November Madness: 4A-3A Semifinals Preview and 2A Title Game

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've reached the semifinals of the 2023 New Mexico high school football playoffs in Classes 4A and 3A. All four games will kick off Saturday at 1 p.m. The Class 2A state championship game also takes place Saturday in Texico. Here is a breakdown of each game:  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 4A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bloomfield at Portales (Sat., 1 p.m.)</strong>: With these two teams having a combined record of 21-1, it's a championship game worthy matchup. But only one will get there. Bloomfield's 17-game winning streak faces arguably its toughest test as the Bobcats' get set to make the trip to Greyhound Stadium. The last time Bloomfield lost? Silver in a&nbsp; neutral site game last October. Bloomfield's offense is prolific behind QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer']</strong>, who has thrown for nearly 2,500 yards, RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1594564' first='Kaden' last='McCown']</strong> and WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275042' first='Drew' last='Perez']</strong>. But the Portales defense might be the best they've faced all season. The Rams have pitched seven shutouts and has allowed more than 14 points just once this season. The issue for the Portales offense led by QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615523' first='Paxton' last='Culpepper']</strong> and WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='591958' first='Zane' last='Mayberry']</strong> is the Bloomfield defense might be just as good. Ther Bobcats haven't allowed a point since Sept. 29 (Bayfield, CO), pitching five consecutive shutouts, and they haven't allowed a point to a New Mexico based team since Sept. 1. Because the defenses are so good, this one should be a close, hard-fought, low-scoring affair. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Silver at Lovington (Sat., 1 p.m.)</strong>: This intriguing matchup features two of the most underrated quarterbacks  in the state in Silver's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='815932' first='Adan' last='Jacquez']</strong> and Lovington's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275459' first='Wyatt' last='Gomez']</strong>. Both signal callers have posted impressive numbers so far this season and undeniably possess next level talent. Jacquez is a dynamic threat QB who has thrown for 2,048 yards, rushed for 601 yards and accounted for 40 TD. He's the primary reason the Colts have reached the 4A semifinals for the second year in a row. Six-foot-2 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='591998' first='Julian' last='Richard']</strong>, offered by Eastern New Mexico earlier this week, is an elite WR target with 46 receptions for 763 yards and 14 TD. He'll give the Lovington secondary plenty to think about. Lovington QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275459' first='Wyatt' last='Gomez']</strong> headlines the Wildcats' ‘Establish the Pass' first offense. Gomez has attempted 375 passes in 11 games and thrown for close to 3,000 yards. Gomez is currently second in the state in passing yardage behind Farmington QB [player_tooltip player_id='274791' first='Trel' last='Griego'], who finished the year with 3,591 yards through the air. Gomez, who does a great job with ball distribution, has a trio of WRs with 44+ receptions: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275593' first='Cesar' last='Gonzalez']</strong>, two-way standout <strong>Demarcus Thompson</strong> and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137867' first='Elijah' last='Rivero']</strong>. Pick your poison.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/AdanJacquez3/status/1724853563128787218?s=20","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/AdanJacquez3/status/1724853563128787218?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 3A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NMMI at St. Michael's (Sat., 1 p.m.)</strong>: Both teams have won this season by emphasizing the run. New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI), based in Roswell, attempted just 66 passes during the regular season, running the ball 397 times for 2,816 yards, an average of more than 7 yards per carry. Last week NMMI had its highly disciplined triple option attack operating with flawless precision as it ran over and through the West Las Vegas defense on the road in the Colts' 35-8 quarterfinal win. Junior QB <strong>Cole Seidenberger</strong> directs the rushing attack and joins junior RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119319' first='Cohen' last='Tomasits']</strong> in having the ball in their hands most of the time. St. Michael's pulled off an escape job against Raton last week that would have made Houdini envious. Trailing 14-0 with just over eight minutes left, the Horsemen scored 21 unanswered points to pull out the win and advance to the semifinals. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275066' first='Matthias' last='Duran']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119160' first='Soren' last='Annon']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853063' first='Isaiah' last='Dominguez']</strong> spearhead St. Michael's rushing attack, which is more conventional than NMMI. The Horsemen rely on a solid defense, which must be disciplined against NMMI's triple option. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cobre at Robertson (Sat., 1 p.m.)</strong>: Cobre makes its second trip to the northern New Mexico mountains this season. These two teams squared off in Week 2 and engaged in an all-time defensive slugfest with Robertson winning, 3-0, at home. The following week, Cobre was blanked by 4A Silver in a rivalry game but since then has scored 34+ points in six of seven games, all wins. Cobre posted an impressive 40-0 win over Dexter in the quarterfinal last week. &nbsp;Robertson is also coming off an impressive quarterfinals win, 45-13 over Socorro. The Cardinals averaged 29.1 yards per pass completion. This is a battle between two of the top “gunslingers” (and names) in NM high school football: RB/LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1103468' first='Jesse' last='James Dominguez']</strong> of Cobre and QB/DB <strong>Jesse James Gonzales</strong> of Robertson. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 2A (Title Game)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eunice at Texico (Sat., 1 p.m.)</strong>: We're down to the final two teams in Class 2A. Not surprisingly, it's a battle between arguably the top two quarterbacks in the classification: Texico's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='592201' first='Cade' last='Figg']</strong> (who holds multiple offers) and Eunice's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon']</strong>. The latter has thrown for nearly 2,500 yards and 40 TD passes in the Cardinals' first 12 games. Eunice outscored its first two playoff opponent by a 103-0 margin. These two teams met Sept. 29 in a District 2A-4 battle with Eunice prevailing at home, 21-14. This time, Texico will have home field advantage. Expect another close, hard-fought battle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1090836,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-17-at-13-03-43-2023-Nusenda-Credit-Union-State-Football-Championships-4A.png?w=672" alt="" class="wp-image-1090836" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1090841,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-17-at-13-05-24-2023-Nusenda-Credit-Union-State-Football-Championships-3A.png?w=664" alt="" class="wp-image-1090841" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>   </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->