By: Artesia Daily News Staff

In the glow of the warmth of Thanksgiving, Artesia lies wrapped securely in the embrace of a bear hug, courtesy of a Bulldog.

It may be premature, on the eve of a state championship football game, but we all feel like champions. And besides, we’ve been here before.

The Artesia High School Bulldogs, 9-3 overall and 6-1 against District 5A opponents, will take on archrival Roswell (10-1, 6-1) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Roswell.

The game will be a rematch of last year’s state championship clash, which the Bulldogs won 35-21. In a rivalry that dates back to 1909, that game marked the first time Artesia and Roswell had ever met in a state title game.

This year, Roswell is the top-ranked team in District 5A and Artesia is No. 2. The teams met in October and Roswell won 44-40.

That’s the past. Roswell knows, as all of New Mexico knows, that if you’re playing Artesia, you’d better bring your A game. We’ve not only been here before, we’ve won before.

A total of 37 times, we’ve waited anxiously before a state title game. Starting in 1957, we’ve won 32 of those games. That’s more state championships than any high school in the country – and we’ve won the last two.

It’s appropriate we not only wish the team well, but also be thankful for the pride this football program has given us. We have won three consecutive championships three times: 1974-75-76;1992-93-94; and 1996-97-98.

With another “threepeat” on the table Saturday, this is a sports program that deserves our gratitude.

We enjoy great teams playing in what is perhaps the best high school stadium in the country – The Bulldog Bowl. We thank our philanthropists for that. Another reason for gratitude.

Jeremy Maupin won his first state title as head coach last year. Fingers crossed he adds another on Saturday. He’s built a hard-hitting team defensively with an offense that puts basketball-type scores on the board. The team has scored 50 points or more six times this year. The Bulldogs exploded for 70 points against Centennial and 64 against Deming.

Three players have dominated the offense: quarterback Izac Cazares, running back Frankie Galindo and receiver Ethan Conn. They are a powerful combination and while it might be a stretch, we could say they conjure up the image of one of sportswriting’s åmost powerful opening lines:

“Outlined against a blue-gray October sky the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread out upon the green plain below.”

That was written by the famed Grantland Rice for the New York Herald Tribune about a 13-7 Notre Dame victory over Army. It was October 18,1924.

Our “horsemen” have impressive statistics. Galindo has 19 touchdowns this season. Conn has 17 TDs and Cazares has 15 rushing touchdowns along with 38 touchdown passes. All are seniors. So are outside linebacker Grant Johnson, who averages 6.3 tackles per game, and Ayden Huffman, an inside linebacker averaging 5.8 tackles per game. Senior defensive end Kaden Grantham has logged 5 sacks per game, followed by junior defensive end Marco Soto Jr. with 4. Two juniors on defense, Charlie Campbell and Edel Villa, each have 4 interceptions on the season.

Artesia football is mysteriously like Thanksgiving. The menu and food are the same each year, but we never tire of the joy they bring. We remain truly grateful.