November Madness: Class 4A-3A Quarterfinals Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at each of the quarterfinal matchups in Classes 4A and 3A beginning tonight.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 4A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Portales (5) at Lovington (4), Fri., 7 p.m.</strong>: These two prominent programs met two weeks ago in a district championship game&nbsp; with Lovington prevailing, 20-14. As a result, the Wildcats got a first round bye. Portales, meanwhile, easily dispatched St. Pius X (48-3) in the first round. Two of the top quarterbacks in Class 4A will battle: Paxton Culpepper of Portales (2,069 passing yards + 24 TD) and [player_tooltip player_id='269564' first='Ashton' last='Aranda'] of Lovington (1,676 passing yards + 653 rushing yards). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Albuquerque Academy (6) at Taos (3), Sat., 1 p.m.</strong> (at NM Highlands Stadium): After edging Bernalillo, 7-6, in the first round, Albuquerque Academy faces one of the hottest teams in the entire state. Taos has won 9 straight games since a season-opening loss to St. Michael's and very few have been decided by single digits. Six-foot-7 QB [player_tooltip player_id='269567' first='Daemon' last='Ely'] is a superb athlete. Academy has a QB who will play at the next level as well, [player_tooltip player_id='137884' first='A.J.' last='Rivera']. He's been without two of his best weapons ([player_tooltip player_id='138056' first='Cole' last='Conway'] and WR [player_tooltip player_id='137928' first='Kellan' last='Gehres']) for several weeks. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Moriarty (7) at Bloomfield (2), Sat., 1 p.m.</strong> – This contest offers a fascinating contrast in offensive philosophies. Moriarty runs the ball nearly every down, throwing it only rarely. The Pintos are led by junior running back Santiago Chavez, who has amassed 917 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns and senior RB Michael Magoffe with 630 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Bloomfield likes to throw the football with QB [player_tooltip player_id='208748' first='Ryan' last='Sharpe'] looking for receivers such as [player_tooltip player_id='275042' first='Drew' last='Perez'] and [player_tooltip player_id='275569' first='Jesse' last='Seitsinger']. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aztec (8) at Silver (1), Sat., 1 p.m.</strong> – Aztec makes the long trip to Silver City for the second meting this season between the two schools. Silver won the first matchup, 28-14, by rallying from an early two-touchdown deficit. Recently, the main story for the Colts has been their stellar defense. Silver has posted SEVEN shutouts this season, including the last three games. Bloomfield was the last team to score on Silver and that came in a 45-6 Colts' win. Silver RB [player_tooltip player_id='208819' first='Aidan' last='Granado'] is questionable with an injury suffered in the Colts' last game against Valencia. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 3A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Thoreau (5) at St. Michael's (4), Sat., 1 p.m</strong>.: Thoreau has a tough task ahead of them, going to St. Michael's and trying to beat the Horsemen on their home field, something that rarely happens. St. Michael's has a pwerful offense lef by QB Zachary Martinez, RB Marcus Leyba and TE/WR [player_tooltip player_id='269871' first='Taven' last='Lozada'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Raton (6) at Robertson (3), Sat., 1 p.m.</strong>: These two teams played one of the quirkiest games you'll ever see a few weeks ago. Robertson won, 12-7, by scoring a pair of special team TDs. However, the Cardinals defense deserved accolades as well for limiting Raton RB [player_tooltip player_id='138053' first='Cayden' last='Walton'] to just 72 yards on 23 carries. Can Robertson do it again? &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>West Las Vegas (7) at Ruidoso (2), Fri., 6 p.m</strong>. – West Las Vegas is certainly battle certainly battle tested after competing in unquestionably the toughest 3A district in the state. But the Dons will surely have their hands full against talented Ruidoso, led by QB [player_tooltip player_id='269582' first='Cooper' last='Pritchett'] (1,490 passing yards + 393 yards rushing + 91 tackles on defense). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cobre (9) at Socorro (1), Fri., 7 p.m.</strong> – Socorro deserved the No. 1 seed in 3A after rampaging through its 10-game regular season schedule. The Warriors defense was bulletproof all season long with seven shutouts, including a 29-0 win over Cobre two weeks ago in a district championship game. Can Cobre score on the Socorro defense? If not, Socorro will likely romp to victory again.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 2A (Semifinals)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jal (1) at Eunice (4), Sat., 1 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Texico (2) at Santa Rosa (3), Fri., 7 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1588739756296646656","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/lvtwildcatsfb/status/1588739756296646656 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->