Another Thanksgiving holiday roadie!

Thanks, St. Michael's.
For the sixth consecutive holiday, I get to cover high school football. That matches the number of times the Horsemen of St Michael's have played at this time of year.
Now, they weren't the only ones who have occupied our sports departments' attention.
In '03, there was West Las Vegas. I also caught my first taste of the football-hungry town of Lovington, N.M. In fact, I made the trip to Lovington the next year for the AAA title game against St. Michael's.
On Saturday, I will be on the now-blue Natural Turf field of Wildcat Stadium. As much fun and excitement as the Horsemen and their coaches will have for this week, that will not filter down to me. Anyone who has made the trip to the southeast corner of the state knows how much of a grind it is.
Never have I seen more dirt than I do from the moment you get past Vaughn until you hit Roswell. Then the scene repeats itself between Roswell and Artiesia. And Artesia to Lovington. Suffice it to say, it is the least scenic route you could take. Unless scenic to you are oil drills and the smell of petrol.
That's not to say Game Day isn't exciting. Lovington fans - and fans in southern New Mexico - love their football. Their support shows in the success places like Texico (14 state title appearances, five state titles), Artesia (home to 26 state titles and 30 championship appearances), Las Cruces (where Mayfield has won the last three Class AAAAA state championships) and Clovis (13 state titles in all).
In fact, the places to be this weekend are at the Wool Bowl in Roswell and Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces.
The top seeded Goddard Rockets will finally try to best Artesia, their District 3AAAA rivals, in the postseason on Friday night. Both teams played for the AAAA championship in 2007 and 2006, with the Bulldogs winning both times. Goddard beat Artesia 35-7 in the regular season finale on Nov. 7 to take the district title and the top seed.
Everything points to this being the Rockets' year, but Novembers have routinely been magical for Artesia.
But that's not even the biggest game in the state.
While I'll be following the action between the Horsemen and the Wildcats, the titans of Class AAAAA football will battle in Las Cruces Mayfield and Las Cruces High. Two weeks ago, the two teams played before a packed crowd of 25,000-plus as Las Cruces rallied from a 21-14 deficit to win, 22-21. It was James Hall's 2-point run with less than a minute left that gave the Bulldawgs the win and the top seed in AAAAA. That loss was only the second handed to the Trojans by a New Mexico in the last four years.
There are some who wanted this to be the AAAAA final, but No. 2 Albuquerque Eldorado and N0. 3 Clovis ruined that chance. Those two teams also play on Saturday, but nary a peep will be heard about it outside of Albuquerque.
A full-on roar will be heard throughout Las Cruces, and maybe even felt in Lovington. I'll know why.