Quarterfinals Whiparound: Everything That Happened

The 2024 New Mexico high football playoffs completed its second weekend with exciting quarterfinal action around the state. Here is our comprehensive deep dive into everything that happened on the field:   Teams of the Week: Las Cruces (6A); Mayfield (5A); Espanola Valley (4A); NMMI (3A); Loving (2A).   The Las Cruces defense dominated all night long in the Bulldawgs' 17-3 victory over No. 4 seed Volcano Vista at Community Stadium. Bulldawgs RB [player_tooltip player_id='1137388' first='Daniel' last='Amaro'] scored a pair of short rushing TDs in the second half, including the game-clinching score midway through the fourth quarter. The Las Cruces defense allowed only a Hawks FG in the low-scoring first half, which ended 3-3. Las Cruces missed a short field goal with less than two minutes remaining but intercepted a Volcano Vista pass with just over 1 minute showing on the clock and soon went into victory formation.           Mayfield traveled to Deming and beat the Wildcats, 21-7, on their home field. The contest was a defensive struggle in the first half with the Trojans leading, 7-0, at halftime. [player_tooltip player_id='1266489' first='Anthony' last='Nevarez'] scored a rushing TD midway through the third quarter and Mayfield QB [player_tooltip player_id='1257289' first='Luke' last='Linnan'] added a score a few minutes later to give the Trojans a 21-0 lead after three quarters. Deming scored its only points on a passing TD in the 4th quarter.         Espanola Valley reached the Class 4A playoff semifinals for the first time in school history with an impressive 28-0 road victory at Taos. [player_tooltip player_id='1599942' first='Leonard' last='Martinez'] scored the first TD of the game on a 6-yard run late in the 1Q. The Sundevils added a second TD late in the 2Q before stopping Taos with a red zone interception for a 14-0 halftime lead. Espanola Valley scored a TD in every quarter.   NMMI built a 21-6 halftime lead and held off hard-charging Socorro in the second half for a 29-24 road victory. Socorro closed the gap to 21-18 midway through the 4th quarter before NMMI scored a much-needed Td and converted the 2-point conversion for a 29-18 lead. Socorro scored with about 3 minutes left, but got no closer. Matthew Cao led the Colts with 80 yards rushing on 13 carries. Socorro senior QB [player_tooltip player_id='613184' first='Isaiah' last='Ocampo'] saw his distinguished career come to an end despite passing for 231 yards, rushing for 135 and accounting for 4 TD.        Players of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], La Cueva.   Best Games: NMMI 29, Socorro 24; Santa Rosa 14, Raton 12.   Semifinals Set: Based on the results of the quarterfinal round, the semifinal round matchups in Classes 6A-2A are set. The NMMA's ‘Who Owes Who' Rule has been invoked in four situations. In 6A, top seed La Cueva must travel to the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces to face the Bulldawgs because the Bears hosted las Cruces in the semifinals last year. In 3A, No. 1 St. Michael's must travel to Roswell to square off with NMMI because the Horsemen hosted the Colts in the semifinals last year. Also, No. 2 Dexter must travel to Las Vegas to face No. 3 Robertson because when the two teams met in the 3A state championship game in 2018, the contest was played at Dexter. In 2A, No. 1 Texico must travel to No. 5 Eunice because the Wolverines hosted the Cardinals in last year's 2A state championship game.           Class 6A   No. 1 La Cueva at No. 5 Las Cruces, Sat. 11/23, 1 pm   No. 3 Cleveland at No. 2 Centennial, Fri., 11/23, 7 pm   Class 5A   No. 4 Gadsden at No. 1 Roswell, Sat., 11/23, 1 pm   No. 6 Mayfield at No. 2 Artesia, Sat., 11/23, 1 pm   Class 4A   No. 4 Bernalillo at No. 1 Bloomfield, Sat., 11/23, 1 pm   No. 6 Espanola Valley at No. 2 St. Pius X, Sat., 11/23, 1 pm   Class 3A   No. 1 St. Michael's at No. 5 NMMI, Fri. 11/22, 7 pm   No. 2 Dexter at No. 3 Robertson, Sat., 11/23, 1 pm   Class 2A      No. 1 Texico at No. 5 Eunice, Sat., 11/23, 1 pm   No. 6 Loving at No. 2 Santa Rosa, Fri., 11/22, 7 pm     Class 6A Roundup: Centennial (11-0) has had a lethal rushing attack all season long and the Hawks excelled on the ground again in a 43-17 victory over Rio Rancho at Field of Dreams. Five of its six TDs came on the ground with QB [player_tooltip player_id='613746' first='Zaiden' last='Davis'] and RB/WR [player_tooltip player_id='280925' first='Jordan' last='Lucas'] each scoring twice. Rio Rancho took an early 6-0 lead but it was Centennial after that. . .Cleveland mercy-ruled Los Lunas, 57-7, for the second time this year as QB Jordan Hatch completed 12-of-19 passes for 247 yards and 3 TD, while the Storm ground game gained 190 yards on just 