Belen will face a different Roswell team in semis
The last time the Roswell High football team was in Belen two months ago, the Coyotes were in turmoil.
Their starting quarterback, Ethan Valenzuela, had recently been lost for the season. His backup, Michael Ponce, had never played the position until this year.
So it was not an ideal scenario when the Coyotes hit the road on Sept. 22 and suffered a 29-7 loss to the Eagles.
“It’s taken a while to figure out who we are,” Roswell coach Jeff Lynn said. “The thing is, to lose that kid and still be 8-3, I’m not sure anybody in the state could have lost their starting quarterback and still be where we’re at.”
Where the Coyotes are at is, they are preparing for another road trip to Belen. No. 3 seed Roswell visits unbeaten and second-seeded Belen (11-0) at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Class 5A semifinals.
“The score didn’t represent how the game went,” Belen coach Greg Henington said of the first meeting. “They were a couple of plays away from it being close coming down to the wire.”
Belen remains in search of its first-ever football championship. The Eagles and their standout junior running back, Diego Casillas, are trying to punch their ticket to next week’s final.
“We’re expecting them to come in … I don’t know if bitter is the right word, but they’re not happy about the way things went (on Sept. 22),” Henington said. “You have to expect a different team.”
Casillas rampaged through Miyamra for 280 yards in a quarterfinal victory last week, putting him at 2,137 yards for the season, with 27 touchdowns in just 10 games. He has had five games this year with over 250 rushing yards.
“He’s a load,” Lynn said. “And he’s got good people out in front of him.”
Gabe Nejar of Roswell, which loves to run the football, has a similar build to Casillas — but he was stymied in the first meeting, held to 37 yards. Casillas, by contrast, ran for a season-high 297 yards that night.
“They had a really good defensive scheme against us,” Lynn said. “We had trouble moving the ball. Most teams, we’re able to run over, and impose our will, but Belen is not that way.”
No. 1 seed Artesia begins its long road journey ■ today toward Farmington where the Bulldogs (9-2) and fourth-seeded Scorpions (8-3) meet at 1 p.m. Saturday at Hutchison Stadium in the other semifinal.
If Roswell and Belen will be mostly run, then this one goes the other way, with two fearsome passing attacks on display.
Artesia senior QB Taylor Null has thrown for 3,137 yards and 43 touchdowns, while Farmington senior QB Isaiah Jaramillo counters with 3,125 yards (with 45 fewer completed passes than Null) and 36 touchdowns.
Artesia has four receivers with at least 38 receptions; Farmington’s Jacob Brown is the featured receiver for the Scorps with 51 balls for 1,331 yards and 16 scores.
Both teams have won six straight games coming into Saturday.