Tigers Roll Into Playoffs After Friday Win on Four-Game Win Streak

CHAPARRAL, N.M. — Alamogordo ran for eight touchdowns and routed Chaparral 56-7 on Friday night. The win closed the regular season with a fourth straight victory and a 6-4 record, 5-2 in District 2-5A. Seven different Tigers reached the end zone, and Alamogordo led 35-7 at halftime.

The win caps one of the sharpest in-season turnarounds in recent program history. Alamogordo was 2-4 after a 54-19 home loss to Artesia on Sept. 25 and has not lost since.

Tigers run wild at Chaparral

Senior Nathaniel Cereceres opened the scoring on a 1-yard run with 9:08 left in the first quarter. With 2:36 left in the quarter, Qymani Patterson broke a 93-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead.

Leyton Niland scored from 23 yards out early in the second quarter to make it 21-0. Cereceres followed with an 80-yard run at the 4:38 mark for a 28-0 lead. Chaparral's only score came 56 seconds later, when Isaiah Torres hit Zahid Chavez on a 72-yard pass. Tristan Bowman answered with a 20-yard run with 33 seconds left in the half.

Samuel Strong opened the second half scoring with a 67-yard run at 7:23 of the third quarter. Ryan Sebring added a 2-yard score with 17 seconds left in the quarter and a 41-yard run midway through the fourth. Kicker Russell made all eight extra points.

Where the Tigers stand

Alamogordo finishes third in District 2-5A, behind champion Roswell and Artesia. The Tigers' only district losses came to those two teams. Artesia holds the head-to-head tiebreaker from its Sept. 25 win.

• Roswell clinched the district title and finished 9-1 overall and 7-0 in district play after beating Goddard 42-35 on Friday.• Artesia is 5-4 and 5-1 in district play, with its finale at Mayfield on Saturday.• Gadsden was 6-3 and 3-3 in district play before Friday's game at Deming.• Goddard finished 4-6 and 3-4.

Statewide, NMPreps' Week 11 rankings put Alamogordo No. 20 among all 88 teams and No. 4 in Class 5A. The Albuquerque Journal's Oct. 26 coaches poll had the Tigers seventh in 5A.

Playoff picture

The NMAA releases the Class 5A bracket this weekend, which will set the Tigers' first-round opponent. New Mexico has no separate district playoff. District finishes and statewide rankings feed a single state bracket. The first round is Nov. 6-7, quarterfinals Nov. 13-14 and semifinals Nov. 20-21. The state championship is Nov. 28.

In recent seasons the 11-man brackets have held 12 teams. The top four seeds get first-round byes, and seeds 5 through 12 play the opening weekend. Roswell, Piedra Vista and Artesia sit firmly ahead of the Tigers in both polls, so Alamogordo projects to play next weekend rather than rest.

This is Alamogordo's first season in Class 5A. The NMAA's 2026-27 realignment moved the Tigers and Chaparral down from 6A into District 2-5A.

The turnaround

Head coach AJ Cisco's team opened the season with a 41-33 win over Santa Fe. A 28-20 loss at Clovis and a loss at Organ Mountain followed. In district play, the Tigers lost to Roswell, won 28-27 in overtime at Goddard, then fell 54-19 to Artesia.

The swing began on homecoming night, Oct. 2, with a 24-19 win over Mayfield. On Oct. 16 the Tigers handed Gadsden its first home loss, 23-14, rushing for a then season-high 372 yards. They routed Deming 49-7 on Oct. 22, then put up their highest point total of the year at Chaparral. Over the final four games, Alamogordo outscored opponents 152-47.

Against the last three years

Six wins is the most for an Alamogordo regular season in more than a decade. Our local preview last fall noted that a 6-4 finish would be the program's best since 2011. The Tigers went 11-19 combined from 2023 to 2025:

• 2023: 5-5 in District 4-6A, reaching .500 with a season-ending win over Organ Mountain.• 2024: 2-8, ending a five-game skid with a 62-22 win over Clovis in the finale.• 2025: 4-6 overall and 1-5 in District 3-6A, closing with a 48-43 loss at Clovis.

This season ran in the opposite direction from 2025. Last year's Tigers started 4-1 and dropped their last five. This group stumbled early and enters November on a four-game winning streak.

Player spotlights

Nathaniel Cereceres, Sr., RB/LB (5-11, 195): scored twice at Chaparral, including the 80-yarder, and also scored in the Gadsden win.

Leyton Niland, Sr., RB/OLB (5-8, 160): added a 23-yard touchdown Friday after scoring at Gadsden.

 Qymani Patterson: delivered the longest play of the night, the 93-yard run.

 Samuel Strong and Tristan Bowman, Srs., WR/FS: each scored on the ground.

Ryan Sebring: scored twice in the second half.• Russell, K: went 8-for-8 on extra points.

 Tanner Nowaczck, Sr., TE/DE (6-2, 185): scored in the Gadsden win.

 Bryson Bloom, Sr., RB/LB: ran for 205 yards in last year's finale at Clovis.

Around Otero County

Tularosa shut out Cobre 12-0 on Friday. The Wildcats finish the regular season 6-4 overall and 2-2 in district play.

Stay tuned to Alamogordo Town 

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