Portales soccer, Floyd football get playoff seeds

STAFF WRITER

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On Sunday the New Mexico Athletic Association revealed its seedlings for the Class 1/4A boys and girls soccer as well as 6-man football. The Portales (14-3-1) boys soccer team was given the No. 5 seed and will host No. 12 Desert Academy, while the Floyd football team got the No. 6 seed and will travel to face Vaughn in the first round of the 6-man state playoffs.

Staff photo: Matthew Asher

Floyd senior David Martinez, center, breaks a tackle during a touchdown run in the Broncos’ homecoming 60-6 win against Roy on October 8. Floyd was awarded the No. 6 seed in 6-man football and will face Vaughn Friday afternoon.

Floyd (2-4) opened up its season in a 79-46 losing effort against Vaughn (5-2) back in September. However, with a handful of Broncos not playing in that game, head coach Steve Foust isn’t worried about a repeat performance.

“When we played them the first time we didn’t have Edgardo Chavez, Juan Delgado and Adrian Alvarez,” Foust said. “Weston Whitecotton broke his arm in the game. We ended up with just six kids the second half, playing out of position. But still, we did well and put some points on the board.

“Last week against San Jon, Edgardo, David (Martinez) and Adrian were all in street clothes because of injuries. Edgardo and David should be back this week so we’re a totally different team this time.”

The plan is simple for the Broncos: Slow down Vaughn’s high-powered offense that has registered 417 points and two mercy-rule finishes.

“They’re a good team. They’ve beaten a lot of people,” Foust said. “Aaron Nelson, their quarterback, is a multi-threat with the run and pass. We saw that up close when we played them. We need to stop their offense. That’s a tough task to do but when we’re healthy I think we’re as good as anybody.”

Portales (14-3-1) has already played Desert Academy (11-7-2) early in September coming away with a 4-0 win as part of its nine-game winning streak to start the season.

Staff photo: Matthew Asher

Portales freshman Jesus Chavez takes a shot against NMMI on Saturday. Portales finished the regular season 14-3-1 and will host Desert Academy this Saturday at 2 p.m.

“We played down the edges and had some good crosses for goals in that win,” Portales coach Nathan Dodge said. “We just need to continue to play like that. Cross the keeper. It worked once, it should work again.”

In addition to switching the field off cross passes, Dodge wants the Rams to do better when it comes to corner kicks.

“We’ve been working on corner kicks,” Dodge said. “We’ve been working on set plays. I would like every corner chance for us to get at least one shot on goal. It doesn’t have to always go in but so long as the goalie has to move to make a save, I’ll be happy.”

Floyd travels to Vaughn Friday with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m. Portales hosts Desert Academy Saturday at 2 p.m.