15 carries. Cleveland ran just 34 plays. [player_tooltip player_id='611120' first='Juan' last='Munoz'] had a 94-yard TD reception on a screen pass immediately after Los Lunas was stopped in  the red zone and a 60-yard TD run on Cleveland's first play from scrimmage. Cleveland led, 35-7, at halftime before scoring three straight TDs (one on a Pick-6 by DB [player_tooltip player_id='1193983' first='Michael' last='Haynes']) in the 3rd quarter to end the game. . .La Cueva took another step towards defending its 6A championship with a 57-6 mercy-rule victory over Hobbs at Wilson Stadium. Arizona State-bound Bears QB [player_tooltip player_id='611098' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'] showed off his elite athleticism with three rushing TDs while Cheeto Lumbrera had two TD, one rushing and one receiving on a swing pass. La Cueva led, 21-0, after the 1st quarter and scored two more TD early in the second quarter for a 35-0 advantage, invoking the running clock. Another TD and a last-second FG made it 44-0 at halftime.                     Class 5A Roundup: Roswell's defense posted its second consecutive shutout and third of the season as the Coyotes trounced Highland, 42-0, at the Wool Bowl. The Hornets were held to 149 total yards, 100 by RB [player_tooltip player_id='615425' first='Amiri' last='Mumba'], who was largely held in check by the Roswell defense. Mumba's longest run from scrimmage was 12 yards. Roswell QB Jacob Palomino threw a 30+ yard TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1750777' first='Kolby' last='Sanchez'] for the first score of the game. [player_tooltip player_id='1258088' first='Abey' last='Toscano'] added a TD to give Roswell a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. Toscano scored his second TD of the game on a 3-yard run following a big punt return by Matt Castillo. Palomino scored a TD as Roswell took a 28-0 halftime lead. The running clock was invoked early in the third quarter and remained in place for the rest of the game. . .Artesia scored 45 unanswered points in just over three quarters of action as the Bulldogs routed Lovington, 45-7, at the Bulldog Bowl. Lovington QB Mathew Prudencio scored on a 1-yard TD run late in the 1Q but Artesia drove down the field and scored on [player_tooltip player_id='1432984' first='Izac' last='Cazares']' 5-yard run to tie the score at 7-7 at the end of the 1st quarter. Artesia began to assert its dominance in the 2Q when it scored 24 points for a 31-7 halftime lead. Momentum shifted when Artesia DE [player_tooltip player_id='1118370' first='Kaden' last='Grantham'] intercepted a tipped pass to give the Bulldogs possession deep in Lovington territory. Cazares threw a 4-yard TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1680164' first='Diego' last='Lopez']. Artesia then blocked a punt, which led to [player_tooltip player_id='1118283' first='Frankie' last='Galindo']'s 2-yard TD run for a 21-7 lead midway through the 2Q. The momentum stayed with Artesia the rest of the way. [player_tooltip player_id='1118257' first='Ethan' last='Conn'] returned the second half kickoff 91 yards for a TD. . .Los Alamos scored the first points of the game on QB [player_tooltip player_id='1119597' first='Kyle' last='Evenhus']' 32-yard TD pass before Gadsden went on to a 43-14 victory at Panthers Stadium. Gadsden scored the final 29 points of the game, all in the second half, after a Los Alamos TD tied the score, 14-14, midway through the 3rd quarter. Panthers RB [player_tooltip player_id='615673' first='Alfredo' last='Andrade'] scored the eventual game-winning TD on an 18-yard run with about 4 minutes left in the 3Q. Gadsden led, 21-14, at the end of the third quarter and put the game away with three TD in the 4th quarter. Andrade and [player_tooltip player_id='615513' first='Kelly' last='Stevens'] had rushing TDs in the final quarter.   Class 4A Roundup: Bernalillo QB [player_tooltip player_id='615632' first='Uriel' last='Castro'] completed 14-of-19 passes for 224 yards and 4 TD, and RB [player_tooltip player_id='1594652' first='Nathan' last='Encinias'] rushed for 149 yards as the Spartans ended Chaparral's comeback season with a 37-6 victory. After RB [player_tooltip player_id='1316121' first='David' last='Abeita'] scored on a 23-yard run to give Bernalillo a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, the Spartans broke it open with three TD in the second quarter. Castro scored on a 7-yard run before Abeita added his second TD on a 14-yard run. The final TD of the quarter scored on Castro's 8-yard pass to sophomore Dusty Debeer. Bernalillo led, 28-0, at halftime and held off the Lobos in the second half. Bernalillo totaled 431 yards in total offense. . .Unbeaten Bloomfield (10-0) posted its SIXTH mercy-rule win of