WHITTLING IT DOWN
Two teams play again, two get their feet wet after byes
It’s getting serious now for the prep football quarterfinalists as the winners from last week go up against the teams that were able to rest and relax through a bye week.
The north had two teams survive to play again, while two others will be getting their playoff feet wet.
Here are the matchups for the four remaining local schools.
CLASS 4A NO. 3 TAOS (9-1) VS. NO. 6 LOVINGTON (6-5) SATURDAY 1 P.M.
Last week: Taos, bye; Lovington beat Bernalillo 41-0.
The Tigers have been building toward a good playoff run for several years, culminating with this deep, veteran squad.
Led offensively by quarterback Justin Good (911 yards passing) and running back Jonathan Garcia (1,183 yards and 10 touchdowns), Taos is a grind-it-out, firstdown-by-first-down team.
And that means the Tigers have lines on both side of the ball that can manhandle most opponents.
“Our strength is no secret,” coach Art Abreu Jr. said. “Offensively and defensively, it’s our lines. Up front, we match up very well with them. I see us being able to do our common core — we like to call it that — when it comes to our offensive play calling. We try to slowly move the ball down the field, manage the clock the best we can, and let our quarterback make some plays and get the ball out to our receivers to make some plays.”
By contrast, the Wildcats try to spread the ball around and strike quickly.
Lovington quarterback Casey Perez (1,998 yards, 19 TDs) is a big-play quarterback with a number of quality receivers.
“They’re a spread offense, and they try to attack you vertically and attack coverage,” Abreu said. “Their quarterback is very athletic, very fast. They present a lot of issues if you play undisciplined, and they like to exploit that and take advantage of it.”
CLASS 3A NO. 4 ST. MICHAEL’S (6-4) VS. NO. 5 ROBERTSON (9-2) SATURDAY 1 P.M.
Last week: St. Michael’s, bye; Robertson beat Raton 21-6.
This is a rematch for District 2 rivals, and the Horsemen’s earlier 39-7 win played a big role in their winning the district and getting the bye.
“We got beat pretty bad,” Cardinals coach Leroy Gonzalez said of that first meeting. “No excuses, they handled us pretty good. They exposed our defensive backs. I think we’ve gotten better since then. We’re going to roll with that.”
What the Cardinals will try to do is roll with their ground game, bunching the ball behind backs Santiago Gonzales (619 yards, five TDs) and Antonio Padilla (1,339 combined rushing and receiving yards, 20 combined TDs), who also is a receiving threat out of the backfield.
The Horsemen will counter with receiver Luke Kastendieck, a threat to take it to the house on any play.
In the first meeting, St. Mike’s was able to consistently move the chains on third down situations, despite frequently facing long-yardage situations.
“When you get somebody in a third and long situation, you have to get them off the field,” Gonzalez said. “There’s no excuse for that.”
NO. 6 WEST LAS VEGAS (7-4) AT NO. 3 SOCORRO (9-1) TONIGHT 7 P.M.
Last week: West Las Vegas beat Cobre 21-6; Socorro, bye.
In what should be a raucous atmosphere at Socorro, the Dons will look to spring their strong collection of playmakers loose on the Warriors’ fast turf field.
“They’re a big, physical group,” West Las Vegas coach Adrian Gonzales said of Socorro. “That’s what that district is. We’re familiar with that district because we just played Cobre and we played Hatch earlier. It’s a big, physical district.”
The Dons will look to create space for quarterback John Balizan (2,186 yards, 21 TDs), and backs Antonio Bustamante (893 yards, 11 TDs) and Darion Williams (555 yards, five TDs).
Gonzales said he sees his team’s scheme as its best weapon.
“Our scheme, on offense especially, we try not to give you time out,” he said. “We push the pedal and have you breathing hard.”
Socorro runs its offense through quarterback Payson Hicks (1,331 passing yards, 422 rushing yards, 20 combined TDs).