Monday:
Valencia (10-5, 2-2) at St. Pius (6-6-1, 3-1). Odd back-to-back games between these two teams this week, thanks to an earlier rainout. Both teams trail Los Lunas (4-0) in the district.
Tuesday:
Gadsden (14-1-2, 7-0-2) at Hobbs (13-2, 7-1). Gadsden hung on to beat Centennial at home Saturday, in overtime, and Hobbs won on the road over Las Cruces, setting up this matchup. All that is at stake here is a district title and a first-round bye. Gadsden won the first match, 2-1.
Valley (10-3-1, 5-1) at Albuquerque High (10-2-2, 5-1). Valley is perhaps the single biggest surprise of 6A. A win here and they are big favorites to win this district. They have already beaten AHS once.
Eldorado (7-6-1, 4-2) at Sandia (10-2-2, 4-2). Loser is out of the district race, because La Cueva is 6-0. Big seeding implications – Sandia had looked like a top-4 seed, but finishing third in district sends them to the bottom half of the draw, and Eldorado has the tie-breaker over them for second.
Santa Teresa (12-3-1, 2-0) at Chaparral (11-3-2, 2-0). Match for the lead in this district. Chaparral beat ST earlier this year, although that was in ST’s second game of the day on Sept. 17. These two will meet again at the end of the year – this small district is behind all the others in terms of playing district games.
Alamogordo (9-5-2, 0-2) at Deming (5-10-1, 0-2). This game matters because it is a must-win for Alamo. Deming has been good at home, and if they beat Alamo, they will be ahead of the Tigers in the district, which puts Alamo in some jeopardy of missing the playoffs altogether, despite their record.
Capital (11-2, 2-1) at Academy (13-2-1, 3-0). Capital had a big road win over Los Alamos Saturday, so they remain alive in the district race. An Academy win virtually clinches the district.
St. Pius at Valencia. Part II.
Thursday:
Rio Rancho (9-8, 3-2) at Volcano Vista (10-3-1, 4-0). Rio Rancho was in big trouble a week ago – possibly facing missing out on state altogether. But then they beat Cibola and Cleveland, and if they win here they actually have a chance to win the district.
Cibola (8-6, 3-2) at Cleveland (12-4, 1-3). Hey, remember when Cleveland won the Academy tournament and started district play ranked No. 1 in the state? Now they are looking at fourth place in their district.
Los Lunas (8-7, 4-0) at St. Pius. Brutal week for St. Pius. By the time this game rolls around, the Sartans could be in a spot to take over the district with a win here. Or they could be looking at a road game in the first round of state. Because of an odd schedule plus bad luck with the weather, St. Pius not only has four tough district games left (counting the three this week) but they also still have to play Capital, Hope and Academy.
Friday:
Portales (12-1-1, 3-0-1) at Hope Christian (11-3-1, 4-0-1). Battle for the top seed in A-4A and a district title. These teams tied in their earlier meeting at Portales.
Saturday:
La Cueva (12-2, 6-0) at Sandia. Big rematch – La Cueva won the first one. The Bears have won eight in a row.
Los Alamos (11-5-1, 1-2) at Academy (13-2-1, 3-0). Los Alamos is definitely one of the top sides in 5A (wins over Valencia, St. Pius, Farmington (2), and a draw with Roswell), but now they have losses to Capital and Academy and could really use a win here to improve their seeding argument. Academy may have clinched the district before this game, so LA may have more to play for.
Alamogordo at Chaparral.
Volcano Vista at Cibola.
Valencia (10-5, 2-2) at St. Pius (6-6-1, 3-1). Odd back-to-back games between these two teams this week, thanks to an earlier rainout. Both teams trail Los Lunas (4-0) in the district.
Tuesday:
Gadsden (14-1-2, 7-0-2) at Hobbs (13-2, 7-1). Gadsden hung on to beat Centennial at home Saturday, in overtime, and Hobbs won on the road over Las Cruces, setting up this matchup. All that is at stake here is a district title and a first-round bye. Gadsden won the first match, 2-1.
Valley (10-3-1, 5-1) at Albuquerque High (10-2-2, 5-1). Valley is perhaps the single biggest surprise of 6A. A win here and they are big favorites to win this district. They have already beaten AHS once.
Eldorado (7-6-1, 4-2) at Sandia (10-2-2, 4-2). Loser is out of the district race, because La Cueva is 6-0. Big seeding implications – Sandia had looked like a top-4 seed, but finishing third in district sends them to the bottom half of the draw, and Eldorado has the tie-breaker over them for second.
Santa Teresa (12-3-1, 2-0) at Chaparral (11-3-2, 2-0). Match for the lead in this district. Chaparral beat ST earlier this year, although that was in ST’s second game of the day on Sept. 17. These two will meet again at the end of the year – this small district is behind all the others in terms of playing district games.
Alamogordo (9-5-2, 0-2) at Deming (5-10-1, 0-2). This game matters because it is a must-win for Alamo. Deming has been good at home, and if they beat Alamo, they will be ahead of the Tigers in the district, which puts Alamo in some jeopardy of missing the playoffs altogether, despite their record.
Capital (11-2, 2-1) at Academy (13-2-1, 3-0). Capital had a big road win over Los Alamos Saturday, so they remain alive in the district race. An Academy win virtually clinches the district.
St. Pius at Valencia. Part II.
Thursday:
Rio Rancho (9-8, 3-2) at Volcano Vista (10-3-1, 4-0). Rio Rancho was in big trouble a week ago – possibly facing missing out on state altogether. But then they beat Cibola and Cleveland, and if they win here they actually have a chance to win the district.
Cibola (8-6, 3-2) at Cleveland (12-4, 1-3). Hey, remember when Cleveland won the Academy tournament and started district play ranked No. 1 in the state? Now they are looking at fourth place in their district.
Los Lunas (8-7, 4-0) at St. Pius. Brutal week for St. Pius. By the time this game rolls around, the Sartans could be in a spot to take over the district with a win here. Or they could be looking at a road game in the first round of state. Because of an odd schedule plus bad luck with the weather, St. Pius not only has four tough district games left (counting the three this week) but they also still have to play Capital, Hope and Academy.
Friday:
Portales (12-1-1, 3-0-1) at Hope Christian (11-3-1, 4-0-1). Battle for the top seed in A-4A and a district title. These teams tied in their earlier meeting at Portales.
Saturday:
La Cueva (12-2, 6-0) at Sandia. Big rematch – La Cueva won the first one. The Bears have won eight in a row.
Los Alamos (11-5-1, 1-2) at Academy (13-2-1, 3-0). Los Alamos is definitely one of the top sides in 5A (wins over Valencia, St. Pius, Farmington (2), and a draw with Roswell), but now they have losses to Capital and Academy and could really use a win here to improve their seeding argument. Academy may have clinched the district before this game, so LA may have more to play for.
Alamogordo at Chaparral.
Volcano Vista at Cibola.
