Semifinal Standouts: Top Performers

The semifinals of the 2025 New Mexico High School Football playoffs unfolded this weekend at numerous locations throughout the state. Here are some of the top performers:   Players of the Week:   Class 6A: [player_tooltip player_id='1613490' first='Evan' last='Nanez'], Cleveland and [player_tooltip player_id='1137388' first='Daniel' last='Amaro'], Las Cruces. Both Nanez and Amaro were stellar in their respective 6A semifinal games. Amaro rushed for over 230 yards and 3 TD on a workhorse 28 carries in the Bulldawgs' impressive 44-7 victory Friday night at Wilson Stadium. His 31-yard scoring run on the Las Cruces' opening drive of the third quarter gave the Bulldawgs a 30-7 lead. He added a 53-yard TD run in the second half. Amaro's performance lifted Las Cruces to their first state championship game appearance since 2016. The Bulldawgs will travel to Cleveland Saturday at 1 p.m. for the 6A title game at Lightning Bolt Stadium in Rio Rancho.   Nanez, who's just a sophomore, was spectacular in Cleveland's 67-16 mercy-rule win over Hobbs as he scored 6 TD – four receiving, one rushing and one a 100-yard kickoff return. He finished with nine receptions for 170 yards. Nanez increased his season total to 1,368 all-purpose yards. He's also an elite basketball player and holds an offer from New Mexico State. Upon the conclusion of football season, Nanez will enroll at ABC Prep in Albuquerque. Cleveland plays in its seventh straight Class 6A state championship game on Saturday. The last time a 6A title game didn't include the Storm? 2017.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Highlights from semi-finals: 303 all-purpose • 172 REC yards • 6 Total TDS (5 receiving, 1 kick return) Also broke the record for most receiving touchdowns in a game in VSCHS history! <a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_RGarza?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_RGarza</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_Ridenour?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_Ridenour</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/coach_crow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coach_crow</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_Eck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_Eck</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ColinLockett15?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ColinLockett15</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/_CoachElliott?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_CoachElliott</a>… <a href="https://t.co/MmPeyMC5pG">pic.twitter.com/MmPeyMC5pG</a>— [player_tooltip player_id='1613490' first='Evan' last='Nanez'] (@EvanNanez5245) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanNanez5245/status/1992698369832354272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2025</a></blockquote>   Class 5A: [player_tooltip player_id='1139144' first='Bryce' last='Parra'], Artesia: The speedy senior has been a special teams standout all season long for the Bulldogs and Saturday at Lovington he did it again in the Bulldogs' thrilling 35-30 back-and-forth victory over the Wildcats. Immediately after Lovington scored to take a 14-7 lead with 8:10 left in the second quarter, Parra returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown to even the score. In the first quarter, he tied the score at 7-7 with a 63-yard TD run. He finished with 130 yards rushing. Artesia's win wasn't secured until WR [player_tooltip player_id='1750200' first='Jack' last='Byers'], an elite baseball prospect, caught a screen pass from QB [player_tooltip player_id='1672571' first='Derrick' last='Warren'] and raced 46 yards for a TD to give the Bulldogs a 35-24 lead with 1:51 left. After Lovington quickly scored with 55 seconds left, Artesia recovered the on-sides kick and ran out the clock.   Class 4A: Manual Chavarria, Bloomfield: The guy they fondly call ‘Peanut' wasn't perfect in Bloomfield's 62-20 road victory over Taos, but he was good enough to lead the Bobcats to another convincing win. Chavarria completed 20-of-29 passes for 238 yards and 3 TD while rushing for two more scores. The only blemish on Chavarria's resume were three interceptions, two of the Pick-6 variety. Bloomfield shook off an early Pick-6 score by scoring the next 27 points to take a 27-7 lead into the second quarter. The Bobcats added three more TD in the 2nd quarter for a 48-7 halftime advantage. Most of the second half was played with a running clock.          