MaxPreps 2014 New Mexico high school football finals preview

Rio Rancho holds the central spotlight this weekend as the state football playoffs come to a close.

The unbeaten Rams (12-0) will seek their first state football crown when they play host on Friday to perennial contender Mayfield (Las Cruces) in the Class 6A finale. Mayfield has lost only to Eldorado (Albuquerque) in a wild 50-49 contest earlier in the season.

Rio Rancho eliminated Eldorado 64-43 in the semifinals during a battle of super quarterbacks. University of Texas recruit Zach Gentry (6-6, 235) rated, perhaps, the state's all-time greatest player, completed 30 of 51 passes for 452 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two touchdowns to cap off his brilliant career in a losing effort.

However, the Rams' senior quarterback, Easton Bruere, came out on top by completing 34 of 46 passes for 554 yards and three touchdowns.

See the MaxPreps New Mexico football playoff brackets

Bruere still has no college scholarship offers, likely because he is just 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds.

Rio Rancho coach Dave Howes told MaxPreps, "He'll get a lot of Division II and some junior college offers, but no Division I offers yet. It's very sad that our (state) recruiting practices are so blatant. I still pray and hope that people realize what a great quarterback he is. He can't do any more."

The top-seeded Rams have great team speed and athleticism to go with their premier quarterback. Senior running back Angelo Lujan, for example, ran for 134 yards and three scores in the semifinals. Their starting lineup also includes safety Miguel Barreras, a two-time state champion wrestler, and linebacker Matthew Jackson, a state champion hurdler.

"We're the favorite," Howes conceded, "but it's certainly going to be entertaining."

Mayfield was state runner-up last year in the largest class, which was 5A at the time. It is no stranger to championship games, having captured eight state championships.

The Trojans, who were seeded No. 2, ousted La Cueva (Albuquerque) 24-20 in a semifinal nail-biter. They also have a standout quarterback, senior Kavika Johnson, who scored the winning touchdown on a 9-yard run with 1:19 left. The 6-2, 195-pounder has passed and run for well over 1,000 yards in each category.

In the Class 5A finale, No. 2-seed Belen (12-1) will play host to No. 1 seed Artesia (11-1) on Friday night.

Artesia overcame five touchdowns and 280 rushing yards by quarterback Cameron Neff to nip Goddard (Roswell) 42-41 in its semifinal contest. Travis Wilkinson paced Artesia with 194 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries.

Belen won its semifinal contest 31-24 over Centennial (Las Cruces) as senior Jonathan Barba caught a pair of touchdown passes and also scored on a spectacular 96-yard kickoff return in the decisive fourth quarter. Chris Peralta passed for 281 yards, including a 97-yarder to Barba.

The Class 4A title game will send No. 5 seed Cobre (Bayard) (12-3) to No. 2 seed Ruidoso (11-1) on Saturday.

In the Class 3A finale, No. 1 seed Clayton (11-0) will play at No. 6 seed Estancia (10-3) on Saturday. Estancia upset No. 2 seed Lordsburg by a surprising 53-14 margin.