Cavemen Tough in 22-21 Loss to Eldorado

By Don Eskins

Well, it looks like the oddsmakers got this one right, but just barely. Following the eighth-ranked Eldorado Eagles’ 21-20 upset victory over the second-ranked Las Cruces Bulldawgs, MaxPreps picked the Eagles to roll over the 10th-ranked Carlsbad Cavemen in a game played at Albuquerque’s Wison Stadium on Friday night, October 9.

But when all was said and done, the Cavemen battled Eldorado tougher than expected before falling to the Eagles 22-21. Yup, Carlsbad gave the Birds all they could handle.

On paper, the Cavemen were impressive. Besides putting up 21 points on the Eagles, they outgained them by 50 yards, 301-251, holding Eldorado to just 43 yards on the ground.

Carlsbad also picked up 20 first downs to Eldorado’s 17 and forced them to commit three turnovers, two interceptions, and a fumble. Besides the scoreboard, the only thing Eldorado fared better in than CHS was to commit just five penalties for 32 yards, to Carlsbad’s 12 penalties for 47.

“Our kids did some incredible things during the ballgame,” said Cavemen head coach Cale Sanders. “Up 21-0 at one point during the second period and 21-8 at the half, we surprised a lot of people with our start, including ourselves. We just didn’t finish.

“Our kids have really come a long way this season, but as far as they’ve come, they still haven’t learned to win, to put teams away,” he said. “We need to do that, learn to win, week in and week out. Close; hopefully we’ll get it done against Organ Mt. Knights.”

Ranked ninth this week, the Cavemen will host the 13th-ranked Knights on Friday, October 16. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Ralph Bowyer Cavemen Football Stadium.

Game Leaders

The Cavemen scored all three of their touchdowns in the second quarter. During the period, quarterback Marley Munoz threw for three touchdowns. Wideout Jason Harper pulled down two of his TD strikes, while running back Brock Wright hauled in the third.

Defensively, CHS was led by Damian Valencia, who recorded 12 total tackles and an Interception. Also registering big games were Colton McKibben, 13 total tackles; Bailey King, four total tackles, a sack, and TFL; Isaiah Gaitan, three total tackles, a sack, and TFL; M. Ivan Morales, two total tackles, a sack, and TFL; Lennon Ananins, three total tackles and an interception; and Jaeedyn Lynch with an assist and a fumble recovery.

CAVEMEN SCOREBOARD

Cavemen @ Eldorado

CHS 0 21 0 0 21

EHS 0 8 14 0 22

Game Stats:

CHS Stats EHS

194 Passing 208

107 Rushing 43

301 Total Yds. 251

20 1st Dwns 17

0 TOs 3

0 Fum. Lost 1

0 Int. Thrown 2

12/47 Penalties 5/32

Scoring: 2nd Qt.

Jaden Harper 17 yd pass from Marley Munoz (Lennon Ananins kick); Jaden Harper 14 Yd pass from Marley Munoz (Lennon Ananins kick); Brock Wright 20 Yd pass from Marley Munoz (Lennon Ananins kick)

OFFENSE:

Passing: Marley Munoz 15/24 for 194 yds. and 3 TDs; Jaxson Duarte 0-1

Rushing: Brock Wright 16-69; Marley Munoz 16-38

Receiving: Jaxson Duarte 7-90; Jaden Harper 5-76-and 2 TDs; Brock Wright 1-20-and a TD; Ian Wilson 1-10; Braden Florez 1-(-2)

DEFENSE:

Colton McKibben 8T-5A; Noah Gonzalez 4T-2A; Tyler-Jaymes Gillespie 2T-1A-TFL; Damian Valencia 2T-10A-Int; Juan Rubio 2T-2A-TFL; Bailey King 2T-2A-Sack-TFL; Sean Cruz T-2A-TFL; Isaiah Gaitan T-2A-Sack-TFL; M. Ivan Morales T-A-Sack-TFL; Lennon Ananins 3A-int; Jaeedyn Lynch A-Fum Rec; Trey Barta 3A.

Photo: Cavemen wide-out Jaden Harper tries to pull down a pass vs. Artesia. Harper grabbed two tosses for touchdowns in Carlsbad’s narrow 22-21 loss to Eldorado. (Sax Shots File Photo)