The top two 6A high school football teams in New Mexico will fight for the state title Saturday at Wilson Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Two-time defending state champions Cleveland Storm go into Saturday’s game ranked No. 1 in the state with a 4-0 record in 6A District 1 and 10-2 overall.
This is the fourth consecutive championship game for the Storm, only losing to La Cueva in 2018. On Nov. 18 Cleveland beat Volcano Vista 47 -24 in the 2022 State Football Championship semifinals. The Storm are on a six-game win streak, having only lost to Wolfforth, Texas’ Frenship High School and Las Cruces’ Centennial High School in non-district away games earlier this season.
State Football: Defending state champion Cleveland advanced to the state final at the Nusenda Credit Union State Football Championships with a 47-24 win over Volcano Vista on Friday. Here are some of the highlights (courtesy NFHS network) pic.twitter.com/EtC0u00J0M
— NMAA (@_NMAA) November 19, 2022
Senior running back Josh Perry is second on the state leaderboard for offensive rushing, with a total of 1,795 rushing yards and quarterback Evan Wysong comes in at No. 14 with 979 rushing yards for Cleveland. Perry has 27 total touchdowns this season, placing him No. 5 on the leaderboard, two places above fellow teammate Nic Trujillo who has 21 touchdowns this season.
La Cueva’s only loss this season was to Cleveland
La Cueva goes into the championship game after defeating Centennial 42-35 in the state semifinals. The Bears are ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 2 in 6A by MaxPreps. They are on a 10-game win streak and have a 4-0 record in 6A District 2/5 and 11-1 overall record this season. Their only loss was to Cleveland in a close 33-29 non-district home game in August.
La Cueva beat Centennial 42-35 on Saturday to punch their ticket to the Class 6A Final of the Nusenda Credit Union State Football Championships. Here are some of the highlights (courtesy NFHS network) @LaCuevaFootball pic.twitter.com/wqGApxLGVR
— NMAA (@_NMAA) November 20, 2022
Quarterback Aidan Armenta is at the top of MaxPrep’s state leaderboard for offensive passing, with a total of 3,283 passing yards this season. Armenta was named District 2-6A offensive player of the year and all state QB in 2021. The 6-foot-3, 190 pound quarterback committed to playing with the University of New Mexico after being offered a scholarship at the school earlier this year.
Senior wide receiver Ian Sanchez is at the top of the state leaderboard for offensive receiving, with 1,376 yards completed this season for the Bears. He scored 20 touchdowns this season and has a total of 108 catches over the last two seasons with La Cueva.
La Cueva has the home field advantage during Saturday’s state final. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, seniors and military. Tickets can be purchased on the GoFan website.
