Whiparound: First Round Playoff Edition

The first round of the 2022 New Mexico High School football playoffs is complete as 20 games took place in Classes 6A-2A throughout the state.      Team of the Week: Gadsden. Just by making the playoffs, Gadsden is doing things that haven't been done in decades. Now a playoff victory tops the list. The Panthers made the long trip to Sullivan Field in Los Alamos and went home with a historic 44-21 victory over the Hilltoppers, the program's first playoff win since 1966. Gadsden jumped out to a 21-0 lead after the first quarter and brushed back all comeback efforts by Los Alamos after that. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='138076' first='Tomas' last='Herrera'] had one passing touchdown and three rushing touchdowns and running back Steven Morales had one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown for the Panthers, who travel to Roswell for the quarterfinals on Saturday.   Honorable mention: Valley.                         Player of the Week: [player_tooltip player_id='138053' first='Cayden' last='Walton'], Raton. If you believe we have mentioned Walton too many times in this space, you're not paying attention. Walton, the state's all-time leading rusher, did it again in the first round against Hatch Valley, rushing for 298 yards and 3 TD in a emphatic 63-14 victory over the Bears. In 11 games this season, Walton has gained 2,770 yards on the ground with a staggering 36 TD (tied for 4th highest in state history). His state record career rushing yardage total: 7,618.               Best Team Offensive Performance/Same Script, Different Week: Volcano Vista. Nine days ago, Volcano Vista trounced Atrisco Heritage, 50-0, in the regular season finale for both teams. As a result, when the 6A bracket was announced, the N. 5 Hawks were heavy favorites over the No. 12 Jaguars when they met in the first round. Little changed from the first game. Volcano Vista totaled 426 total yards in a mercy-rule 64-14 victory as QB Elliot Pasket-Bell threw for 269 yards (15-27 passing) and 5 TD while rushing for 97 yards to spark the rout.   Best Team Defensive Performance: Albuquerque Academy and Bernalillo. One week after the two teams played a 27-24 nailbiter, Albuquerque Academy and Bernalillo engaged in a old-fashioned defensive slugfest. The Chargers won 7-6 despite being held to 116 total yards and committing 3 turnovers. That's because the Academy defense had two interceptions in the second half on a cold and windy day in the Duke City. The second interception came late in the game when Bernalillo looked ready to win the defensive struggle with a TD or field goal.   Best Game: Farmington 34, Carlsbad 33. CreditCarlsbad coach Oliver Soukup for having plenty of guts. After the Cavemen scored on an 8o-yard TD run by [player_tooltip player_id='138043' first='Eli' last='Asay'] to make it a one-point game with 1:38 left, Soukup elected to go for the 2-point conversion and the lead. But Carlsbad was stopped short of the goal line and Farmington recovered the onsides kick and ran out the clock. Minutes earlier, the Scorpions, then trailing 27-26, drove 65 yards for the go-ahead TD on an 8-yard TD by QB [player_tooltip player_id='274791' first='Trel' last='Griego'] followed up by a 2-point conversion for a 34-27 lead.                  Honorable Mention: Eunice 35, Estancia 34; Thoreau 19, Hope Christian 13 (OT).   Things You Need To Know: Mayfield scored 14 point in 13 seconds to stun Santa Teresa, 21-10, at Field of Dreams. First Diego Guerra ran 8 yards for the go-ahead TD moments after the Trojans completed a fourth down pass. On the next play from scrimmage, Santa Teresa fumbled and Mayfield DB Kaden Quinones scooped up the loose ball and ran into the end zone from 10 yards out. Mayfield makes the long trip to Farmington to face No. 3 seed Piedra Vista in the 5A quarterfinals. .  .Toughened by playing in Class 3A's best district, West Las Vegas trounced Newcomb, 62-16, as QB C.J. Perea completed 19-of-27 passes for 234 yards and  SIX touchdowns. RB [player_tooltip player_id='269537' first='Jaydin' last='Vigil'] added 121 yards rushing. WLV travels to Ruidoso  . .Aztec QB [player_tooltip player_id='275457' first='Landan' last='Frost'] threw two TD passes and had an interception on defense as the Tigers bet Valencia, 12-6, in another low-scoring defensive slugfest. Neither team scored until the final moments of the first half when Frost connected with [player_tooltip player_id='275041' first='Baylor' last='Seabolt'] for a 23-yard TD and a 6-0 halftime lead. . .Moriarty ran past Kirtland Central, 53-2. . .Los Lunas' 31-14 victory over Cibola was halted with 1:48 left in the 4Q when a chippy game got out of hand. Two Cibola players were ejected during the game. . .Like Gadsden, Valley is writing a new chapter in football under first-year head coach Billy Cobos. The Vikings, long known as a basketball school, earned the No. 8 seed for the 5A playoffs and routed Miyamura, 30-6, Saturday afternoon in Albuquerque. [player_tooltip player_id='208776' first='Ricky' last='Henderson'] scored on a 50-yard screen pass. Valley faces No. 1 seed Artesia Saturday afternoon at the Bulldog Bowl. . .Rio Rancho sophomore QB J.J. Arellano continued to shine for the Rams as he ran for 2 TD before leaving with an injury in a 21-7 victory over Alamogordo. The Rams, seeded 6th in Class 6A, travel to Centennial for a Friday night quarterfinal battle at Field of Dreams. . .Portales and Lovington, ranked by MaxPreps among the top 3 teams in Class 4A, will meet for the second time in 3 weeks in the quarterfinals. Lovington captured the district title with a 20-14 win over the Rams on Oct. 28. Portales walloped St. Pius X, 48-3, as RB Emmanuel Diahn rushed for 115 yards and 1 TD.   Quarterfinal Matchups: The top four seeds in Classes 6A-3A will be in action this weekend as they host opponents in the quarterfinals of the 2022 New Mexico High School Football Playoffs:     Class 6A   Los Lunas (9) at Cleveland (1), Fri. 11/11, 7 p.m.   Volcano Vista (5) at Hobbs (4), Fri. 11/11, 7 p.m.   Rio Rancho (6) at Centennial (3), Fri. 11/11, 7 p.m.   Farmington (7) at La Cueva (2), Fri. 11/11, 7 p.m.   Class 5A   Valley (8) at Artesia (1), Sat. 11/12, 1 p.m.   Deming (5) at Goddard (4), Fri. 11/11, 6 p.m.   Mayfield (6) at Piedra Vista (3), Sat. 11/12, 1 p.m.   Gadsden (10) at Roswell (2), Sat. 11/12, 1 p.m.   Class 4A   Portales (5) at Lovington (4), Fri. 11/11, 7 p.m.   Albuq. Academy (6) at Taos (3), Sat. 11/12 , 1 p.m.   Moriarty (7) at Bloomfield (2), Sat. 11/12, 1 p.m.   Aztec (8 at Silver (1), Sat. 11/12, 1 p.m.   Class 3A   Cobre (9) at Socorro (1), Fri. 11/11, 7 p.m.   Thoreau (5) at St. Michael's (4), Sat. 11/12, 1 p.m.   Raton (6) at Robertson (3), Sat. 11/12, 1 p.m.   West Las Vegas (7) at Ruidoso (2), Fri. 11/11, 6 p.m.   Class 2A (Semifinals)   Texico at Santa Rosa, Fri. 11/11, 6 p.m.   Jal at Eunice, Sat. 11/12, 1 p.m.   Class 6A Bracket   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-07-at-12-25-35-2022-Nusenda-Credit-Union-State-Football-Championships-6A-MaxPreps.png" alt="" class="wp-image-504979"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure>   Class 5A Bracket   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-07-at-12-27-38-2022-Nusenda-Credit-Union-State-Football-Championships-5A-MaxPreps.png" alt="" class="wp-image-504990"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure>   Class 4A Bracket   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/11/Screenshot-2022-11-07-at-12-30-53-2022-Nusenda-Credit-Union-State-Football-Championships-4A-MaxPreps.png" alt="" class="wp-image-505021"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure>

The first round of the 2022 New Mexico High School football playoffs is complete as 20 games took place in Classes 6A-2A throughout the state.