The Biggest X-Factors In The 6A State Quarterfinals!

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the First Round of the 2022 New Mexico High School Football Playoffs complete, we look ahead to the Second Round of the 6A Playoffs. With the top four seeds coming off a bye week and the other four coming off First Round victories, we look at the biggest X-Factors for the 6A Quarterfinals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>#1 Cleveland vs #9 Los Lunas</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137885' first='Paul' last='Cieremans']</strong> (Los Lunas) QB- The State Champion Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137885' first='Paul' last='Cieremans']</strong> will be a huge X-Factor this Friday Night on the road vs the Cleveland Storm. He is a dual-threat Quarterback that can make big plays down the field with his running and passing attack. <strong>Cieremans</strong> can change the momentum of a game with his ability to break tackles and complete bombs down the field. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274796' first='Fabian' last='Trujillo']</strong> (Los Lunas) WR- The Los Lunas Star WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274796' first='Fabian' last='Trujillo']</strong> comes into this game averaging about 75 receiving yards per game and is one of the fastest players at his position. The Cleveland Storm will have their hands full covering <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274796' first='Fabian' last='Trujillo']</strong> down the field who will make his share of big plays in this game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139521' first='Evan' last='Wysong']</strong> (Cleveland) QB- The 2021 New Mexico High School Football MaxPreps Player of the Year is a threat in every game he laces up. The State Champion Quarterback has been one of the most accurate passers this season with a 65% completion rate and is the most dangerous running Quarterback averaging 80.5 rushing yards per game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139521' first='Evan' last='Wysong']</strong> can take over this game by himself in both areas offensively. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138204' first='Josh' last='Perry']</strong> (Cleveland) RB- When your the best RB in New Mexico, your going to be the X-Factor in a lot of games. The more carries he receives, the stronger he gets throughout the game. The Tigers will be in trouble if they miss the first tackle on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138204' first='Josh' last='Perry']</strong> because he will turn those missed/broken tackles into easy scores for Cleveland. His ability to fight for extra yards should be worth noting as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274701' first='Stratton' last='Shufelt']</strong> (Cleveland) MLB- The states top Middle Linebacker will be a key player to highlight in this weeks playoff matchup vs Los Lunas. I'm sure <strong>Stratton</strong> is at the top of the list for Los Lunas in terms of game planning against the Cleveland Star. His ability to read where the football is going and his anticipation separates him. He is the heart and soul of that defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>#4 Hobbs vs #5 Volcano Vista</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tristan Cordova</strong> (Volcano Vista) WR- Every opposing defense has to gamelan for Volcano Vista's Star WR <strong>Tristan Cordova</strong>. He has speed, great route running and excellent footwork to gain extra yards. He comes into this playoff game vs Hobbs as the third leading receiver in terms of yardage (1,070) in the state averaging about 97 receiving yards per game. The more he gets the football, could mean more trouble for the Eagles. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269571' first='Elliot' last='Paskett-Bell']</strong> (Volcano Vista) QB- You can make an argument that <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269571' first='Elliot' last='Paskett-Bell']</strong> has been playing his best football of his career the last four weeks. During that stretch he has thrown for 16 touchdown passes, rushed for 4 touchdowns and thrown only 1 interception in that span. If he continues this hot-streak, don't be surprised if Volcano Vista defeats Hobbs on the road Friday Night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gabriel Pino</strong> (Volcano Vista) FS- Volcano Vista FS <strong>Gabriel Pino</strong> has been disruptive to opposing offenses all season and is playing his best football of the year. He is a ball-hawk in that secondary with 7 Defensive Interceptions, which ranks third in the state. <strong>Gabriel </strong>has picked off opposing Quarterbacks for three weeks in a row and doesn't look to stop anytime soon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Omar Argott</strong> (Hobbs) QB- Hobbs Star QB <strong>Omar Argott</strong> has played as good as any other player at his position this year. His numbers speak for themselves for themselves; <strong>Omar </strong>ranks 6th in passing yards coming into this week and 7th in passing touchdowns. He does a solid job at taking care of the football by making good decisions and not forcing the issue. This will be important against a top tier Volcano Vista defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>#3 Centennial vs #6 Rio Rancho</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rayce Ramirez</strong> (Rio Rancho) RB- With uncertain status of Quarterback <strong>JJ Arellano</strong>, <strong>Rayce Ramirez</strong> is a huge X-Factor if the Rio Rancho Rams wants to pull off an upset victory on the road vs the #3 Centennial Hawks. The last five games of the season, he became the fulltime RB. In that five game stretch, <strong>Rayce Ramirez</strong> has accumulated 81 carries, 464 rushing yards, 5.7 yards per carry and averaged about 93 rushing yards the last five games. Expect him to be a workhorse this Friday Night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269511' first='Chris' last='Montoya']</strong> (Rio Rancho) OLB- The heart and soul of the Rio Rancho Rams was an X-Factor last weekend in their First Round matchup vs Alamogordo. I expect him to be again this week on the road vs Centennial. If the Rams want to advance this weekend, their Star Linebacker will need to have another impactful game defensively. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>#2 La Cueva vs #7 Farmington</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269525' first='Gabriel' last='Buie']</strong> (La Cueva) RB- Keep an eye on La Cueva Bears RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269525' first='Gabriel' last='Buie']</strong> this week vs Farmington. He is more than capable of being the best player on the field Friday Night. In his seven games played this year, he ran for over 700 yards, ran for 10 rushing touchdowns and averaged about 102 rushing yards per game. When he's playing well, the Bears are almost impossible to beat. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='351056' first='Mason' last='Posa']</strong> (La Cueva) MLB- The Farmington Scorpions offense will have their eyes on La Cueva's MLB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='351056' first='Mason' last='Posa']</strong> throughout the game on Friday. <strong>Mason </strong>is a gamechanger that can alter what opposing coaches and offenses want to do. <strong>Mason </strong>has 7 total sacks this season which is in the Top 10 in New Mexico. Expect him to create havoc vs Farmington. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='145396' first='Colt' last='Mangino']</strong> (La Cueva) FS- The La Cueva Bears FS <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='145396' first='Colt' last='Mangino']</strong> is a game-wrecker in their secondary. He has been one of the Bears most valuable players this season and one of the states best at his position covering. <strong>Colt </strong>has 5 Defensive Interceptions which is tied for the 10th most in New Mexico. I expect the La Cueva Star to make his presence felt early in this playoff matchup. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='270020' first='Ian' last='Sanchez']</strong> (La Cueva) WR- <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='270020' first='Ian' last='Sanchez']</strong> has had one heck of a season for the La Cueva Bears. He comes into this game as New Mexico's triple-crown leader in receiving yards (1,328), leader in receptions (78) and the leader in receiving touchdowns (19). Theirs virtually no way you can stop <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='270020' first='Ian' last='Sanchez']</strong> but hope to contain him for as long as you can. One of the most dominant players in New Mexico. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Michael Beck</strong> (Farmington) WR- The Farmington Scorpions WR <strong>Michael Beck</strong> is one of the best at his position in New Mexico. Him and Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274791' first='Trel' last='Griego']</strong> are one of the states best QB-WR duos in the state. Expect him to get some early touches in the game to get himself going. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator -->