Football playoffs to start Friday: 11 teams make field in Arizona, New Mexico

WINDOW ROCK

The playoff brackets for Arizona and New Mexico are set, with the opening round games scheduled for either Friday or Saturday.

The Holbrook Roadrunners were the highest-seeded team in Arizona as it garnered the fifth seed in the 2A Conference bracket.

Holbrook (10-0) was ranked No. 3 in the state rankings last week, but it fell two spots.

“I find that odd because we really don’t control our schedules,” first-year coach Shawn Holley said. “But I really like our chances, even at the No. 5 spot.”

The Roadrunners will host No. 12 Veritas Prep, a private school in Phoenix that finished the regular season at 5-5 overall.

“They have two really good athletes, and I think they’re brothers,” Holley said of Veritas Prep players Casen and Tico Lentz.

“They pretty much do everything for that team,” he said.

Chinle, the San Juan Region champion, also made the 2A bracket. The Wildcats (3-6) earned the No. 16 seed and will play at top-seed Pima (9-1).

In 3A, Monument Valley (6-4) was seeded No. 15, and it will travel to Mesa to play the Eastmark Firebirds (9-1).

“I’m glad that we got in,” longtime Mustang coach Bryan Begay said. “We’re going to have to travel, but being in the playoffs and still playing football in November is one of our goals that we set every year.”

This is the Mustangs’ 11th appearance in the playoffs under Begay, and it’s looking to win its first postseason game.

“Our biggest thing is getting over the hump,” the MV coach said. “We just have to find a way to make it happen. I know our kids are capable of playing with anybody in the state.”

New Mexico

Bloomfield netted the No. 2 seed, earning the area’s highest seed among eight New Mexico teams that made the playoffs.

The Bobcats enter the Class 4A state tournament with a 9-1 record, having won District 1-4A.

Bloomfield will have a first-round bye, playing the winner between No. 7 Moriarty (7-3) and No. 10 Kirtland Central.

Kirtland Central (4-5) is making the playoffs under first-year coach Travis Cleary as the Broncos finished third in District 1-4A behind Bloomfield and Aztec.

Aztec (4-6) garnered the No. 8 seed, and it will host No. 9 Los Lunas Valencia (4-6).

In addition to Bloomfield, Piedra Vista (9-1) will get a first-round bye as the Panthers earned the No. 3 seed in the 5A bracket.

PV will play the Las Cruces Mayfield/Santa Teresa survivor in the next round.

Miyamura (5-5) also earned a state playoff bid in 5A, with the Patriots traveling to Valley (7-3), playing at Milne Stadium in Albuquerque in the No. 8 vs. 9 matchup.

Farmington, the No. 7 seed, will host a first-round game in the large school division with the Scorps (5-5) entertaining No. 10 Carlsbad (5-5) at Hutchinson Stadium in the 6A bracket.

In 3A, Thoreau (8-2) has a home game against Hope Christian (4-5-1).

The Hawks captured the District 5-3A title last week against Wingate, which bolstered its state seeding as Thoreau got the No. 5 slot.

“I’m so excited we get to play a home playoff game,” first-year Thoreau coach Erik Loera said “You know, we don’t have to travel 300 miles to go play a game. We get to play in front of our fans.”

Newcomb, the District 1-3A winner, got the No. 10 seed, and it is headed to West Las Vegas (5-5) in a 7-10 pairing.

Before the state pairings were released, Newcomb coach Jeremy Wooten said he didn’t have a preference in who they’d match up with.

“I just want to go out there and play,” he said. “It’s one more week with my seniors.”

---