Football playoffs await Tigers, Eagles & Jags

All three Valencia County football teams qualified for the state playoffs — Los Lunas (7-2) in 6A, Belen (4-5) in 5A and Valencia (7-3) in 4A.

LLHS and VHS will open the postseason at home, while BHS will go on the road.

Los Lunas Tigers

When Los Lunas, seeded sixth, lines up against No. 11 Piedra Vista Friday night, 6 p.m., it is expected to be a grind-it-out, smashmouth showdown, with both teams primed to run the ball.

“They’re a run-happy team,” is how Greg Henington, LLHS coach, described the Panthers. “They are very physical, so that will create some challenges for us.”

While PV has had some success passing, they rely heavily on Brig Keiser, senior, who averages 149 yards rushing per game, with 14 touchdowns total. On paper, the Tigers appear to be more balanced offensively, with a variety of options.

In Friday’s 44-0 victory over Sandia, Kaiden Reese, Jorden Howard and Jagger Casillas each rushed for more than 100 yards with one touchdown apiece.

LLHS piled up 490 total yards, with 410 yards on the ground. Still, Henington was most impressed with the Tigers’ defense.

“Man, the defense really got after them physically,” Henington said. “It was a beautiful thing to see,” as Los Lunas posted the shutout.

Henington believes the Tigers are playing their best football of the year, and he’s excited to start a playoff run at home.

“It’s great for the community. Great for the kids.”

LLHS and Piedra Vista did not play during the regular season, but both had victories over common opponents Sandia and Farmington.

Henington did not want to dwell on the bracket, but admitted, “You’re not always 100 percent content with the seeding.”

The Tigers missed an opportunity to add to their resume when the first game of the season, against Roswell, was cancelled because of the weather.

The prize for the Tigers if they beat Piedra Vista is a trip to No. 3 Cleveland, which defeated Los Lunas 55-7 on Aug. 30.

Valencia Jaguars

A dominating 42-13 victory last Saturday at Albuquerque Academy (3-7) secured a 4A postseason home game for Valencia.

The eighth-seeded Jaguars will entertain No. 9 Moriarty (4-6) at 1 p.m. Saturday in what LeDarrius Cage, VHS coach, believes could be the start of a deep playoff run.

“I was telling our guys, ‘I don’t think you realize you’re only four consecutive wins away from a state championship,’” Cage said to his players after the Academy win. “If we can be good for the next four weeks, we could potentially get something going, do something that’s never been done,” win a state football title at Valencia.

Against Academy, the Jaguars looked like one of the best teams in the state, with Michael Storms and Aiden Harrington each rushing for two touchdowns, with Harrington throwing a 65-yard scoring strike to Cade Ash.

“It was one of our cleanest games in a while,” the coach said. “It goes to show how good we can be when we take care of the ball, not having early turnovers, sustain drives and the defense getting off the field.”

After the brackets were released Sunday, Cage said Moriarty is “a team I’m not familiar with at all.”

However, Cage and his staff were set to go over game film, including that of common opponents. Both teams lost to Kirtland Central and St. Pius, and defeated Academy, although the Fighting Pintos victory was by only one point.

Moriarty is a run heavy offense, with Caedon Kamplain and Derek Michel combining for 160 yards per game. However, according to statistics posted on MaxPreps.com, MHS has completed only eight of 22 passes this season.

The winner plays at No. 1 Bloomfield in the 4A quarterfinals.

Belen Eagles

“We have nothing to lose,” is how Kevin Peña, Belen coach, sizes up Saturday’s road contest against Las Cruces Mayfield at Field of Dreams.

Despite the teams’ comparable records, Mayfield (4-6) snared a sixth seed, while Belen (4-5) is 11th. The difference is likely because of the Trojans’ difficult District 2-5A schedule, playing against traditional powers, such as Artesia and Roswell. Six of the top seven seeds in 5A come from the so-called “southern district.”

“Mayfield is always tough,” Peña said. “They come from a long tradition,” mentioning the Bradley family coaching tree, now led by Trojans head coach Gary Bradley. “We can’t make mistakes with them. They are very fundamentally sound.”

Offensively, Mayfield prefers a power game.

“They run a lot of quarterback counter, running back counter,” says Peña, but will also spread it out. “They do open it up if they have to.”

The Eagles can look to last season’s game against Mayfield for inspiration after falling just short, 24-22, at home. Plus, BHS finished the season with a “must win” victory at Santa Fe Capital, 28-21, with Chalito Cano and Damian Avila each scoring two touchdowns.

The coach said the Eagles can’t afford to let up against Mayfield.

“There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It’s going to have to be 48 full minutes for us to pull it out.”

Being an underdog can be a positive.

“The pressure is not on us,” Peña said. “Let’s compete and see what happens.”

The winner of Saturday’s game, which starts at 1 p.m. in Las Cruces, earns a quarterfinal meeting at No. 3 Deming.