Cats travel to Hobbs in Class 6A playoffs

After a pulsating late win over Los Lunas on Friday night at Leon Williams Stadium gave Clovis High's football team the District 5-6A championship, the Wildcats found out on Sunday that they'll face a most familiar foe in Friday's opening round of the 12-team Class 6A playoffs.

Drawing the No. 9 seed in the brackets, the Cats (5-5) visit eighth-seeded Hobbs (5-5) in a 7 p.m. start. The winner of that one gets a date next weekend against top-seeded Rio Rancho Cleveland (7-3).

Meantime, their 30-29 victory dropped Los Lunas (7-3) from a potential top-four seed and first-round bye to a date at seventh-seeded Las Cruces High (5-5) on Friday night.

Other first-round tilts send No. 12 West Mesa to No. 5 Rio Rancho, with the winner taking on fourth-seeded Sandia in the quarterfinals, and No. 11 Farmington to No. 6 Volcano Vista, the winner advancing to meet third seed La Cueva. All four first-round games start at 7 p.m.

Clovis entertained Hobbs in the Aug. 19 season opener, and the Eagles dominated en route to a 41-13 victory. Hobbs' losses were all against playoff-bound teams, but the Eagles finished third in District 3/4-6A and come in on a three-game winning streak.

"I think they're running the ball a little more than they have been," CHS coach Andrew McCraw said. "They're a little different than what we had kind of expected early in the season."

McCraw said both teams have improved from the August meeting.

"We threw the ball a little more than we do normally," he said of the first matchup. "We're playing really good on offense, and our defense was lights out in the second half (against Los Lunas). Hopefully, we can carry over some of that momentum."

Senior quarterback Owen Callaway has thrown for nearly 1,200 yards this season for Hobbs, with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. Senior running back Saul Armendariz is closing in on 1,000 yards for the campaign and has scored 12 touchdowns, while senior wide receiver Jeremiah Jaquez has 60 receptions for 730 yards and seven TDs.

On defense, senior linebacker Zaeden McPherson and junior linebacker Tristan Davis lead the Eagles on that side of the ball.

In Class 4A, Portales High (9-1) fell from the top spot to No. 4 after Friday's 29-21 District 4-4A loss at Lovington, but the Rams still earned a first-round bye. They will host either No. 12 Valencia (4-6) or No. 5 Bernalillo (7-3), who meet on Friday night at Bernalillo, in next week's quarterfinals.

Portales trounced both teams at Greyhound Stadium during the regular season, blanking the Jaguars 51-0 and, in district play, the Spartans 38-0.

As usual, Rams coach Jaime Ramirez isn't about to overlook anyone.

"They'll be different teams in the playoffs than what we saw during the season," he said.

On paper, the Rams would likely match up with top-seeded Bloomfield (10-0) in the semifinals – a game that PHS would host. The defending 4A champion Bobcats have outscored their opponents 474-32 this season and haven't had a game closer than 21 points.

"I think all four teams (with first-round byes) are capable of doing well," Ramirez said. Second-seeded Lovington (7-3) and third-seeded and defending runnerup Silver (8-2) are the other teams with byes.

Ramirez said the Rams knew Lovington would be tough coming into Friday's matchup, in which all the points were scored before halftime.

"We made a lot of mistakes," he said. "It seemed like the first half was a case of big punches being thrown."

Area playoffs – Three teams from the area remain alive in postseason, including Texico (8-2), which earned the second seed in the Class 2A playoffs and will take on seventh-seeded Estancia (4-6) in a 1 p.m. quarterfinal game on Saturday at Texico. The Wolverines overwhelmed the Bears 52-22 in their season opener on August 19 at Estancia.

With a win, Texico would host the winner of Friday's game sending No. 6 Loving (6-3) to No. 3 Santa Rosa (9-1) in next weekend's semifinals. The Wolverines have wins over both potential foes, having handed Santa Rosa its only setback 28-26 on August 25 at Santa Rosa while walloping Loving 45-6 at home on Friday in a District 4-2A matchup.

In 8-man, top-ranked Melrose (10-1) faces District 3 rival and fifth-seeded Fort Sumner (6-2) in a 7 p.m. semifinal on Friday at Melrose. The Buffaloes routed district foe Tatum 56-6 while the Foxes blanked district foe Logan 50-0 in Friday's quarterfinals.

The other quarterfinal, also set for 7 p.m. on Friday, sends No. 7 Clayton (6-5) to third-seeded Mesilla Valley (8-2).

In 6-man, third-seeded Grady (8-2) travels to No. 2 Roy/Mosquero (10-0) in a 6 p.m. start. The Blue beat the Broncos 60-28 in Week 2 at Roy.

The winner faces either fifth-seeded Mountainair (6-3) or No. 1 seed Gateway Christian (10-0), who play on Friday at Mountainair. Championship games in both 6-man and 8-man are slated for Nov. 11.