Las Cruces dominates Clovis 42-7, will face Centennial in quarterfinal rematch
LAS CRUCES — Las Cruces High's 42-7 win over Clovis was mostly dominant, but it wasn't always certain. Especially when the Wildcats marched inside the Bulldawg redzone with less than 20 seconds left in the first half trailing 21-0.
Clovis was presented an opportunity it had to take advantage of. The Wildcats had only stopped Las Cruces' offense once in the first half, and they had not penetrated the redzone on any of their four previous possessions. And with the Bulldawgs set to receive the second-half kickoff, it seemed doubtful the Wildcats could mount a three-score comeback after halftime.
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Las Cruces' defense rose to the challenge.
Senior safety Siddeeq Shabazz intercepted sophomore quarterback Manuel Gutierrez and immediately stomped out Clovis' hopes of clawing back into Saturday afternoon's matchup, ensuring the Bulldawgs would take their 21-0 lead into halftime. And once the second half began, Las Cruces easily cruised to a 35-point first-round victory.
Las Cruces' wire-to-wire beatdown over the Wildcats was nothing short of dominant as the Bulldawgs pulled off their second-straight win and set the stage for a rematch with Centennial High in the quarterfinal round next weekend thanks to one of their best all-around performances of the season. The senior quarterback-running back combo of Dallas Boyd and Elijah Ogas, aided by sophomore receiver Zakye Hawkins, jumped on Clovis early in the first quarter, and Las Cruces didn't look back.
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How it happened
Mark Lopez didn't hesitate to roll the dice on fourth and five near midfield on the Bulldawgs' first possession of the game. And it immediately paid off.
Boyd blew through the middle of the Wildcat defense, bounced to the edge and scampered for 46 yards on one of his first carries of the game to move Las Cruces inside the redzone for the first time Saturday afternoon. One play later, Hawkins found the endzone on his second touch of the game to take a 7-0 lead.
The Bulldawgs scored on two of their next three drives and built a comfortable 21-0 lead with less than four minutes before halftime, and Las Cruces only punted once in the first half.
Clovis did not enjoy the same offensive success.
The Wildcats didn't cross the redzone until the closing seconds of the opening period, and a slew of penalties kept Clovis from gaining offensive momentum in the first two quarters. Its redzone interception just before halftime was insult to injury, and Las Cruces didn't look back once it received the second-half kickoff.
Hawkins ripped off a 52-yard touchdown run to give the Hawks a 28-point lead, and he snagged a 40-yard touchdown deep in the end zone on the next drive to push the lead to 35. Officials ran the clock until Clovis answered with a three-yard touchdown run with 6:39 remaining, but the Bulldawgs responded less than two minutes later when Boyd took off on a 42-yard touchdown run to re-take their 35-point lead, 42-7.
Clovis did not score again, and the teams ran out the final five minutes.
Saturday's stars
The usual triage of Boyd, Hawkins and Ogas accounted for all six of the Bulldawgs' touchdowns. Boyd ran for two scores and threw a touchdown pass to Hawkins, and Hawkins ran for two touchdowns on his own. Ogas also added a first-quarter touchdown. Boyd led the team in total offense once again.
What was said
Las Cruces head coach Mark Lopez on his team's performance: "Really good. I had a feeling Clovis was going to come out, kind of try to take the air out of the ball, try to kind of shorten the game, and that's what they did. They've got some some talented dudes, and they've got some good size up front, kind of trying to get those three, four yards a pop and move the chains and keep us off the field, which they did for a period of time, but when we got the ball outside of one possession we pretty much capitalized on everything."
Lopez on what he thought was the deciding factor in the win: "I think getting off the field on third down on defense. Being able to get some of those three-and-outs and get the ball back to our offense, that was key. Playing good, solid defense, man. Defense wins championships. You've got to go out there, and you've got to play great defense at this time of the year."
Lopez on how the team kept from looking ahead to Centennial in practice: "It was focus on the task at hand. That's always our motto. Even in the offseason, we don't even look forward. ...These guys are pretty well-versed on focusing on what's in front of them, and they do a good job of it."
Lopez on having another opportunity to play Centennial: "Everybody sees they're a very talented team. They've won what, eight games in a row? They're going to have three weeks to prepare for us. You've got all those things stacked that are reasons maybe why we shouldn't, but we've got to find reasons why we can. We've got to find a way to go beat one of the more talented and most talented teams that we've played all year, and it's going to be a tall task, but I like our guys."
What's next
Las Cruces will face cross-town rival Centennial in the quarterfinal round next week at Field of Dreams. The Hawks, who earned a first-round playoff bye thanks to a top-four NMAA playoff seed, are coming off consecutive bye weeks.
Santa Teresa defeats Piedra Vista 21-0 in first round of 5A playoffs
Santa Teresa beat Piedra Vista 21-0 Saturday afternoon. The Desert Warriors led 7-0 at halftime and pulled away with a pair of second-half touchdowns in their first playoff game since 2019. Santa Teresa will face No. 1 seed Farmington Friday in the quarterfinal round.
Stephen Wagner is a sports reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can found on Twitter at @stephenwag22 and reached at SWagner@lcsun-news.com.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Las Cruces dominates Clovis 42-7, will face Centennial in quarterfinal rematch
