Because the Melrose football team has practically stampeded over every opponent in New Mexico this season, including a 40-0 rout of Tatum, the Buffaloes should be feeling pretty good entering today’s state championship game.

Melrose hosts Tatum at 2 p.m. for bragging rights in the 8-man division.

Dickie Roybal, in his 12th year as Melrose’s coach, says he has a couple of real reasons to worry:

• the change in availability of players on both teams thanks to injuries.

• the pressure to achieve history at the school.

Roybal’s teams have twice won 6-man titles under his reign — in 1999 and 2004. Only once before, however, did one of his squads enter the championship with as lofty of a record as the Buffaloes’ current 10-0.

And that year, 2005, ended with a loss to Gateway Christian in the 6-man title contest.

“There’s never been a team in Melrose that’s gone undefeated,” said Roybal, who incidentally will be seeking his 100th career victory as a high school coach. “We try not to think about all that stuff and just think about the football game. But, you know, when you talk about making history.”

Tatum (7-4) is led by former Clayton coach Gary Durham and the Coyotes entered the postseason as the sixth seed. Wins over third-seeded Animas (36-26) in the quarterfinals and second-seeded Gateway Christian (42-38), however, paved the way to the championship game for Tatum.

Roybal said the Buffs have to be wary of junior Logan Medlin and that the Coyotes have returned a pair of injured starting linemen who were out in the regular-season clash.

As for his own team, Roybal said running back and defensive back Lane Draper has missed his squad’s practices all week due to an ankle injury.

“He says he’s gonna play, that nothing is going to keep him out of this game,” said Roybal, whose team has averaged an outrageous 66.2 points a contest. “But if I see he can’t go a 100 percent, I’m going to take him out of there.”