There are no bad seats to view a football game in the world-famous Bulldog Bowl. But when my editor told me I needed to take photos of the game, keep statistics, and update the website during the game, I wasn’t sure how to do so.

Watching the game from the press box is out of the question because it would be hard to get photos from that vantage point.

Sports writer’s dilemma

The answer was to go to the field, but when you’re there, the game is constantly changing in terms of field position, and the views change as well. Also, there is a problem juggling a laptop and a camera at the same time, keeping track of yardage and who did what, while not getting run over by the action on the field.

Doing all of those things is like trying to change a baby’s diaper, answer and talk on the phone, and write an email all at the same time. Impossible.

In the press box, everything can be done in a hectic manner except taking pictures of the action.

After being frustrated by the Hobbs football game by not being able to do all that was required, Artesia Daily Press sports editor JT Keith had to figure out a way to stay fluid while reporting the game.

The answer came in the third home game against Lovington. While going through the game at the main entrance, there was a banister from the visiting team’s side of the field, which would later be known as the handicap seating section.

Answer to the problem

In the handicap section, there were no seats; two people were sitting there on the far side of the seating section. On the other side of the section was another family with their kids and grandkids.

I was invited to sit with the families, who educated me about the history of Bulldog football. I found out that handicap seating was added to the football stadium during renovations in the mid-90s.

This location was perfect; I was able to put my camera seat down and see the field completely while taking pictures. I was also able to balance my laptop on my knees with my bookbag and type updates to the website during the game.

The best part of sitting there and keeping track of the game was meeting Omar Pando and Melissa Jimenez, who have been coming to the Bulldog Bowl since the 1980s.

“I have been coming to the Bulldog Bowl since I was a student here,” Pando said. “I have watched 20 state championship games here.”

Meeting new friends

Jimenez said she liked coming to the games because it gets her out of the house and lets her watch the Bulldogs play. She noted her cousins, Deion and Diego Wesson, played football for the Bulldogs. Diego would score a touchdown in the state championship game against Piedra Vista, which the team won 27-14 in 2022.

Pando has had family play for the Bulldogs as well, including Eddie Pando, Jordan Pando, and now junior running back Cristian Pando.

Jimenez said their favorite championship game was watching the Bulldogs beat Roswell 35-21 in the Bulldog Bowl on November 25, 2023.

Jimenez said she sits in the handicap seats because of her legs; she wears braces on her calves. Without the handicap seating, she would not be able to climb down the steps at the Bulldog Bowl to watch the football games. She said she is grateful for the seating accommodations.

Date night

“She does not have to struggle to go up and down the stairs,” Pando said. “It gets us a good top view of the game. This is a good view of the game for us.”

Pando and Jimenez use game night to bond; both will eat their dinner during the game. Pando will go to the concession stand and bring back two bags of popcorn, nachos with jalapeno and cheese, while having two Cokes.

Pando will dance and name each song the Bulldogs announcer plays between plays. He will FaceTime a friend and talk trash while the Bulldogs are beating Lovington.

For Pando and Jimenez, Friday night is game time, but it is a good time at the Bulldog Bowl. For the Artesia Daily Press sports editor, this was a way to meet new friends, get an excellent view for taking pictures, keep stats, and write the story, with the laptop on his knee on top of his bookbag to post to the website.

Many of the Artesia volleyball fans take it for granted when they see Kirklyn Miller set the perfect ball to outside hitter Kailee Padilla, flying in from the left side and going high over the net for a kill shot. Miller’s shot against Lovington helped the Lady’ Dogs to an 18-5 record and a 4-2 District 4-4A second-place finish on Thursday.

Next step

That success belies the hard work and effort that have gone into her development, in which she made a verbal commitment to Western Colorado University to continue her playing career and education. There is a tension between mother and daughter under the best of conditions. As a single mother, Mandi Lewallen, 46, raised two girls in a town (Artesia) where she knew no one. It was different and tricky.

Padilla started playing club volleyball in third grade, and according to her mother, she could not serve it over the net. Lewallen has been the assistant coach at Artesia under Alan Williams and has helped coached her daughter for the last three years.

“It has been fun,” Lewallen said. “I don’t think people realize it is a hard relationship to have, to be mother and daughter. I am hard on her, and she has to go home and hear more about it. I am trying to be a mom, but at the same time, I am trying to be a coach, like ‘hey, this could have been better.’ I am on her (Padilla), so there is never a rest period. I have tried to do better this year in her senior year and take it all in. Again, that is a hard relationship.”

Lewallen said while Padilla was growing up, she made sure to put Padilla in camps with better athletes, not only to humble her but also to help her grow as an athlete.

Padilla is getting to celebrate the wins with her mother, whom she is close to and feels blessed to have a good relationship with. Lewallen has pushed Padilla, made her better, and helped her get to where she is now.

Relationship

“Our relationship has stayed the same between my junior year and senior year,” Padilla said. “My mindset has always been to get better. My mom continues to push me, and because it is my senior year, there is no time to take a break. I want to be the best that I can be for my teammates.”

Padilla said volleyball is a mental sport and that she has grown up and improved each season. For Lewallen, this season is one in which she is not taking the time she spends with Padilla for granted, and she realizes it will not hit her until Padilla is no longer playing at Artesia High School next year.    

“Watching her (Padilla) grow in her faith, Lewallen said, “and knowing that she has put in everything that she possibly can. From day one, there have been no regrets for her or for me because we make sure God is the center of everything we do and in the decisions we make. And how we get through things just us. It has been fun, and we are trying to take it all in.”

Lewallen said it has just been the three of them, including the youngest daughter, Kenzie, and that wherever Lewallen has been, all three have been together. The Artesia community has helped raise them since they were small.

Single mom

Lewallen said the family’s success would not be possible without her parents, Jackie and Denny Powell. Also, that she could not have been the parent she was without their help and guidance. When Lewallen needed to work, her mom would pick up the girls when they were little.

“We have an amazing village that has helped raise my kids,” Lewallen said. “I missed soccer and volleyball games while coaching. I was gone quite a bit when they were young, but I was blessed to have people step in and help me.”

Lewallen served as the head volleyball coach at Ruidoso for two years, but felt God’s pull and was led to Artesia, where she has been a coach for 15 years. Lewallen coached the Bulldogs to the 2021 state championship when head coach Alan Williams was out with COVID. Lewallen said that the championship team played for each other, and the team’s scripture was Ephesians 3:20, that you are playing for more than yourselves, striving for someone higher than you.

“I feel so blessed for the people I have had in my life,” Padilla said. “I would not trade it for anything.

Strength

“I am hard on my girls because I want them to be strong,” Lewallen said. “I want them to push to be the best that they can be. I coach that way, too. I raise the bar, and I want the expectations to match. I want them to know that not everyone has or is blessed to have the opportunities they have.

If you don’t get something you think you deserve, then you need to work harder. Do not lay off in the weight room, and do not lay off when you are asked to do stuff. That work ethic will continue as they get older, and I hope it carries over into their jobs, families, and anything they choose to do outside of this. That is how I wanted to raise them.”