The New Mexico High School football playoffs reaches the final stage Saturday with championship games throughout the state. Here is a preview of the 3A and 4A title games.
4A: Ruidoso (4) at Robertson (3): Even though Class 4A has seen three different champions since the 2014 realignment, one common theme has been the appearance of Robertson in the state championship game. This marks the third straight year the Cardinals have advanced this far. But they lost to Portales a year ago (a setback they avenged last weekend in the semifinals with a hard-fought 20-14 victory) and to Hatch Valley in 2015. Key to Robertson’s hopes for a different outcome is senior quarterback Arjay Ortiz, who took snaps under center last week to reduce the number of hits on him by opposing defenders. Ortiz has accounted for well over 3,000 yards between his passing (1,424 yards) and running (1,694 rushing yards).
Limiting the number of times Ortiz ran with the football last weekend gave more carries to running backs Antonio Padilla (711 yards) and Santiago Gonzales (570), and they delivered, combining for 129 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Five of Gonzales’ 14 carries came on a long nearly 9-minute drive to run out the clock in the fourth quarter after Portales moved to win 6 points. Robertson finished with 234 rushing yards, 105 by Ortiz. The trio of Ortiz, Padilla and Gonzales have combined for close to 3,000 rushing yards this season, putting the onus on the Ruidoso defense to stop Robertson’s ground game. If they can’t, Robertson will likely win their first state title since 2013.
Ruidoso, trying to reverse a 42-28 loss to Robertson earlier this season, caught fire at the right time. A week after falling to Portales, the Warriors outscored Moriarty, 39-31, in the regular season finale to leap past the Pintos into the No. 4 seed. Seven days later, Ruidoso beat Moriarty again by 8 points (28-20) in the quarterfinals and caught a break when No. 8 seed Hatch Valley upset No. 1 seed St. Michael’s . Ruidoso trounced HVHS, 30-6, last week to earn the opportunity to win its second 4A state title in four years. Quarterback Brennam Stewart is a dynamic dual threat QB with 1,792 yards through the air and 1,174 yards rushing. Most of the time, Stewart is either 1) Running the ball himself; 2) Handing the ball off to Isaiah Otero (1,563 rushing yards) or 3) targeting Gabriel Dorame (82 receptions) in the passing game.
3A: Capitan (2) at Eunice (1): There is an ancient football adage that offense sells tickets and defense wins championships. If true, unbeaten Eunice should be in good shape to cap a perfect season and claim its first state title since 2000. The Cardinals posted seven straight shutouts from Week 5 through Week 11. Actually, you could reasonably argue it’s eight straight shutouts since the only points scored by Texico in Week 4 came on a safety. The remarkable scoreless streak ended midway through the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s 37-6 semifinal victory over Estancia (3A champions in 2014-15) with a 60-yard TD run. Eunice led, 30-0, at the time, so the Cardinals were already well on their way to the championship game.
The rarified air reached by the Eunice defense has overshowed the fact the Cardinals have a productive offense as well led by quarterback Mason Caperton, who has thrown for 2,165 yards and 25 touchdowns with just three interceptions, and a balanced rushing attack. Kari York (789 yards on 116 carries) and Joan Sosa (529 yards on 86 carries) share the ball carrying duties. Four receivers have between 18 and 23 receptions, so Caperton has plentiful targets when he throws the football.
Capitan (11-1) is the defending 3A champion, but the Tigers have their hands full trying to score enough points against the ferocious Eunice defense to retain their crown. The Tigers lost to Eunice, 42-0, on Oct. 6, and that result hovers over this game as Capitan has yet to prove they can score on the Cardinals defense. Since then, the Tigers have scored seemingly at will. Capitan won a 36-32 shootout against Santa Rosa in the semifinals last weekend. Quarterback Price Bowen has thrown for 1,358 yards and 21 touchdowns, and is one of two Capitan rushers with more than 1,000 yards. Can Capitan move the ball and reach the end zone against Eunice? That’s the key question.
3A/4A Championship Game Schedule (Sat. Dec. 2)
4A: Ruidoso at Robertson, 1:30 p.m.
3A: Capitan at Eunice, 1 p.m.
