Nov. 14—The top three high school football teams in New Mexico join the playoff party this weekend.
As the Class 6A postseason reaches the quarterfinal round, No. 1 seed La Cueva, plus No. 2 Centennial and No. 3 Cleveland, all emerge from their bye weeks as the quarters play out with three games Friday night and the fourth on Saturday.
It’s the fourth of those top four seeds, No. 4 Volcano Vista, that is involved in the weekend’s most anticipated game, probably in any classification.
The Hawks (8-2) are home Friday night at Nusenda Community Stadium to face No. 5 Las Cruces (8-3), a pairing that produced one of the best games of the regular season.
Way back in Week 2, Volcano Vista overcame a 21-7 deficit in the second half, and overcame the Bulldawgs 27-24. The final minute included a fourth-down, go-ahead touchdown for Volcano, and a game-tying field goal attempt for Las Cruces that clanked off the bottom of the right post as time expired.
“We have to play four quarters,” Las Cruces coach Mark Lopez said. “We played two pretty good quarters (the first game), but then they outplayed us in the second half. And I thought they did a really good job of establishing the run against us. We have to do a better job of stopping the run.”
For the Bulldawgs, tailback Danny Amaro rushed for four touchdowns in a first-round win over West Mesa, although the Hawks’ defense is a step up this week.
“Their defense has presented a problem for just about everybody,” Lopez said.
Volcano Vista has two backs it will use in senior Mason Gurule and sophomore D’Angelo Mitchell. That duo combined for 1,100 yards and 13 TDs.
La Cueva (10-0) officially begins its 6A title defense at 1 p.m. Saturday against No. 9 Hobbs (7-4), which was also at Wilson Stadium last week, a 35-14 victory over eighth-seeded Eldorado in the first round. Hobbs is the biggest underdog on the 6A board, which is more about La Cueva than the Eagles’ seed line.
“On paper, they’re clearly the team to beat,” Hobbs coach Ken Stevens said. “They got this dude here and that guy going there.”
Those dudes he’s talking about include the state’s most explosive running quarterback, Arizona State-bound Cam Dyer, plus tailback Cheeto Lumbrera III and receiver Jayden Parsons.
The Eagles aspire to keep that potent La Cueva offense pinned to the sideline as much as possible, which puts the onus on Hobbs QB Brock Beaty and his receiving corps, plus running back Omarrion Kennedy, and perhaps mostly on the Eagles’ O-line to combat a Mason Posa-led Bears defense.
Cleveland (9-1) carries a nine-game winning streak into Friday’s home game with No. 6 Los Lunas (8-2). The Storm pulverized the Tigers 55-7 in Los Lunas’ opener at the end of August.
“We’re gonna have to play the way we’ve been playing later in the season, which is a lot more conclusive,” Los Lunas coach Greg Henington said. “(We need to) execute the way we can, and show the aggression like we showed in some other games.”
The Tigers rushed for fewer than 30 yards in the first meeting, and as Los Lunas’ ground attack is the tip of its offensive sword, that aspect must vastly improve.
“We’ve been running the ball extremely well all year,” Henington said. “Except for that Cleveland game.”
Centennial (10-0) is home at the Field of Dreams on Friday night against No. 7 Rio Rancho (7-4); the Rams took out Sandia 47-17 in the first round last week, as quarterback J.J. Arellano accounted for six combined touchdowns. His three TD passes all went to Jace Pitt.
Centennial senior QB Zaiden Davis rushed for 190 yards and four scores in the first meeting, a 43-27 Hawks victory, and he is their most potent offensive weapon with nearly 1,400 rush yards and 24 touchdowns.
“I think possessing the football on offense will be important,” Rams coach Nate Pino said. “They’re really talented, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. … For us, it’s presenting different looks (on defense).”
Rio Rancho also must take advantage of all its scoring opportunities, Pino said, adding that there were some missed chances back on Sept. 13.
