Moments later, when a trio of foreign invaders were captured on the front lines, it felt as if the tone just might have been set.
Turns out, it had. And Carlsbad never got off a shot.
The ‘Dogs overcame a smattering of first-game glitches to roll to a 34-0 victory Friday in the 101st battle of the Eddy County War, stymieing the Cavemen five times in their own territory and twice in the red zone while logging a touchdown per quarter offensively.
“We were really pleased with our first game,” Artesia head coach Rex Henderson said Saturday. “We were pleased with the effort we saw from our players, and we were happy with the corrections and changes they were able to make over the course of the game.”
With only scrimmages and a few passing games to go on, no team knows exactly what to expect from their opponent in a season opener. One thing the Bulldog defense quickly discovered it could count on, however, is that the Cavemen had no intention of coming up for air with any frequency, while the Carlsbad D was presented with a more balanced attack between the arm of senior quarterback Taylor Null and the legs of his classmate, running back Robert Fernandez.
“You’re not always going to see exactly what you think you’re going to see in a first game,” said Henderson. “Carlsbad did a few things different than we thought they would, but I thought that after the first two possessions, our kids did a good job of making the adjustments that needed to be made in-game to combat what they were doing.”
If there was any question as to the readiness of Artesia fans for the season to get underway, it was answered around 5:45 p.m. when the skies over the stadium opened and a torrential downpour commenced. Although suggestions were made to abandon ship due to the potential for lightning, a hardy band of Bulldog faithful remained in the stands, clutching their umbrellas against the sheets of rain, which persisted for an hour.
That ultimately pushed kickoff back 40 minutes, but the ‘Dogs made it worth the wait – and the drenching.
Starting at their own 34-yard line after the opening kick, Artesia turned Fernandez loose twice and quickly found themselves at the Caveman 37. From there, Null would sprinkle short routes around before connecting with Alex Fernandez for the three-yard score with 8:25 to go in the first quarter.
The Orange Crush, meanwhile, allowed them no time to get comfortable on the sideline, as corner Denver Williams dropped Carlsbad’s Dustin Eaton for a loss of one and linebacker Jorge Avitia followed suit with RB Tate Collins to force a swift three and out.
The Cavemen seemed to be clubbing their way out of their initial funk as the opening quarter drew to a close. The boys in blue forced a Bulldog punt, then followed a 20-yard pass from QB Jaykan Willis to Jordin Molina with a steady diet of Willis keepers en route to first and goal at the Artesia 10.
Two yards later, however, the Crush would force a fumble, which was pounced upon at the seven-yard line by Colin Flood. And despite facing 93 yards of turf, the ‘Dogs didn’t squander the opportunity to create a bit of breathing room.
Null hit Robert Fernandez with a 21-yard pass that proved even more lucrative when a Caveman defender yanked off Fernandez’s helmet. The 15-yard facemasking penalty set Artesia up at their own 43, and after a pair of passes to the Acronymic Avengers, AJ Estrada and JR Bustamante, the ‘Dogs attained first and goal at the Carlsbad nine.
From there, back-to-back plunges by Fernandez – the latter for five yards – put Artesia on top 14-0 following the PAT by Favian Carrasco.
The remainder of the half would wind up a defensive draw, as the Bulldogs forced a Caveman three and out, and a turnover on downs at the Carlsbad 48, while a mishandled snap on fourth and goal resulted in a TOD in Artesia’s final possession of the second quarter.
Carlsbad came dangerously close to returning the second half kick for a score but were brought back to the Artesia 31 after Eaton stepped out of bounds. And although the field was still a short one, the Crush stepped up to bring about fourth down, which ended in a bad snap.
The ‘Dogs would punt away their first series of the third, but once again, the defense provided a spark, as Williams recovered a Collins fumble at the Artesia 29.
Passes from Null to Estrada, Tyler Greenwood and Bustamante moved Artesia quickly into the Caveman red zone, and Fernandez took over from the 17, rushing thrice en route to a two-yard score with 2:45 remaining in the quarter.
And as the fourth began, the Crush added a cherry atop their overall solid outing as Avitia snagged a Willis pass at the Artesia 40 and returned it 60 yards for the pick six to make it 27-0.
A Carlsbad punt was followed by a 17-yard touchdown toss from Null to Greenwood with 3:30 to go in the game to round out the final, 34-0.
Artesia finished the night with 398 total yards of offense to Carlsbad’s 226. Null was 21 of 33 for 261 yards and two touchdowns, while Fernandez racked up 126 yards rushing on 20 carries with two TDs of his own. Estrada and Greenwood led the receiving corps with five catches for 81 yards and five for 55 respectively.
In addition to holding the Cavemen scoreless and under 250 yards, the Crush logged a trio of sacks, three tackles for losses, and two for no gain in addition to their three turnovers.
“Anytime you can come out with a shutout in your first game, you’ve got to be really pleased defensively with what you were able to do,” said Henderson. “I think we had a really great game on that side of the ball, and I think that says a lot about the work this group has put in.
“Offensively, we had some really good drives and some that kind of sputtered, so just that consistency of execution has still got to be a goal for us. But we definitely had some bright moments and some things we did well. We had some guys step up and make plays, and that’s what you want to see from your seniors – making plays that put you in a position to win.”
The kicking game was a mixed bag for the ‘Dogs on the night, and Henderson says he and his staff will be working on improving that aspect of the game now that they’ve finally had a chance to see it live.
“We’re not where we need to be there,” said the coach. “We need to do better, but this was our first live action with it, so now we at least have a picture of what we need to work on.
“We need to look like we’re going against people and not air, which is what we looked like last night – like we’ve been going against air for a long time. But we’ll definitely be better in that area come next week.”
Sept. 1 brings the Bulldogs’ 2017 home opener as well as its second consecutive bout against Class 6A competition when the Hobbs Eagles come to town.
Hobbs fell in its opener Friday night to Clovis, 33-24, and will ... Click here to read full article
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