PICTURED: Izac Cazares gives the Bulldogs back the lead in the third quarter with a 13-yard touchdown run.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The Bulldog football team closed out its 2024 District 2-AAAAA schedule Saturday in Las Cruces with a 42-28 win over Mayfield. With that, the 'Dogs finish the second season as the D2 runners-up.
The boys in orange got off to a strong start on a blustery day at the Field of Dreams, scoring to cap their first offensive series on a six-yard pass from senior quarterback Izac Cazares to Jack Byers. Following an Edel Villa interception, Artesia then made it 14-0 on a 47-yard touchdown sprint by Cazares.
PICTURED: Jack Byers plunges into the end zone for a six-yard score.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
PICTURED: Izac Cazares cruises into the end zone with a 47-yard touchdown run.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
Mayfield was able to get on the board with just under two minutes to go in the first quarter on a 33-yard touchdown run by speedy QB Luke Linnan, but the 'Dogs would reinstate their two-touchdown lead just 41 seconds later on a 40-yard catch-and-run between Cazares and Ethan Conn to make it 21-7 going into the second quarter.
PICTURED: Ethan Conn prepares to receive a 40-yard TD pass from Izac Cazares.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The Trojans were able to trim their deficit back to seven on a 10-yard run by Justin Madrid, however, and after Mayfield recovered a Bulldog fumble with nine minutes to go in the half, Artesia was unable to respond, leaving the score at 21-14 at the break.
That also left the door open for the Trojans to tie things up in the third, which they did on a 42-yard TD run by Linnan at the 4:27 mark. But Cazares would show off his own fleet feet two minutes later, plowing up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown run that made it 28-21 Bulldogs heading into the fourth.
The Trojans were not going down without a fight, however, reinstating the tie, 28-28, two minutes into the final quarter on a 39-yard run by Anthony Nevarez. Cazares would once again have to play tie-breaker, dragging a few Mayfield defenders along for the ride amidst a 14-yard TD run that put Artesia back up 35-28 with 6:51 to go.
And as the two-minute warning passed with the Trojans driving, the Orange Crush stepped up in huge fashion for Artesia, as Miguel Soto leapt to bat down a Linnan pass attempt on fourth down to return the ball to the 'Dogs at midfield. Cazares put an exclamation point on the contest with a 48-yard touchdown run one minute later to round out the final score, 42-28.
The Bulldogs wrap up district play with a record of 6-1 while improving to 7-3 overall and will join the rest of the state's large schools in awaiting the results of Sunday morning's state seeding and selection to learn where they'll land in the Class 4A playoff bracket. The selection show will air at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, on the NMAA website.
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
• Artesia- Jack Byers 6-pass from Izac Cazares (Corbyn Dominguez kick good), 6:54
• Artesia- Cazares 47-run (Dominguez kick good), 3:07
• Mayfield- Luke Linnan 33-run (Jeffrey Dominguez kick good), 1:54
• Artesia- Ethan Conn 40-pass from Cazares (Dominguez kick good), 1:13
SECOND QUARTER
• Mayfield- Justin Madrid 10-run (Jeffrey Dominguez kick good), 9:13
THIRD QUARTER
• Mayfield- Linnan 42-run (Jeffrey Dominguez kick good), 4:27
• Artesia- Cazares 13-run (Dominguez kick good), 2:28
FOURTH QUARTER
• Mayfield- Anthony Nevarez 39-run (Jeffrey Dominguez kick good), 9:47
• Artesia- Cazares 14-run (Dominguez kick good), 6:51
• Artesia- Cazares 48-run (Dominguez kick good), :54