Whiparound: Quarterfinals Edition

The Quarterfinal Round of the 2023 playoffs unfolded this weekend throughout the state of New Mexico with 18 games in Classes 6A-3A, while Class 2A saw two semifinal games. Here is our latest edition of the Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field over the past two days:   Teams of the Week: Las Cruces and NMMI. Both teams have advanced further in their respective playoffs than most folks predicted. Some thought Las Cruces, the No. 7 seed in the 6A playoffs, wouldn't  get past Los Lunas in the first round even though the Bulldawgs were playing at home. Not only did the Bulldawgs win, they pummeled the Tigers, 42-6. Friday, Las Cruces upset No. 2 Centennial, 38-34, at Field of Dreams to secure a spot in the 6A semifinals for the second time in the last three years. Centennial WR [player_tooltip player_id='280925' first='Jordan' last='Lucas'] was tackled at the 1-yard line as time expired to give the Bulldawgs the victory. RB [player_tooltip player_id='1137388' first='Daniel' last='Amaro']'s 16-yard TD run with 4:54 left accounted for the game-winning points.   NMMI, the No. 5 seed in the 3A playoffs, unleashed their punishing triple option ground attack against Navajo Prep in the first round in a 48-8 victory. Friday night, they did the same thing to No. 4 West Las Vegas, rushing for 339 yards and dominating time of possession in an impressive 35-8 road win as junior quarterback Cole Seidenberger led NMMI's triple option attack almost to perfection. The Colts led, 22-0, at halftime and didn't allow the WLV offense to score until late in the fourth quarter. This quote by NMMI head coach John O'Mera says it all: “We played as good a football game as we have all year, offensively, defensively and special teams.”           Player of the Week: Zaiden Davis, Centennial. It's not often our Player of the Week comes from a team that lost the game. But Davis deserves the honor after a heroic performance against Las Cruces in the quarterfinals. Davis rushed for 279 yards and 5 touchdowns on 21 carries while completing 11-of-12 passes for 183 yards. Davis has been sensational filling in for injured QB [player_tooltip player_id='340297' first='Daniel' last='Hernandez']. He's a junior so he'll be back in 2024. His Las Cruces counterpart, QB [player_tooltip player_id='853029' first='Gunnar' last='Guardiola'], was pretty good himself with 275 yards on 22-of-29 passing. Both of his TD passes were caught by WR [player_tooltip player_id='615455' first='Nate' last='Libby'], who finished with 10 receptions for 150 yards.                   Best Team Offensive Performance: Eunice. The Cardinals totaled 488 yards in total offense against a Tularosa defense that had allowed just 42 points in their last four games. Eunice QB [player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon'] completed 17-of-25 passes for 227 yards and 5 TD. RB [player_tooltip player_id='615650' first='Eljan' last='Woods'] rushed for 154 yards on 15 carries. Eunice totaled 261 yards on the ground and averaged close to 10 yards per carry.            Best Team Defensive Performance: Cleveland. How dominant was the Storm defense in Friday night's 45-0 victory over Hobbs at Thunderbolt Stadium? The Eagles snapped the ball just twice in Cleveland territory and both plays resulted in interceptions. Hobbs was held to 107 total yards (9 passing yards) as the Cleveland defense registered four interceptions and two sacks. The Storm offense got cranked up in the second quarter by scoring 24 points. QB [player_tooltip player_id='851873' first='Jordan' last='Hatch'] threw for 137 yards and 4 TD on 14-of-25 passing. RB [player_tooltip player_id='590512' first='Harris' last='Mbueha'] rushed for 99 yards on 20 carries. Four times Cleveland scored and got the ball back immediately as Hobbs fumbled the kickoff or the Storm executed an onsides kick.   Honorable Mention: Texico.         