In the grand scheme of things, it’s just another game.
It’s been decades since the two teams involved were in the same classification. No district titles hang in the balance. No potential playoff berths are affected, with the possible exception of the overall record factor.
But the line of Artesia fans stretching down the sidewalk from the gate – and still waiting to gain entry at game time, as has become something of a Carlsbad tradition – and the array of blue spilling over into temporary bleachers and onto the visiting side of the field spoke to it being a little something more.
While the Bulldogs and Cavemen ultimately know the games that count are yet to come, there was no hiding the extra sense of satisfaction after every hit, every touchdown.
Friday night lights were shining all over the nation, but only Southeast New Mexico had the Eddy County War, a tradition since 1927. And the state leaned forward and waited to see what happened in a game where anything can.
Through one half of play, that was still anyone’s guess as Artesia led Carlsbad by just a point, 14-13, at the break. But the ‘Dogs settled into the driver’s seat in the latter quarters, holding the Cavemen scoreless en route to a 31-13 victory that places them at 5-0 on the season.
“Anytime you go to Carlsbad and come out with a solid win, you’re pleased, and we were pleased,” Artesia head coach Cooper Henderson said Saturday.
The Bulldogs struggled to kick start their offense in the opening quarter of play but were able to gain the upper hand by the break and put the contest out of reach in the second half.
The Orange Crush defense was key in facilitating the turnaround, holding the Cavemen to just a single offensive touchdown and forcing a trio of fumbles on the night. The Artesia D limited Carlsbad to 236 total yards on the night and allowed a stingy 74 in the second half.
Lineman Codey Scott would notch the ‘Dogs’ first fumble recovery of the night just three plays in, but after the offense stalled near midfield, a botched punt snap resulted in a Carlsbad TD as Genarro Flores dove on the loose ball in the end zone with 9:53 to go in the inaugural quarter.
Artesia turned the ball over on downs twice in the red zone in their final possessions of the first, but after forcing a three-and-out in between, the Crush provided the boost the offense needed with a fumble recovery on the Caveman 14-yard line by Grady Frost.
Ethan Duff took it from there, scampering away from two defenders and hopping over another to tie the game with 11:21 to go in the half after Daniel Hernandez’s PAT.
For an encore, Duff recovered the ensuing onside kick, but hindered by a pair of holding penalties – two of many on the night – the Bulldogs were forced to punt. A 75-yard catch-and-run from Jonah Leyva to Jesus Ornalas then gave Carlsbad a 13-7 lead.
The ‘Dogs wasted no time responding, however, as junior quarterback Justin Houghtaling hit Hernandez with a 16-yard pass and Isaiah Weideman broke a 10-yard run to help set Artesia up at the Carlsbad 25. Two plays later, Houghtaling would find Clay Donaghe over the head of a defender in the end zone for a 28-yard TD that put Artesia up 14-13 with 1:50 left in the second.
Another quick three-and-out courtesy of the Crush gave the Bulldogs time to expand their lead, but after reaching a first down at the Caveman 23, they would turn the ball over on downs as time expired.
Houghtaling kicked off the second half with an efficient march to the opposing 19, keeping Carlsbad on their toes by sprinkling passes to Donaghe, Duff, Brandon Reza, Kameron Aguilar and Daniel Leon. But a flag for clipping negated a solid run by Kaymann Elston, and Artesia was forced to settle for a field goal, which Hernandez delivered from 35 yards out with 6:48 left in the third.
The ‘Dogs’ kickoff unit came up big once again a pooch kick later, as Carlos Carrasco recovered the ball at the Carlsbad 21, setting up a quick five-play scoring drive that ended in a four-yard push over the goal line by Leon to make it 24-13 Artesia.
The opportunistic Carrasco pounced on a Caveman fumble on their first play from scrimmage to give the offense another short field, but with center Jarod Acosta off the field due to a wardrobe malfunction, Carlsbad was able to recover an errant snap at their own three.
The Bulldog D delivered their third three-and-out of the night, however, as the fourth quarter began, and Houghtaling would take matters into his own hands on third-and-nine from the Caveman nine to set the final score, 31-13, with 8:54 remaining.
Carlsbad’s longest drive of the night saw starting QB Leyva leave the game injured following a hard hit, and the Cavemen would turn their last two possessions over on downs, with Scott sacking backup quarterback Jared Montanez for a loss of 11 on Carlsbad’s final offensive play.
“We had a lot of bright spots,” Henderson said. “We continued to move well on defense last night, created some turnovers, and ended up putting ourselves in good field position throughout the evening. We were pleased to recover a couple of kicks on kickoff also and make all of our extra points.
“We had some really good continuity offensively at times as far as just being able to move the ball consistently. But no doubt when you start looking at problem areas, we didn’t convert, didn’t get to make some touchdowns we should have, and something that particularly stood out was the number of penalties and mistakes we made. We have to eliminate a lot of those if we’re going to beat some of the teams we’re going to face in the next couple of weeks.”
Artesia was whistled 15 times for 103 backward yards on the night to Carlsbad’s seven for 40.
Houghtaling finished the contest 35 of 55 for 353 yards and one touchdown. Hernandez led the receiving corps with six catches for 73 yards, followed by Leon (7-71), Darius Ramirez (4-61), Donaghe (5-55) and Duff (6-40). Weideman was 9-51 rushing, Houghtaling 9-37, and Duff 5-32.
Cassius Rivers went 12-78 on the ground for Carlsbad and Leyva was five of 10 for 106 yards and one TD.
The Bulldogs will now prepare to head west Friday to take on Class 6A Las Cruces High. The Bulldawgs (3-2) fell Friday by a final of 42-35 to Centennial.
“I think last night was a really good game for us learning wise, and I think we’ll come out of it a better football team,” said Henderson. “Particularly when you’re in Carlsbad, you also really appreciate the Artesia fans and the backing that we get.
“We’re really looking forward to this next week. We know we’re going to have to step up to another level of play, and we’re looking forward to that.”
