The Eunice Cardinals will face off against the Santa Rosa Lions at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
It was a proper cat-fight when Eunice took on Jal two weeks ago. The Cardinals really took it to the Panthers for the full four quarters, racking up a 62-13 win. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Cardinals had established a 42-point advantage.
Elijah Melancon
| 10/31/25 vs Jal | 7 |
| 09/05/25 vs New Mexico Military Institute | 6 |
| 10/25/24 @ Jal | 6 |
| 08/30/24 vs Estancia | 5 |
| 10/03/25 @ Loving | 4 |
Elijah Melancon had another great game (as he tends to do), throwing for 366 yards and seven touchdowns while completing 89.3% of his passes, and also punching in one score on the ground. Those seven passing touchdowns gave him a new career-high.
Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Santa Rosa had no trouble coming through when it counted. Their defense stepped up to hand Tucumcari a 50-0 shutout on Friday. The high-scoring effort was just what the Lions needed considering they were shut out in their previous contest.
Eunice better keep an eye on David Chavez. He was instrumental in Santa Rosa's win, rushing for 118 yards and three TDs on only six carries. Chavez's longest rush was for an impressive 66 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Daryn Pacheco was another major influence, as he rushed for 114 yards and ran in a TD.
Santa Rosa didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Lachlan Ross and Marcos Velasquez.
The victory made it two in a row for Eunice and bumps their season record up to 7-2. Those wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 21 points in those games. As for Santa Rosa, their record now sits at 9-2.
Saturday's game might be decided on the ground. Eunice has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 167.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Santa Rosa struggles in that department as they've been averaging 243.6 rushing yards. There's a good chance Saturday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Eunice against Santa Rosa in their previous matchup back in November of 2019, as the squad secured a 55-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cardinals since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
