November Madness: Quarterfinals Preview, Class 6A
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We’ve reached the quarterfinal round of the 2023 New Mexico high school football playoffs in Classes 6A-3A. The semifinals will be played in 2A this weekend. Here is a preview of the four Class 6A games: Hobbs (8) at Cleveland…
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Continue ReadingWe’ve reached the quarterfinal round of the 2023 New Mexico high school football playoffs in Classes 6A-3A. The semifinals will be played in 2A this weekend. Here is a preview of the four Class 6A games:
Hobbs (8) at Cleveland (1): Hobbs makes its first trip to the Albuquerque Metro area in two years. The last time was also at Cleveland in the quarterfinals of the 2021 playoffs. Hobbs lost, 42-14, to the future 6A champions, so the Eagles hope the outcome will be different on this trip north. However, it will take an A-plus performance in all three phases to beat the Storm at Thunderbolt Stadium. Cleveland, as expected, is peaking at the right time with four wins in a row since the shutout loss at home to West Texas power Frenship, including the 37-0 win over crosstown rival Rio Rancho in Week 11.
Jordan Hatch Jordan Hatch 6'3" | 190 lbs | QB Cleveland | 2026 State NM is developing into a promising young quarterback with 1,205 passing yards and a 62.5 completion percentage. He’s supported by a strong ground game led by RB Harris Mbueha Harris Mbueha 5'11" | 190 lbs | RB Cleveland | 2024 State NM (1,274 rushing yards + 16 TD) and fleet of talented receivers ( Jaden Davis Jaden Davis 6'0" | 170 lbs | WR Cleveland | 2024 State NM , Angel Gallegos, TE Jon Baca Jon Baca 6'2" | 210 lbs | TE Cleveland | 2025 State NM ). Davis is also a baseball standout who has signed with New Mexico State. The offensive line is solid with Gabe Marquez, Ben Linfoot Ben Linfoot 5'9" | 220 lbs | OL Cleveland | 2024 State NM , Moses Sparks Moses Sparks 6'4" | 240 lbs | OL Cleveland | 2026 State NM and others. The Storm have next level talent at all three levels of the defense, including LBs Stratton Shufelt Stratton Shufelt 6'3" | 220 lbs | LB Cleveland | 2024 State NM and Isaac Medrano Isaac Medrano 6'0" | 195 lbs | LB Cleveland | 2024 State NM . DL Psalmon Kegler Psalmon Kegler 6'2" | 240 lbs | DL Cleveland | 2025 State NM and Chuka Tutman Chuka Tutman 6'1" | 230 lbs | DL Cleveland | 2024 State NM give Cleveland as good a defensive front seven as any team in the state.
Hobbs’ offensive trio of QB Owen Callaway Owen Callaway 6'1" | 160 lbs | QB Hobbs | 2024 State NM , RB Saul Armendariz Saul Armendariz 5'8" | 175 lbs | RB Hobbs | 2024 State NM and WR Jeremiah Jaquez Jeremiah Jaquez 5'8" | 145 lbs | WR Hobbs | 2024 State NM ranks among the best in the state. Jaquez has 60 receptions for 734 yards and 7 TD in 11 games. He had 111 receiving yards vs. Clovis in the first round last week. Armendariz topped 100 yards rushing for the fourth time this season in the first round win over Clovis. Calloway has thrown for 1,168 yards and 10 TD. Hobbs has a history of producing outstanding linebackers and the next great one appears to be junior Tristan Davis Tristan Davis 6'1" | 195 lbs | LB Hobbs | 2025 State NM , who has 113 tackles, 13.0 TFL, 5.5 sacks and 6 QB hurries this season. Gustavo Diaz-Castro and Zaeden McPherson Zaeden McPherson 5'11" | 190 lbs | LB Hobbs | 2024 State NM are pretty good linebackers too.
Las Cruces (7) at Centennial (2): These teams met two weeks ago in a winner-take-all district championship game won by Centennial, 30-23. It was a close, hard fought game won by the Hawks. Nothing suggests anything different this time. Las Cruces is coming off an impressive 42-6 opening round win over Los Lunas in which QB Gunnar Guardiola Gunnar Guardiola 6'0" | 170 lbs | QB Las Cruces | 2026 State NM threw 4 TD passes and solid RB Daniel Amaro Daniel Amaro 5'9" | 175 lbs | RB Las Cruces | 2026 State NM had two scores. After last season’s disappointing 2-7 record, Las Cruces didn’t win its first game until the midway point of the season, a 44-7 win over rival Mayfield. That convincing victory ignited a five-game winning streak for the Bulldawgs that didn’t end until the loss to Centennial in Week 11.
Centennial, meanwhile, hasn’t lost since an 0-2 start against Cleveland and El Paso (TX) Franklin, putting together a seven-game winning streak that catapulted the Hawks to the No. 2 seed for the playoffs. The stretch includes victories over La Cueva, Hobbs and Las Cruces. Dual threat Zaiden Davis has filled in nicely for Daniel Hernandez Daniel Hernandez QB Centennial | 2024 State NM at quarterback. He’s rushed for 526 yards and 6 TD, combining with Jesus Barraza Jesus Barraza 6'4" | 215 lbs | RB Centennial | 2024 State NM (614 rushing yards on 87 carries) to give the Hawks a highly productive offensive backfield duo. Jordan Lucas Jordan Lucas 5'10" | 170 lbs | WR Centennial | 2025 State NM and Christian Ortiz are the top WR Targets.
