Semifinals in Review: Top Performers
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The semifinal round (a/k/a Sweet 16) of the 2021 New Mexico High School football playoffs was filled with plenty of exceptional performances. Here are some of the top performers (in alphabetical order): Gabriel Buie, LaCueva: Buie got the La Cueva…
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Continue ReadingThe semifinal round (a/k/a Sweet 16) of the 2021 New Mexico High School football playoffs was filled with plenty of exceptional performances. Here are some of the top performers (in alphabetical order):
Gabriel Buie, LaCueva: Buie got the La Cueva offense started on a strong note by racing around right end and down the right sidelines for a 72-yard TD run on the Bears’ first offensive play. He added a short TD run later in the first quarter.
Paul Cieremans Paul Cieremans 5'10" | 195 lbs | QB Los Lunas | 2023 State NM , Los Lunas: The Tigers’ dynamic QB dug deep in the fourth quarter of Saturday and led Los Lunas to a pair of TDs and a thrilling come-from-behind 26-21 victory over Goddard. Cieremans first carried 4 yards for a TD before passing 28 yards to Fabian Trujillo for the game-winning score. Cieremans rushed for 207 yards in the win and now has 1,256 rushing yards on the season.
Mateo Contreras, Robertson: The Cardinals sophomore WR caught three TD passes in Robertson’s 38-29 win over No. 2 seed Socorro, a victory that propelled them into the Class 3A championship game against long-time rival St. Michael’s.
Lucious Dickson, Cleveland: Dickson rushed for 148 yards and 1 TD on 19 carries as the Storm built a 35-7 lead late in the first half over Las Cruces before quashing the Bulldawgs’ comeback hopes in the second.
Devin Flores, St. Michael’s: Flores scored the only TD in the Horsemen’s 7-0 3A victory over No. 1 seed Raton, leaping over a defender in the corner of the end zone to make the scoring grab with just 1:14 left in the second quarter, capping a 19-play, 81-yard drive in style. He also carried two yards for a first down in the waning seconds to clinch the win.
Phillip Finley Rascon, Artesia: The Bulldogs safety made the biggest defensive play in Artesia’s 57-14 romp past No.1 seed Farmington, snatching a pass from Scorpions QB Brandon Furbee Brandon Furbee 6'3" | QB Farmington | 2022 State NM and racing 95 yards for a Pick-6 on the final play of the first half. Artesia dominated the second half on both sides of the ball and booked a spot in the Class 5A championship game against Los Lunas.
Matthew Gonzales Matthew Gonzales 5'5" | QB Robertson | 2022 State NM , Robertson: Gonzales totaled 298 yards of total offense and had a role in all five Cardinals touchdowns as Robertson beat Socorro, 38-29, in Class 3A. One of his TDs was a 47-yard scamper that gave the Cardinals a 28-13 lead. Gonzales also starred on defense, forcing a fumble and intercepted two passes among a number of big plays. He rushed for 182 yards and passed for 116.
Braxton Hall Braxton Hall RB Ruidoso | 2022 State NM , Ruidoso: Hall is one of the most underrated running backs in the state and he proved it in the Warriors’ second impressive road win in the playoffs, a 35-22 victory over Bloomfield. Hall ran for 106 yards and 2 TD on a workhorse 28 carries in the win as Ruidoso was able to run the ball effectively all game long. Hall added 11 tackles on defense, too.
Tayten Hilliard Tayten Hilliard 6'0" | 175 lbs | WR Lovington | 2022 State NM , Lovington: The Wildcats routed Moriarty, 54-12, Saturday as Hilliard returned 2 punts for TDs, made 7 tackles on offense and caught 1 reception for 17 yards.
Alec Holguin, Lovington: Just a freshman, Holguin scored 3 TD for Lovington against Moriarty. Holguin rushed for a team-high 64 yards and 2 TD and caught 1 TD pass. Along with fellow freshman Ondalis Cardenas, Lovington looks set at running back for the next three years.
Conagher Pierce Conagher Pierce 5'11" | 190 lbs | RB Eunice | 2022 State NM , Eunice: Pierce threw for 248 yards and 3 TD as the Cardinals won their fourth straight Class 3A title by beating Jal, 28-15, on the Panthers home field.
Dominick Priddy, Rio Rancho: With Rio Rancho’s star RB Zach Vigil Zach Vigil 5'9" | 190 lbs | RB Rio Rancho | 2022 State NM injured and unable to play after a brief appearance, the pressure fell on Priddy to carry the Rams offense. He did that in Rio Rancho’s wild come-from-behind 35-34 OT victory over La Cueva. In the first OT, Priddy saved the Rams by recovering a bad snap over his head and finding WR Javas Maria for the 10-yard TD play.
Cooper Pritchett, Ruidoso: One of two QBs employed by the Warriors accounted for 179 yards of offense in Ruidoso’s road win at Bloomfield with 133 passing yards, 10 rushes for 30 yards and 1 reception for 16 yards. Pritchett has shined in the playoffs with 115+ total yards in each of the three games.
Nathan Taylor, Artesia: The Bulldogs QB brought his ‘A’ game to the semifinals, completing 24-of-38 passes for 380 yards and six TDs in a dominant performance by the Artesia offense against a Farmington defense that had allowed an average of 5.0 points per game.
Ashton Thompson, Eunice: The sophomore had the game of his life in the Class 3A title game, catching 6 passes for 157 yards and 3 TD, including a 72-yarder. His number of receptions and receiving yardage were both season highs for Thompson. In fact, his previous single game high in yardage was 91.
Evan Wysong Evan Wysong 5'10" | 165 lbs | QB Cleveland | 2023 State NM , Cleveland: The Storm’s dynamic dual threat QB, who’s only a junior, accounted for five TDs in Cleveland’s 42-24 victory over Las Cruces at Field of Dreams. Wysong led the Cleveland offense to 374 total yards in the first half alone, 507 overall.
#77 signing out… it’s been one hell of a ride and I’m honored to call Jal my home. I love each one of my boys and they definitely made it a great senior year! With that being said I’m also blessed to have the opportunity to start a new chapter in my life as a Boise State Bronco! pic.twitter.com/xt4NAOYr7g
— Roger Carreon (@roger_carreon62) November 21, 2021
MARCO YBARRA
• 2022 RUNNINGBACK
• All-District Offensive Player of the Year
• All-District 1st Team RB
• St Pius X High
• Student Body President
• Captain
• 4.0 Cumulative GPA
• 29 ACT
• 5'10 190lb
• 1497 yards 22 TDS@RamarWatson @CoachDmontoya https://t.co/eRqkCxADjl— Marco Ybarra (@marcoayb) November 23, 2021
Senior Season Highlights!
145 Tackles (98 Solo) *New School Record
12.1 Tackles Per Game
29.5 TFL
7 Sacks
1 INT
2 FF
9 Rushing TD’s@CoachWallin @CoachMcTeigue @HawkVvhs @vvhsfootball @DavidHowes5 @COACH_HIMEY @NMrecruits @PrepRedzoneNM @nmpreps https://t.co/kR23i5EHgx— Tyler Martinez (@tvler_1) November 22, 2021
Junior Season Highlights ‼️ It was a great year playing with my teammates; looking forward to next year‼️Check out my highlight – https://t.co/YTZJ3gk2v9 @PrepRedzoneNM @NMrecruits @Rude_WUBearcats @JordanSom_UNM @nmpreps
— Kellan “KG” Gehres (@KellanGehres23) November 21, 2021