the season as the Bobcats blasted Valencia, 50-0, in a game that ended at halftime. Remarkably, Bloomfield scored 7 TD on just 20 offensive plays. QB [player_tooltip player_id='615635' first='Blake' last='Spencer'] was 5-of-7 passing for 134 yards and 2 TD while RB [player_tooltip player_id='853022' first='Peyton' last='Duncan'] rushed for 143 yards on 5 carries. Bloomfield amassed 359 yards of total offense on its 20 snaps while the defense held Valencia to 50 yards. . .St. Pius X's high-powered offense was hitting on all cylinders in a 47-14 victory over Grants at Milne Stadium. The Sartans scored more than 40 points in the first half against a heavily penalized Grants team, starting with a 50-yard TD pass from QB [player_tooltip player_id='1154948' first='Isaiah' last='Carpenter'] to WR [player_tooltip player_id='1154956' first='Cayl' last='Cox-Liggins'] within the first two minutes of the game. Grants KR [player_tooltip player_id='1594702' first='Boudy' last='Melonas'] returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD but that was one of the few positive moments for the Pirates. St. Pius X responded quickly with a 41-yard TD pass from Carpenter to [player_tooltip player_id='1119300' first='Bryan' last='Thomas']. Another TD pass by Carpenter to [player_tooltip player_id='1155012' first='Curtis' last='Flakes III'] made it 21-7. St. Pius X scored 29 points in the second quarter. When Grants scored to cut the deficit to 28-14, St. Pius X scored two TD late in the 2Q to take a commanding halftime lead.                                                                                           Class 3A Roundup: When Robertson and West Las Vegas met in October, the game went down to the wire with the Cardinals winning, 28-26, in a thriller. Saturday's quarterfinal matchup between the cross-town rivals wasn't nearly as close as Robertson grabbed a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter and wasn't seriously threatened thereafter. Dynamic freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1613284' first='George' last='Smith'] returned the second half kickoff for a TD to give Robertson a 24-7 lead. Smith also had a 13-yard rushing TD in the 1st quarter. . .St. Michael's routed Thoreau, 55-0, in a game that ended in the third quarter. The Horsemen scored 3 TD – all by scoring pass - in the first 8 minutes of the game for a 22-0 lead and they cruised from there. [player_tooltip player_id='853063' first='Isaiah' last='Dominguez'] added a 58-yard scoring run and Dylan Garcia had a Pick-6 in the 2nd quarter. . .Dexter mercy-ruled Hatch Valley, 53-0.                     Class 2A Roundup: Top-seeded Texico scored five touchdowns in the first quarter and cruised past Navajo Prep, 52-0, Saturday afternoon. Wolverines QB Bennett Whalen scored on runs of 1 and 6 yards while RB [player_tooltip player_id='1119205' first='Alex' last='Fuentes'] tallied TDs on runs of 1 and 13 yards in the opening stanza. The final TD of the 1st quarter was a 13-yard run by junior Kyle Conley. All five scoring drives started inside the Navajo Prep 30-yard line. Fuentes added a punt return TD early in the second quarter. The contest ended by mercy-rule at halftime after Whalen scored on a 19-yard TD run with 1:18 left in the second quarter. . .Eunice lost to Tularosa during the regular season but the Cardinal flipped the script in the quarterfinals as they beat the Wildcats, 27-6. Junior QB [player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon'] has mostly done it through the air this season but Saturday he rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more to lead the Eunice offense. . .Santa Rosa scored a pair of TD in the first half and those scores held up in a 14-12 victory over Raton, which scored the only points of the second half on a TD midway through the 4th quarter. But they missed the 2-point conversion and that proved to be the difference in the game. . .Loving QB [player_tooltip player_id='1137875' first='Tristen' last='Onsurez'] completed 10-of-15 passes for 156 yards and rushed for 103 yards on 23 carries to lift Loving to a 42-20 road win against Legacy Academy. Loving jumped out to a 35-0 lead at halftime and held off the Silverbacks in the second half. The game marked Legacy Academy's first playoff contest at the 11-man level.