Potter, Cleveland win first State Title Over Mayfield
The Mayfield Trojans jumped to a 28-14 start over the now 13-0 Cleveland Storm, but remember the Storm had come back from 14 down and 18 down this year. Coach Potter told his team, "Do you want the red trophy or the blue trophy" at halftime and 35 unanswered points later the Cleveland Storm were holding their first ever state title trophy with a 48-28 victory. Reece White scored off an 87-yard run and catch that will likely go down as the play of the year in Class 5A and that play alone really set the momentum tone for the Storm in the second half. Cleveland Storm Quarterback Cole Gautsche threw for 302-yards and four touchdown passes on the day. Junior Defensive Back Steven Steele came up with two interceptions on the game, which puts him with 10 on the season. Head Football Coach Kirk Potter who was hired by Jim Bradley Senior to coach in Roswell back in the late 1980's has been a head coach at Las Cruces High and Carlsbad High, but had never won a state title trophy until Saturday. Cleveland High School just opened the doors three short years ago.
Aztec Wins First State Title Since 1953
The Aztec Tigers won their first state title in 58-years Saturday afternoon with a thrilling 28-27 win over the Goddard Rockets, a program they have struggled to beat over the course of history. In the final minutes of the game, Aztec scored off a brilliant drive that covered the length of the field with time winding down. Junior Running Back Michael Perry scored from 10-yards out to make the 27-26 Goddard leading with just 3:00 minutes left. Aztec Head Coach Brad Hirsch called a time out and elected to go for the two-point conversion. Junior Aztec Quarterback Adam Lucero called his own number and literally pulled a superman jump over three Rocket defenders for the successful two point conversion to make the game 28-27 in the final minutes. Goddard was led by David Anaya who ran for 219-yards and three touchdowns on the day. Aztec was led by Michael Perry who ran for 119-yards and Adam Lucero who threw for 225-yards and a touchdown.
Lovington Win's 18th State Title, Three Peats In Class 3A
The Lovington Wildcats captured the 3A State Title on Saturday in Santa Fe defeating the St. Michael's Horsemen14-10. The Wildcats, only earning points in the 4th quarter successfully managed to blemish the perfect Horsemen 12 game winning streak. Throughout the game, the Horsemen led, going into half time, 3 to 0, indicative of a hard fought defensive battle for both teams. In the 4th quarter, the Wildcats secured 2 touchdowns to seal the deal. Jaime Quinones, Head Football Coach for Lovington told NMPreps, "I feel great, this was a big challenge going into this game. St. Mike's is a great ball club, I have respect for them. Yet, our kids found a way to win the game and I am so proud of them." A Lovington fan kindly offered Coach Quinones a jacket after players dumped the water jug on Coach Q at the end of the game played in freezing temperatures in the City Different. Coach Q is highly respected by his players, the winning team's helmets proudly displayed "Cats" as well as the letter "Q" in honor of Coach Quniones' recent heartfelt loss, his mother passed away over the Thanksgiving holiday. Wildcat Quarterback, David A. Robelis, #9 a junior said, "I'm just so happy right now, there is no way to explain in words how I feel. It is an amazing feeling to win the state title again, I'm just so happy." The winning QB ended his season by passing for over 70 yards in the championship game. A touchdown pass he made in the first half was deamed no good due to penalities. Gary Nash, #5, a leader on the field for the Wildcats explained to NMPreps, "I'm so happy for our team, we deserved to win. I'm happy for our offense and our defense, we stuck together and we got the win." His teammate, Eric Osborn, #36 held onto the blue trophy with all his strength, sharing it with other Wildcats. One Wildcat player, Cesar Trevizo, #33 a junior was descirbed by a Lovington fan as "a freight train". Cesar made tackle after tackle and displayed his brute strength in bare arms on a freezing day. Trevizo told NMPreps, "I play hard, I'm a soilder, I knew it was going to be cold and I had to play tough no matter what the temperature was outside. This is a heck of a win for our team and many people doubted that we could win the state title again. We played hard until the end and won the game." After a team prayer, congratulatory hugs and many photos, the 3-in-a row State Title Winners departed Ivan Head Stadium in high spirits and headed to Albuquerque to feast at Rudy's before making the long drive back home to the southern part of the state with the blue trophy in hand...for the 3rd year in a row.
Lions Win Back-to-Back
Santa Rosa 21, Eunice 14. The Santa Rosa Lions were chanting "back-to-back" after their won a wild won Saturday afternoon over previously unbeaten Eunice. Josh Tenorio threw came up with two big throws to receiver Marcus Lopez in the final minute of the game which moved the football nearly halfway down the field for the Lions. Tenorio rolled out to his right and found Lopez wide open for a touchdown that would place Santa Rosa up 21-14 with just six seconds left in the game.
