Class 6A

No. 11 ELDORADO 28, No. 6

HOBBS 14: At Watson Memorial Stadium, Eagles senior quarterback Gabe Smith made a triumphant — if shortened — return to the Eldorado lineup, rushing for a touchdown and throwing for another as the No. 11 seed (7-4) beat host Hobbs (7-4).

Eldorado plays at No. 3 Centennial (10-0) next week in the quarterfinals.

Smith hadn’t played since Sept. 20 after breaking his collarbone.

His return certainly provided a jolt to Eldorado, which led the whole way.

“We were a different team,” Eldorado coach Charlie Dotson said. But Smith, Dotson added, re-injured the collarbone late in the first half.

“We knew going in there was a chance he could re-break it,” Dotson said.

Elijah Goree ran for two touchdowns for Eldorado. And the Eagles’ defense, which has struggled over the last month, played one of its best games of the season.

“I couldn’t have been prouder of our defense,” Dotson said. No. 12 CIBOLA 14, No. 5 MAYFIELD 7: At the Field of Dreams, quarterback Marcus Steele threw a first-quarter touchdown pass, and Marcus Martinez rumbled 44 yards for a score on the first play of the second quarter to break a 7-all tie.

That was the difference as the Cougars (6-5) upset the Trojans (7-4) and advanced to next week and a quarterfinal matchup with rival Volcano Vista.

“Our defense really stepped up, and we challenged them to step up,” Cibola coach Rod Williams said. “I felt like we were the more physical team tonight.”