Cavemen Open District Play at Centennial

By Don Eskins

District 2/6A gridiron play kicks off this weekend for Carlsbad High on Friday night, September 11. In one of the conference’s biggest openers, the Cavemen will take on perennial district power Centennial.

Kickoff for the encounter has been set for 7 p.m. in Las Cruces at the Field of Dreams.

Centennial will enter Friday night’s game with an overall record of 1-2. But looks can be deceiving, and as the Cavemen see it, no look could be more deceiving than the Centennial Hawks’ 1-2 record.

MaxPreps thinks so too. For the week of September 6-13, the New Mexico pollster has ranked them No. 3 in Class 6A football, and with good reason.

Following back-to-back losses to the Class 6A No. 1 Cleveland Storm, 34-7, and the El Paso Andress Eagles, 44-34, the Hawks stormed the field on Friday night, September 4, to rout the Artesia Bulldogs 37-14 in Las Cruces.

The Cavemen opened up 2026 with a 20-13 win over Artesia.

No doubt about it, CHS’s matchup with the Hawks appears to be their stiffest test of the new season.

“Centennial is big, and they’ll come out and hit you,” said Cavemen head coach Cale Sanders. “On defense, they’ll give us a lot of different looks, looks that can be hard to read. They caused us lots of problems playing games up front last year, so we expect more of the same from them this season as well.

“Offensively, they pound on you, something we’ve deterred our first two opponents from trying to do too much this year. But, however the game goes, Centennial won’t back off their running game. We expect our defense to face a stern test Friday night,” said Sanders. “We know it’s going to be a tough one, but our kids are battlers, and when the game gets underway, they’ll be ready to play.”

The Matchup

The Carlsbad at Centennial faceoff will feature two of Class 6A’s Top 10 teams. While MaxPreps has ranked Centennial third for the fourth week of Land Enchantment football, the Cavemen have been ranked sixth, up two spots from last week.

And while the 1-2 Hawks will be flying onto the Field of Dreams following a 37-14 rout over Artesia, the Cavemen will take the field coming off a 48-14 victory over the Lovington Wildcats. The win upped CHS’s record to a perfect 3-0.

On paper, here’s how Friday night’s Hawks vs. Cavemen clash has shaped up.

Offensively, the Cavemen have scored 103 points during their three pre-season games, an average of 34 points per outing. They’ve picked up 1,068 total yards of offense, 360 through the air, an average of 120 yards per game, and 708 rushing, an average of 236 yards per outing.

The Hawks have scored 78 points, an average of 26 points per game, and have amassed 1,100 total yards of offense. Of that total, 582, an average of 194 yards per contest, have come via the air and 518, an average of 172.7, on the ground.

Defensively, the Cavemen have given up 46 total points, an average of 15.3 points per game, and 703 total yards of offense, an average of 234.3 yards per game. Of that 703-yard total, they’ve given up 524 through the air, an average of 174.6 yards per outing, and 179 on the ground, an average of just 59.6 yards per game.

Centennial has given up 92 total points this season, an average of 30.6 points per outing, and 868 yards of total offense, or 289.3 yards per game. Of that total, 697 yards have come via their passing game, an average of 232.3 yards per tussle. On the ground, they’ve given up 171 yards, only 57 yards per game.

Based on this week’s MaxPreps rankings, which also figures in a team’s strength of schedule, it’s advantage Centennial. The third-ranked Hawks will enter Friday night’s game wearing the favorite’s tag; the sixth-ranked Cavemen, the underdog.

Leading Offensive Personnel

The running back and quarterback spots have played key roles in both teams’ ability to move the ball.

For Carlsbad, besides completing 25 of 49 passes for 341 yards, an average of 13.6 yards per completion, and five touchdowns with no interceptions, Cavemen signal-caller Marley Munoz has carried the ball 43 times for 331 yards, an average of 7.7 yards per rush, and six scores. Running back Brock Wright has rushed for 357 yards and three TDs on 60 carries, an average of 6.0 yards per tote.

Carrying the load at the wideout spots for Carlsbad have been Jaxson Duarte and Jayden Harper. Duarte has hauled in 13 receptions for 188 yards, an average of 14.5 yards per catch, and four touchdowns. Harper has recorded six receptions for 110 yards, an average of 18.3 yards per catch, and three scores.

Centennial’s go-to guys have been quarterback Ruiz Laborin and running back Dailen Ramirez. Behind center, Laborin has run for 190 yards on 27 carries, an average of seven yards per carry, and two touchdowns. With his arm, he’s thrown for 527 yards, hitting 37 of 58 attempts, an average of 14.2 yards per completion, with four TDs and two interceptions.

Laborin has three favorite receivers, Gavin Woods, Andrew Sandoval, and Dailen Ramirez, out of the backfield.

Woods has grabbed 14 catches for 199 yards, an average of 14.2 yards per catch, and two touchdowns. Sandoval has 19 catches for 196 yards, an average of 19.6 yards per catch, and Ramirez has nine catches for 124 yards, an average of 13. 8 yards per grab, with one touchdown.

At stake in Friday night’s ballgame for both Carlsbad High and Centennial is a share of the District 6/2A lead.

Cavemen Probable Lineup

OFFENSE: Linemen: Left tackle, sophomore Carlo Chavez; left guard, senior Lincoln Adsero; center, senior Nathaniel Olivas; right guard, junior Makai Yorgensyn; and right tackle, junior Hector Nava. Backfield: Quarterback, No. 2 Marley Munoz, and running back, No. 27 Brock Wright; wide receiver corps, No. 11 Jaden Harper; junior Ian Wilson; and sophomore Josiah Fuentes; and tight end, senior Braden Florez.

DEFENSE: Linemen: Nose tackle, junior Sean Cruz; defensive end, senior Isaiah Gaitan; and defensive end, senior Jaedyn Lynch; Linebackers: senior Colton McKibben; junior Trey Barta; and junior Juan Rubio; Secondary: senior Lennon Ananins, safety/cornerback; senior safety Damian Valencia; and senior cornerback Noah Gonzales.

(Two spots on the Cavemen’s defensive unit, one on the line and another in the secondary, have yet to be filled. Coach Sanders plans to fill the positions by committee.)