By Eric Butler
MaxPreps.com
No matter how good the running backs and quarterbacks are, at least some measure of lip service is generally donated to praising the line.
In the case of Eldorado football coach Charlie Dotson, one gets the sense that he really means it.
The second-ranked Eagles are unbeaten and own a significant win in Las Cruces over Mayfield two weeks ago. That was the first loss for the three-time defending state champion Trojans in three years against a New Mexico squad and it catapulted Eldorado (6-0) into top-of-mind awareness for followers of state prep football.
"I think our offensive and defensive lines have really been a catalyst," said Dotson, whose team knocked off Sandia 35-9 last Thursday (Oct. 9). "They have really opened up some holes for our two juniors, Armin Day and Gary Maestas.
"They were kind of question marks. But, with our line play, I think that's really helped them.”
Day, Eldo's quarterback, has passed for 1,007 yards this season while Maestas has ground out 675 yards. Eagles' all-purpose senior Ross Williams has caught 18 balls for 404 yards and senior Jami Abdullah has snagged 26 passes for 344.
Most believed that Eldorado would be a tough squad to beat in 2008. But the Eagles achieved a new level of confidence by staging a late comeback against regular power Clovis in the second game of the season.
The Eagles rallied from two touchdowns down and even took the tying points off the board and, instead, got a winning two-point conversion to win that game 22-21.
"I think we've played well since that actual time – especially offensively," Dotson said.
In Belen, the Eagles there have achieved a successful season under first-year coach John Lerma. Although not an undefeated campaign – Belen lost its second game to Aztec 43-20 – these Eagles have actually racked up a 6-1 record with a yardage-churning ground attack.
Senior fullback Clovis Rivera, who Lerma calls the team's "workhorse," has rushed for almost 1,200 yards and has scored 86 points. Danny Jaramillo, a sophomore running back, has accumulated 900 yards on the ground while sophomore quarterback Dylan Barba has churned out 630.
"We have not passed very much all year. We worked at it and we're prepared to use it when it's necessary," said Lerma, whose team has averaged 40.4 points a contest. "But our running game has been so successful, we haven't had to go to it."
Last week, Belen knocked off Moriarty 35-14 on Friday (Oct. 10).
"I think we've been under the radar throughout the season, but our team and our kids have performed very well," Lerma said.
In other action Friday night, Class 5A's top-ranked Las Cruces High Bulldawgs clubbed Gadsden 45-14 while third-ranked Mayfield smashed Alamogordo 36-0 in the Trojans' district opener.
Fourth-rated Clovis defeated Cibola 21-14 in Albuquerque the same night as the Cougars, though playing well, came away with some headaches.
"We had five concussions, and now 11 for the entire year, so I don't know what's going on," Chavez said. "They were dropping like flies and we already had two guys out from concussions the previous week. I've never seen anything like it.”
One battle on Saturday (Oct. 11) featured a pair of west side Albuquerque backs running for over 200 yards each.
Volcano Vista junior Matt Sandoval piled up 206 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
But the night belonged to West Mesa's Chris Vera as his Mustangs beat the Hawks 42-15. Vera piled up 241 yards and scored five of the six touchdowns for West Mesa (3-4).
It was a milestone win for the Mustangs, although no one with the squad could actually remember where the last stone was located temporally. The victory marked the first time, assuredly, in many years that West Mesa earned more than two wins for a single season.
"It's been I don't know how many years since we've won more than two games and we finally did it," said Vera, on a night after the 'Stangs gave up a quick safety and touchdown before surging back. "Everyone stayed in it, kept their heads in it and played tough."
