Cavemen Season Ends with 28-19 Loss to Hobbs

By Don Eskins

The Carlsbad Cavemen’s valiant effort to get to the 2024 state playoffs ended on Friday, November 1, in Carlsbad with a 28-19 loss to the 10th-ranked Hobbs Eagles.

With the loss, CHS fell to 4-6 on the year and 2-4 in District 3/6A. The Eagles closed out regular season play at 6-4 and 4-2 in conference.

The stakes couldn’t have been higher for the Cavemen when they faced off against Hobbs. A victory over the Eagles would have allowed them to finish regular season play at 5-5, which just might have been good enough to get them into the state playoffs.

However, as a result of the loss, Carlsbad’s season came to an abrupt end. The Cavemen were not among the 12 teams the NMAA Selection Committee chose to compete in this year’s New Mexico Class 6A Big Dance.

Following the loss, Carlsbad is solely focused on 2025.

NMAA Class 6A Top 12 Seeds: 1. La Cueva, 10-0; 2. Centennial, 10-0; 3. Cleveland, 9-1; 4. Volcano Vista, 8-2; 5. Las Cruces, 7-3; 6. Las Lunas, 7-2; 7. Rio Rancho, 6-4; 8. Eldorado, 7-3; 9. Hobbs, 6-4; 10. Sandia, 5-5; 11. Piedra Vista, 3-7; and 12. West Mesa, 5-5.

Cavemen 2024 Resume is Good

Despite coming up a bit short in their bid for a spot in this year’s state playoffs, in only head coach Cale Sanders’ second year at the helm of the CHS program, the Cavemen were a much-improved team.

Carlsbad closed out 2023 at 2-8; this season, they were 4-6 with a legitimate shot at finishing 7-3. However, narrow losses to Lovington, 47-44, Organ Mountain, 41-40 in OT, and Friday night’s 28-19 loss to the Hobbs Eagles dropped them below the .500 mark and out of the playoffs.

Although they’ll be losing some of their top performers to graduation, several Cavemen starters are set to return next year. Due to the large number of returning lettermen, 2025 looks to be an exciting year of football for CHS prep fans.

Hobbs 28, Carlsbad 19 Recap

Carlsbad High carried a 19-13 lead into the fourth quarter against the Hobbs Eagles in Carlsbad on Friday.

But the Eagles rallied for two scores in the final frame of play while keeping the Cavemen in check to grab a 28-19 victory in the two teams’ final regular season game.

The following is a game recap of the classic matchup between the two rival teams. (Game stats by CHS)

Game Recap:

HHS 0 7 7 14 28

CHS 7 6 6 0 19

Tale of the Tape

CHS Game Stats HHS

123 Rushing 187

134 Passing 189

257 Total Yds. 376

13 First Downs 18

0 Turnovers 1

0 Int. Thrown 1