The Roswell Coyotes football team secured the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A state tournament when the New Mexico Activities Association revealed its bracket on Sunday.
The Coyotes (9-1, 7-0 District 2-5A) earned a first-round bye and will host a quarterfinal game against the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 8 Santa Fe and No. 9 Cibola. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at Ivan Head Stadium in Santa Fe.
Roswell’s quarterfinal game is tentatively scheduled for either 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, or 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Wool Bowl, according to head coach Jeff Lynn.
Lynn said the bye gives the Coyotes additional time to recover and prepare for the postseason.
“The team we’re going to play will play a game before they play us, so that’s good,” Lynn said. “We’ve got some nicks and bruises, and we can work on some things, so it’s a good thing to have a first-round bye.”
Lynn also said the opportunity to play a home playoff game is important.
“It’s big to play a home playoff game,” Lynn said. “It’s tough to go on the road and play at someone’s home stadium.”
The top seed follows a regular season that included a challenging non-district schedule. The Coyotes opened the season with a 64-60 home victory over Hobbs on Aug. 21 before defeating Rio Rancho 39-35 on Sept. 4 at the Wool Bowl.
Roswell’s lone loss came Aug. 28, when the Coyotes fell 50-37 on the road against Randall of Amarillo, Texas.
Lynn said facing quality competition early in the season helped prepare his team for the physicality and speed it will encounter in the playoffs.
“I think it’s huge that we played that challenging schedule,” Lynn said. “When you play against bigger bodies and faster kids, the game slows down for you.”
Marshall Mecham can be reached at (915) 232-1793 or on X @mecham_marshall. Mecham serves with the New Mexico Local News Fellowship, which places emerging journalists in newsrooms across the state. Learn more at www.newmexicolocalnewsfellowships.org.
