La Cueva’s Ian Sanchez, left, makes a catch in front of Farmington’s Alex Serrano during Friday’s Class 5A playoff game at Wilson Stadium. The Bears rolled to a 41-6 victory. (Mike Sandoval/For the Journal)
The Volcano Vista Hawks only led for 19 seconds Friday night.
The final 19 seconds.
Quarterback Elliot Paskett-Bell threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Tristan Cordova in the end zone with 19 seconds remaining, and the fifth-seeded Hawks (9-2) capped off a 35-31, come-from-behind victory over No . 4 Hobbs in a Class 6A quarterfinal thriller at Watson Memorial Stadium.
Hobbs (9-2) had taken a 31-28 lead on a 24-yard field goal with just over 2 minutes remaining.
“When we held them to a field goal, it felt like that’s what we were built for,” Hawks coach Chad Wallin said of the last-minute drive.
Paskett-Bell engineered the game-winning drive, starting with a 25-yard pass to running back Alijah Gonzales.
Later, on a third down just inside the red zone, Paskett-Bell stepped back and fired to Cordova in the end zone as Volcano Vista — which trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half — punched his ticket to the semifinals.
“The big thing is, the thing about the boys we’ve been proud of all year … is they just keep fighting and believing,” Wallin said.
Volcano Vista will face no. 1 Cleveland in next week’s semifinals. Wallin said he believed the game would be Friday night at Nusenda Community Stadium.
No. 1 seed Cleveland (9-2) routed no. 9 Los Lunas 49-9 at Rio Rancho on Friday night.
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The other semifinal features no. 2 La Cueva (10-1) at No. 3 centennials (9-1).
Hobbs had leads of 14-0, 21-14, 28-21 and 31-28, but it was a key defensive stop by Volcano Vista near the end that forced Hobbs to kick a field goal.
NO. 3 CENTENNIAL 41, NO. 6 RIO RANCHO 14: At the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces, the Hawks forced four Rio Rancho turnovers, including two interceptions in a big first quarter. One of those two picks was a 35-yard pick-6 by Isaac Aguilar as the Hawks led 21-0 in the first quarter.
The Rams (7-5) were only down 28-14 at halftime, but never got any closer in the second half. Mikah Gutierrez had three touchdowns for Centennial, two on the ground, including a 61-yarder, and a short TD reception.
— James Yodice
NO. 2 LA CUEVA 41, NO. 7 FARMINGTON 6: At Wilson Stadium, senior QB Aidan Armenta threw touchdowns to four different receivers and the defense held up when it mattered most as the Bears rolled over the Scorpions (6-6).
The Bears (10-1) advance to next week’s semifinals, where they will face third-seeded Centennial (9-1) at the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces.
“It’s a special week to be a part of and it’s a hard week to be a part of,” La Cueva coach Brandon Back said. “The boys have been there. They were there last year and lost a hard-fought battle. So we’re hoping to have a little bit more focus and a great afternoon for us next week.”
La Cueva didn’t have any trouble getting up for its District 2 rival on the heels of a 62-19 win over the Scorpions to close out the regular season on Oct. 28
“It’s just more about not falling into the trap of playing the same opponent, especially back-to-back games like that,” Back said. “We talked about that all week long and the boys were really focused.”
The Bears did have to weather a strong start from Farmington (6-6), which took the opening kickoff and marched 18 plays to the La Cueva 20 before turning the ball over on downs. That became a theme for the Scorpions, who also came up empty on first half drives that ended at the Bears 23- and 1-yard lines. That effort allowed the Bears to take a 21-0 lead into the locker room in a game that up to that point was more competitive than the score might have indicated.
“We kind of have a bend-don’t-break mentality,” Back said. “We knew they were going to be able to move the ball. That quarterback (Trel Griego) is like tackling a Mack truck. We knew he was going to be able to make plays. Our boys just stayed locked in all the way down … Every situation when they got down there except for one they were able to come up with a big play and a big stop.”
Griego finished with 118 yards rushing and scored his team’s lone touchdown to bring the Scorpions within 24-6 with 5:34 left in the third quarter. However, an inaccurate passing attack — Griego was just 9-for-32 through the air — made it difficult for Farmington to complete drives.
La Cueva had no such issues. Armenta connected with Jackson Hix, Ian Sanchez, Cameron Dyer and Cruz Markham for touchdown passes, and Gabriel Buie and Miyuh Robertson led a two-pronged rushing attack as the Bears kept the pressure on the Farmington defense for the duration of the game.
“We can move the ball in a variety of different ways,” Back said. “We got behind the chains a couple of times, and we were still able to come up with some big plays. I think we only punted once. Those are big things that we can take into the next week.”
— Tristen Critchfield
LA CUEVA 41, FARMINGTON 6
Farmington 0 0 6 0 — 6
La Cueva 7 14 10 10 — 41
Score: LC, Jackson Hix 22 pass from Aidan Armenta (Mason Crowell kick); LC, Gabriel Buie 7 run (Crowell kick); LC, Ian Sanchez 5 pass from Armenta (Crowell kick); LC, Crowell 26 FG; F, Trel Griego 8 run (run failed); LC, Cameron Dyer 66 pass from Armenta (Crowell kick); LC, Cruz Markham 38 pass from Armenta (Crowell kick); LC, Crowell 32 FG. records: LC 10-1, F 6-6.
First downs: F16; LC 22 Rushes yards: F 35-161; LC 29-149. passing: F 9-32-1-98; LC 18-28-1-302. Total Offense: F 259; LC 451. Punts avg.: F2-48.5; L1-52. Penalties yards: F 2-25; LC 2-16. Fumbles-lost: F3-1; LC 1-0.
NO. 1 CLEVELAND 49, NO. 9 LOS LUNAS 9: At Rio Rancho, Josh Perry rushed for 212 yards and four touchdowns as the Storm advanced to the 6A semifinals for the seventh full season in a row.
The Storm (9-2) scored the first five times it had the ball.
Perry capped a brief, four-play scoring drive the first time Cleveland had the ball, a drive shortened by a 31-yard gain by Andres Aguirre, on a 5-yard run.
Los Lunas (7-5), with most of his offense in the contest coming from senior quarterback Paul Cieremans’ legs, punted on his next possession, giving the Storm the ball on its 21.
Quarterback Evan Wysong handed the ball to Perry on the first play and he went the distance, scoring on a 79-yard run.
Cleveland extended what had been a 14-0 lead after the first period to 35-0 by halftime.
Wysong threw an 11-yard TD pass to Andres Armijo, Perry added a 1-yard scoring run, and Wysong scored on a 10-yard run, all in the second quarter.
Perry zigged and zagged 80 yards for his final TD of the game in the second half.
Cieremans had Los Lunas’ only touchdown, on a 57-yard run late in the third quarter.
“(The Tigers) tried to play big-man football tonight. Our D line showed up; linebackers came to play,” Cleveland coach Robert Garza said.
Cleveland will play Volcano Vista in the semifinals. The Storm beat the Hawks 56-21 on Sept. 30, when Perry found the end zone five times.
— Gary Herron
SO FRIDAY: Deming, a no. 5 seed in Class 5A, also advanced, winning 28-13 at the Wool Bowl in Roswell against No. 4 Goddard. … In 4A, at Lovington, the fourth-seeded Wildcats held on for a 29-23 victory over rival No. 5 portals. … Gateway Christian won the 6-Man state championship Friday night in Roswell, blowing out No. 2 seeds Mountain Air 53-14.
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