Cavemen Rally to Defeat Hobbs Eagles 42-35 in Overtime

By Don Eskins

The Carlsbad Cavemen, who somehow just keep finding ways to win, reached down deep to find another against the Hobbs Eagles in the opening round of the Class 6A state football tournament in Carlsbad on Saturday afternoon, November 7.

Up by two touchdowns, 35-20, as the final quarter of play got underway, the Cavemen watched Hobbs score 15 unanswered points to tie the game up at 35-35 and send the game into overtime.

The Cavemen, with the ball first, wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard in the sudden-death playoff. Starting from the 10-yard line and following a nine-yard first-down run by Carlsbad’s Brock Wright, quarterback Marley Munoz plunged into the end zone from one yard out to put CHS up 42-35 following the sixth successful extra point kick of the afternoon by Lennon Ananins.

But Hobbs, confident in their passing game after logging 252 yards and two touchdowns through the air, went over the top once too often in their effort to knot the scoreboard up at 42-42.

On their first attempt to score, Eagles signal caller Junior Medrano launched the ball into the right corner of the end zone, only to watch Cavemen defensive back Lennon Ananins jump in front of his intended receiver to intercept the ball and give CHS the 42-35 victory.

Ananins’ effort also earned Carlsbad a ticket to the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs.

Although Ananins’ interceptions iced the win for the Cavemen, Carlsbad’s victory was nothing short of a total team effort.

Rushing for 348 yards, 234 by CHS running back Brock Wright, and passing for another 87, the Cavemen collected 435 total yards of offense vs. 320 by Hobbs. Although the Eagles threw the ball for 252 yards, the tough Cavemen defense limited them to just 68 yards on the ground.

En route to scoring 42 points, along with Munoz’ one-yard overtime plunge, Brock Wright rushed for two scores, receiver Jaden Harper for another, and wideout Jaxson Duarte pulled down two Munoz aerials for TDs.

Defensively, Colton McKibben, with 12 total tackles and three tackles for a loss, led all Cavemen stoppers. Also having big games were Lennon Ananins with nine TTs and an interception; Juan Rubio with 13 TTs; Damian Valencia with 10 TTs; and M. Ivan Morales with two TTs, a sack, and two TFLs.

The Cavemen will now take on the Volcano Vista Hawks in the quarter-final round of the state playoffs in Albuquerque on Saturday, November 14.

Cavemen vs. Hobbs

November 7, 2026

HHS 14---0----6--15---0---35

CHS 7--14--14---0----7---42

SCORING:

1st QT: Jaxson Duarte 10 Yd Pass from Marley Munoz (Lennon Ananins Kick)

2nd QT: Brock Wright 2 Yd Run (Lennon Ananins Kick); Brock Wright 2 Yd Run (Lennon Ananins Kick)

3rd QT: Jaden Harper 12 Yd Run (Lennon Ananins Kick); Jaxson Duarte 9 Yd Pass from Marley Munoz (Lennon Ananins Kick)

OT: Marley Munoz 1 Yd Run (Lennon Ananins Kick)

OFFENSE:

Passing: M. Munoz 7-14-87 yds- 2TDs- int.

Rushing: B. Wright 26-234 yds- 2TDs; M. Munoz 17-87 yds-TD; J. Harper 1-12 yds-TD; I. Wilson 2-8 yds; D. Pineda 1-7.

Receiving: J. Harper 2-37 yds; B. Florez 2-28 yds; J. Duarte 3-22 yds-2TDs.

DEFENSE:

C. McKibben 6T-6A-3TFLs; L. Ananins 4T-5A-Int; J. Rubio 3T-10A; D. Valencia 3T-7A; N. Gonzales 3T-3A; T. Barta 2T-5A; M. Ivan Morales 2T-Sack-2TFLs; J. Lynch T-2A-TFL; T. Gillespie T-2A; J. Duarte 2A; I. Gaitan 2A; B. King 2A; B. Granger 2A; S. Cruz 2A; J. Campos- A; J. Perez- A.