Best Game: Las Cruces 38, Centennial 34. In one of the best games of the year, the heated Centennial-Las Cruces rivalry elevated to another level in a back-and-forth contest at Field of Dreams that wasn't decided until the final snap. Las Cruces led, 31-27, at the end of the third quarter but Centennial had the ball at the Bulldawgs 31-yard line. Hawks QB Zaiden Davis ran for a 12-yard TD (his fifth rushing TD of the night) to give Centennial a 34-31 lead with 10:16 left. But Las Cruces promptly responded with a 70-yard TD drive capped by [player_tooltip player_id='1137388' first='Daniel' last='Amaro']'s 16-yard TD out of the Wildcat to give the Bulldawgs the lead back at 38-34 with 4:54 left. Centennial then drove down the field and had the ball in the red zone on the final seconds. [player_tooltip player_id='280925' first='Jordan' last='Lucas'] caught a swing pass into the flat and raced towards the end zone for what would have been a game-winning score. But he was tackled at the one-yard line as time expired. When the official signaled Lucas was down short of the end zone, the Bulldawg players celebrated.            Honorable Mention: St. Michael's 21, Raton 14; Texico 29, Santa Rosa 21.   Best Comeback: St. Michael's. Just when it appeared St. Michael's would experience more disappointment as the No. 1 seed, the Horsemen found a way to pull a win out of the fire. Trailing Raton, 14-0, with less than nine minutes remaining, St. Michael's scored 21 points in a frantic rally to pull out a 21-14 victory over the stunned Tigers in Santa Fe. With the score tied at 14-14, an interception return and horse collar tackle penalty put St. Michael's into scoring range with about a minute left. RB [player_tooltip player_id='275066' first='Matthias' last='Duran'] scored on a 9-yard TD run with 24 seconds left for the game-winning points. St. Michael's hosts NMMI Saturday at 1 p.m.         Rio Rancho Rolling: When the NMAA released the Class 6A playoff bracket two weeks ago, Sandia was awarded the No. 4 seed and Rio Rancho the No. 5 seed. But it turns out the Rams are a better team than the Matadors. One week after eliminating West Mesa, Rio Rancho ripped Sandia, 38-6, at Milne Stadium in Albuquerque for their sixth win in the last seven games. The only loss during that stretch was a 37-0 loss to rival Cleveland in Week 11. Against Sandia, Rio Rancho scored 21 points in the second quarter to take a 24-0 halftime lead. Rams RB [player_tooltip player_id='590563' first='Rayce' last='Ramirez'] rushed for 3 TD. Rams QB [player_tooltip player_id='613752' first='JJ' last='Arellano'] ran 84 yards for a TD with less than a minute left before halftime. Sandia's offense struggled to get anything going against the Rio Rancho defense and had negative rushing yards after three quarters. Their only points came on the final play of the game. Rio Rancho's highly anticipated rematch against Cleveland will come in the 6A semifinals with the Rams hosting the Storm.          Quarterfinals Roundup: We've been talking all season long about how Artesia and Roswell have dominated Class 5A. Both teams cruised to victories in the quarterfinals. Roswell (11-0) crushed district rival Mayfield, 50-0, at the Wool Bowl, jumping out to a 36-0 halftime lead before ending the game via mercy rule with a [player_tooltip player_id='590710' first='Wesley' last='Gallegos'] touchdown and PAT late in the third quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='340165' first='Bryce' last='Sanchez'] rushed for 115 yards and a TD while QB [player_tooltip player_id='425194' first='Manny' last='Fuentez'] threw for three TD. Roswell travels to Deming for the 5A semifinals. Deming shutout Goddard, 33-0, at the Wool Bowl. . .Saturday, Artesia trounced Los Alamos, 57-14, at the Bulldog Bowl. Artesia built a 14-0 lead after the first quarter on touchdowns by [player_tooltip player_id='1118283' first='Frankie' last='Galindo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='590308' first='Matthew' last='Saiz'] before scoring 22 points in the second quarter for a 36-7 halftime lead. [player_tooltip player_id='1119239' first='Izac' last='Cazares'] scored two TD in the second quarter on an 80-yard pass and 8-yard run. Artesia hosts No. 3 Piedra Vista Saturday at the Bulldog Bowl in a rematch of last season's 5A state championship game in Farmington. . .In Class 6A, La Cueva QB [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'] rushed for three touchdowns and RB Cheeto Lumbrera III rushed for two as the Bears walloped Farmington, 45-6, at Wilson Stadium for La Cueva's 8th straight victory following an 