Elida, Grady advance in 6-man

ELIDA – Fourth-seeded Elida and second-seeded Grady notched home victories on Friday night to advance to the semifinals of the state 6-man football playoffs.

Elida (7-3) posted a 52-31 win over fifth-seeded Roy/Mosquero, while Grady (9-1) knocked off No. 7 Magdalena 42-26. The Tigers this week visit top-seeded Logan (10-0), which trounced New Mexico School for the Deaf 62-7 on Friday night, while the Bronchos bested No. 7 Magdalena 42-26 and entertain third-seeded Mountainair, a 62-7 winner over sixth-seeded Dora.

Semifinal times and dates are to be announced by the NMAA.

Junior Cason Norman ran for five touchdowns for Elida, including runs of 69, 29, 31, 34 and 44 yards, and the Tigers overcame a seven-point halftime deficit with a 27-0 third-quarter blitz.

Elida fumbled the opening kickoff and the Blue (5-5) promptly took a 6-0 lead on their first play on a 19-yard pass from sophomore Brycen Barnes to senior Jackson Fudge. Norman, though, countered with his first TD run to tie it.

Fudge ran 78 yards and Barnes scored on a 49-yard run as Roy/Mosquero emerged from the opening frame with a 19-18 lead. A 13-yard pass from Fudge to freshman Brigz Bell was the only scoring in the second period, and the Blue carried a 25-18 advantage into the intermission.

When play resumed, senior Hardy Fraze scored on a five-yard run, Norman added his final two tallies and senior Dylan Dobbins collected a 38-yard interception return to send Elida into the final stanza with a 45-25 cushion.

Fraze went in on a 40-yard run early in the final segment before the Blue finished the scoring on a 12-yard pass from sophomore Ethan Hazen to freshman Rhett Smith.

Logan handed the Tigers one of their losses, a 50-0 decision at Logan on Sept. 20.

Grady 42, Magdalena 26 – At Grady, senior Deakin Ragland's 5-yard interception return gave the Bronchos an early lead and they went on to push the margin to 22-6 by halftime en route to their seventh consecutive triumph.

Freshman Zander Ciancio tossed scoring passes of 29 and 7 yards to senior Gavin West and 60 yards to Ragland. Senior Chevy Dickson added a 1-yard TD run for in the first quarter, and Ciancio kicked three 2-point conversions to account for the Bronchos' scoring.

Mag (4-4) got all its TDs on pass plays, with senior Ayden Herschbach throwing 16 and 40-yard passes to senior Joseph Zamora and a 10-yarder to freshman Kaanan Stephens, while Zamora hooked up with Stephens on a 6-yard play to get the Steers on the board in the second canto.

Grady opened its season with a 53-26 win at Mountainair, but the Mustangs come into this contest at 7-2 and have also won seven in a row.

Mountainair 62, Dora 7 – The Coyotes (4-5) took a 7-6 lead in the opening stanza on a 4-yard pass from sophomore Carson Kircher to freshman Isaac Jasso and a conversion run by senior Ashton Davis, but it was all Mustangs after that.

Mountainair led 56-7 at halftime, and ended it on the 50-point rule with a TD early in the third canto.

8-man playoffs – Top seeded Melrose (10-0) enjoyed one of four first-round byes in the 12-team bracket on Friday. The Buffaloes learned that they will host ninth-seeded Lordsburg (5-5), which routed No. 8 Mescalero 60-6 on Friday, in a quarterfinal matchup this week.

In other area games on Friday night:

Texico 52, Jal 0 – At Texico, the the Class 2A top-ranked Wolverines (9-0, 4-0 District 3-2A) wrapped up a perfect regular campaign with a dominating triumph over the Panthers (2-8, 0-4). Texico scored 38 second-quarter points to end the contest at halftime on the 50-point lead rule.

Sophomore quarterback Bennett Wahlen scored on a 1-yard run and tossed TD passes of 44 and 41 yards to senior Edgar Mendoza, who also kicked four extra points. Wahlen went 5-for-5 passing for 121 yards, while senior Alex Fuentes carried seven times for 137 yards and had touchdown runs of 4 and 54 yards.

Sophomores Jett Curtis and Jaheim Moses added tallies on runs of 14 and 22 yards, respectively, while juniors Mason Pipkin and Kye Conley each had a 2-point conversion.

Playoff pairings in all 11-man classes were to be released this morning.

Gruver 49, Farwell 12 – The Greyhounds (10-0, 4-0 District 1-2A Division II), ranked second in Texas Class 2A Division II, pulled away after the Steers (4-5, 2-1) closed to 28-12 early in the third period on a 50-yard touchdown pass from senior Jonathan Armstrong to sophomore Hudson Agee.

Farwell trailed 7-6 midway through the opening canto after Armstrong found senior Ryder McElroy on a 79-scoring pass. Gruver, though, made it 28-6 at the break with a TD in the final minute.

For the game, the Greyhounds outgained the Steers 522-253.Armstrong finished 7-of-16 for 188 yards, with Agee and McElroy each grabbing two passes for 87 and 77 yards, respectively.

Farwell closes the regular season on Friday at Stratford.