PICTURED: Ethan Conn looks a pass from Izac Cazares into his hands before completing a 70-yard touchdown during the final seconds of the first half Friday in Roswell.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The Bulldog football team picked up its fifth District 2-AAAAA win Friday over Goddard, 55-20 at Wool Bowl.
The 'Dogs built a quick lead in the contest, scoring to cap their first offensive series on a one-yard run by Ethan Conn. Derrick Warren then found Trent Egeland in the back of the end zone for the conversion to make it 8-0 with 10 minutes to go in the opening quarter. Two minutes later, Artesia would log its first of several big plays on the night when Izac Cazares hit Bryce Parra in stride for a 62-yard touchdown that made it 15-0 after the Corbyn Dominguez PAT.
PICTURED: Bryce Parra turns to snag a 62-yard touchdown pass from Izac Cazares.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
Conn delivered the next big TD for the Bulldogs, taking a Cazares pass 67 yards to the end zone and eluding a multitude of defenders in the process to put Artesia up 21-0. But a brief rally by the Rockets would follow, as Goddard scored on an 11-yard pass from Izaiah Montoya to Josiah Castillo, then recovered the ensuing onside kick with time running out in the first quarter. The boys in blue took advantage of the short field, scoring again on a 25-yard toss from Montoya to Jose Porras to make it 21-13.
The 'Dogs would quickly reclaim the momentum, however, bumping their lead to 34-13 on back-to-back touchdowns by Frankie Galindo, the first a 27-yard run that saw the RB bowl over the Rocket defense and the second a 54-yarder that had the senior following his blockers after a huge initial burst up the middle.
PICTURED: Frankie Galindo dives over the goal line to complete a 27-yard touchdown run.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
A big hit by Parra on the subsequent kickoff resulted in an Artesia recovery and a quick trip back to the field for the offense, which capitalized with a quarterback draw that had Cazares dodging defenders right and left for a 31-yard run.
Cazares then launched a 50-yard pass to Conn just prior to the half, with the slot back legging out the final 20 for a 70-yard TD that made it 48-13 Bulldogs at the break.
PICTURED: Izac Cazares powers past Goddard's Christian Andrade en route to a 31-yard score.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
With the mercy-rule clock in motion, the second half was a swift one, but the 'Dogs' second-string offense delivered one final touchdown in the third quarter when Derrick Warren found Jack Byers in the end zone, who swatted off a Goddard defender for the two-yard TD. The Rockets (2-7, 1-5) closed out the contest with a two-yard touchdown of their own on a direct snap to Nathan Reed, who then tacked on his own PAT to round out the 55-20 final.
The Bulldogs improved to 6-3 on the season, 5-1 in D2 play with the victory and will close out their second season at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, against Mayfield at the Field of Dreams. The Trojans (4-4, 3-2) and Roswell High (6-1, 4-1) will meet at 1 p.m. tomorrow in Las Cruces.
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
• Artesia- Ethan Conn 1-run (Derrick Warren to Trent Egeland pass good), 9:58
• Artesia- Bryce Parra 62-pass from Izac Cazares (Corbyn Dominguez kick good), 8:04
• Artesia- Conn 67-pass from Cazares (pass fails), 3:57
• Goddard- Josiah Castillo 11-pass from Izaiah Montoya (kick blocked), :22
SECOND QUARTER
• Goddard- Jose Porras 25-pass from Montoya (Nathan Reed kick good), 11:11
• Artesia- Frankie Galindo 27-run (run fails), 9:15
• Artesia- Galindo 54-run (Dominguez kick good), 4:06
• Artesia- Cazares 31-run (Dominguez kick good), 3:11
• Artesia- Conn 70-pass from Cazares (Dominguez kick good)
THIRD QUARTER
• Artesia- Jack Byers 2-pass from Derrick Warren (Dominguez kick good), 6:14
FOURTH QUARTER
• Goddard- Reed 2-run (Reed kick good), 8:23