Finally, the offensive breakout Artesia Bulldogs fans have been waiting for arrived.
The Bulldogs seemed to find their way last week, scoring 53 points and shutting out the Deming Wildcats. Still, nobody read too much into it because, well, it was Deming.
This past week, the Bulldogs showed the breakout was real. They hung 57 points on a ranked Gadsden team, attacked through the air and did enough defensively to shut down Gadsden’s running game. That performance changed the conversation. Artesia is not merely surviving now; it is starting to dictate how games are played.
Here are three keys to a win over Alamogordo
- Finish drives
Alamogordo football coach AJ Cisco wants to run the ball and control the clock. He will need to if the Tigers have any chance against an Artesia offense that suddenly looks explosive.
The surest way for the Bulldogs to wreck that plan is to finish drives. Empty possessions give Alamogordo time to settle in, shorten the game, and lean on its ground attack. Touchdowns force the Tigers to answer quickly and pull them away from the style they prefer. Artesia produced 505 yards of total offense against Gadsden, with most of the damage coming through the air. The Bulldogs will need that same efficiency Friday night. Moving the ball is not enough. The offense must turn red-zone trips into touchdowns and make Alamogordo chase points.
- Throw deep and vertical
Artesia quarterback Lucas Atkins is starting to look comfortable when he drops back to pass. He knows when to take the short throw, but, more importantly, he recognizes when a play has broken down, and it is time to get out of Dodge. His legs can steal the few yards needed to keep a drive alive.
The Tigers cannot be allowed to crowd the line of scrimmage and sit on underneath routes. Artesia must challenge them vertically and make every defender account for the entire field. A couple of early completions over the top would loosen the box, create room for the running game and keep Alamogordo from dialing up pressure. Atkins does not have to force anything, but he cannot hesitate when the shot is there. The Bulldogs have playmakers. Give them space and let them go to work.
- Defense must stop the run
The Bulldogs have allowed only 14 points in the past two weeks. The defense has played with a nasty edge all season and held its own against the bigger athletes on the Class 6A teams it faced. This group has never quit. Now that Artesia is facing teams closer to its size, the defense isn’t just competing; it is controlling stretches of games.
That edge must show up against Alamogordo’s running game. The first defender has to arrive controlled, the next has to finish the tackle, and the backside cannot lose contain. If the Tigers stay ahead of the chains, they can drain the clock and keep Artesia’s offense watching from the sideline. If the Bulldogs win first down and force obvious passing situations, Alamogordo will be playing a game it does not want to play. Stop the run, get the ball back, and let the offense keep its foot on the gas. It is plain and simple, but it will decide the night.