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Fri. Night Scoreboard (11/15) - Quarterfinals (6A-4A) 6A: Las Cruces 17, Volcano Vista 3 6A: Cleveland 57, Los Lunas 7 6A: Centennial 43, Rio Rancho 17 5A: Roswell 42, Highland 0 5A: Mayfield 21, Deming 7 4A: Bernalillo 37, Chaparral 6 4A: Espanola Valley 28, Taos 0 <a href="https://t.co/L8tpmSDoqG">pic.twitter.com/L8tpmSDoqG</a>— Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1857663488451105161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2024</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Sat. Playoff Scoreboard (11/16) - Quarterfinals (3A-2A) 3A: Robertson 38, West Las Vegas 15 3A: St. Michael's 55, Thoreau 0 2A: Texico 52, Navajo Prep 0 2A: Santa Rosa 14, Raton 12 2A: Eunice 27, Tularosa 6 2A: Loving 42, Legacy Academy 20 <a href="https://t.co/u98TbBjED2">pic.twitter.com/u98TbBjED2</a>— Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1857931726829342790?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2024</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Sat. Playoff Scoreboard (11/16) - Quarterfinals (6A-4A) 6A: La Cueva 57, Hobbs 6 5A: Artesia 45, Lovington 7 5A: Gadsden 43, Los Alamos 14 4A: Bloomfield 50, Valencia 0 4A: St. Pius X 46, Grants 14 <a href="https://t.co/WhlHBHa4w2">pic.twitter.com/WhlHBHa4w2</a>— Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1857930610242895902?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2024</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Gadsden will meet Roswell at the Wool Bowl in Roswell on Saturday, Nov. 23rd at 1 PM in the 5A Semifinal matchup. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HailGadsden?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HailGadsden</a> <a href="https://t.co/NSPhs4PNLK">pic.twitter.com/NSPhs4PNLK</a>— Gadsden Football (@GadsdenPanthers) <a href="https://twitter.com/GadsdenPanthers/status/1858269650678624674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2024</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">FINAL St. Mike's 55, Thoreau 0 This was the last play. <a href="https://t.co/jHToXVh3w8">pic.twitter.com/jHToXVh3w8</a>— New Mexican Sports (@sfnmsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/sfnmsports/status/1857908335103672374?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2024</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">1-0 means another week with my brothers <a href="https://twitter.com/artesiafootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@artesiafootball</a> 🖤🧡 I understand now…<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/keepWorking?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#keepWorking</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrustGod?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TrustGod</a> <a href="https://t.co/ywxjX50OuV">pic.twitter.com/ywxjX50OuV</a>— i z a c c a z a r e s (@cazares1710) <a href="https://twitter.com/cazares1710/status/1858290552971944265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2024</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/h0U9dIU9sM">https://t.co/h0U9dIU9sM</a> <a href="https://t.co/thU8bGh3jg">pic.twitter.com/thU8bGh3jg</a>— Coach Matt (@MVScouting) <a href="https://twitter.com/MVScouting/status/1857960506511794321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2024</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">[player_tooltip player_id='615555' first='CJ' last='Perea'] has finished his High School career Total Career Passing Yardage #8 in New Mexico All-Time with 8,245 official number tomorrow WLV Record holder for Passing yards and Touchdowns District 2 AAA All Time leading passer<a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_NMAA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Westlasvegasfb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Westlasvegasfb</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/lasvegasoptic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lasvegasoptic</a> <a href="https://t.co/H1tL29I5KB">pic.twitter.com/H1tL29I5KB</a>— Coach Carlos (@CoachCarlos62) <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachCarlos62/status/1857929064218308950?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2024</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Final: Sartans 46, Grants 14 <a href="https://t.co/UDhwdRjpn1">pic.twitter.com/UDhwdRjpn1</a>— St. Pius X (ABQ) (@SartanX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SartanX/status/1857925434547253465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2024</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">La Cueva head coach Brandon Back talks to his players following the 57-6 win over Hobbs in the 6A quarterfinals. His message: We need to practice well next week. 'Bad Mondays lead to bad Saturdays,' <a href="https://t.co/i7Do9WxpQA">pic.twitter.com/i7Do9WxpQA</a>— Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1857907189547151686?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2024</a></blockquote>

The 2024 New Mexico high football playoffs completed its second weekend with exciting quarterfinal action around the state. Here is our comprehensive deep dive into everything that happened on the field: