November Madness: Weekend Preview, Classes 3A and 2A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've reached the quarterfinal round of the 2023 New Mexico high school football playoffs in Classes 6A-3A. The quarterfinals will be played in 3A this weekend and the semifinals in Class 2A. Here is a preview of those games:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS 3A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Raton (9) at St. Michael's (1)</strong>: These two heated district rivals meet again. It's the third time in the last four full seasons (excluding the covid-impacted 2020) that Raton and St. Michael's have met in the playoffs. And this will be the SEVENTH time overall since the beginning of the 2019 season that they have squared off on the gridiron. It's no surprise Raton took a slight step back in Year 1 P.C.W. (Post Cayden Walton) from a won-loss perspective, but here they are back in the 3A quarterfinals. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1103773' first='Jacob' last='Mattorano']</strong> has thrown for 1,617 yards and 17 TD. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='613159' first='Cannon' last='Walton']</strong> has done a nice job succeeding his older brother along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119146' first='Joseph' last='Saenz']</strong>. St. Michael's doesn't have a good recent history being a No. 1 seed but the Horsemen are formidable on both sides of the ball. They run the football with RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119160' first='Soren' last='Annon']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275066' first='Matthias' last='Duran']</strong> and, as always, are solid defensively. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Socorro (7) at Robertson (2)</strong>: Two of the most dynamic dual threat quarterbacks in Class 3A square off. Socorro's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo']</strong> has accounted for close to 3,000 total yards this season directing the Warriors offense. He has two elite receivers catching his passes – <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='592109' first='Alex' last='Amaro']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137096' first='Jay' last='Lee']</strong>. For Robertson, <strong>Jesse James Gonzales</strong>' transition to quarterback this season after two years at running back has been smooth. <strong>Nathanial Gonzales</strong> is his favorite receiver. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dexter (6) at Cobre (3)</strong>: If there has been any 3A team flying under the radar this season, it's Cobre. But here are the Indians as the No. 3 seed for the playoffs. They handily beat Socorro, Hot Springs and Hatch Valley to claim the undisputed district title. Dexter spent a few weeks this season as the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps 3A poll. Freshman QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1155032' first='CJ' last='Granados']</strong> is one of the top young players in the state. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119136' first='Julian' last='Manzanares']</strong> is a 1,000-yard rusher for the Demons. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NMMI (5) at West Las Vegas (4)</strong>: An intriguing contrast in offensive philosophies. NMMI won their district with a powerful rushing attack led by dynamic QB Cole Seidenberger and RB [player_tooltip player_id='1119319' first='Cohen' last='Tomasits']. West Las Vegas, on the other hand, relies significantly on the powerful throwing arm of QB C.J. Perea. But the Dons will run the ball too and they feature a balanced attack with three 300+ yard rushers going into their first playoff game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1084220,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-09-at-19-27-39-2023-Nusenda-Credit-Union-State-Football-Championships-3A.png?w=667" alt="" class="wp-image-1084220" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/juicemanzanares/status/1721166263429525664?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/juicemanzanares/status/1721166263429525664?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS 2A&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Santa Rosa (3) at Texico (2)</strong>: Two of the top players in Class 2A go head-to-head. Santa Rosa RB/LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275599' first='Nicolas' last='Chavez']</strong> will likely surpass the 2,000-yard rushing plateau this weekend. He's also an elite defender with 141 tackles. A solid New Mexico Heisman contender. For Texico, 6-foot-3, 200-pound QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='592201' first='Cade' last='Figg']</strong> does it all for the Wolverines. He'll play at the next level and he's offered by multiple schools. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tularosa (5) at Eunice (1)</strong>: Tularosa went to Jal and trounced the defending 2A champions in the quarterfinals, as impressive a victory we'll see this season. Tularosa has three losses this season but two have been by one point to Jal (39-38) and Cobre (27-26). The other was by six points to Santa Rosa. So the Wildcats are eight points from being undefeated. Eunice's offense is arguably the most explosive in 2A behind the trio of QB [player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon'], EB [player_tooltip player_id='615650' first='Eljan' last='Woods'] and WR [player_tooltip player_id='274788' first='Ashton' last='Thompson']. The Cardinals have the potential to score a pile of points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1084218,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-09-at-19-25-30-2023-Nusenda-Credit-Union-State-Football-Championships-2A.png?w=896" alt="" class="wp-image-1084218" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>    </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->