November Madness: Semifinals Preview

Sixteen teams in Classes 6A-3A are ready for the semifinals and the right to earn a trip to the state championship games on Nov. 26. Here is a look at each game:   Class 6A:   Cleveland at Volcano Vista, Fri. 11/18, 7 p.m. – The first time these two teams met back on Sept. 30, Cleveland dominated Volcano Vista, 56-21, with a ferocious ground assault totaling 455 rushing yards led by [player_tooltip player_id='138204' first='Josh' last='Perry'] with 250 yards. Thus, the Hawks' top task in this game is easy to figure out – stop the run. Volcano Vista must certainly play a lot better defensively against the Storm to have chance to pull the upset. Intriguing battle between the two top active quarterbacks in the Albuquerque Metro Area – [player_tooltip player_id='139521' first='Evan' last='Wysong'] and Eliot Pasket-Bell. Both QBs are close to joining the prestigious 1,000-1,000 yards club. Pasket-Bell has passed for 2,956 yards and 33 TD.   La Cueva at Centennial, Sat., 11/19, 1 p.m. – Another 6A semifinal where the two teams met previously this season. Instead of being a rout, though, La Cueva and Centennial gave us a legitimate Game of the Year contender in  Week 3 when the Bears secured a hard-fought 28-21 victory by scoring a last-second TD to snap a tie. La Cueva's [player_tooltip player_id='137862' first='Aidan' last='Armenta'] is arguably the state's top QB and he'll be playing FBS football next fall for the Lobos. But Centennial's [player_tooltip player_id='340297' first='Daniel' last='Hernandez'] is dynamic as well. The best position battle might be RB where you have two of the state's best matching up: [player_tooltip player_id='269525' first='Gabriel' last='Buie'] (LC) and [player_tooltip player_id='208691' first='Mikah' last='Gutierrez'] (Cent). Two rock solid defenses as well. Expect another close, down t the wire, last possession win type of game.        Class 5A   Artesia at Deming, Sat., 11/19, 1 p.m.: Deming has one of the best defensive players in the state in DE [player_tooltip player_id='138095' first='Ian' last='Ortiz'] and that's good for the Wildcats because few teams have slowed down the prolific Artesia offense this season. The Bulldogs have averaged 45.6 points per game. QB Nye Estrada has thrown for 2,860 yards and 37 TD. His favorite target has been [player_tooltip player_id='274793' first='Peyton' last='Greathouse'] (73 receptions for 1,216 yards + 11 TD). When Artesia wants to run the ball, they usually give it to Jesse Leroch (476 rushing yards). The good news for Artesia? All three aforementioned players are back in 2023. Deming was beaten by Artesia, 57-7, in Week 4 but that game was played at the Bulldog Bowl. Deming hopes the home field advantage pays dividends. The Wildcats are also greatly improved since that first meeting. They have won five straight games, including a 28-13 quarterfinal win at Goddard last week.          Piedra Vista at Roswell, Sat., 11/19 1 p.m. – Yet another rematch from a regular season meeting. When Piedra Vista and Roswell met at the Wool Bowl on Sept. 30, they were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in Class 5A. The Coyotes won, 32-14, and they host the Panthers again. Piedra Vista has been a pleasant surprise with QB Logan Howell, RB Zach Mora-Dotson and WR [player_tooltip player_id='270048' first='Dax' last='Vigil'] leading the way. They have scored 40+ points in each of their last four games, including the 42-7 rout of Mayfield in the quarterfinals. Roswell relies on a tremendous defense and a balanced offensive attack that mixes the run with the pass. QB [player_tooltip player_id='425194' first='Manny' last='Fuentez'] is a dynamic dual threat QB and is supported by solid RB [player_tooltip player_id='340165' first='Bryce' last='Sanchez'].        Class 4A   Lovington at Silver, Sat., 11/19, 1 p.m. – Once 0-6 and seemingly miles away from the playoffs, here comes Lovington as they seek back-to-back 4A titles. The Wildcats have won five games in a  row, including consecutive hard-fought victories over Portales in a district championship game and the quarterfinals. QB [player_tooltip player_id='269564' first='Ashton' last='Aranda'] has done a nice job distributing the ball to different Lovington receivers. 6 WR have 12+ receptions. After beating the Rams twice, Lovington must now travel to Silver City to face the underrated Fighting Colts, who deserved the No. 1 seed in 4A. RB [player_tooltip player_id='208819' first='Aidan' last='Granado'] is a must-watch two-way standout for Silver, rushing for nearly 900 yards on offense while amassing 34 tackles and 3 interceptions on defense.      Taos at Bloomfield, Sat., 11/19, 1 p.m. – An intriguing matchup between a pair of 10-1 teams. Few schools are hotter than Taos, which has won 10 straight games following a Week 1 loss at St. Michael's. Six-foot-7, 235-pound QB Dameon Ely has proven this season he's more than just a great basketball player. He can run and throw. [player_tooltip player_id='208825' first='Favian' last='Cordova'] is a talented WR. Bloomfield's dynamic offense has avalanched opposing defenses all season long. In 8 of their 11 games they've scored 45+ points. QB [player_tooltip player_id='208748' first='Ryan' last='Sharpe'] has shown this season what he's capable of when he stays healthy.           Class 3A   St. Michael's at Socorro, Fri. 11/18, 7 p.m. – At different times this season, each of these teams has been ranked No. 1 in Class 3A by MaxPreps. Interestingly, St. Michael's was ranked No. 1 in the final MaxPreps ranking when the regular season ended, but Socorro was given the No. 1 seed by the NMAA selection committee. Both teams have dynamic playmakers on offense and stout defenses. In fact, unbeaten Socorro (11-0) has posted seven shutouts this year.       Ruidoso at Raton, Sat., 11/19, 1 p.m. – The main storyline of this game is the battle between two of the top running backs in Class 3A. We've written a book this season on Raton's [player_tooltip player_id='138053' first='Cayden' last='Walton'], and deservingly so as he's now the state's all-time leading rusher and needs less tan 100 yards to set a new single season rushing mark. We probably haven't written enough about Ruidoso's [player_tooltip player_id='138061' first='Kaden' last='Sago'], who has rushed for 1,538 yards and 21 TD in the first 11 games of his senior season. Watching Walton and Sago carry the ball all night long as they try to will their teams into the 3A championship game will easily be worth the price of admission.          Class 2A   Jal at Texico, Fri. 11/18, 7 p.m. (State Championship Game)   <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/1592275666409750528 </div></figure>   <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/1592225628287561730 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1591565939560284160 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Sergio___Lopez/status/1593358381607100416 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/vvhsfootball/status/1593304082114035712 </div></figure>

Sixteen teams in Classes 6A-3A are ready for the semifinals and the right to earn a trip to the state championship games on Nov. 26. Here is a look at each game: