JT Keith
Artesia Daily Press
jtkeith@elritomedia.com

Coach aims to leave a legacy in players’ lives

In the Oct. 7 coaches’ poll, the Artesia Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in District 5A with 110 points and 11 first-place votes, followed by District 2-5A rivals Roswell at No. 2 and Lovington at No. 3. There is still a lot of football left in the next three weeks, and each team will face off against the others to determine who will win the district and advance to the playoffs.

Bulldogs football coach Jeremy Maupin said he ignores the polls and that his main goal is to improve his team by tournament time.

Artesia (6-1, 4-0 in District 2-5A) has played in the championship game the last four years. Maupin said his team is setting “The Bulldog Standard,” the team’s new motto this season. Every letter in their mascot name stands for something different:

B-Be the best version of you

U-Unity

L-Leadership

L-Loyalty

D-Discipline

O-Off the field, what you do matters

G-Grit

“As a department, we are using that as a standard and fitting all we want and making it happen,” Maupin said. “People make fun of us because we all wear the same-colored cleats and our socks are the same, but that’s unity. That’s something we feel separates us when we walk down the ramp; we look like one unit. We can find something meaningful in all those words.”

Maupin acknowledges that the Artesia coaches have a significant impact on the athletes who play for them for four years, and he wants his players to become good men, husbands and fathers, as well as productive citizens in society.

Maupin does not want his athletes’ most significant accomplishment to be winning a high school championship, and that’s it. Maupin said he wants his athletes to use high school as a platform to build a successful life.

“I will have the team over to my house during the season,” Maupin said. “I want them to see they can have good, clean fun without doing some of the things society says is fun. I love our team, and we have good young men, which is why I will have them to my family’s home during the season. We want to prepare our players for life and to be successful after they leave high school.”

JT Keith
Artesia Daily Press
jtkeith@elritomedia.com

Artesia junior Estrella Gutierrez, a defender on the Artesia girls soccer team, played a lot of soccer this summer.

She traveled to Colorado and Minnesota, competing in the US Club Soccer NPL U16 Finals in Commerce City, Colo., and the Target USA CUP in Blaine, Minn.

Gutierrez said it was a fantastic experience getting to play for the second consecutive year against elite competition.

She said that her goal is to play in college, and this experience is what college soccer would be like. Gutierrez wants to use her experience to help strengthen the Lady Bulldogs soccer team.

“Not very many players have had this type of opportunity,” Gutierrez said. “I want to share the many different skills and tips I learned with my teammates and coaches and become more of a leader.”

In the NPL U16 Finals, Gutierrez played for Sting WTX Olivarez 09G, based out of Lubbock, Texas.

They played in the Red River National Premier League in Dallas and secured first place in the 2024-25 season, qualifying for the national tournament. There were 16 teams in their age group from Florida, New Jersey and California.

In the Target USA CUP, she played with her travel team, Select Chicas 08/09G. The Chicas are a U17 Select team from Anchorage, Alaska, coached by Steve Day. The team includes girls from Alaska, but also welcomes girls from across the country who play competitive soccer and aspire to play in college. It gives them exposure in most major showcases across the U.S.

The Target USA CUP is the largest youth soccer tournament in the U.S., with more than 1,200 teams from 17 countries.

Gutierrez said that playing in the nationals is more challenging than playing in high school because some girls representing other countries are bigger and faster than some of the girls in high school here.

“Playing in the USA CUP helps me to be able to play against all types of players from all around the world,” Gutierrez said. “Not knowing any of the girls on the team helps you.”

By playing in the club and for the national team, Gutierrez said that it will help her know what to do on the field during games and how to create plays.

“I would like to be a better teammate this year,” Gutierrez said. “I would like to score and give more assists.”

JT Keith can be reached at 575-420-0061, or on X @JTKEITH1.

JT Keith
Artesia Daily Press
jtkeith@elritomedia.com

Perhaps the Artesia Bulldogs football team should start every game with a turnover.

In the last two weeks, the Bulldogs have won the opening kickoff and turned the ball over on the first play of the game. Artesia running back Bryce Parra fumbled on his first run of the game on Friday after the opening kickoff against Santa Teresa, but the Bulldogs bounced back from the turnover and continued their dominating ways with a 58-0 thrashing of the Desert Warriors at the Bulldog Bowl.

Artesia (6-1, 4-0 in District 2-5A) dominated on offense, defense and special teams.

“We were overwhelmed,” said Santa Teresa coach Shae Vierra. “Artesia obviously had a lot more talent than we did, but I love the fight in our kids. Our team came out and gave a great effort, but we were just overwhelmed.”

