Heroes and Thanksgiving Day 1962

Turning Back Time by Don Eskins Growing up during the early 60’s was quite an experience for young boys throughout Carlsbad, of which I was one.

With fewer distractions (no internet, no cable TV or streaming services, no video games, etc.), youngsters were forced to focus on a much more limited range of life’s interests.

And for us, what could have been more interesting than iconic head Cavemen football coach Ralph Bowyer and his charges?

Yup, in those days, don’t think you could go anywhere in the Cavern City without running into someone who was up to date on what was happening in the Cavemen gridiron camp—and with good reason. Bowyer had built his program into one of the most recognizable in the Land of Enchantment.

And as in Kevin Costner’s Field of Dreams, while Bowyer was building it, people came in droves hoping to get an opportunity to watch his CHS gridders play.

With standing-room-only crowds for many of Carlsbad’s games, fans often had to catch all the action on KAVE radio at 1240 AM.

Better still, as a follow-up on Sunday mornings, the Current-Argus’s Roy Hall had the best sports page in the state. Yes, the Cavemen were everywhere.

But the Cavemen football team, as a whole, wasn’t the only thing we were focused on at that time. Just as important were the players, who we saw as heroes.

For most of my friends and me, our hero was defensive back Sammy Montanez. Just hearing his name turned more heads than I could count during those days. Yes, we all wanted to be just like Sammy.

Growing up on the southside of Carlsbad, I can still vividly remember one late afternoon when this message spread through the streets near where I lived: “Sammy’s lifting weights at the Boys Club,” some kid exclaimed.

Shortly thereafter, a herd of young boys went sprinting down Canal Street in hopes of getting a glimpse of him pumping iron. (At that time, the Boys Club was located on South Canal next to the Y—Canal and Canyon streets.)

The old timers around the Cavern City probably have no problem at all remembering the final earmark placed next to Montanez’s Cavemen football legacy.

During the waning minutes of the fourth quarter in the 1962 state championship final between Farmington and Carlsbad held in the Cavern City on Thanksgiving Day, Sammy picked off a Scorpion pass to help seal a 34-20 CHS victory.

And what a Thanksgiving Day it was for the City of Carlsbad and its Cavemen football team. The celebrations, due to the excitement of winning a state championship in the Cavern City, seemed to go on forever.

And why not? Carlsbad had a lot to celebrate. The victory marked back-to-back state titles for CHS and the eighth overall for legendary coach Ralph Bowyer.

For Cavemen fans today, who were unable to attend the game for some reason or another, here’s how Roy Hall summed up the Carlsbad classic!

Cavemen Football’s Last Harrah

“An overflow crowd of more than 6,200 screaming high school football fans packed Cavemen Stadium to watch Carlsbad and Farmington square off in the state championship game on Thanksgiving Day afternoon,” said Hall, who not only captured the flow of the game but also the excitement that ran throughout the stadium and into the Cavemen locker room.

“I’d never seen that many people at a high school football game before in my life,” said Cavemen defensive back Sammy Montanez. “They were so into the game; it gave me goose bumps just listening to them.

“But we were playing in front of our fans, at a new school, in a new stadium, and when we ran out onto the field for the opening kickoff, we were pumped and ready for Farmington,” he said. “All we had talked about all week was winning the state championship for Carlsbad.”

After falling behind 14-7 in the second quarter, the Cavemen evened the game up as Gordon Wheeler barreled his way in for his second score of the game from six yards out. Carlsbad High would take the halftime break tied with Farmington at 14-14.

But the second half belonged to the Cavemen, who went on to outscore the Scorpions 20-6 over the final two frames of play. Two more third-quarter scores by Gordon Wheeler, a timely Sammy Montanez interception, and a 17-yard touchdown run by quarterback Bobby McIntire in the fourth period all but sealed the Scorpions’ fate.

“Coach Bowyer, who never raised his voice and never got mad, called us all together just before the start of the second half,” said Cavemen defensive tackle Dan Smith. “He told us that the Cavemen had never lost a state championship football game. That’s all we needed to hear. After he said that, we went out in the second half and kicked booty.”

“There were countless highlights in Thursday’s holiday duel, but three factors stood out above all others,” reported Hall. “Foremost, of course, was the running of Gordon Wheeler. The 187-pound junior simply ran over the scrappy Scorpions, powering his way to 111 net yards on 13 carries.

“Secondly, there was the hard-nosed defensive work of linebackers Tim Eckland, Marion Thompson, and Felix Carrasco, tackle Dan Smith, and corner man David Patty,” wrote Hall. “Defensive ends Fred Almy, Dave Jones, and Jerry Pritchard also deserve some recognition along this line, for they did outstanding jobs of ‘turning in’ Farmington’s speedy ball carriers and keeping them from getting outside.

“Finally, there was the fourth-quarter pass interception by safety Sammy Montanez, which Bowyer later termed the turning point of the contest,” continued the C-A’s highly decorated sportswriter.

“Coming only minutes after Carlsbad had broken away from a 14-14 deadlock on a Wheeler 42-yard scoring romp, the interception took much of the fight out of the Scorps,” summed Hall. “It also set up the fourth Cavemen touchdown as Montanez returned the pilfered pass 45 yards to the 17-yard line.” (C-A Nov. 23, 1962)

En Route to Cavemen History?

It’s been over half a century since Carlsbad won their last state football title, and sadly, some of those on CHS’s 1962 roster are no longer with us. But as long as there are Cavemen football fans around hoping to see Carlsbad High log another state title, their legacy will!

Since grabbing their last state title in 1962, 63 other schools have hoisted up New Mexico’s Big Blue Trophy.

But the Cavemen have been working hard to end CHS’s state title drought.

Under the leadership of head coach Cale Sanders for the past three years, the Cavemen have made steady progress and are once again a viable player in the race for the state title.

Although they still have some work ahead of them, no doubt, coach Sanders and his staff have set expectations high for their charges this year.

So, Cavemen, when it comes to claiming state titles, “Why not us in 2026!”