Cavemen on the Road to Battle Lovington Wildcats

By Don Eskins

With their 16-14 victory over the Goddard Rockets on Friday night, August 29, in the Cavern City, the Cavemen grabbed their first win of the 2025 gridiron season. On Friday night, September 5, CHS, now 1-1, will be on the road to battle the Lovington Wildcats with hopes of bagging their second.

Game time for the clash is set for 7 p.m.

The Wildcats look to be a formidable foe for the Cavemen. Also, 1-1, they’ll enter the match ranked third in Class 5A football and 14th statewide.

The Cats opened the new season with a 41-13 loss to the Hobbs Eagles, ranked sixth in Class 6A football, but rallied to defeat the Portales Rams last Saturday, August 30, 49-21.

Entering Friday night’s clash, the Cavemen have been ranked 12th in Class 6A and 18th statewide.

Although picking up their first win of the season against the Goddard Rockets, Cavemen head coach Cale Sanders said they had a lot of work to do in anticipation of their meeting with Lovington.

“We just didn’t play well against Goddard. We made a lot of mistakes on the field, mistakes that we’ll need to clean up before Friday’s game with the Wildcats,” said Sanders. “But despite not playing well, our kids didn’t back off. They hung in there to get us the win.

“So, we’ll take the W and move on,” he said. “But we know if we’re to get past Lovington, we’re going to have to play better. If we do, I like our chances against the Wildcats.”

Carlsbad 16, Goddard 14

After a first-quarter 24-yard field goal by kicker Lennon Ananins, a third-quarter six-yard touchdown pass from running back Brock Wright to Robert Castaneda, an Ananins extra-point kick, and a seven-yard touchdown run by quarterback Eloy Lopez, the Carlsbad Cavemen had built what appeared to be a comfortable 16-0 lead as they headed into the fourth and final frame of play against the Goddard Rockets on Friday night, August 29.

But as ESPN’s iconic sportscaster Lee Corso might have said, “Not so fast.”

Goddard roared back in the fourth frame to score twice and come within just two points of tying the game up at 16-16 before the Cavemen, led by defensive lineman Zayland Pesante, rallied to stuff a Rocket two-point conversion attempt, only inches away from the goal line, with just seconds remaining on the clock.

As a result of the Cavemen’s defensive effort, Carlsbad held on to record their first win of the 2025 season, a 16-14 victory over Goddard High.

“I couldn’t have been more proud of our defensive unit; they played well for most of the ballgame,” said Sanders. “Offensively, we just made a lot of mistakes that left our kids having to defend a very short field during the fourth period.

“But I think our kids learned a lot about football and themselves in our win over Goddard,” he said. “Now it’s on to Lovington.”

The following are the Cavemen vs. Goddard game stats.

Cavemen vs. Goddard

Stat Sheets

GHS 0 0 0 14 14

CHS 3 0 13 0 16

Team Totals CHS GHS

Total Plays 63 54

Total Yards 173 168

Passing Yards 49 124

Rushing Yards 124 44

First Downs 13 11

Turnovers 1 1

Fum. Lost 1 0

Intcept. Thrown 0 1

Penalties 1 7

Yards 6 47

Scoring Summary

First Qt.

FG- Lennon Ananins 24 Yd

Third Qt.

TD- Robert Castaneda 6 Yd pass from Brock Wright (Lennon Ananins Kick)

TD- Eloy Lopez 7 Yd Run (Failed Two-Point Conv.)

Offense:

Passing- E. Lopez 5-18 yds; B. Wright 1-1-6yds-TD

Receiving- B. Lopez 1-27 yds; R. Castaneda 3-14yds-TD; B. Wright 2-8 yds.

Rushing- B. Wright 21-86 yds; E. Lopez 17-85-TD; R. Castaneda 1-2 yds; C. McKibben 1 for -2; M. Munoz 1 for -19.

Defense:

C. McKibben 3T-4A-INT; R. Sanchez 3T-2A; R. Akwiembi 2T-3A; Z. Pesante 2T-2A-1TFL; D. Escamilla 2T-2A; I. Gaitan 1T-1A; A. Venegas 1T-2A-1TFL; L. Ananins 1T-1A; C. Roberson 1T-1A; J. Rubio 1T-1TFL; D. Cabezuela 1T; T. Barta 1T; R. Castaneda 1A; S. Cruz 4A; T. Young 3A.

CHS Game Stats by

Coach Charles Millar