Cavemen Take on Clovis Wildcats
by Don Eskins
The 2-3 Carlsbad Cavemen, following a 35-13 conference loss to the second-ranked Centennial Hawks, will try to get back into the win column on Friday night, September 27, against the Clovis Wildcats in Clovis. Kickoff for the clash has been set for 7 p.m.
With the loss to Centennial, the Cavemen, along with Hobbs and Alamogordo, are tied for third place in this year's District 3/6A race at 0-1. Alamogordo, are tied for third place in this year's District 3/6A race at 0-1. Centennial and Organ Mt., both at 1-0, share the top spot. Friday night's game with the Cavemen will serve as the conference opener for Clovis.
The Wildcats, struggling in 2024, will take the field at 0-4. To date, they've dropped games to Farmington, 47-8, Rio Rancho, 50-0, Cleveland, 54-0, and Cibola, 36-12. As a result, this week, Clovis has been ranked 20th by MaxPreps. The Cavemen have been ranked 10th.
Although Clovis's 0-4 record appears to be quite dismal, prep football fans should keep in mind that Farmington, Rio Rancho, and Cleveland are all Class 6A top 10 teams.
In looking at the Wildcat's record, the most interesting game for Cavemen fans should be the Cat's 36-12 loss to Cibola. That would be the same Cibola Cougars the Cavemen downed 35-6 on September 13 in the Cavern City.
On paper, that spells advantage Carlsbad. However, Cavemen head coach Cale Sanders isn't buying into that, at least not totally.
"They do have a new coach this year, and he's a good one. But it is his first year there, and his team is still finding their way, which more than likely, has a lot to do with their slow start this season," said Sanders. "But Clovis does have some good athletes, and they've done some good things this year.
"As a second-year head coach myself, I can identify with the things he's going through a lot, and we can't afford to let them have a break-out game like we did against Goddard last year," said Sanders. "We'll also be playing them in their house, so they'll be getting a lot of respect from us."
Centennial 35, Cavemen 13
Although losing to the Centennial Hawks, the Cavemen continued to show signs of growth en route to Friday night's clash with the Clovis Wildcats.
"The score was a little deceptive. We made some costly mistakes during the game; the score should have been 28-21," said coach Sanders. "But besides the mistakes we made, our kids did a lot of really good things, too, against a very good football team. All-in-all, our coaching staff feels that we came away from the game with a lot of things to be encouraged about."
Defensively, CHS held Centennial, who had been averaging 50 points a game, to just 35. Diego Ramirez led the Cavemen effort with 13 total tackles. Ramirez, a 6'0", 190 lb. senior linebacker, registered three tackles and 10 assists.
"Diego is our Kason on defense. He calls the defense and makes sure we have everybody in the right spots," said the Cavemen coach. "He's proven to be a great leader for us both on the field and off."
Also enjoying big nights defensively were Colton McKibben and Ty Young. McKibben, a 6'2", 205 lb. sophomore linebacker, collected four solo tackles and seven assists. He also registered one tackle for a loss. Young, a 5'8", 145 lb. junior, logged three tackles and seven assists.
Offensively, CHS managed to collect 278 yards of total offense against the second-ranked Hawks, 131 rushing and 147 passing.
Cavemen signal-caller Kason Perez especially had a big night on the turf. Perez, a 5'10", 175 lb. senior, connected on 14 of 21 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 105 yards on just 12 carries.
Hauling in touchdown receptions from Perez were Eaven Leos, 10 yards, and Richard Hernandez, 12 yards.
District 3/6A Standings
Team District Season
Centennial 1-0 5-0
Las Cruces 1-0 3-2
Organ Mt. 1-0 2-3
Carlsbad 0-1 2-3
Hobbs 0-1 2-3
Alamogordo 0-1 1-4
Clovis 0-0 0-4
This Week's D3/6A Schedule:
Carlsbad @ Clovis; Organ Mt. vs
Las Cruces; Alamo vs Hobbs;
Centennial- Open.
Cavemen @ Centennial Recap
Carlsbad 0 7 0 6 13
Centennial 14 7 14 0 35
Carlsbad Game Stats Hawks
132 Rushing 214
147 Passing 162
276 Total Yds. 376
12 First Downs 18
1 Turnovers 0
1 Fumbles Lost 0
0 Intercepts 0
4/25 Penalties 4/25
Scoring:
2nd Quarter:
K. Perez 10 yd. pass to
E. Leos; L. Ananins expt kick
4th Quarter:
K. Perez 12 yd. pass to
R. Hernandez
Individual Offense:
Passing: K. Perez 14-21-147 yds-2 TD
Rushing: K. Perez 12-105; B. Wright
10-25; R. Castaneda 1-1.
Receiving: E. Leos 3-47-1 TD; R.
Castaneda 3-40; R. Hernandez 5-
34-1 TD; E. Lopez 3-26.
Individual Defense:
Tackles: C. McKibben 4; D. Ramirez,
T. Young, and R. Sanchez 3 each;
S. Rubio and C. Roberson 2 each
Assists: D. Ramirez 10, C. McKibben and T. Young 7 each; B. Anderson 5;
S. Rubio and Z. Pesante 4 each;
C. Roberson and R. Valenzuela 2 each;
B. Lopez III, I. Almodovar, L. Ananins
and J. Akwiembi 1. (CHS Stats)
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