Weekly Whiparound: Quarterfinal Playoff Round Edition

The quarterfinal round of the 2021 New Mexico High School Football playoffs is complete, and that means we’re down to the Final 4 in Classifications 6A-3A and the Terrific Two in Class 2A. Here are some of the best performances, best games, fascinating numbers and other fun stuff from the weekend. The semifinal round of the playoffs begins Fri. night. Team of the Week: Goddard. Much like their first meeting of the season a couple of weeks ago, longtime cross-town rivals Goddard and Roswell (they have squared off since 1965) engaged in another close, hard-hitting, low-scoring defensive duel at the Wool Bowl. This time, though, Goddard prevailed, 14-3, snapping a lengthy losing streak to the hated Coyotes. The Rockets hadn’t beaten Roswell since 2014, so they picked a good time to change the script. After Roswell kicked a field goal for a 3-0 lead, Goddard RB Jon Silva broke loose for a long TD run with 1:32 left before halftime to hand the Rockets a lead they would never relinquish. The defenses dominated the second half as neither offense scored. Goddard clinched the win with a Pick-6 by Elias Armendariz (2 INT) with 4:21 left in the fourth quarter. Honorable Mention: Ruidoso; Las Cruces; Artesia. Player of the Week: Gabriel Buie, La Cueva. With Bears QB [player_tooltip player_id="137862" first="Aidan" last="Armenta"] enduring a rare off night - particularly in the first half when he was intercepted three times - Buie led a dominant La Cueva ground game as he rushed for 200 yards and 1 TD in the Bears’ 35-21 victory over Volcano Vista Friday night at Wilson Stadium. He rushed 16 times for 149 yards in the second half. Buie’s success running the football forced Volcano Vista to devote more players to the box and opened things up in the passing game. Armenta threw a pair of 4th quarter TDs to WR [player_tooltip player_id="208744" first="Exodus" last="Ayers"] as La Cueva cemented the win. Ayers finished with 8 receptions for 170 yards and 4 TD. Best Team Offensive Performance: Jal. Except for a close win over Eunice, the Panthers have dominated Class 2A this season and it continued in the playoff semifinals. Jal QB [player_tooltip player_id="138093" first="Alexavier" last="Carreon"], younger brother of Boise State-bound OL [player_tooltip player_id="26228" first="Roger" last="Carreon"], rushed for 302 yards and passed for 71 yards on just three completions as the Panthers crushed Texico, 53-12. Jal faces Eunice in the Class 2A championship game Saturday afternoon. Jal prevailed, 40-38, earlier this season in a thrilling matchup between the two schools. Best Team Defensive Performance: Ruidoso. The Warriors limited St. Pius X to seven first downs and 85 rushing yards in a dominant 33-8 victory at Community Stadium. The second quarter proved pivotal as Ruidoso stopped St. Pius X twice in the red zone, the first time on downs and the second on a sack and fumble at the 10-yard line. Ruidoso outscored St. Pius X, 26-6, in the second half as RB Bracxton Hall ran for two TD for the Warriors. Hall and senior Griffin Hooker combined for 253 rushing yards and 3 TD for Ruidoso. The only TD for the Sartans came on a 76-yard kickoff return by [player_tooltip player_id="135303" first="Dominic" last="Esparza"]. Best Game: Moriarty 20, Albuq. Academy 14. These two teams met in the spring, so they were somewhat familiar with each other. Albuquerque Academy knew they had to find a way to stop Moriarty’s vaunted ground assault, and they did enough to stay in the game. But Moriarty RB [player_tooltip player_id="135110" first="Cayden" last="Dunn"] rushed for two TD for the Pintos as they advanced to the Class 4A semifinals against No. 1 seed Lovington. Honorable Mention: Lovington 14, Silver 7; Artesia 35, Mayfield 21. They Were Who We Thought They Were: All eight schools seeded No. 1 or No. 2 in Classes 6A-3A won their quarterfinal matchups, many by lopsided scores. In Class 6A, Cleveland pulled away from Hobbs in the second half for a 42-14 win. The score was tied at 7-7 late in the second quarter when QB [player_tooltip player_id="139521" first="Evan" last="Wysong"] showed off his blazing speed with a 73-yard TD run around left end. The Storm scored a pair of TDs in the 3rd quarter for a 28-7 lead. RB Jaiden Nunez scored on a 22-yard run before Wysong added a TD on the option. Wysong finished with 151 rushing yards. . .Rio Rancho RB [player_tooltip player_id="26227" first="Zach" last="Vigil"], a New Mexico commit, scored 4 TD on short runs and 5 TD overall as the No.2 seeded Rams handled district rival Cibola for the second time this season, winning 44-20. The score was tied, 7-7, after the first quarter before the Rams pulled away by scoring 3 TD, all by Vigil, in the second quarter. Rio Rancho led, 30-7, at halftime. In Class 5A, Farmington overcame five turnovers for a 28-6 victory over Santa Teresa. But it was far from easy. The Scorpions led by just one point, 7-6, at halftime. However Farmington scored 14 points in the third quarter to pull away. Kayden Gonzalez returned two punts for TDs in the second half. . .No. 2 seed Los Lunas blanked Belen, 31-0, in the second meeting between the two local rivals in 2 weeks. Emilio Mora returned the opening kickoff for a TD. Los Lunas QB [player_tooltip player_id="137885" first="Paul" last="Cieremans"] ran for a TD and threw for another. The Tigers scored three TD in the first quarter for a 21-0 lead and cruised home from there. In Class 4A, Bloomfield avenged its lone loss of the