Cavemen vs. Artesia Collision On Deck

By Don Eskins

Under the Friday Night Lights on August 22, the Cavemen and Artesia Bulldogs will once again storm the field in the Cavern City to kick off another exciting year of prep football.

On that night, just a stone’s throw away, it’s a sure bet that finding a good seat in the Ralph Bowyer Cavemen Football Stadium won’t be easy as fans wearing Blue and Orange begin to pack the stadium.

Looking Ahead to Kickoff

“Taking on the Bulldogs so early is tough. I wish we played them a little bit later on in the season,” said Cavemen head football coach Cale Sanders. “But we don’t, that’s just the way things are. Our kids will be ready, though.”

For the past several years, the Bulldogs have had the Cavemen’s number. Sanders feels like his kids have the ability this year to change that.

“Although Artesia has been piling up the wins, Carlsbad’s put some pretty decent teams on the field the last few years. We just haven’t been able to get over the hump. We hope to see that change this year,” said the Cavemen coach. “When we take the field on Friday night, we want our kids to respect Artesia but not fear them. This year, they’re a pretty good team themselves.”

Final Tune-ups

There’s a different feeling around the Cavemen football camp this year, and according to Sanders, there’s a good reason for that.

“We’re a much more experienced team this year, on both sides of the ball, and because of that, we’re a much more confident one,” said the CHS coach. “We do have a few things we’re still working on, though.”

One of those things is zeroing in on a starting quarterback. So far, Sanders hasn’t settled on a signal-caller for 2025. Senior Eloy Lopez and junior Marley Munoz continue to battle for the job.

“There’s a lot more work involved for a quarterback in running our offense than just executing the play,” said Sanders. “Besides learning our schemes, he’s also going to have to be able to do pre-snap reads.

“Deciding whether Eloy or Marley will get the job hasn’t been easy,” he said. “Each of them has strengths that have made them good candidates.”

Defensively, Sanders said he likes what he’s seen from his charges on that side of the ball. However, like the offense, they’ll have a new face on the field in charge of making calls.

“Diego Ramirez called defense for us last year, but we lost him to graduation. This season, junior linebacker Colton McKibben has moved into the job,” said the Caveman coach. “He’s a smart kid, but he’s had a lot to learn. He has to be able to recognize offensive formations and tendencies, and to get our players to line up correctly.

“It’s a big job with a lot of responsibility, but he’s working hard,” said Sanders. “We feel like he’s the right kid for the job. He just needs a lot more work.”