Sights and Sounds: NMMI 7x7 Tourney (Bracket Play)

<p><strong>ROSWELL</strong> – When the annual NMMI 7x7 Tournament began Friday, few people probably predicted Goddard would reach the Group A (Big School) championship game. But the Rockets did, beginning bracket play as the No. 3 seed before beating Carlsbad in the quarterfinals, edging Valley in the semifinals and then squaring off with Lubbock (TX) Estacado in the title game.</p>   <p>Goddard fell into a three-TD hole in the first half against Estacado, but valiantly fought back. They scored a TD in the final seconds of the first half before adding a pair of touchdowns in the second half to pull to within two points. After getting a key defensive stop, Goddard got the ball back with 1:35 left but they couldn't score, falling 22-20 in a thriller.</p>   <p>Goddard edged Valley, which upset Roswell in the quarterfinals, by a single point (20-19) in the semifinals. The Rockets' victory wasn't secured until DB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248678' first='Josiah' last='Castillo']</strong> intercepted a pass thrown towards the right sideline with the clock winding down.</p>   <p>Perhaps the most exciting game of the day came in the Group A quarterfinals when Valley stunned Roswell by scoring a TD in the final seconds of regulation before converting a do-or-die two-pointer to pull out a dramatic 29-28 victory over the Coyotes.</p>   <p>Rising senior WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1672794' first='Josh' last='Sanchez']</strong> caught the TD pass in the middle of the end zone that brought the Vikings to within a point. Valley head coach Billy Cobos, channeling his inner Tom Osborne in the 1984 Orange Bowl against Miami, decided to go for the two-point conversion and the win rather than play for a tie and overtime.  </p>   <p>Rising junior WR <strong>Gabe Gonzales</strong> (50 receptions for 818 yards in 2024) caught the 2-point conversion. Gonzales snagged the pass from QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1600815' first='Jose' last='Jaramillo']</strong> in the left corner of the end zone. The officials ruled the 2-point attempt was good after a brief conference as both teams anxiously awaited the verdict. </p>   <p>“That was a huge win for us,” Cobos told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “I know our guys now feel they can play with anybody after that.” </p>   <p>Here is video from Friday's Bracket Play   </p>   <p><strong>VIDEO 1: Roswell vs. Valley (Part 1)</strong></p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/51E2RJT43Y4?si=pWJrp1ket-KZOGKE </div></figure>   <p><strong>VIDEO 2: Roswell vs. Valley (Part 2)</strong></p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/RXhFBYcLTm0?si=Q2G6kQjRm-ufqWGz </div></figure>   <p><strong>VIDEO 3: Roswell vs. Valley (Part 3 – Final TD + GW 2-Point Conversion)</strong></p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/9HjGT6-Sqew?si=zKftlK1R15M8l1a5 </div></figure>   <p><strong>VIDEO 4: Alamogordo vs. Hobbs (Quarterfinals)</strong></p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/WufKZRQDYqE?si=ryzGM-VOKQsgVVVl </div></figure>   <p><strong>VIDEO 5: Valley vs. Goddard (Semifinals)</strong></p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/nX_itF9XR0U?si=70GsOnn2-eE5VdAs </div></figure>   <p><strong>VIDEO 6: Goddard vs. Lubbock Estacado (Championship Game, Part 1)</strong></p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/eheXw6j6vqU?si=WIG0xq1YYpMmn6vp </div></figure>   <p><strong>VIDEO 7: Goddard vs. Lubbock Estacado (Championship Game, Part 2)</strong></p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/kTcCSS5hgNI?si=3guvkvRdnkcrGCZ0 </div></figure>   <p><strong>VIDEO 8: Goddard vs. Lubbock Estacado (Championship Game, Part 3)</strong></p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/wWLHiEhDlbE?si=Rxyo6tyd5G0Ceqi7 </div></figure>   <p> </p>   <p> </p>

ROSWELL – When the annual NMMI 7x7 Tournament began Friday, few people probably predicted Goddard would reach the Group A (Big School) championship game. But the Rockets did, beginning bracket play as the No. 3 seed before beating Carlsbad in the quarterfinals, edging Valley in the semifinals and then squaring off with Lubbock (TX) Estacado in the title game.