6A semifinals feature intriguing matchups
LCHS faces Centennial; VVHS, Storm go again
Fittingly, New Mexico’s four best teams are the last four remaining.
The Class 6A football playoffs have shedded all the pretenders and the outliers, leaving Cleveland, La Cueva, Centennial and Volcano Vista to hash out a state champion over the next eight days.
Tonight’s semifinals feature a pair of 11-0 teams, No. 2 La Cueva and No. 3 Centennial, clashing at Wilson Stadium, and top-ranked Cleveland (11-0) facing Full prep football playoff schedule for this weekend B4
Volcano Vista (9-2) in Rio Rancho. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at both sites.
The Bears, itching to return to the state final after an agonizing loss last year to Manzano, have been a captivating, high-wire act most of the season. Consider that the Bears have four victories by five or fewer points, including three-point wins in their last two
games.
“I worry all the time,” La Cueva coach Brandon Back said. “But that’s the nature of the beast in my role. You have to worry. The kids are always confident, and they realize that games, especially this time of year, will take four full quarters to win it.”
The Bears have only scored 27 points in their last two outings, which Back chalks up to the stout defenses of Clovis and Las Cruces.
“They’ve got some really good athletes all over the field,” Hawks coach Aaron Ocampo said of La Cueva. “They do have some dangerous people on offense, and at some point, they’ll get hot.”
The La Cueva offense features tailback D’Andre Williams (1,212 yards and 14 touchdowns), and the contrasting receiving targets of 6-foot4 Connor O’Toole (33 catches and six TDs) and 5-9 speedster Prince Robertson (48 catches and 7 TDs).
Of course, the Bears’ defense, keyed in the middle by linebackers Lawrence Bussey and Fred Mady III, plus superb safety Blaine Smith and an excellent front, has performed at a high level all season.
On the other side, Centennial has one of the state’s top dual-threat quarterbacks in senior Lance Frost, who has thrown for over 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns, and rushed for another 1,300 and 14 TDs.
“Frost is really the key to their success,” Back said.
In the passing game, receivers Darren Rodriguez (who is 6-2) and Aidan Trujillo (6-3) have 10 scoring catches combined, and haul in over 50 percent of the throws that Frost attempts.
And, Back said, “their defense is as strong as anybody else we’ve seen.”
By average, these were the top two scoring defenses in 6A, with La Cueva giving up 13.5 points a game, Centennial 11.1.
The Storm was pushed almost all the way to the end by the Hawks when the District 1-6A rivals collided in the regular season — a 61-46 Cleveland victory Oct. 19 — and there’s no particular reason to believe the scoreboard operator’s fingers won’t be super busy again tonight.
“That was a smack in the mouth,” Volcano Vista coach Chad Wallin said of the first matchup. Wallin is suspended for the first half tonight, as the Journal reported on Thursday morning. “And our defense has had a heavy chip on its shoulder since.”
These were the two highestscoring offenses in 6A, with Cleveland averaging 47.6 points, Volcano Vista 42.6 a game. The Storm got clutch production from running back Colten Madison in last week’s quarterfinal victory over Manzano, a continuing tribute to Cleveland’s stellar offensive line. The Storm defense has been vastly underrated, though Volcano Vista presents unique challenges.
“Their speed scares us,” Ridenour said. “They’ve got speed all over the field.”
Hawks’ QB Jake Deatherage (who has combined for more than 2,500 passing and rushing yards, with 28 combined TDs) has been fantastic for Volcano Vista, and other skillposition athletes include Joah Flores, Jacob Werner, Ivan Rodriguez and Blaine Grant, all of whom average at least 16.4 yards per reception.
“They could score 61 again,” Deatherage said. “We just have to do our own thing on offense.”
Also of note, Cleveland finished plus-22 in turnover margin this season.
“Just because we won last time,” Storm coach Heath Ridenour said, “doesn’t mean anything this time.”