Two Late Cavemen Scores Sink Hobbs 41-40

By Don Eskins

Trailing the Hobbs Eagles 25-14 at the half, 32-21 at the end of the third period, and 40-27 with only a few precious minutes of playing time left in the fourth and final quarter, things looked pretty bleak for the Cavemen on Friday night, October 30, in the Cavern City.

But, in one of Carlsbad’s most electrifying and historic finishes, the Cavemen scored twice to edge the Eagles 41-40.

Brock Wright scored the first of Carlsbad’s two late touchdowns from three yards out. A Lennon Ananins extra-point kick closed the gap between the Cavemen and Eagles to just six, 40-34.

The Strip, a TD, and a Sack

Following the ensuing kickoff, on an almost unbelievable play, defensive back Lennon Ananins stripped the ball out of the hands of Eagles running back Zaylyn Sanders and returned it to the Hobbs 15-yard line to give the Cavemen the spark they needed to grab the win.

Three plays later, Wright would scamper into the end zone from four yards out to knot the game up at 40-40 with only 55 seconds showing on the clock. Appropriately, Ananins then booted the conversion kick through the uprights to put Carlsbad out in front 41-40.

With only a handful of seconds still remaining on the clock, Hobbs drove the ball down the field to the Cavemen 40-yard line in hopes of setting up a game-winning field goal. But a timely sack by Cavemen middle linebacker Colton McKibben moved the ball back another 15 yards to the Hobbs 45, to quickly put an end to the Eagles’ hope.

McKibben’s heroics, followed by an incompleted pass and a completed pass stopped 26 yards shy of the end zone, put the finishing touches on Carlsbad’s epic 41-40 comeback victory.

“This was really a wild one. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game that saw a group of kids battle back, from two scores back late in the fourth quarter, to steal a victory,” said Cavemen head coach Cale Sanders. “Down but not out, our kids showed a lot of heart in coming back the way they did. Our coaching staff is very proud of them for the way they battled back to get the win.”

Stepping Up Big

Brock Wright especially stepped up big for the Cavemen in knocking off the Eagles. The hard running, bruising back rushed for 180 yards and five TDs. Marley Munoz also enjoyed a big night. Behind center, he ran for an opening-period TD, picked up 117 yards on the ground, and threw for another 96. Wideout Jaxson Duarte, with four catches for 56 yards, led all CHS receivers.

McKibben, with 14 total tackles, a sack, and two tackles for a loss, led the Cavemen effort on the defensive side of the ball. Also having big games were Trey Barta with 11 total tackles, a TFL, and a fumble recovery; Damian Valencia and Juan Rubio each with 10 total tackles; Lennon Ananins with nine total tackles, a TFL, and a fumble recovery; and Isaiah Gaitan with eight total tackles and two TFLs.

The win left Carlsbad, in their final regular-season game, with an overall record of 7-3. In District 2/6A play, they were 4-3 and placed fourth. Hobbs, at 4-6 on the year and 2-5 in conference, finished sixth.

CHS Scoreboard

HHS---6--19---7----8---40

CHS---7----7-- 7---20---41

CAVEMEN LEADERS:

OFFENSE

Rushing: Brock Wright 27-180 and 5TDs; Marley Munoz 18-117 and a TD; Passing: Marley Munoz 6-14-96 yards and 1 interception; Receiving: Jaxson Duarte 4 catches for 56 yards; Jaden Harper 1 catch for 20 yards; I. Wilson 1 catch for 10 yards.

DEFENSE

Colton McKibben 14 TTs- Sack-2 TFLs; Trey Barta 11TT’s- TFL-Fum Rec; Damian Valencia 10 TTs; Juan Rubio 10 TTs; Lennon Ananins 9 TTs- TFL- Fum Rec; Isaiah Gaitan 8 TTs- 2 TFLs; Noah Gonzales 4TT’s; Tyler J. Gillespie 2T’s-TFL.

Stats by Cavemen coach Charles Millar

Due to space constraints, the Local was able to post only a limited number of stats.