The Bulldog football team fumbled the opening kickoff Friday at Wool Bowl. And things did not improve from there.
On a Friday the 13th that decidedly lived up to its reputation, the Artesia boys could get nothing going offensively despite multiple scoring opportunities, and the result was a 29-8 loss that drops the ‘Dogs to 7-1 on the season, 0-1 in District 4-AAAAA play.
Roswell capitalized on the game-opening turnover to take a quick 6-0 lead that would hold through the remainder of the first quarter. The Coyotes added another touchdown and missed PAT midway through the second and would close their shutout half with a field goal to lead 15-0 at the break.
That deficit was by no means insurmountable, but the Bulldog offense continued to struggle, particularly with an out-of-sync passing game. After Artesia failed to take advantage of an interception in Roswell territory, the Coyotes converted a turnover of their own — a 60-yard fumble recovery — to go up 22-0 heading into the fourth.
There, another TD two-and-a-half minutes in essentially put the game out of reach for the ‘Dogs. The offense would go shockingly scoreless on the night, but the defense stepped up to prevent the goose egg, putting Artesia on the board with a 76-yard pick six by Josiah Rodriguez with 5:36 left in the game. That and a conversion run by Izac Cazares set the final: 29-8.
Artesia will host Goddard at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, at Bulldog Bowl.
