Cavemen Braced for Rocket Invasion

By Don Eskins

The Carlsbad Cavemen will lock horns with the Goddard Rockets in the Cavern City on Friday night, August 29. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Ralph Bowyer Cavemen Football Stadium.

However, in getting to Friday night's game, the Cavemen and Rockets have traveled two very different paths.

Last weekend, August 22-23, the Cavemen (0-1) were saddled with a disappointing 48-24 loss to the Class 5A top ranked Artesia Bulldogs while the Rockets (1-0) rolled over the Portales Rams 41-6, traditionally a powerhouse in Class 4A play.

Although Goddard did pick up a victory last week, the Cavemen will take the field as a slim favorite, says MaxPreps. The New Mexico pollsters have ranked the Cavemen 18th overall, barring all classes, and the Rockets 26th for Friday night's game.

However, one thing is certain about the Rockets, they've already proven they can win.

So, the question surrounding Friday night's game is a simple one. After their loss to the Bulldogs, will the Cavemen be able to bounce back against the Rockets to collect their first win of the 2025 season?

Cinching Up for the Game

Despite getting this week's pick, the Cavemen won't be looking past Goddard.

"Goddard's a lot like us, they've still got some growing to do," said Carlsbad head coach Cale Sanders. "However, they handled Portales pretty well on both sides of the ball last week. They can play ball. MaxPreps thinks, so too. This week they've ranked them sixth in Class 5A football, that's just five spots behind top ranked Artesia."

"No doubt, Goddard will be getting a lot of respect from us. But, despite our loss to Artesia, we still think we're a pretty good ball club, too," he said. "If we can limit the kind of errors we made against Artesia, our kids are going to be in good shape against the Rockets."

This week, in Class 6A, the Cavemen have been ranked 13th.

Cavemen vs. Artesia Notebook

Last week's loss to Artesia was a tough one for the Cavemen. Although the stat sheets show that they played pretty much even with the Bulldogs, busted plays on both sides of the ball, turnovers and untimely penalties never really allowed CHS to build any momentum.

Most of those errors were self-inflicted, and the top ranked Bulldogs, as top ranked teams usually do, quickly took advantage of them.

However, as the stats reflect, despite the loss, the Cavemen did do a lot of positive things. At times, on both sides of the ball, CHS did get some great effort from a number of athletes, and they did make a lot of big plays.

Probably the most notable of those efforts was registered by running back Brock Wright. Wright, a 190 lb. junior, ran for 130 yards on just 21 carries against the Dogs. For the record, that's 6.2 yards per tote.

The following is a recap of the Cavemen vs Artesia ballgame.

Carlsbad vs. Artesia RecapTeam                     1             2             3             4             FCarlsbad               0             7             10           7             24Artesia  14           27           7 0          48

Game StatsTotal Plays                           60           50Total Yards                          297        336Passing Yards                     114        126Rushing Yards                    183        210First Downs                         15           14Turnovers                            3             2Fumbles Lost                      2             2Intercept. Thrown            1             0Penalties                              5             6Yards                                     62           67

Scoring SummarySecond QuarterTD: Eloy Lopez, 14 Yd Run (Lennon Ananins- Kick)

Third Quarter FG: Lennon Ananins 43 Yd kick;TD: Eloy Lopez 2 Yd Run (Lennon Ananins- Kick)

Fourth Quarter TD: Robert Castaneda 39 Yd Pass From Eloy Lopez (L. Ananins Kick)

Offense: LeadersPassing: Eloy Lopez 7-14-114 Yds. 1 int and 1 TDRushing: Brock Wright 21-130; Eloy Lopez 17-45 and 2TD's; Marley Munoz 2-5; Steven Larez 1-3.Receiving: R.J. Hernandez 3-56; Robert Castaneda 2-49 and a TD; Brock Wright 2-9.Defense: LeadersAugustine Venegas 3T-TFL-Fum Rec; Trey Barta 2T-A-Sack-TFL; Robert Castenada 2T-A; Reenson Akwiembi 2T-A; Connor Roberson T-A; Ivan Solorzano T-A-TFL-Fum Rec; Lennon Ananins T; Eaven Leos T; Sean Cruz A.

Stats by Cavemen Football