by Don Eskins
The Carlsbad Cavemen and Artesia Bulldogs will face off tonight, Friday, August 23, in Artesia for what has become, at least for high school pigskin fans around southeastern New Mexico, one of the most anticipated football games of the new prep season.
And what a game it should be! Often tabbed the Eddy County War, the City of Champions will be covered with Orange and Blue as fans from both Eddy County communities fill the Bulldog Bowl to support their kids. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
How MaxPreps Sees the Game
No doubt about it, when the Cavemen load up in their Big Blue Bus, they’ll be heading to Artesia to win. However, says the New Mexico MaxPreps Pre-Season Poll, that won’t be such an easy task.
Based on last year’s finish and this year’s poll predictions, Artesia will enter the matchup as a heavy favorite. In 2023, the Bulldogs posted a record of 12-1 and captured the Class 5A state championship. Besides owning the MaxPreps top spot among 5A schools, they were also ranked second statewide, barring all classifications, behind La Cueva.
In a similar fashion, this year, MaxPreps’s pre-season poll has ranked the Bulldogs No. 1 in Class 5A and as the second-best team in New Mexico behind, once again, the La Cueva Bears. Evidently, at least according to MaxPreps, Artesia hasn’t skipped a beat.
In contrast, after losing to the Bulldogs last year 55-7, the Cavemen finished 2023 at 2-8, ranked 16th in Class 6A and No. 32 statewide. This year, they’ll kick off 2024, ranked 16th in Class 6A and 28th among all other schools.
Despite entering the game as heavy underdogs, Cavemen head coach Cale Sanders says his guys are ready to play.
“Our kids are excited about kicking off the new season. Doing that against Artesia in the Bulldog Bowl just makes it even more so,” said Sanders. “The atmosphere for football will be awesome, and it will be a great place for them to get those first-game jitters out of the way.”
Bulldogs Outlook
For the past several years, Artesia has relied on an explosive offense, spearheaded by their passing game, along with a solid defense. However, Sanders feels the Bulldogs will have a bit of a different look in 2024.
“Artesia will still throw the ball a lot this year, but they have a new quarterback named Izac Cazares, who, at 6’2” and 180 lbs., can run the ball as well as throw it,” said the Caveman coach. “As a dual threat, he’ll put a lot more pressure on our defense.
“However, as good as they’re expected to be on offense, it looks as though their strong side will be defense,” he said. “They have a very talented group of young men on the defensive line, their line-backing crew is tough, and they have a very athletic secondary.”
Cavemen Outlook
In Carlsbad’s camp, Sanders says his team will lean on their defense to help engineer a win over the Bulldogs.
“For us to compete with Artesia, we’re going to have to get a great effort from our strong point—the defense,” he said. “Last year, when we played Artesia, these kids were still learning our defensive scheme. But, after going through last year’s schedule and our off-season program, they’re a lot more versed in it. Also, as a group, they’ve really jelled over the past few months.”
Bolstering the Cavemen’s defensive effort will be defensive lineman Zayland Pesante-Nose, inside linebackers Diego Ramirez and Colten McKibben, and defensive backs Rio Sanchez and Blas Lopez.
Offensively, in an effort to keep the chains moving, Sanders and his staff will be looking to their skilled players.
“We have a lot more speed at those spots than we’ve had in the past,” he said. “If we execute, our kids will put some points on the board.”
Calling signals for the Cavemen will be senior quarterback Kason Perez.
“We’re fortunate to have Kason back again this year. He’s improved a great deal, and he’s become a lot more accurate with his passing,” said the Cavemen coach. “He gets everybody in the right places, and he makes good decisions with the ball. On the field, he’s like having another coach for us.”
When passing, Perez will be looking to get the ball to receivers Bobby Castaneda, R.J. Hernandez, Eaven Lopez, Ty Young, and Eloy Lopez.
Expected to provide leadership on the offensive line will be guards Jeremiah Sonora and Jeremy “Cowboy” Vargas.
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