Artesia coach Jeremy Maupin said he was proud of his team and the effort they gave. The shining unit for the Bulldogs was special teams, which scored on a blocked punt, forced a safety, and returned a punt and kickoff for touchdowns.

“Bryce is healthy, and he is back on kickoff returns,” Maupin said. “Santa Teresa kicked to him, and Parra took one to the house and Edel Villa returned a punt for a 48-yard touchdown. Marco Soto blocked a punt in the end zone for a safety.”

Maupin said the defense has two starters not playing right now and the other players have stepped up and played well. Maupin said he is hoping to get the starters back in time for the last three games of the season and the playoffs.

Every receiver caught a pass

All the Bulldog receivers made catches, and none more exciting and frustrating than when quarterback Derrick Warren threw a slant to a slashing Jack Byers, who ran the ball 62 yards to the 1-yard line before being tackled by a Desert Warrior defensive back. Maupin said that he was happy to get all the wide receivers’ touches in the game.

Class act

At the end of the second quarter, when the game was called, the Bulldogs’ football team stayed out and sat down in the end zone to watch the band perform its performance for an upcoming contest this week. Not only that, but the team listened to the senior band members being introduced to the crowd on Senior Night.

“It started when I was at Los Lunas,” Maupin said. “I feel like it is an excellent opportunity to support the band and see their show. We never get to watch the band because we are always in the locker room game planning. Eric Benton is the new band director, and he is doing an excellent job. It is fun to watch (the band) evolve and grow. They play for us the whole game, so for us to get to watch them for 20 minutes, it is the least we can do. I thought it was really cool that we got to be a part of that.”

Bye week

The Bulldogs have a bye this week before taking on the Roswell Coyotes at 7 p.m. at the Wool Bowl on Friday, Oct. 17.

Maupin said he will give the players Saturday off and push everything back a day, and the team will still get after it. According to Maupin, the bye week only means the Bulldogs do not have a game that week.

‘Best team in the state’

“They are the best team in the state,” Vierra said. “They (Artesia) are probably going to win every game by double digits. They are an outstanding team, and they have so many players who are so big and fast. The main thing is that Artesia is so disciplined and fast. You can throw any wrinkle at them, and it is not going to fool them.”

JT Keith can be reached at 575-420-0061, or on X @JTKEITH1.

Nothing introduces the Zia Intermediate football team, comprised of seventh graders, to big-time football like letting them play a game against each other at the Bulldog Bowl. 

They got that chance on Oct. 6, and the White team won the game 22-6. The game allowed Bulldogs head football coach Jeremy Maupin a close-up view of the upcoming talent in the next three years, when the players will be sophomores and can earn a spot on the varsity team. Maupin listened to the calls of the quarterbacks from both huddles and held for extra points, while spotting the ball and calling penalties as the referee. 

“It is just about developing these players at this age and inputting our system,” said seventh-grade football coach Ike Montoya. “We have 12 plays that we have to run and master, and I thought both teams did a great job. The teams were evenly matched, and the white team just happened to get the best of the orange team today. Both teams have gone back and forth all year long.”

Montoya said this is a game the team plays every year, with the band showing up to play during the game. The crowd consisted of students, parents, and former and current Bulldog players to watch the next crop of Artesia gridiron warriors.

After the game, Maupin told the players to keep working hard so that they could one day walk down the ramp and play on the varsity team. He pointed out that, like the varsity players supporting them, the varsity was once in their position, looking up to older Bulldogs and playing in the game.

The Zias football team is big. Montoya said the game was played with three offenses going against three defenses, and each team ran the 12 plays that are standard for Bulldog football.

The first team defense faced the first team offense, while the second team offense faced the second team defense, and the third team offense faced the third team defense. 

“This is a good atmosphere to play in the Bowl in front of a crowd,” Montoya said. “This game shows us where every kid can play, and this year, we are deep on the defensive and offensive end. Usually, the offense tends to dominate these games, but this year it was just a defensive struggle. Our linebackers and defensive ends are really strong, and our offense had to work to get points on the board.”

Montoya said that he thought it was neat that the players had the chance to experience playing a game in the Bulldog Bowl. Another perk of being a Bulldog is that players get to record themselves on camera, introducing themselves by name, number, and position. In their senior year, they get to watch the recording. 

“It is about building for the future,” Montoya said. “When they are in eighth and ninth grade, these kids already have the basics down, and they keep adding to the playbook, and by the time they get to high school, they might have 70-80 plays.”