Buffs set to host District 3 rivals in 8-man finals

Nov. 7—Two area teams remain alive in the New Mexico small-school playoffs, and both will play at home this weekend — against familiar foes.

In 8-man, top-seeded Melrose (11-1) faces fellow District 3 member Clayton (7-5) for the championship in a 1 p.m. kickoff. While the surprising Yellowjackets, in just their second season of 8-man, were fourth in the five-team district, they've strung together four wins in a row, including road playoff upsets of second-seeded Legacy Academy (28-26) and, on Friday, third-seeded Mesilla Valley (52-36).

Meantime, the Buffaloes split a pair of neutral-field games against Colorado opponents early in the season, but have 50-pointed nine of their 10 New Mexico foes. The lone exception was Friday's 50-14 win over Fort Sumner, which was second in District 3.

Melrose is seeking its first eight-man championship since 2019, when it beat Tatum 56-44 in the title clash.

Texico (9-2), ranked first in Class 2A by MaxPreps but seeded second to Eunice after losing to the Cardinals during the regular campaign, plays host to second-ranked but third-seeded Santa Rosa (10-1), also at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Wolverines handed the Lions their only loss, a 28-26 decision on August 25 in Santa Rosa.

While Santa Rosa cruised past Loving 57-15 in Friday's quarterfinal round, the Wolverines dispatched Estancia 50-0 on Saturday at home. Senior quarterback Cade Figg scored on runs of 39 and 91 yards and threw scoring passes of 15, 36 and 75 yards to sophomore Luke Thompson, the latter ending the game in the third quarter on the 50-point rule after junior Alex Fuentes ran in a 2-point conversion.

Figg rushed for 149 yards while Fuentes, who had TD runs of 36 and 66 yards, finished with 116 yards against the overmatched Bears (4-7).

In area Texas regular-season finales on Friday:

Muleshoe 53, Dalhart 45 — At Dalhart, the Mules (8-2, 2-2 District 2-3A Division I) trailed 17-6 early, then rallied from a four-point deficit to win with a pair of fourth-quarter scores in a game where the teams combined for just over 1,000 total yards. Muleshoe now has a bi-district playoff game on tap at 8 p.m. (CST) on Friday against Lamesa at Levelland.

Senior Daniel Sianez rushed for 208 yards and three touchdowns for the Mules while sophomore Josue Sigala added 107 yards and a pair of scores. Muleshoe also got a pair of couple of TD runs from junior QB Nathan Martens and another from senior Sebastian Kirven.

Martens went 14-of-20 through the air for 160 yards as Muleshoe outgained the Wolves (7-3, 2-2) by a 577-419 margin, including 417-255 on the ground. For Dalhart, sophomore Hunter Trusler scored on a 2-yard run and on passes covering 71 and 15 yards from junior quarterback Kyler W. Read.

Panhandle 62, Farwell 40 — In a battle for second place in District 1-2A Division I at Farwell, the Steers (7-3, 2-2) opened a 20-6 lead early in the second quarter on senior Corey Stancell's 11-yard TD, but the Panthers (9-1, 3-1) rallied for a 26-20 halftime lead and eventually prevailed in a seesaw contest.

Farwell will play the first half of Friday's doubleheader at Littlefield, taking on Olton in a 4 p.m. (CST) 2A Division I kickoff.

Junior quarterback Jonathan Armstrong rushed for 199 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries for Farwell, and completed 9-of-21 passes for 129 yards and a score. Junior Ryder McElroy led Farwell's receiving corps with four catches for 84 yards.

The teams combined for 1,001 total yards, with the Panthers outgaining Farwell 538-463. Armstrong's 7-yard run and senior Jackson Wilbourn's PAT kick pulled Farwell even 40-40 early in the fourth, but the Panthers pulled away with three more touchdowns in the remaining time.

Lockney 50, Bovina 36 — In yet another high-scoring affair racking up more than 1,000 total yards at Lockney, the homestanding Longhorns (7-2, 4-1 District 2-2A Division II), earned the top seed from the district in the upcoming playoffs, building a 35-12 halftime lead and holding off the Mustangs (2-8, 1-4) late.

Senior Miguel Lopez returned a punt 90 yards for a score with just over three minutes left in the third period, pulling Bovina to 37-36. But touchdown runs of 3 yards by senior Iann Rodriguez late in the third and 1 yard by junior Xavier Jimenez sealed the deal for Lockney.

Jimenez carried 34 times for 286 yards and three TDs for the Longhorns, while junior quarterback Dyllan Thiebaud threw for one touchdown and ran for a pair. Senior Angel Lara ran 20 times for 197 yards and also caught TD passes of 78 and 18 yards from senior quarterback Daniel Herrera for the Mustangs.