November Madness: Class 6A-5A Quarterfinals Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The quarterfinals of the 2022 New Mexico High school football playoffs begin in just over 24 hours in Classes 6A-3A along with the semifinals in Class 2A. The schedule is highlighted by a pair of prominent Albuquerque Metro region programs heading south while a blueblood program in Las Cruces makes the long trip to the Four Corners and Gadsden looks to continue their magical run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 6A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Volcano Vista (5) at Hobbs (4), Fri., 7 p.m.</strong> – Arguably the most intriguing matchup of the quarterfinals in the entire state. This game features dynamic dual threat quarterbacks (<strong>Elliot Pasket-Bell</strong>, <strong>Omar Argott</strong>), game-changing receivers (<strong>Tristen Cordova</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137921' first='Kaden' last='Trevino']</strong>), powerful running backs (<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274709' first='Alijah' last='Gonzales']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208821' first='Diego' last='Baeza']</strong>), earth-moving offensive lines and great defenses. With such explosive offenses, the defneses will decide it. Just one stop by either team could be the difference. All the ingredients are in the bowl for a fantastic, down-to-the wire battle. Very evenly matched.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rio Rancho (6) at Centennial (3), Fri. 7 p.m.</strong>: &nbsp;Rio Rancho turns to former starting QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274972' first='Noah' last='Nelson']</strong> in the wake of the injury to sophomore <strong>J.J. Arellano</strong> in last week's first round win over Alamogordo. But that change will mean little unless the Rams defense figures out a way to slow down a prolific Centennial offense led by RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208691' first='Mikah' last='Gutierrez']</strong> (one of the top 3 contenders for our 2022 New Mexico Heisman trophy) and QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='340297' first='Daniel' last='Hernandez']</strong>, and bolstered by an outstanding offensive line.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Farmington (7) at La Cueva (2), Fri., 7 p.m</strong>.: Two weeks ago, these two teams met at Wilson Stadium in Albuquerque and La Cueva buried the Scorpions, 62-19, in a district championship game. What has to change? For starters, the Farmington defense has to play a lot better and the La Cueva offense has to play a lot worse. But with weapons such as QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137862' first='Aidan' last='Armenta']</strong> (3,282 passing yards), RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269525' first='Gabriel' last='Buie']</strong> (714 rushing yards in 7 games) and WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='270020' first='Ian' last='Sanchez'] </strong>(state leader in receptions with 78 and receiving yardage with 1,328), the Bears will be tough to stop. It will be up to the Farmington offense led by QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274791' first='Trel' last='Griego']</strong> to keep pace. In the game two weeks ago, the Scorpions score a TD on their opening drive but did virtually nothing after that the La Cueva defense locked down. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Los Lunas (9) at Cleveland (1), Fri., 7 p.m.</strong>: One of the premier quarterback matchups of the postseason. Both <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137885' first='Paul' last='Cieremans']</strong> of Los Lunas and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139521' first='Evan' last='Wysong']</strong> of Cleveland can beat you with their arms and their feet. Los Lunas eliminated No. 8 Cibola last week. Wysong is close to joining the prestigious 1,000-1,000 club. He has passed for 1,762 yards and rushed for 805. A couple more games and he should get there. However, Los Lunas isn't going to Thunderbolt Stadium just to compete. They intend to win. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 5A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Deming (5) at Goddard (4), Fri., 6 p.m.</strong>: Deming easily dispatched Belen in last week's first round, but the competition rises a couple of levels with the Wildcats hitting the road to the Wool Bowl in&nbsp; Roswell to face No. 4 seed Goddard, one of three teams from the same district given top four seeds. Goddard's 6-4 record might not sound impressive, but their four losses have come to 6A Carlsbad, Piedra Vista, Artesia and Roswell. These two teams met earlier in the season in Deming and the Rockets left with a 28-13 win. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mayfield (6) at Piedra Vista (3), Sat., 1 p.m.</strong>: The Trojans make the 800-mile roundtrip to Farmington to face the Panthers, who are likely the biggest pleasant surprise in 5A this season. Piedra Vista spent time ranked No. 1 by MaxPreps before settling for the No. 3 seed behind Artesia and Roswell. Piedra Vista QB Logan Howell is a darkhorse candidate for Class 5A Player of the Year. RB Zach Mora-Dotson has quietly enjoyed a superb season. Mayfield needed some lightning last week to get past Santa Teresa in the 1^st round, scoring two touchdowns in a 13-second span.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Valley (8) at Artesia (1), Sat., 1 p.m.</strong>: Another pleasant surprise in Class 5A this season is Valley. First-year head coach Billy Cobos has led the Vikings to an 8-3 record, including last week's 30-6 first-round win over Miyamura. Valley has a three-headed monster at running back. However, they face a stiff challenge going to the Bulldog Bowl. Artesia has one of the top passing offenses in the entire state. QB Nye Estrada has made himself a New Mexico Heisman Trophy contender by throwing for 2,827 yards and 36 TD in 10 games. [player_tooltip player_id='274793' first='Peyton' last='Greathouse'] has 70 receptions for 1,190 yards and 11 TD. EIGHT Artesia receivers have 10+ receptions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gadsden (10) at Roswell (2), Sat., 1 p.m.</strong>: Another very intriguing game. Gadsden is writing one of the best stories in the entire state. Last week they won their first playoff game in 50+ years by upending Los Alamos on the road just a few miles from the National Laboratory. But here's the deal – Gadsden is a darn good football team and they're now playing apples vs. apples in Class 5A rather than in 6A where they were a minnow unfairly obligated to play all of the Las Cruces schools annually. Roswell loves to run the football although they can throw it too. The Coyotes battered Mayfield (49-14) and cross-town rival Goddard (42-7)  in their last two regular season games. They definitely have championship aspirations.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LosLunasFB/status/1589769638690586625","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LosLunasFB/status/1589769638690586625 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LCPSnet/status/1590022675430199296","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LCPSnet/status/1590022675430199296 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LaCuevaFootball/status/1589720176572133377","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LaCuevaFootball/status/1589720176572133377 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/artesiafootball/status/1589659790888013825","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/artesiafootball/status/1589659790888013825 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/GadsdenPanthers/status/1589623903307337731","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GadsdenPanthers/status/1589623903307337731 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->