By Eric
Butler
MaxPreps.com
3A, 4A Football Champs
Crowned
The Artesia and Robertson football
teams added their names to the list of 2006 state champs with victories this
weekend. Now, only Class 5A remains to be decided.
In recent weeks, Fort Sumner won
the 1A crown and Lordsburg prevailed in 2A.
Artesia (13-0) wrapped up its 25th
overall title by beating Goddard 30-23 in the Class 4A finale. On Saturday
(Dec. 2), in Roswell, the two district foes met for the second time this
season.
This game, however, was far
different than a 44-7 whipping that the Bulldogs handed the Rockets in the
regular season.
The 'Dogs didn't clinch this one
until the fourth quarter as Artesia running back Jeremy Duran's 6-yard carry
to paydirt, followed by a two-point conversion with nine minutes left, put the
visitors on top for good.
Still, Goddard (10-4) wasn't done
yet. With 55 seconds left in the game, and the Bulldogs trying to run out the
clock, the Rockets stripped the ball loose from quarterback Landry Jones and
recovered it at the Artesia 25. But the Rockets' last chance ended when
Bulldogs' cornerback Austin Helton intercepted a pass inside the five yard
line with 17 seconds left.
In the Class 3A championship, also
on Saturday, host Portales (7-6) was trying to complete a sweep of the three
top seeds in the field. But defending champ and top-seed Robertson (12-1)
would have none of it as the Cardinals beat the Rams 28-6 at Greyhound
Stadium.
Portales, which had a record of
only 2-4 at one point this season, had beaten third-seeded Bloomfield and
second-seeded St. Michael's to make it into the title game. Robertson,
however, dimmed much of the Rams' hopes for a third upset by scoring a pair of
touchdowns in the first quarter.
On Robertson's second possession,
running back Sean O'Brien twice broke through for runs exceeding 10 yards in a
drive that ultimately culminated with his 1-yard touchdown run with 2:17 left
in the first quarter. The Cardinals also converted one fourth-and-two
situation at the Rams' 25 when quarterback Ethan Maestas hit Nathan Vigil for
a 5-yard completion.
The game's momentum turned
Robertson's way immediately after the first touchdown. Portales fumbled the
ensuing kickoff and the Cardinals recovered at the Rams' 29.
Seven plays later, Jesse Estrada
ran in from the 2 and Robertson grabbed a 14-0 lead. That short drive also
included a fourth-down conversion when Maestas bulldogged ahead for 3 yards on
a quarterback sneak at the Portales 17.
"We came out and did our jobs. We
did what we needed to do," O'Brien said. "We knew they were pretty big and
kind of fast. The biggest thing is that they were intense, but we came out and
got on 'em."
Maestas gave his team a 21-0 lead
with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Vigil late in the second quarter. The
Cardinals dominated time-of-possession in the first half as Portales managed
only three first downs.
"We wanted to keep their offense
off the field by controlling the football," said Robertson coach Chad
Roanhaus, whose first Cardinals' squad in 2003 won one game.
"Our offensive line stepped up and
our running backs ran the ball hard and we were able to keep the ball out of
their hands."
The Class 5A playoffs were delayed
a week, just as the regular season ended, when a group of Las Cruces High
parents made a legal challenge to a pair of forfeitures the Bulldawgs were
forced to absorb.
Two other teams from the Las
Cruces-based district will meet in the championship this weekend as top-ranked
Mayfield and third-seeded Alamogordo won semifinals contests.
The undefeated Trojans (12-0), who
have now won 26 straight contests, narrowly beat visiting Sandia (11-2) by a
21-14 count. Mayfield's Nathan Enriquez scored the go-ahead touchdown, on a
49-yard run, with five minutes left in the contest. Then the Trojans' defense
put up a goal-line stand, stopping Sandia standout Derris Jackson three times
in the waning seconds to preserve the victory.
On fourth-and-goal from the one,
officials ruled that Jackson fumbled the ball on his last chance and Mayfield
recovered. Enriquez, who stepped in at signal-caller for Mayfield when starter
Matt Sandoval suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter, then fell forward
on the last play of the game.
The other semifinal took place on
Friday (Dec. 1) as Alamogordo (10-2) beat Cibola 24-21. In Albuquerque, the
visiting Tigers jumped out to leads of 14-0 and 21-7 before the Cougars (10-3)
rallied. Late in the first half, Brandon Simpson caught a 33-yard pass from
Cibola quarterback Jon Mader to cut the Alamo lead to 21-14.
Then, in the fourth quarter, Mader
hit Jorgenson with a 17-yard scoring toss to tie the game.
Alamogordo took over, for what
would be the game-winning drive, at the Cibola 49 yard line with 2:06
remaining. Driving into field goal range, the Tigers won the game when kicker
Scotty Gallardo booted home a 46-yarder with only three seconds
left.
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