PICTURED: Bryce Parra leaps past a pair of Goddard defenders and toward the goal line for a three-yard touchdown.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The rest of the state seemed to have been counting Goddard out Friday, Oct. 24. "Versus top-ranked Artesia at the Bulldog Bowl?" one pundit said online. "No contest."
The Bulldogs, however, never make the mistake of overlooking an opponent. The Rockets were a No. 4 to Artesia's No. 1. Their lone regular-season loss came to Class 6A Carlsbad -- by two points, 16-14 -- and their only District 2-AAAAA defeat to that point had been at the hands of Lovington on the road, 44-26. The only real surprise as the dust settled on the longtime district rivalry bout was the 'Dogs' start and their offensive output: uncharacteristically slow and uncharacteristically low, to say the least.
The important thing was that the Bulldogs got the win, 24-14, in their penultimate D2 outing. But it was assuredly a contest the offense sought to banish immediately to its rearview mirror, while the Orange Crush defense, in contrast, celebrated yet another dominant performance. Hindering Artesia's offensive effort was a rash of turnovers. The 'Dogs scored just once in the first half and managed only a touchdown apiece in the third and fourth quarters while tacking on a field goal in the former. The Bulldog defense, meanwhile, made sure Goddard had just as frustrating an evening, allowing just one first-quarter and one fourth-quarter touchdown whilst elsewhere forcing a fumble, three three-and-outs, and five turnovers on downs.
The boys in blue's confidence was immediately bolstered on the night by a tremendously rocky start for the 'Dogs. A fumbled snap on Artesia's second play from scrimmage saw Goddard's Jeremiah Sorg roll over Bulldog quarterback Derrick Warren as he attempted to dive on the loose ball at the Artesia 35. And as the ball squirted backward further, Rocket senior Eric Gutierrez finally laid hands on it, securing it at the 31 and falling at the three following a touchdown-saving tackle by slot back Jett Fuentes. Rocket QB Nate Vasquez would score on Goddard's first offensive play, however, plowing through from the three to make it 7-0 Rockets with just one minute off the first-quarter clock.
The 'Dogs appeared poised to answer quickly, marching from their own 39 to the Rocket 30 on six plays. But following a sack for a loss of six by Goddard middle linebacker Taylen Payne, safety Jordan Chavez would pick off a pass in the end zone to put the ball right back in the Rockets' hands.
The Crush would soon remove it, as Charlie Campbell knocked the ball loose from Brady Gibbs, which set off a tag-team return that saw Miguel Soto return the fumble to the Goddard 40 before he was stripped, followed by a 16-yard additional return by Daelon Pacheco, who scooped it up at the 35. A personal foul call on the Bulldogs bumped the starting mark back to the Rocket 35, but the forced turnover paid off, as Bryce Parra would tie things up on a three-yard run out of the speed option with 3:31 remaining in the first.
PICTURED: Bryce Parra carries the ball over the goal line to cap a 31-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Derrick Warren.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The Bulldog D continued to put the hurt on the Rockets, forcing a punt despite a roughing-the-kicker call on Goddard's next possession, then a quick turnover on downs to end another, complete with some stellar open-field tackling by Soto and Julian Baeza. But in between, Artesia would turn the ball over on downs twice itself as the opening half continued to tick away. The Rockets' longest drive of the game -- which saw the Rockets ride Gibbs, Zak Arrellano, Vasquez, and Izaiah Montoya from their own 19 to the Artesia 37 on 14 plays -- also ended in a TOD after a false-start whistle and an incomplete pass on fourth down. But after quickly driving to a first-and-goal at the Rocket eight as the final moments of the second ticked away, another interception at the seven by Goddard's Kyle Mesquita effectively ended the half with the score still knotted at 7-all.