season with a 48-13 victory over Valencia. Jesse Seitzinger scored 3 TDs for the Bobcats, including a fumble return on the Jaguars’ opening drive. Seitzinger later scored on a short run to give Bloomfield a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Bloomfield led, 21-0, after the first quarter and never looked back. Bloomfield rushed for 180+ yards. . .No. 1 seed Lovington slipped past Silver, 14-7, as [player_tooltip player_id="134985" first="Tayten" last="Hilliard"]’s TD reception late in the third quarter proved the difference. The Wildcats host Moriarty in the semifinals on Saturday. In Class 3A, Raton improved to 11-0 on the season with a 49-12 home victory over Hope Christian. The Tigers scored TDs on all five first half possessions and added a Pick-6 for a 42-0 halftime lead. Prolific RB [player_tooltip player_id="138053" first="Cayden" last="Walton"] scored 4 TD for Raton, including runs of 28, 19 and 53 yards. Walton ran the Wildcat offense for part of the second half when Tigers QB [player_tooltip player_id="26234" first="Dylan" last="Quartieri"] was injured early in the third quarter. Walton has rushed for 1,809 yards and 24 TD so far this season. . .No. 2 seed Socorro blanked Dexter, 41-0. The Warriors are the only team from outside District 3A-2 to reach the semifinals. Socorro travels to No. 3 seed Robertson Saturday. Artesia Wins Battle Of Traditional Powers: One of the most fascinating quarterfinal matchups was Mayfield-Artesia as two traditional powers battled at the Bulldog Bowl. And the game lived up to the hype. Mayfield led, 14-13, at halftime as the Trojans rushed for 156 yards in the first 24 minutes. The score was tied at 21-21 early in the fourth quarter when Artesia mounted a drive that produced a 1-yard TD run by [player_tooltip player_id="137932" first="Payton" last="Deans"]. Ahead 28-21, the Artesia defense forced a fumble recovered by the Bulldogs’ Thomas Riley at the Mayfield 34. Next snap, Jake Barrera scamped 34 yards for the TD, giving Artesia a 35-21 lead, and that was the final score. In the final minutes, Artesia stopped Mayfield in the red zone. The Bulldogs host No. 1 seed Farmington Saturday at 1 p.m. in a Class 5A semifinal. Bulldawgs Capture Las Cruces Rematch: For the second time this season, the Las Cruces Bulldawgs jumped out to a quick 2+ score lead over rival Centennial. This time, though, Las Cruces held on to advance to the semifinals, when they’ll host Cleveland. Early TD passes from QB [player_tooltip player_id="26253" first="Dallas" last="Boyd"] to WR Zakye Hawkins gave Las Cruces a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter. The Bulldawgs led, 28-14, at halftime. Centennial scored first in the second half to cut the deficit to 28-21. But the Bulldawgs didn’t flinch, holding the Hawks scoreless the rest of the way for an emotional 35-21 victory. Las Cruces stopped Centennial on downs at the 10-yard line in the fourth quarter. Things You Need To Know: 2023 Cibola QB [player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"] surpassed the 3,000-yard single season passing plateau in the Cougars’ quarterfinal loss at Rio Rancho Friday night. Chavez finished his junior season with 3,075 passing yards and 32 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for an impressive TD-to-INT ration of better than 3-to-1. Chavez averaged 280 passing yards per game and completed 62.1 percent of his passes. . .Cibola WR [player_tooltip player_id="134963" first="Nathan" last="Lopez"] capped his career with 88 receptions for 1,216 yards and 10 TD as a senior. . .Besides Raton, St. Michael’s and Robertson also reached the Class 3A semifinals from District 2. The Horsemen beat NMMI, 34-14, Saturday in Santa Fe to advance to the semifinals for the first time in 5 years. RB [player_tooltip player_id="26250" first="Daymon" last="Lujan"] rushed for 163 yards and St. Michael’s returned two kicks for scores. . .In Las Vegas, Robertson QB Matthew Gonzales accounted for 159 yards and the Cardinals shut down the West Las Vegas offense in a 27-6 victory. The Robertson defense intercepted three WLV passes and special teams blocked a punt and a field goal. . .Teams from District 3A-2 are a combined 4-1 in the playoffs and the only loss was by West Las Vegas to its crosstown rival, another 3A-2 team. . .The Farmington offense is more than just QB [player_tooltip player_id="26232" first="Brandon" last="Furbee"] standing in the pocket and spraying the ball around the field. The Scorpions came into the semifinal matchup with Santa Teresa with 22 rushing TDs on the season. SEMIFINAL ROUND SCHEDULE: Here is the semifinal round schedule for Classes 6A-3A (Nov. 19-20). Games will be played Friday night and Saturday afternoon. CLASS 6A: La Cueva (3) at Rio Rancho (2), Fri. 7 p.m. Cleveland (1) at Las Cruces (5), Fri., 7 p.m. CLASS 5A: Goddard (6) at Los Lunas (2), Sat., 1 p.m. Farmington (1) at Artesia (4), Sat., 1 p.m. CLASS 4A: Moriarty (4) at Lovington (1), Sat., 1 p.m. Ruidoso (6) at Bloomfield (2), Sat., 3 p.m. CLASS 3A: Raton (1) at St. Michael’s (4), Sat., 1 p.m. Socorro (2) at Robertson (3), Sat., 1 p.m. CLASS 2A Eunice (3) at Jal (1), Sat., 1 p.m. (Championship Game) https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1459679045046587396 https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1459381073075388419 https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1459744263768477698 https://twitter.com/LCHSFOOTBALL/status/1459667989276495872 https://twitter.com/StMikesHorsemen/status/1459954511103942658