By Mike Smith
Artesia Daily Press

An enthusiastic home crowd and an electrifying return of the opening kickoff set the stage for Artesia’s 64-27 thumping of the Deming Wildcats Sept. 13 at the Bulldog Bowl.

For Artesia, it was the first home game since the Aug. 23 season opener when the Bulldogs defeated Carlsbad 44-7 in the 2024 Eddy County War.

The Bulldogs lost road contests at Hobbs, 44-40, on Aug. 30 and at Las Cruces Centennial, 70-39, on Sept. 7.

Artesia put the Wildcats on notice at the start as Matthew Conn received the kickoff then handed off to Bryce Parra, who outran every Deming defender for a 90-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead 15 seconds into the game. Deming thwarted Artesia’s two-point conversion attempt.

The lead stayed 6-0 until the 4:47 mark of the opening period when Quarterback Izac Cazares ran three yards to the end zone after setting up the score with a 57-yard pass to Parra.

Another two-point try failed and Artesia’s lead was 13-0.

The Bulldogs scored again at 11:52 of the second quarter when Cazares threw a 36-yard touchdown strike to Conn. Corbyn Dominguez converted the extra point to stretch the lead to 19-0.

Dominguez made it 22-0 with a 28-yard field goal. As the half wound down, a 75-yard Conn kickoff return for a touchdown sandwiched between a pair of TD runs by Deming’s Ryan Alfaro led to a 29-12 Artesia lead at the intermission.

The Bulldogs outscored Deming 14-7 in the third period with Cazares and Frankie Galindo adding touchdown runs. Artesia finished off the thrashing in the fourth quarter with Cazares throwing a 39-yard TD pass to Galindo and Galindo scoring on a 1-yard run before Grant Johnson ran back a blocked punt for a touchdown. Dominguez kicked the extra point to give Artesia a 64-27 lead and an important victory in District 5-2A play. The Bulldogs’ record now stands at 2-2 overall and 1-0 in district play.

“Proud of our guys coming out and getting better last week,” said Artesia head coach Jeremy Maupin. “That’s the goal each week, to get better, and we did that.”

Anthony Gadsden will visit the Bulldog Bowl at 7 p.m. Friday (Sept. 20) for homecoming and another district contest.

Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter

11:45-Artesia-Bryce Parra 90-yd kickoff return, 2 point conversion no good 6-0.

4:47-Artesia-Izac Cazares 3-yd touchdown run, 2-point conversion no good 13-0.

2nd Quarter

11:52-Artesia-Cazares 36-yd touchdown pass to Ethan Conn, Corbyn Dominguez kick good 19-0.

7:11-Artesia-Dominguez 28-yd kick, Artesia 22-0.

5:41-Deming-Ryan Alfaro 38-yd touchdown run, kick no good. 22-6.

5:24-Artesia-75-yd kickoff return, kick good 29-6.

:06-Deming-Alfaro 2-yd touchdown run, 2-point conversion no good 29-12.

3rd Quarter

9:41-Deming-Cole Donaldson 42-yd touchdown reception, Max Allison kick good. 29-19

8:01-Artesia-Cazares 10-yd touchdown run, Dominguez kick good 36-19.

5:05-Frankie Galindo 9-yd touchdown run, Dominguez kick good 43-19.

4th Quarter

11:57-Deming-Isaiah Pizzaro 5-yd touchdown run, Alfaro 2-point conversion run good 43-27.

8:42-Artesia-Cazares 39-yd touchdown pass to Galindo, Dominguez kick good 50-27.

6:40-Artesia-Galindo 1-yd touchdown run, Dominguez kick good 57-27.

4:14-Artesia Grant Johnson blocked punt td, Dominguez kick good 64-27.

Offensive Stars of the Game:

Passing:

Izac Cazares: 8/11, 207-yards, 2TD, 0 Int

Rushing:

Frankie Galindo: 11 carries, 133-yards, 2 TD

Izac Cazares: 9 carries, 66-yards, 2 TD

Receiving:

Ethan Conn: 2 catches, 52-yards, 1 TD

Bryce Parra: 1 catch, 57-yards

Defensive Stars of the Game:

Miguel Soto: 14 tackles

Grant Johnson: 9 tackles, 2 TFL

Ayden Huffman: 9 tackles

Mike Smith may be reached via phone at 575-308-8734 and follow on X @MSmithartesianm