Class 3A: [player_tooltip player_id='853063' first='Isaiah' last='Dominguez'], St. Michael's. Dominguez rushed for 272 yards and 4 TD on just 8 carries in the Horsemen's lopsided 54-8 victory over NMMI Saturday in Santa Fe. Dominguez scored on TD runs of 39, 40, 96 and 40 yards. His 96-yarder was one yard short of the record for the longest TD run in school history. He accounted for 5 TD and 318 total yards as he also reeled in a 46-yard catch-and-run TD in the second quarter. St. Michael's has now won 32 straight games, the third longest winning streak in state history.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">St. Michael's beat NMMI 54-8 on Saturday to advance to the Class 3A Final against Dexter in the 2025 Nusenda Credit Union State Football Championships. The title game will be played Saturday at 1pm at Dexter High School. Here are some highlights (courtesy KRQE) <a href="https://twitter.com/nusendacu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nusendacu</a> <a href="https://t.co/D1vJrEedig">pic.twitter.com/D1vJrEedig</a>— NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1992600261999886582?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2025</a></blockquote>   Class 2A: [player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon'], Eunice: One of only four quarterbacks in state history to throw for more than 10,000 career yards, Melancon and the high powered Eunice offense brought their ‘A' games to Bernalillo High School Saturday as the Cardinals trounced Legacy Academy, 62-18. Melancon completed 17-of-29 passes for 254 yards and 2 TD and rushed for 104 yards and 4 TD on 13 carries. Accounted for 6 TD. Eunice rushed for 351 yards and 7 TD on 44 carries. Four different Cardinal rushers scored TD. Eunice amassed 605 yards in total offense against the overwhelmed Legacy Academy defense. The Eunice defense had 4 INT.   Here are some more top performers in the semifinals:   Class 6A   [player_tooltip player_id='1748856' first='Josiah' last='Gutierrez'], Las Cruces: His Pick-6 interception in the first minute of the game off a deflected pass near the line of scrimmage set the tone in the Bulldawgs' 44-7 victory over La Cueva.   [player_tooltip player_id='851873' first='Jordan' last='Kekoa Hatch'], Cleveland: Completed 22-of-28 passes (78.6 completion percentage) for 322 yards and 6 TD in Cleveland's 67-16 rout of Hobbs. Hatch showed again on Saturday that he has a strong and accurate arm with the ability to move around in the pocket and escape pressure. For the season, Hatch has thrown for over 2,800 yards and 39 TD with just 5 interceptions. He'll have a chance to eclipse 3,000 passing yards for the first time in his career in Saturday's state championship game against Las Cruces.   Sammy Bustillos, Cleveland: Arguably one of the most underrated running backs in the state. Powerful RB who's not afraid to run between the tackles and engage defenders. Rushed for 87 yards on 11 carries in Cleveland's convincing win over Hobbs.   [player_tooltip player_id='851903' first='Jacob' last='Maldonado'], Cleveland: The UNM commit had 8 receptions for 113 yards and 1 TD in Cleveland's win over Hobbs.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Semifinal Highlights 67-16 W vs Hobbs HS 22/28 completions 322 yards passing 6 passing TD<a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_Ridenour?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_Ridenour</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_RGarza?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_RGarza</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MooseB90?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MooseB90</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nmpreps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmpreps</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nmprepcosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmprepcosports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamDiehl15?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AdamDiehl15</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SebastianNoel47?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SebastianNoel47</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesDYodice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JamesDYodice</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/danlallison?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@danlallison</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jchester17?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jchester17</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BradBenson7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BradBenson7</a> <a href="https://t.co/VzXw5ZzXd7">pic.twitter.com/VzXw5ZzXd7</a>— [player_tooltip player_id='851873' first='Jordan' last='Kekoa Hatch'] (@Kekoa1_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kekoa1_/status/1992675652957593769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2025</a></blockquote>   Class 5A   [player_tooltip player_id='1137475' first='Jayden' last='Gutierrez'], Lovington: Gutierrez did all he could to will the Wildcats to an upset of Artesia. He threw for 200 yards and 2 TD on 18-of-33 passing and rushed for 182 yards and 2 TD on 21 carries. He had a 7-yard TD run in the first quarter and a 78-yard TD run in the third quarter to give Lovington a short-lived 24-21 lead. Finished with 382 total yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='1750685' first='Luke' last='Lynn'], Roswell: Lynn led a second-half Coyotes comeback at Gadsden by rushing for a TD and throwing a scoring pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1750809' first='Olin' last='Ingram']. Roswell trailed 10-7 at halftime after two drives inside the 10-yard line produced zero points. But the Coyotes got the offense rolling in the second half. Nate Lujan (113 yards on 15 carries) and super sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1826036' first='Luis' last='Rodriguez'] both rushed for TDs in the second half for Roswell, which outscored Gadsden, 28-7, over the final 24 minutes.   [player_tooltip player_id='1826036' first='Luis' last='Rodriguez'], Roswell: Rushed for 219 yards and 1 TD on 17 carries to help propel the Coyotes to the win at Gadsden. Rodriguez combined with Nate Lujan for 332 rushing yards. In all, Roswell finished with 386 yards on the ground and never punted.       [player_tooltip player_id='1672571' first='Derrick' last='Warren'], Artesia: Threw 3 TD passes in the second half as Artesia rallied from a 17-14 halftime deficit to edge Lovington in a thriller at Wildcats Stadium. His first TD pass went to [player_tooltip player_id='1600893' first='Trent' last='Egeland'] with 8:24 left in the third quarter. After Lovington regained the lead, Warren tossed a 3-yard TD pass to Egeland for a 28-24 lead with just under 5 minutes left in the third quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='1750200' first='Jack' last='Byers']' huge 46-yard catch-and-run TD was preceded by a huge defensive stop on fourth down at the Artesia 37 by the Bulldogs' defense.     Class 4A   [player_tooltip player_id='1787747' first='Tayetum' last='Callado'], Bloomfield: Made 3 interceptions to spark Bloomfield's outstanding defensive performance in the 62-20 win over Taos.     [player_tooltip player_id='1154956' first='Cayl' last='Cox-Liggins'], St. Pius X: Scored 3 TD three different ways in St. Pius X's rout of Chaparral at Community Stadium. He caught an 18-yard TD pass in the first quarter, scored from 25 yards out on a jet sweep in the third quarter and added a 50-yard Pick-6 interception. About the only thing different from Saturday's contest compared to St. Pius X's 50-0 mercy-rule win over Chaparral a few weeks ago was the location of the game. Saturday. St. Pius X built a 27-0 halftime lead (Chaparral had just 20 yards of total offense in the first half) and cruised from there.   [player_tooltip player_id='1154954' first='Hershul' last='Olloway'], St. Pius X: Rushed for 81 yards and 2 TD on 10 carries, all in the first half, as St. Pius cruised past Chaparral.   [player_tooltip player_id='1599919' first='Roman' last='Quintana'], Taos: Had TWO Pick-6 interceptions in Taos' loss to Bloomfield, including an 85-yarder late in the game just when Bloomfield appeared ready to score and end the game early via the mercy-rule.   Cy Saenz, St. Pius X: Just an 8th-grader, Saenz scored on a 4-yard TD run midway through the second quarter of the Sartans' win over Chaparral.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">St. Pius X beat Chaparral 41-0 to advance to the Class 4A Final against #1 Bloomfield in the 2025 Nusenda Credit Union State Football Championships. The title game will be played Saturday at 1pm at Nusenda Community Stadium in Albuquerque. Here are some highlights <a href="https://twitter.com/nusendacu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nusendacu</a> <a href="https://t.co/PRUzZepLMR">pic.twitter.com/PRUzZepLMR</a>— NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1992598171718160883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2025</a></blockquote>   Class 3A:   [player_tooltip player_id='1155019' first='Ryan' last='Hunt'], St. Michael's: The elite DE/TE for the Horsemen caught 5 passes for 126 yards and 1 TD in St. Michael's rout of NMMI. His TD catch came on a 55-yard reception midway through the 2nd quarter. Defensively, Hunt was double and triple teamed all afternoon long by the NMMI O-Line, opening up allies for his teammates to make plays. As a result, NMMI had just 75 yards of total offense in the first half. The Colts didn't score until the third quarter when they trailed 34-0.        [player_tooltip player_id='1600843' first='Kamal' last='Stith'], St. Michael's: Passed for 207 yards and 3 TD while rushing for 179 yards (153 in the first half) in St. Michael's big win over NMMI. He zig-zagged 69 yards through the NMMI defense for a TD in the first half. Stith led the Horsemen to 400+ yards in total offense in the first half as they built a commanding 27-0 halftime lead. St. Michael's finished with close to 700 yards in total offense.   [player_tooltip player_id='854287' first='Garet' last='Gonzalez'], Dexter: Rushed for 2 TD in Dexter's 24-6 victory over Hope Christian. The story of the game was Dexter's dominant defense, which quieted a very good Hope Christian offense until late in the game when the Huskies finally scored. In fact, the first points of the game came on a safety by the Dexter defense.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Dexter beat Hope Christian 24-6 to advance to the Class 3A Final against #1 St. Michael's in the 2025 Nusenda Credit Union State Football Championships. The title game will be played Saturday at 1pm at Dexter High School. Here are some highlights (courtesy NFHS) <a href="https://twitter.com/nusendacu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nusendacu</a> <a href="https://t.co/UPXjfMWNlN">pic.twitter.com/UPXjfMWNlN</a>— NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1992603953813659877?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2025</a></blockquote>   Class 2A   [player_tooltip player_id='1613755' first='Cross' last='Figg'], Texico: Figg has been Superman for Texico all season long and Saturday's 47-7 win over Hozho Academy was no different. Figg rushed for 150 yards and 4 TD on 20 carries. He also threw a TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1827269' first='Dexter' last='Chapman'] to give Texico ma 26-7 lead in the third quarter. Figg rushed for 2 TD later in the 3rd period for a 42-7 Texico lead and running clock entering the 4th quarter. Texico dominated Hozho Academy on the ground, amassing 322 yards on 49 carries. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1343408' first='Bennett' last='Wahlen'] rushed for 102 yards on 15 carries for Texico.       [player_tooltip player_id='1680161' first='Haziel' last='Goitia'], Eunice: Six receptions for 89 yards in Eunice's big win over Legacy Academy.   Greyson Meek, Eunice: Led Eunice's ground assault by rushing for 152 yards ands 1 TD on 20 carries.   [player_tooltip player_id='1600087' first='Lorenzo' last='Sedillo-Urban'], Legacy Academy: Completed 17-of-29 passes for 263 yards and 3 TD in Legacy's loss to Eunice.   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Eunice beat Legacy Academy 62-18 on Saturday to advance to the Class 2A Final against #1 Texico in the 2025 Nusenda Credit Union State Football Championships. The title game will be played Saturday at 1pm at Texico High School. Here are some highlights (courtesy KRQE) <a href="https://twitter.com/nusendacu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nusendacu</a> <a href="https://t.co/Sn5jAZIHKU">pic.twitter.com/Sn5jAZIHKU</a>— NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1992603296100683850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2025</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">SEMIFINALS SCOREBOARD - Sat. 11/22 (Part 1) 6A: Cleveland 67, Hobbs 16 5A: Artesia 35, Lovington 30 5A: Roswell 35, Gadsden 17 4A: Bloomfield 62, Taos 20 4A: St. Pius X 41, Chaparral 0 3A: Dexter 24, Hope Christian 6 3A: St. Michael's 54, NMMI 8 <a href="https://t.co/bQHO8sinS5">pic.twitter.com/bQHO8sinS5</a>— Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1992416834193399953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2025</a></blockquote>   <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Fort Sumner/House wins the 2025 Nusenda Credit Union 8-Man State Football Championship over Melrose, 28-14. <a href="https://t.co/y60ROeqxLv">pic.twitter.com/y60ROeqxLv</a>— NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1992092534575902733?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2025</a></blockquote>

The semifinals of the 2025 New Mexico High School Football playoffs unfolded this weekend at numerous locations throughout the state. Here are some of the top performers: