JT Keith

Artesia Daily Press

jtkeith@elritomedia.com

The only thing that stopped the back-and-forth scoring action between the Artesia Bulldogs’ football team and the Hobbs Eagles was Mother Nature. The action was fast and furious as the Bulldogs came from behind to defeat Hobbs 51-41 on Friday night at the Bulldog Bowl.

Weather Delay

With 9:54 to play in the fourth quarter and the Bulldogs leading 37-34. And with Hobbs ready to punt the ball, the officials sent both teams to the locker room because of lightening in the sky. Fans were asked to leave the stadium until the game was restarted.

The game was delayed 40 minutes because of lightning in the sky. Play resumed at 10: 10 p.m. Maupin said his team is the kind of team that will stay until midnight to play the game if necessary. Maupin said he knows the rules and it is about safety and his trainers let the team play as long as they could.

“We told our guys to get off their feet and rest in the locker room,” Maupin said during the weather delay. “Our guys came out of the locker room and really responded in the third quarter. The weather does not affect us. I never questioned once, if we can throw the ball with the wind. I have that much faith in our guys that we can do whatever we want, no matter what the weather is.”

Hobbs takes lead at halftime

Hobbs led 28-23 at halftime after being behind by nine points with less than two minutes to play in the half. Maupin said he told his team in the locker room during intermission, that they were OK. He (Maupin) said that being in a close game with Hobbs was right where they wanted to be and they had a chance to win.

“I thought we had a bad second quarter,” Maupin said, “especially offensively. I thought we went out two drives and shot ourselves in the foot. It was not anything that we saw, we had a couple of holding penalties, we go to throw the ball and it slips out of our hands. We gave them (Hobbs) two quick scores, that we can’t do, but really, I challenged them at half to come out … I thought we won the first quarter and lost the second quarter.”

Artesia comes back

In the second half, the Bulldogs came out and scored when quarterback Derrick Warren threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jack Byers, giving the ‘Dogs a 29-28 lead at the end of the third quarter. Hobbs’ quarterback Junior Medrano came back on the next possession and ran around the right side for a 10-yard touchdown, to give the Eagles a 34-29 lead.

Maupin said he has been impressed by the play of senior quarterback (Derrick) Warren, who always has a smile on his face. Maupin said that when he gets on him, Warren just responds and comes to Maupin with suggestions about certain plays to run.

“I wrote in Warren’s notebook last week,” Maupin said, ‘hey man, this is your time, enjoy every minute of it.’ I know that he is going to get better the more games he (Warren) gets under his belt. The thing that is fun about Derrick (Warren) is he grows in the game and is a solid player.”

With 10 minutes to go, senior running back Bryce ‘White Lightning’ Parra scored on a 10-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs a 35-34 lead. Instead of kicking a field goal, Maupin went for a 2-point conversion and snapped the ball to Byers, who lined up in the backfield and threw a jump pass to Julian Baeza to give the Bulldogs a 37-34 lead.

Big Plays

With six minutes to go in the game, Warren threw a 24-yard pass to Parra, giving the Bulldogs a 44-34 lead. The Eagles came back to make the game closer when wide receiver Braddock Beaty scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Junior Medrano to make the score 44-41 with 3:53 to play in the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, instead of the Eagles kicking an onsides kick, they kicked the ball deep to Parra. Parra ran the ball 82-yards for a touchdown with Dominguez adding the Point After Touchdown to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 51-41 with three minutes to play.

After Parra scored on the kickoff return, Maupin had Dominguez onsides kick (bloop) and the Bulldogs recovered with less than three minutes to play in the game.

“You just have to find ways to get him (Parra) the ball,” Maupin said. “we put him out at receiver and motion him back to get the ball to him and we try to get him outside. Bryce (Parra), can make people miss and most of the time he makes the right cut. You get the ball in his hands with space and he is going to get you positive yards. I am just really glad he is on my team because he is hard to stop.”

Maupin said of the onside kick, that they (Artesia) did not want to kick it to Hobbs deep. he thought his team did a good job covering Hobbs kickoff’s return in the game. Maupin said the last time he had his kicker Dominguez bloop a kick to Hobbs, Hobbs’ fair caught it. This time the ball bounced into the arms of the Bulldogs.

“I thought we covered their Starburst really well,”Maupin said. “We said the worst case is Hobbs fair catches it, best case is the ball hits the ground and we have a chance to go recover. Our kicker is really good at putting the ball however we want it. That was a big time play.”

Artesia will face Centennial at 7 p.m. Friday at the Bulldog Bowl.

Offense

The Bulldogs had 22 first downs in the game, they ran the ball 28 times for 167 yards, passed the ball for 234 yards. And was 22-of-38 for 234 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Bryce Parra ran the ball 15 times for 169 yards and scored one touchdown

Derrick Warren was 22-of-36 for 234 yards and threw two touchdowns

Jack Byers has 5 receptions for 78 yards and one touchdown

Jett Fuentes had 5 receptions for 49 yards

Cael Houghtaling had 3 receptions for 44 yards

Parra had 2 receptions for 28 yards and one touchdown

Sawyer Whitehead had 3 receptions for 18 yards

Trent Egeland had 4 receptions for 17 yards

Through two games

Offense

Derrick Warren is 31-of 51 for 415 yards 3 touchdowns

Bryce Parra has carried the ball 26 times for 320 yards

Jett Fuentes has 5 receptions for 48 yards

Bryce Parra 4 receptions for 128 yards

Sawyer Whitehead 4 receptions for 23 yards

Cael Houghtaling 3 receptions for 43 yards

Trent Egeland 8 receptions for 76 yards and 2 touchdowns

Jack Byers 7 receptions for 99 yards

Defense

Julian Baeza has 10 solo tackles and 2 assist tackles

Edel Villa has 15 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles and 1 interception

Marco Soto Jr. has 18 solo tackles and nine assisted tackles, one fumble recovery and caused one fumble

Daelon Pacheco has 6 solo tackles and 4 assisted tackles

Alejandro Ontiveros has 5 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles

Sergio Robles Jr has 10 solo tackles and 4 assisted tackles

Home cooking served the Artesia girls volleyball team well. The Lady ‘Dogs did not start slow against the visiting Alamogordo Tigers. In fact, Artesia just flat out jumped on the Tigers at the first serve, defeating the Tigers in three sets (25-16, 27-25 and 25-13), at The Bulldog Pit on Thursday, August 28.

“Carlsbad was a good win for us,” Artesia assistant coach Mandi Lewallen said. “Tonight, Alamogordo came out ready to play. Traveling like that sometimes it takes a little bit, but they were scrappy at blocking our outside and we had to make some adjustments really quick. Them (Alamogordo) being scrappy definitely helps us.”

Lewallen said the tough match will help Artesia next week when they face Roswell at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Roswell “Den” and after that game, the Lady ‘Dogs will play in the Sweet 16 Tournament.

During the game, Artesia learned to overcome its errors and reducing them.

Lewallen said it was important that the Lady ‘Dogs had stopped the runs the Tigers had, so when it plays opposing teams, Artesia will be able to stop teams from going on a run of scoring three and four points in a row.

In the second set, Alamogordo came back from a 24-19 deficit, to tie the game 24-24.

“We have a problem finishing,” Alamogordo volleyball coach Rachel Montoya said after tying the game up at 24-24 in the second set. “That is going to be something that we work on all season. I tell our girls (players) while we have it, ‘you keep pushing’. This is my second year in the program and we are rebuilding and learning the program. We are kind of building a big old family.”

Lewallen said that she wanted to give props to the Bulldog fans that showed up and was loud during its rally. She said the fans support gave the team energy.

The Bulldogs have nine seniors and all of them are leading in their own way. Lewallen said that is a good thing because once one or two players start leading, normally all of the other girls do not say anything.

“Our seniors have been playing together for a while,” Lewallen said. “And that communication and trust – they are leading in their own way. All these girls have their own strengths and weaknesses and lead in their own way. So, they all do a great job of coming in, in different ways when they have too.”

 

JT Keith

Artesia Daily Press

jtkeith@elritomedia.com

The Hobbs football team will face a murder’s row of 5A football opponents in Lovington, Artesia, and Roswell before heading into its 6A schedule. According to Hobbs’ football coach, Ken Stevens, he wants his team to play in a big-time venue, such as the Bulldog Bowl, when his Eagles (1-0) come to the Bulldog Bowl at 7 p.m. Friday.

In last year’s game, neither team could stop the other, and Artesia’s four turnovers played a significant role in the outcome. The Bulldogs (1-0) had the ball and were trying to win the game when an interception ended their hopes in a 44-40 loss at Watson Memorial Stadium. Stevens said that neither team has lost at home to the other in the six years he has been coaching at Hobbs. 

Lovington game

Stevens said that his team got off to a slow start in the Lovington game, leading 14-0 at halftime, and continued to improve throughout the game to secure a 41-13 win.

“Playing in the Bulldog Bowl this week will be a tough game,” Stevens said. “I think it is going to be a shootout again, and hopefully, we get a few more defensive stops in the game. Last year, we got the defensive stop we needed to win the game. It very well could be the same thing in this game.”

Stevens’ three keys to beating Artesia: Prevent big plays

1. “We cannot give up big plays,” Stevens said. “We must make them earn what they get.”

Artesia is really explosive on offense, Stevens said. If we can prevent big plays and make them earn what they get, that will be one of the keys to the game. 

2. On offense, Stevens said that his Eagles need to minimize their mistakes offensively, keep their offense on the field, and produce points. “Artesia has a solid defense,” Stevens said. “They have two corners, Charlie Campbell IV and Tootie McNeal; those kids are 6-foot-2, and they are big, tall, lanky kids that can run. They are not afraid to go 1-on-1 on the outside with anyone, and that is a testament to their athletic ability. That kid No. 33 (Edel Villa) is a heck of a football player.”

3. “We have to handle adversity and the momentum swings that will happen to us,” Stevens said. “We need to respond the right way when adversity happens to us, especially playing over there. As explosive as Artesia is on offense, they have some explosive pieces over there on defense. We have to execute well on offense and minimize our mistakes on Friday night.”

The Eagles have junior running back Shamus Wright, who ran for three touchdowns and 238 yards on 18 carries, in the opening game against Lovington. Stevens said. For Wright to gain those yards, Stevens credits his offensive line but also said that Wright has excellent vision and sees the field well. 

“I think he has a good combination of agility and the ability to make cuts,” Stevens said. “And to combine that with some power running, he is 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds. He can play college football at some level.”

O-Line

The Eagles will bring in an offensive line that controlled the line of scrimmage well against Lovington. The Hobbs offensive line does not have a player who weighs under 220 pounds starting on it. On the left side of the line is senior Diego Argott, who is 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, and senior Oliver Hernandez, who is 6 foot even and weighs 265 pounds. Stevens said that he switched up the center this year and will start junior Ricardo Alverez, who is 5-foot-11 and 220 pounds. Two seniors will begin on the right side: Isaiah Morales, who is 6-foot-1 and weighs 280 pounds, and Max Garcia, who is 6-foot-1 and weighs 260 pounds.

Wide receiver

Justice French had a touchdown catch and three receptions for 45 yards against Lovington, and the other receiver, Braddock Beaty, scored on a 55-yard reverse, according to Stevens against Lovington. Stevens said that his receivers have good height, as both are 6-foot-2 and possess good speed, making them matchup problems for other teams.

Quarterback 

Junior Medrano will make his second start of the season against Artesia. He was 8-of-16 for 72 yards. Stevens said that he is a better passer than he showed on Friday night and can go with the ball in his hands.

“I think he is a little better passer than what he showed on Friday night,” Stevens said. “I would have to agree that he is a better runner than thrower, but he is more than capable of what he showed.”

Defensive line

For Hobbs, it starts with the defensive line. Mike Myrideth is the nose guard and stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 330 pounds. Stevens said that Myrideth is a two-gap guy, hard to move, and clogs the middle of the defense. Stevens said Myrideth has the size to play at the next level. Jeremiah Mackey, who had two-and-a-half sacks against Lovington, is a guy who is 5-foot-11 and 255 pounds. Stevens said that Mackey is one of the most explosive kids he has ever coached. 

“Man, he (Mackey) is explosive, and he is strong,” Stevens said. “Those guys (Myrideth and Mackey) do an excellent job on the interior of our defense.” 

Defensive back

Adrian Mora, who plays safety and stands at 6-foot-1 and weighs 165 pounds, is one of the fastest players on the team, according to Stevens. Mora is a big playmaker on special teams; he will return punts and kickoffs for the Eagles. He set a Hobbs school record last year in the playoffs against Eldorado with a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown. Stevens said that Mora will also use a spot play on offense.

Special teams

Beaty will handle most of the kicking duties and can kick a 40-yard field goal, but does not know if he can do it consistently, according to Stevens.

jtkeith can be reached at 575-420-0061, or @XJTKJEITH1.