Quarterfinals Preview: Class 6A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The quarterfinals of the New Mexico High School Football playoffs are set for this weekend with 20 games across the five classifications scheduled to be played on Friday and Saturday. Here is a preview of the Class 6A matchups:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 6A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Los Lunas at Las Cruces (Fri., 7 p.m.)</strong>: After earning the No. 1 seed in the 6A playoffs, La Cruces steps onto the gridiron refreshed by a week off. Will it help the 10-0 Bulldawgs? They're one of only three unbeaten teams left in the state (Los Alamos and St. Michael's are the others). As always, Las Cruces brings a potent offense into this matchup. QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853029' first='Gunnar' last='Guardiola']</strong> has completed 69 percent of his passes for 2,173 yards and 21 TD with just TWO interceptions. He doesn't make mistakes. He's also got a next level running backs lining up behind him in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137388' first='Daniel' last='Amaro']</strong> (1,514 yards and 33 TD) and a next level WR to throw to in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142363' first='Francisco' last='Winnikoff']</strong> (53 receptions for 1,010 yards and 10 TD). The Bulldawgs have scored 30+ points in all 10 of their games, 50+ points in five. Los Lunas (8-3) held off Piedra Vista in the first round. Dual threat QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137088' first='Kaiden' last='Reese']</strong> headlines an offense led by a three-headed monster at RB (Reese, <strong>Martin Cordova</strong> and <strong>Jagger Casillias</strong>). Can the Tigers score enough to keep up with the Bulldawgs? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Volcano Vista at Cleveland (Fri., 7 p.m.)</strong>: No. 2 seed Cleveland (9-1) makes its 2025 &nbsp;playoff debut. Since losing a heartbreaker to Las Cruces in Week 4, &nbsp;the Storm have won six straight games by an average margin of 36.1 points and secured a first round bye. It's Cleveland being Cleveland. These two teams met three weeks ago with the Storm winning, 49-13. It was a tight game at halftime before Cleveland erupted in the second half, scoring three touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the third quarter, two on defense with scoop-and-score on a fumble and a Pick-6 interception. Obviously, Volcano Vista hopes history doesn't repeat itself. Cleveland QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='851873' first='Jordan' last='Kekoa Hatch']</strong> has been insanely good this season, completing 75.4 percent of his passes for 30 TD and just 4 interceptions. One big change for the Hawks from the last meeting against the Storm: No. 1 QB <strong>Spirit Penn-Cook</strong> returned to action in last week's hard-fought First Round win over Cibola after missing the final nine games of the regular season with an injury suffered in the season opener. Will he make a difference against Cleveland? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Carlsbad at Hobbs (Fri., 7 p.m.)</strong>: Carlsbad (6-5) is just one game over .500, but they showed in the First Round last Saturday at Rio Rancho that they are a very dangerous football team when they bring their ‘A' game to the field, especially defensively. The Cavemen stonewalled Rio Rancho's run&nbsp; game, holding the Rams to 34 total yards on 30 carries. If elite LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1248663' first='Colton' last='McKibben']</strong> and his bandmates can do the same to Hobbs, they'll have a great opportunity to pull off another upset. But Hobbs has a terrific ground attack led by dangerous dual threat QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605057' first='Junior' last='Medrano']</strong>, the latest member of the prestigious 1,000-1,000 club. Medrano has thrown for 1,489 yards and rushed for 1,306 yards. Running backs <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604984' first='Shamus' last='Wright']</strong> and <strong>Demarcus Hill</strong> join Medrano to make it an Eagles power trio. Junior RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605005' first='Brock' last='Wright']</strong> brings the thunder on the ground for the Cavemen. Both teams are capable of throwing it but this one likely boils down to which team runs the ball the best. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>La Cueva at Centennial (Sat., 1 p.m.)</strong>: These two teams last met early in the 2023 season when Centennial pulled out a 35-28 thriller at Field of Dreams. La Cueva is looking for its fourth straight trip to the Class 6A state championship game. They took the first step with last week's convincing win over rival Eldorado. As always, the Bears are dangerous. They've won nine straight game since an 0-2 start, but have flown mostly under the radar. Junior QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1183085' first='Monty' last='Melendez']</strong> doesn't have the name recognition of former La Cueva QBs Cameron Dyer or Aiden Armenta (both FBS signal callers) but he's still a talented passer. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1629861' first='Vaughn' last='Saunders']</strong> is a solid RB. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853566' first='Isaiah' last='Goree']</strong> (offered recently by Willamette University in Oregon) is a next level wide receiver. Centennial has a power trio of its own in QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604943' first='Ruiz' last='Laborin']</strong> (1,812 passing yards + 15 TD), RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605033' first='Dailen' last='Ramirez']</strong> (1,151 rushing yards in 7 games) and WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1679776' first='Andrew' last='Sandoval']</strong> (54 receptions). LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266519' first='Joseph' last='Bitar']</strong> leads the Hawks in tackles with 78.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The 2025 Nusenda Credit Union State 6A Quarterfinals are here! <br><br>The #8 Los Lunas Tigers face the undefeated #1 Las Cruces Bulldawgs this Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 PM at the Field of Dreams. <a href="https://twitter.com/LasCrucesDawgs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LasCrucesDawgs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LCPSnet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LCPSnet</a> <br><br>Watch live on <a href="https://t.co/K9gRwRLhlt">https://t.co/K9gRwRLhlt</a>: <a href="https://t.co/zsUdwxsBA6">https://t.co/zsUdwxsBA6</a> <a href="https://t.co/AuNtBmH3of">pic.twitter.com/AuNtBmH3of</a></p>&mdash; Las Cruces Public Schools (@LCPSnet) <a href="https://twitter.com/LCPSnet/status/1988723393001308583?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨Team Power Scores are LIVE🚨<br><br>See how you matchup to the top competitors in your state!<br>Find all power scores: <a href="https://t.co/vxyj2XUTeY">https://t.co/vxyj2XUTeY</a> <a href="https://t.co/m1Teq3Y3kn">pic.twitter.com/m1Teq3Y3kn</a></p>&mdash; Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1988355078432899125?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Adversity reveals character — and Friday, ours showed up. A hard-fought playoff win over Cibola and a reminder that this brotherhood doesn't fold. Proud of our boys for staying together and fighting for each other. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BuiltDifferent?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BuiltDifferent</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HawkPride?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HawkPride</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherTilTheClockHitsZero?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherTilTheClockHitsZero</a>🦅 <a href="https://t.co/q1OYjdYN3X">pic.twitter.com/q1OYjdYN3X</a></p>&mdash; Volcano Vista HS Football (@vvhsfootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/vvhsfootball/status/1987732614724337842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> <strong><br></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->