0-3 start. La Cueva's defense intercepted Farmington QB [player_tooltip player_id='274791' first='Trel' last='Griego'] four times, three in the first half. La Cueva converted all of those interceptions into touchdowns. La Cueva led, 21-0, after the first quarter and cruised home from there (31-6 at halftime) with their fourth convincing win over Farmington in the last 12-1/2 months. La Cueva linebackers [player_tooltip player_id='611083' first='Mason' last='Posa'] and [player_tooltip player_id='611069' first='Nick' last='Mertz'] combined for 23 tackles. . .After starting the season 0-4, Piedra Vista is back in the 5A semifinals by beating Valley, 30-6, at Hutchinson Stadium. Junior Brig Keiser carried 25 times for 168 yards and 2 TD. . .Portales blanked Bernalillo for the second time in three weeks as the Rams clinched a spot in the 4A semifinals with a 17-0 victory at Greyhound Stadium. Portales led, 3-0, at halftime after a tightly played first 24 minutes but the Rams scored a pair of TD in the second half for the win. It was the SEVENTH shutout posted by the Portales defense in 11 games this season. Only one team has scored more than 14 points against the Rams defense this season – Lovington in the regular season finale. . .Silver pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 28-12 victory over Aztec in the 4A semifinals at Silver City. The Colts led, 14-6, at the end of the third quarter before QB Aden Jacquez threw two TD passes on consecutive drives in the first four minutes of the 4th quarter for a 28-6 lead. Aztec QB Landon Frost closed out the scoring with a 6-yard Td run with about 5 minutes left. . .Bloomfield won its 17th straight game dating back to last season by pummeling Albuquerque Academy, 55-0, as junior QB [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'] threw four TD passes in the first half while junior FS [player_tooltip player_id='1118921' first='Eli' last='Meador'] had three interceptions. The Bobcats have posted FIVE straight shutouts. Bloomfield travels to Portales in a semifinal showdown next Saturday in a battle between two of the best defenses in the state. . .Lovington steamrolled Espanola Valley, 52-0, in a Class 4A quarterfinal as Wildcats QB Wyatt Gome completed 10-of-16 passes for 170 yards and 4 TD. . .Cobre scored 26 points in the second half as they beat Dexter, 40-0, in a 3A quarterfinal. . .Robertson QB Jesse James Gonzales threw for 291 yards and 4 TD and rushed for 87 yards on 11 carries as the Cardinals walloped Socorro, 45-13, in Las Vegas. Robertson hosts Cobre in a 3A semifinal Saturday at 1 p.m.  . .In Class 2A, Texico and Eunice advanced to Saturday's Class 2A state championship game with victories over Santa Rosa (29-21) and Tularosa (54-0), respectively.                       Semifinal Round Schedule (Nov. 17-18):   Class 6A   Cleveland at Rio Rancho, Fri., 7 p.m.   Las Cruces at La Cueva, Fri., 7 p.m.   Class 5A   Roswell at Deming, Sat., 1 p.m.   Piedra Vista at Artesia, Sat., 1 p.m.   Class 4A   Bloomfield at Portales, Sat., 1 p.m.   Silver at Lovington, Sat., 1 p.m.   Class 3A   NMMI at St. Michael's, Sat., 1 p.m.   Cobre at Robertson, Sat., 1 p.m.   Class 2A (Championship Game)   Eunice at Texico, Sat. 1 p.m.   Quarterfinal Round Results:   Friday, Nov. 10   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-10-at-22-46-49-New-Mexico-High-School-Football-Scores-Live-Scoreboard.png?w=762" alt="" class="wp-image-1084874" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure>   Sat., Nov. 11   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-11-at-22-05-46-New-Mexico-High-School-Football-Scores-Live-Scoreboard-1.png?w=637" alt="" class="wp-image-1085564" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></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/ColinDeaverTV/status/1723226597426077872?s=20 </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/jeffmatthews22/status/1723227869743300735?s=20 </div></figure>

The Quarterfinal Round of the 2023 playoffs unfolded this weekend throughout the state of New Mexico with 18 games in Classes 6A-3A, while Class 2A saw two semifinal games. Here is our latest edition of the Weekly Whiparound, which takes a deep dive into everything that happened on the field over the past two days: