First Round Playoff Preview: Classes 6A and 5A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The New Mexico high school football playoffs for Classes 6A-2A begin Friday night with 12 games at various sites throughout the state and continue Saturday afternoon with 8 more games. Here is a look at each game in Classes 6A and 5A:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 6A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Los Lunas (9) at Cibola (8), Sat., 1 p.m.</strong> – Few people would have expected Cibola to be hosting a first round playoff game after quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='137861' first='Aden' last='Chavez'] suffered a season-ending ankle injury in an Oct. 7 loss to Volcano Vista. The Cougars haven't won since and enter the playoffs on a four-game losing streak. Los Lunas is by far the hotter team having won four games in a row, including last week's district championship game victory over Clovis. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='137885' first='Paul' last='Cieremans']</strong> is an elite dual threat QB.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Carlsbad (10) at Farmington (7), Sat., Noon</strong> – Fair to say Carlsbad's first year under head coach Oliver Soukup has been a success. Soukup totally revamped the offensive scheme, changing the Cavemen to a run-dominated attack. The biggest beneficiary has been former WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138043' first='Eli' last='Asay']</strong>, who shifted to RB and now has 1,283 rushing yards going into the playoffs. Farmington continues to be a pass-first offense led by 6-foot-3, 225-pound QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274791' first='Trel' last='Griego']</strong>, who has throw for 2,513 yards and 27 TD in 10 games. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Alamogordo (11) at Rio Rancho (6), Fri., 7 p.m.</strong> – Alamogordo earned a spot in the 6A playoffs with a hard-fought 7-3 win over Organ Mountain last weekend. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269621' first='Damon' last='Mayberry'] </strong>(563 rushing yards) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138069' first='Ryan' last='Stovall']</strong> (431 yards) spark the run-dominated attack in addition to being the Tigers' top two tackler son defense. Sophomore dual threat QB <strong>J.J. Arellano</strong> has been a revelation for Rio Rancho after replacing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274972' first='Noah' last='Nelson']</strong> at QB. But the Rams carry a two-game losing streak into the playoffs and look to turn things around. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Atrisco Heritage (12) at Volcano Vista (5), Fri., 7 p.m</strong>. – We saw these two teams on the field together a week ago and things went very well for Volcano Vista and not so well for Atrisco. The Hawks mercy-ruled the Jaguars, 50-0. Volcano Vista QB <strong>Elliot Pasket-Bell </strong>has accounted for nearly 3,200 total yards and 37 TD. Atrisco Heritage has good offensive talent but they'll need to come up with something different against the Hawks to have any hope of pulling the upset. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 5A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Miyamura (9) at Valley (8), Sat., 1 p.m</strong>. – Miyamura has flown under the radar all season long but here they are in the usually competitive 8 vs. 9 game. The Patriots earned a playoff spot by winning four of their last five games, scoring 50+ points three times. RB <strong>Ciyllis Cole-Roy</strong> (896 rushing yards + 13 TD) is somebody you need to know. First-year head coach Billy Cobos led Valley to a 7-3 record and a playoff home game in his first season. The Vikings want to run the football and have a three-headed monster for that exact purpose. <strong>Caeden Jojola</strong>, <strong>Tazhe Wilson</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208776' first='Ricky' last='Henderson']</strong>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gadsden (10) at Los Alamos (7), Sat., 1 p.m</strong>. – Gadsden has written one of the best feel-good stories of the 2022 season, earning a playoff spot for the first time in 50 years. Dual threat QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138076' first='Tomas' last='Herrera']</strong> (1,436 rushing yards + 619 passing yards) is an elite athlete. Here's another player you need to know: Los Alamos RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='269559' first='Teke' last='Nieto']</strong>. He rushed for 1,140 yards and 8 TD during the regular season. Very intriguing matchup between two teams that usually get overlooked.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Santa Teresa (11) at Mayfield (6), Fri., 7 p.m.</strong> – These two teams met back in Week 2 with Mayfield traveling to Santa Teresa and heading home with a 24-7 victory. The Trojans finished 4-6 in their first season in Class 5A but are the No. 6 seed for one key reason – strength of schedule. Mayfield faced three 6A schools (their 3 city rivals) plus district rivals Artesia, Goddard and Roswell, and 5A-3 district champion Deming. Yowza. Santa Teresa likes to run the football but dual threat QB <strong>Jack Bumga</strong>rdner can throw it too with 672 passing yards. Bumgardner combines with 1,000-yard rusher <strong>Angel Hernandez </strong>to give the Desert Warriors a very capable ground game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Belen (12) at Deming (5), Fri., 7 p.m.</strong> – Deming shook off a three-game losing streak early in the season to win five of their last six games, catapulting them to the No. 5 seed. Most likely, a heartbreaking 28-27 loss to Mayfield kept them from a top four seed. But when district play started the Wildcats were ready. They outscored their three opponents, 103-12, in district play. These two teams met on Sept. 16 with Deming posting a 56-22 road win at Belen. The Eagle finished just 2-8 and got into the playoffs largely through a 30-7 win over Highland. Junior RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274725' first='Diego' last='Avila']</strong> ignites the Belen offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LosLunasFB/status/1586817603808292864","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LosLunasFB/status/1586817603808292864 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Alamogordo_AT/status/1586566196026974208","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Alamogordo_AT/status/1586566196026974208 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/GadsdenPanthers/status/1586871154693664768","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GadsdenPanthers/status/1586871154693664768 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/DemingWildcat/status/1587044788708130818","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/DemingWildcat/status/1587044788708130818 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->