The Mayfield Trojans jumped to a 28-14 start over the now 13-0 Cleveland Storm, but remember the Storm had come back from 14 down and 18 down this year. Coach Potter told his team, "Do you want the red trophy or the blue trophy" at halftime and 35 unanswered points later the Cleveland Storm were holding their first ever state title trophy with a 48-28 victory. Reece White scored off an 87-yard run and catch that will likely go down as the play of the year in Class 5A and that play alone really set the momentum tone for the Storm in the second half. Cleveland Storm Quarterback Cole Gautsche threw for 302-yards and four touchdown passes on the day. Junior Defensive Back Steven Steele came up with two interceptions on the game, which puts him with 10 on the season. Head Football Coach Kirk Potter who was hired by Jim Bradley Senior to coach in Roswell back in the late 1980's has been a head coach at Las Cruces High and Carlsbad High, but had never won a state title trophy until Saturday. Cleveland High School just opened the doors three short years ago.
Aztec Wins First State Title Since 1953
The Aztec Tigers won their first state title in 58-years Saturday afternoon with a thrilling 28-27 win over the Goddard Rockets, a program they have struggled to beat over the course of history. In the final minutes of the game, Aztec scored off a brilliant drive that covered the length of the field with time winding down. Junior Running Back Michael Perry scored from 10-yards out to make the 27-26 Goddard leading with just 3:00 minutes left. Aztec Head Coach Brad Hirsch called a time out and elected to go for the two-point conversion. Junior Aztec Quarterback Adam Lucero called his own number and literally pulled a superman jump over three Rocket defenders for the successful two point conversion to make the game 28-27 in the final minutes. Goddard was led by David Anaya who ran for 219-yards and three touchdowns on the day. Aztec was led by Michael Perry who ran for 119-yards and Adam Lucero who threw for 225-yards and a touchdown.
Lovington Win's 18th State Title, Three Peats In Class 3A
The Lovington Wildcats captured the 3A State Title on Saturday in Santa Fe defeating the St. Michael's Horsemen14-10. The Wildcats, only earning points in the 4th quarter successfully managed to blemish the perfect Horsemen 12 game winning streak. Throughout the game, the Horsemen led, going into half time, 3 to 0, indicative of a hard fought defensive battle for both teams. In the 4th quarter, the Wildcats secured 2 touchdowns to seal the deal. Jaime Quinones, Head Football Coach for Lovington told NMPreps, "I feel great, this was a big challenge going into this game. St. Mike's is a great ball club, I have respect for them. Yet, our kids found a way to win the game and I am so proud of them." A Lovington fan kindly offered Coach Quinones a jacket after players dumped the water jug on Coach Q at the end of the game played in freezing temperatures in the City Different. Coach Q is highly respected by his players, the winning team's helmets proudly displayed "Cats" as well as the letter "Q" in honor of Coach Quniones' recent heartfelt loss, his mother passed away over the Thanksgiving holiday. Wildcat Quarterback, David A. Robelis, #9 a junior said, "I'm just so happy right now, there is no way to explain in words how I feel. It is an amazing feeling to win the state title again, I'm just so happy." The winning QB ended his season by passing for over 70 yards in the championship game. A touchdown pass he made in the first half was deamed no good due to penalities. Gary Nash, #5, a leader on the field for the Wildcats explained to NMPreps, "I'm so happy for our team, we deserved to win. I'm happy for our offense and our defense, we stuck together and we got the win." His teammate, Eric Osborn, #36 held onto the blue trophy with all his strength, sharing it with other Wildcats. One Wildcat player, Cesar Trevizo, #33 a junior was descirbed by a Lovington fan as "a freight train". Cesar made tackle after tackle and displayed his brute strength in bare arms on a freezing day. Trevizo told NMPreps, "I play hard, I'm a soilder, I knew it was going to be cold and I had to play tough no matter what the temperature was outside. This is a heck of a win for our team and many people doubted that we could win the state title again. We played hard until the end and won the game." After a team prayer, congratulatory hugs and many photos, the 3-in-a row State Title Winners departed Ivan Head Stadium in high spirits and headed to Albuquerque to feast at Rudy's before making the long drive back home to the southern part of the state with the blue trophy in hand...for the 3rd year in a row.
Lions Win Back-to-Back
Santa Rosa 21, Eunice 14. The Santa Rosa Lions were chanting "back-to-back" after their won a wild won Saturday afternoon over previously unbeaten Eunice. Josh Tenorio threw came up with two big throws to receiver Marcus Lopez in the final minute of the game which moved the football nearly halfway down the field for the Lions. Tenorio rolled out to his right and found Lopez wide open for a touchdown that would place Santa Rosa up 21-14 with just six seconds left in the game.
