Grine's Saturday Coffee: Friday Recap
Well, the main event in New Mexico high school football came and went for the regular season and it delivered. After a lackluster first half the Cleveland Storm came stormin' back to win 28-27 over rival Rio Rancho. The action doesn't stop there on Friday night and we try to track all of the storylines for the night.
Shake 'Em Up, Shake 'Em Up. Playoff Talk
Los Alamos upsets Capital, 28-7: We broke down the brackets earlier this week and Capital was sitting at an 11-seed and Los Alamos was ready for the off-season. Well, the Hilltoppers have likely saved their season and will play into November with the win. Capital is now on the bubble.
Ruidoso leapfrogs Silver with win, 22-12: The Warriors were projected in the top-5 this season but after a slow start dropped out of the top-5 talk. Well, the win over Silver could be the spark to the season. Also, now will improve their seed and lock up a home game in the first round.
Volcano Vista answers the call over Cibola, 21-14: The Hawks, like Ruidoso above, we had seed behind their opponent heading into the game. Now they both improve their seed and lock in a home first round game. Acen Aguilar (Volcano Vista/RB) was the stud of the night for the Hawks with 120-yards rushing with a majority in the fourth quarter.
Favorites Win But It Was Close
Cleveland 28, Rio Rancho 27: The running backs had big nights in the City of Vision game with Rio Rancho's Zach Vigil going for over 300-yards and Lucious Dickson entering the end zone four times.
Roswell 16, Goddard 14: The Coyotes locked up the district championship with the win over Goddard and likely the 3-seed in the 5A playoff bracket. Goddard finished third and could be the 6 or 7 seed with the loss.
6A Bracket Talk
(1) Cleveland
(2) Rio Rancho
(3) La Cueva
(4) Centennial
(5) Las Cruces
(6) Volcano Vista
(7) Cibola
(8) Hobbs
(9) Sandia
(10) Eldorado
(11) Carlsbad
(12) Clovis
*If Sandia wins by 13 or more today, I believe they win the tie-breaker with Eldorado. (+13), (-13) per game district game. Correct me if I am wrong.
5A Bracket Talk
(1) Farmington/Los Lunas
(2) Los Lunas/Farmington
(3) Roswell
(4) Artesia
(5) Mayfield
(6) Belen/Goddard
(7) Goddard/Belen
(8) Santa Teresa
(9) Piedra Vista
(10) Deming
(11) Los Alamos
(12) Capital/Valley
*Criteria it would be a tie at 2-2 with Capital winning the tie-breaker with the freeman ranking
Questions for the Bracket
Looking over the Bylaws this morning there is no talk about criteria or having to be placed behind a district opponent. That could shake everything up. It could just be an omission on the bylaws or a change. The interesting note is "selected by NMAA Staff". I don't believe I've ever seen that but I could be wrong.
Playoff Procedures and Selection/Seeding for 12-Team Format for Classes 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A
1. Twelve teams advance to the playoffs.
2. The district champion automatically advances to the playoffs. The remaining teams will be selected At-Large by the NMAA Staff to fill the 12-team bracket.
3. The 12 teams will be seeded 1 through 12 by the NMAA Staff.
4. The higher seed will host the first round of 12 and quarterfinal games.
5. In the semifinal and final rounds, the home site is determined by past history. If the two schools do not have past history, the higher seed will host.
Dates and Times for Football Playoff Games (1st Round, Quarterfinals, Semifinals)
1. If the two schools are 250 or more miles apart (one way), the following format will be used:
a. Mutual agreement by participating schools.
b. Non-agreement, the game will be played on Saturday at 1pm.
2. If the two schools are less than 250 miles apart (one way), the following format will be used:
a. Mutual agreement by participating schools.
b. Non-agreement, the home team makes the choice of:
1) Friday at 7:00 or 7:30 p.m., or
2) Saturday at 1:00 p.m. c. In the event there is a stadium conflict, the date and time will be decided