Defensively, Centennial has allowed just 65 points in the last six games, an average of about 11 points per contest. The lineup is filled with next level talent starting with LB John Sierra John Sierra 6'2" | 210 lbs | LB Centennial | 2024 State NM , who has been offered by New Mexico. The leading tackler is Juan Andres-Bitar (68 tackles). The Hawks are impressively balanced on defense with NINE defenders amassing 36+ tackles.
Farmington (11) at La Cueva (3): These two district rivals are meeting for the fourth time in the last 12-1/2 months, so there are few secrets. The most intriguing matchup in this quarterfinal is definitely the quarterbacks. Farmington’s Trel Griego Trel Griego 6'3" | 225 lbs | QB Farmington | 2024 State NM and La Cueva’s Cameron Dyer Cameron Dyer 6'3" | 185 lbs | QB La Cueva | 2025 State NM are two of the best in the state at their craft. Griego engineered the Scorpions’ 31-21 upset over No. 6 Volcano Vista last week by throwing for 410 yards and 5 TD. Through 11 games, Griego has thrown for 3,591 yards and 39 TD, so he’s dangerous every time he steps back to throw the football. Griego is also Farmington’s leading rusher. The WR trio of Michael Beck Michael Beck 6'3" | 160 lbs | WR Farmington | 2025 State NM , Cayden Haliburton Cayden Haliburton 5'8" | 135 lbs | WR Farmington | 2025 State NM and Vigil Jace Vigil Jace 6'0" | 175 lbs | WR Farmington | 2025 State NM – all juniors – has combined for 177 receptions.
By this point, La Cueva’s climb out of an early 0-3 hole (1 forfeit to Rio Rancho) to the No. 3 seed in the 6A playoffs has been well documented. All seven victories during the current streak have come by 28+ points. They haven’t just been beating opponents, they’re dominating them. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Dyer is the CEO of an explosive offensive unit. He’s thrown for 2,265 yards and 26 TD while rushing for 931 yards and 18 TD. Together, Dyer has accounted for close to 3,200 yards and 44 TD. Eliseo ‘Cheeto’ Lumbrera is a speedy running back who recently visited Arizona. The receiving corps is arguably the fastest in the state with Tanner Montano Tanner Montano 5'11" | 155 lbs | WR La Cueva | 2026 State NM , Kobe McGill, Cruz Markham Cruz Markham 6'3" | 200 lbs | TE La Cueva | 2024 State NM and Jackson Hix Jackson Hix 6'0" | 175 lbs | WR La Cueva | 2024 State NM . All could be the No. 1 receiver on most teams. Junior Mark Handy is an elite offensive lineman who was recently offered by Texas Tech.
Mason Posa Mason Posa 6'3" | 210 lbs | LB La Cueva | 2025 State NM leads the stout La Cueva defense and every game it seems the extremely athletic Posa makes at least one or two ‘Wow’ plays. That’s why numerous Power 5 schools have offered. Nick Mertz Nick Mertz 5'11" | 185 lbs | LB La Cueva | 2025 State NM is an outstanding LB for the Bears as well. Farmington’s defense is exceptionally balanced with more than a half dozen players sharing the load.
Rio Rancho (5) at Sandia (4): Rio Rancho will play in Albuquerque’s Milne Stadium for the first time in a decade. And the fact they’re facing Sandia, which earned a top four seed, cements one of the feel-good stories of the year in Class 6A. But the Matadors haven’t just relied on luck to win games. They’ve gotten efficient and reliable QB play from Cruz Rivera Cruz Rivera 6'0" | 160 lbs | QB Sandia | 2024 State NM , productive running from Hunter Maldonado Hunter Maldonado 5'9" | 150 lbs | DB Sandia | 2024 State NM and consistently solid performances from the WR trio of Jacob Adcox Jacob Adcox 6'1" | 185 lbs | WR Sandia | 2024 State NM , Joey Harris Joey Harris 6'1" | 185 lbs | WR Sandia | 2025 State NM and Grayson Frederich. The Sandia defense has allowed 20 or fewer points 6 times in 10 games.
Since losing to Hobbs on Sept. 15, Rio Rancho has won five of six games, including wins over Farmington, Volcano Vista and West Mesa. Offensively, the Rams rely on the dual threat skills of QB JJ Arellano JJ Arellano 5'11" | 165 lbs | QB Rio Rancho | 2025 State NM , the ball-carrying talents of 1,000-yard rusher Rayce Ramirez Rayce Ramirez 5'10" | 170 lbs | RB Rio Rancho | 2024 State NM and the speed and elusiveness of WR Anthony Raymer Anthony Raymer 5'9" | 155 lbs | WR Rio Rancho | 2024 State NM . All three had prominent roles in last week’s first round win over West Mesa along with WR Dominic Valencia Dominic Valencia 6'2" | 170 lbs | LB Rio Rancho | 2024 State NM . The Rams steady defense is led by the strong LB corps featuring Andrew Gustafson Andrew Gustafson 6'0" | 175 lbs | LB Rio Rancho | 2024 State NM (100 tackles), Jacob Lesperance Jacob Lesperance 5'11" | 170 lbs | LB Rio Rancho | 2025 State NM (86) and Ryan Brown Ryan Brown 5'11" | 210 lbs | LB Rio Rancho | 2024 State NM (71). They are the three leading tacklers for Rio Rancho.