The third quarter didn't get off to a better start for either offense. With help from a tackle for a loss of five by Soto, the Crush would force a three-and-out to start, and the punt-return team got a 48-yard return from Edel Villa. The ball would be bumped back to the Rocket 17 after a sideline infraction was levied, and the drive stalled from there, ending in a 34-yard field goal by kicker/linebacker Corbyn Dominguez. Yet another Goddard TOD was followed by yet another interception as Rocket senior Ryan Romero snagged a pass on Artesia's first play from scrimmage. But the defense would still give Artesia one last chance to find the end zone in the third. The Crush nearly did the job themselves when Baeza snatched a Vasquez fumble as the quarterback was rolling over a Bulldog defender and returned it for an apparent score. But Vasquez was ruled to have been down, and the Rockets would punt instead.
Starting at their own 38, the 'Dogs then utilized a pair of Parra runs for 17 yards and a 24-yard pass from Warren to Trent Egeland to reach the Goddard red zone. They'd score on the first play following a holding penalty on an eight-yard strike from Warren to Parra, who covered the final 23 yards of the play untouched up the home sideline, high-stepping away from his final potential tackler. The 'Dogs would widen the gap a turnover on downs later, as Parra once again was a blur bursting through the Goddard defense for a 25-yard score that made it 24-7 with 9:07 to go in the game.
PICTURED: Bryce Parra high steps over the goal line following a 25-yard touchdown run.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The Rockets would log one final touchdown themselves in the contest, taking advantage of a 48-yard kick return by Chavez to score on a four-yard pass from Vasquez to Elijah Valdez. The Bulldogs would punt away their last possession from their own 38 before the Crush forced one more TOD at the Artesia 30 with help from a tackle of Arrellano for a loss of four by Marco Soto.
The Bulldog defense held the Rockets to just 188 total yards of offense on the night, with 115 of those yards coming in the second half after Goddard gained only 73 in the first. The Crush logged eight tackles for a loss for a combined negative yardage total of 19. For the Bulldog offense, Parra shone on the night, finishing with 18 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns rushing and 3-35 receiving with another TD. Warren was 16 of 29 for 153 yards and a touchdown, and Egeland led the receiving corps overall with 41 yards on four catches.
With the victory, the Bulldogs improved to 8-1 on the season, 6-0 in district play. They'll look to cap off an unbeaten D2 run on Halloween against Mayfield at Bulldog Bowl.
STAT BOX
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
Goddard- Nate Vasquez 3-run (Vasquez kick good), 11:00
Artesia- Bryce Parra 3-run (Corbyn Dominguez kick good), 3:31
SECOND QUARTER
No Scoring
THIRD QUARTER
Artesia- Dominguez 34-field goal, 8:57
Artesia- Parra 31-pass from Derrick Warren (Dominguez kick good), :36
FOURTH QUARTER
Artesia- Parra 25-run (Dominguez kick good), 9:07
Goddard- Elijah Valdez 4-pass from Vasquez (Vasquez kick good), 5:48
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Artesia- Parra 18-120; Jett Fuentes 1-7; Jack Byers 1-(-2); Warren 5-(-20)
Goddard- Brady Gibbs 26-61; Zak Arrellano 7-16; Izaiah Montoya 3-13; Vasquez 6-3
PASSING
Artesia- Warren 16-29-153-1-3
Goddard- Vasquez 8-20-95-1-0
RECEIVING
Artesia- Egeland 4-41; Parra 3-35; Byers 3-29; Sawyer Whitehead 4-27; Cael Houghtaling 2-21
Goddard- Kyle Mesquita 2-54; Valdez 5-33; Noah Lujan 1-8
TEAM STATISTICS
FIRST DOWNS
Artesia 13; Goddard 13
RUSHING YARDS
Artesia 25-105; Goddard 42-93
PASSING YARDS
Artesia 153; Goddard 95
TOTAL YARDS
Artesia 258; Goddard 188
PENALTIES
Artesia 9-105; Goddard 10-77
TURNOVERS
Artesia 4; Goddard 1