Whiparound: Semifinals (And 2A Title Game) Edition

The Semifinal Round of the 2023 playoffs unfolded this weekend throughout the state of New Mexico with 8 games in Classes 6A-3A plus the Class 2A championship. 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:   Team of the Week: Texico. In late September, Texico lost to Eunice, 21-14, in a hard-fought and weather-shortened contest. When the two teams squared off Saturday in the Class 2A championship game, it was a far different story. The Wolverines outscored Eunice, 30-0, in the second half to pull away for a 44-7 victory. Two poor punts by Eunice in the third quarter benefitted Texico greatly. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1119205' first='Alex' last='Fuentes'] scored three touchdowns in the victory for the Wolverines. Texico won its first state championship since 2008.         Player of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], La Cueva. When you watch Dyer play, you forget he's just a junior in his first season as the Bears starting QB. Yes, he'll be back next year. In the semifinals win over Las Cruces, Dyer scorched the Bulldawgs with his arm and his feet. He completed 12-of-18 passes for 370 yards and rushed 13 yards for 200 yards (including an 86-yard TD run), accounting for 5 TD and 570 total yards.        Best Team Offensive Performance: La Cueva. The Bears won their ninth straight game on the strength of another impressive offensive performance. Against Las Cruces in Friday night's semifinal matchup at Wilson Stadium in Albuquerque, QB [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'] and the Bears offense amassed a staggering 718 yards of total offense against a solid Bulldawgs defense. The longest scoring play was a 95-yard TD pass by Dyer to [player_tooltip player_id='853013' first='Tanner' last='Montano'] that capped the night. RB Cheeto Lumbrera rushed for 148 yards and 4 TD.WR [player_tooltip player_id='274790' first='Jackson' last='Hix'] had 7 receptions for 181 yards, while Montano finished with 3 receptions for 158 yards. La Cueva's superior team speed was on display all night long.       Best Team Defensive Performance: Cleveland. If you thought things might be different the second time around for City of Vision rivals Cleveland and Rio Rancho, you were wrong. Just like the regular season finale three weeks ago, the Storm dominated the Rams, 38-7, to advance to the Class 6A state championship game for the fifth straight year. The ultra-talented Storm defense was tremendous again, blanking the Rio Rancho offense until the final moments. Rio Rancho finished with just 111 total yards, with 64 of those coming on the game's final drive when the outcome was no longer in doubt. In other words, the Rams were stonewalled offensively for more than three quarters. Storm RB [player_tooltip player_id='590512' first='Harris' last='Mbueha'] rushed for 169 yards and 3 TD to spark the Cleveland offense.                    Best Game: Portales 28, Bloomfield 21. Blomfield's 17-game winning streak – as well as their quest for consecutive Class 4A state titles – ended in dramatic fashion at Greyhound Stadium on Saturday. With the Bobcats leading, 21-20, Portales QB [player_tooltip player_id='615523' first='Paxton' last='Culpepper'] led the Rams on a 77-yard march against the stout Bloomfield defense in the final two minutes of the game. Culpepper completed three passes for 59 yards, then scampered for 16 yards before RB Devon Diaz capped the stunning do-or-die drive by diving into the end zone from three yards out with about 15 seconds left to propel Portales into the 4A state championship game against Lovington.   The 5A Title Game We Expected: We've said for months that barring a major upset Artesia and Roswell would meet in the Class 5A state championship game, even after Roswell beat the Bulldogs, 29-8, at the Wool Bowl in October. That upset never happened as both teams continued to dominate their 5A opponents. Saturday, Roswell traveled to Deming and crushed the Wildcats, 45-0. The Coyotes were never threatened after grabbing a 21-0 lead after the first quarter. Senior QB [player_tooltip player_id='425194' first='Manny' last='Fuentez'] scored on a 1-yard run before throwing a 58-yard TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1103395' first='Josh' last='Estrada'] and an 84-yard pass to Jacob Palomino. The second Roswell TD came after a Deming fumble.   At the Bulldog Bowl, Artesia jumped on Piedra Vista early in the rematch of last season's 5A championship game as QB [player_tooltip player_id='590681' first='Nye' last='Estrada'] connected with WR [player_tooltip player_id='1118257' first='Ethan' last='Conn'] for a 44-yard TD less than one minute into the game. Frankie Gallindo later scored on a 1-yard run as Artesia led, 15-0, after the first quarter. Midway through the second quarter Artesia made it 23-0 on another Estrada-Conn TD connection, this time from 45 yards out. Midway through the third quarter, Artesia increased the lead to 30-0 on a scoop and score fumble return by Josiah Rodriguez. The game ended by mercy rule on an Artesia TD on the first play of the fourth quarter.   Lovington Back In 4A Title Game: Lovington won the Class 4A title in 2021 but lost in the semifinals last year to Silver. A year later, the Wildcats got their revenge with a 45-26 victory in Lovington. QB [player_tooltip player_id='275459' first='Wyatt' last='Gomez'] threw five TD passes to continue his sensational season. Four of his TD completions were caught by receivers Demarcus Thompson and [player_tooltip player_id='275593' first='Cesar' last='Gonzalez']. Thompson also had a rushing TD.                          Familiar 3A Foes Will Meet Again: St. Michael's and Robertson have been fierce rivals for a long time. After each team posted victories Saturday in the semifinals, they will meet in the Class 3A state championship game for the second time in three seasons. Robertson beat the Horsemen in 2021. St. Michael's, which lost to Ruidoso in the 3A title game last year in Santa Fe, will be appearing in their third straight state championship game. The Horsemen trounced NMMI, 41-0, Saturday in the semifinals as their three-headed monster at running back - [player_tooltip player_id='1119160' first='Soren' last='Annon'] (45 yards), [player_tooltip player_id='853063' first='Isaiah' last='Dominguez'] (30 yards) and [player_tooltip player_id='275066' first='Matthias' last='Duran'] (two TD runs in second and third quarters) all contributed.   In Las Vegas, Robertson held off Cobre, 16-7, jumping out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter on a 34-yard [player_tooltip player_id='1119099' first='Aaron' last='Doss'] FG and a 24-yard TD pass from Jesse James Gonzales to [player_tooltip player_id='1119108' first='Nathaniel' last='Gonzales']. Cobre narrowed the deficit to 10-7 in the third quarter with a rushing TD but the Gonzales-to-Gonzales connection worked again for a long 99-yard TD pass early in the fourth quarter to make it a two-score game again after the Robertson defense had denied the Cobre offense at the 1-yard line.               Semifinals Scoreboard:   Fri. Nov. 17   6A: Cleveland 38, Rio Rancho 7   6A: La Cueva 63, Las Cruces 33   Sat., Nov. 18   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-19-at-19-38-43-NM-High-School-Football-Scores-11_18_2023-Results.png?w=761" alt="" class="wp-image-1092094" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure>   Championship Saturday (Nov. 25) Schedule:   Class 6A: La Cueva at Cleveland, 1 p.m.   Class 5A: Roswell at Artesia, 1 p.m.   Class 4A: Lovington at Portales, 1 p.m.   Class 3A: Robertson at St. Michael's, 1 p.m.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-19-at-13-40-55-New-Mexico-High-School-Football-Scores.png?w=877" alt="" class="wp-image-1091974" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure>

The Semifinal Round of the 2023 playoffs unfolded this weekend throughout the state of New Mexico with 8 games in Classes 6A-3A plus the Class 2A championship. 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: