state, and they proved it in the win over Volcano Vista. Armenta didn’t have his best game, but he eventually overcame three first half interceptions to throw a pair of TD passes to Ayers in the fourth quarter when the Bears snapped a 21-21 tie. Buie, meanwhile, rushed for 200 yards and 1 TD. Defensively, the Bears are solid at all three levels with DE <strong>Deven Dyer</strong>, LB <strong>Hunter Haemker</strong> (UNM commit) and DB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145396" first="Colt" last="Mangino"]</strong>. Rio Rancho’s best offensive strategy is fairly simple: give the ball to RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26227" first="Zach" last="Vigil"]</strong> and let him work his magic. Considering the Rams have scored 40 or more points in every game this season except one (loss to Cleveland), the strategy has been highly effective. Vigil has rushed for about 1,500 yards, including 323 against Cleveland. Quarterback <strong>Dominick Priddy</strong>, who has committed to Amarillo College for baseball, is an underrated dual threat signal caller and can beat you with either his arm or his feet. UNM commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26229" first="Cayden" last="Romero"]</strong> is one of the top three offensive linemen in the state. Defensively, Rio Rancho has allowed 20 or more points just three times in nine games this season. They opened the season with back-to-back shutouts of La Cueva and Eldorado. Later, they added shutouts of Carlsbad and Atrisco Heritage. The defense is led by DL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26235" first="Fabiano" last="Valdez"]</strong>, LB <strong>Chris Montoya</strong> and DB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26231" first="Lucas" last="Lucero"]</strong>. All three are serious candidates to play at the next level. https://twitter.com/LCHSFOOTBALL/status/1459667989276495872 https://twitter.com/LaCuevaFootball/status/1460423606635143173 &nbsp;