Class 5A Football State Championship Preview
Teams: No. 1 Artesia Bulldogs (10-2) at No. 2 St. Pius X Sartans (11-1)
When: 1:00 p.m. Saturday, Albuquerque, NM (Nusenda Community Stadium)
Coaches: Artesia's Rex Henderson (1st appearance) and St. Pius' San Juan Mendoza (3rd appearance - 2001 & 1999)
Last Championship: Artesia (2015), St. Pius X (1999)
No. 1 Artesia Leaders: No stats available from the program.
About the Bulldogs: The 1-seed in the playoffs is also the back-to-back state champion Artesia Bulldogs. They reach the final game again after a 56-29 quarterfinal win over Alamogordo followed up with a 35-7 win over Los Lunas in the semi-final game. The Bulldogs are the 4-5A district champions and have a 10-2 record entering the final game. Again we don't have numbers to highlight prospects on the Bulldogs so we will go with who we know. Taylor Null is the junior quarterback who has multiple games with 5-touchdowns. Cody Scott and Jharryss Granger are the names to know on defense, both combine for over 10-sacks on the season. Include a next level OL in Marcus Bramwell and you have a team that could be on their way to a 30th title.
No. 2 St. Pius Leaders: No stats available from program.
About the Sartans: The St. Pius Sartans enter their first state championship game since the 2001 season. The Sartans reach the final game after defeating the Roswell Coyotes in the semi-finals by a score of 42-7, after a 41-32 win over 10-seed Farmington in the quarterfinals. District 5-5A champions the Sartans are 11-1 on the season and riding an 8-game winning streak into the game. Unfortunately, the Sartans don't publish stats on their players, so we will go with what we know. Drew Ortiz is the quarterback and the man that can do it all offensively. His lead receiver is Mel DeHerrera and on the defense you need to watch for a LB duo in Adrian Leon and Austin Shull.
Prediction: Artesia 42, St. Pius X 40
Line: Artesia -5
Over/Under: 77 points
Teams: No. 1 Artesia Bulldogs (10-2) at No. 2 St. Pius X Sartans (11-1)
When: 1:00 p.m. Saturday, Albuquerque, NM (Nusenda Community Stadium)
Coaches: Artesia's Rex Henderson (1st appearance) and St. Pius' San Juan Mendoza (3rd appearance - 2001 & 1999)
Last Championship: Artesia (2015), St. Pius X (1999)
No. 1 Artesia Leaders: No stats available from the program.
About the Bulldogs: The 1-seed in the playoffs is also the back-to-back state champion Artesia Bulldogs. They reach the final game again after a 56-29 quarterfinal win over Alamogordo followed up with a 35-7 win over Los Lunas in the semi-final game. The Bulldogs are the 4-5A district champions and have a 10-2 record entering the final game. Again we don't have numbers to highlight prospects on the Bulldogs so we will go with who we know. Taylor Null is the junior quarterback who has multiple games with 5-touchdowns. Cody Scott and Jharryss Granger are the names to know on defense, both combine for over 10-sacks on the season. Include a next level OL in Marcus Bramwell and you have a team that could be on their way to a 30th title.
No. 2 St. Pius Leaders: No stats available from program.
About the Sartans: The St. Pius Sartans enter their first state championship game since the 2001 season. The Sartans reach the final game after defeating the Roswell Coyotes in the semi-finals by a score of 42-7, after a 41-32 win over 10-seed Farmington in the quarterfinals. District 5-5A champions the Sartans are 11-1 on the season and riding an 8-game winning streak into the game. Unfortunately, the Sartans don't publish stats on their players, so we will go with what we know. Drew Ortiz is the quarterback and the man that can do it all offensively. His lead receiver is Mel DeHerrera and on the defense you need to watch for a LB duo in Adrian Leon and Austin Shull.
Prediction: Artesia 42, St. Pius X 40
Line: Artesia -5
Over/Under: 77 points
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