By Eric Butler
MaxPreps.com
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Football: Titans Clash Goes Way of Orange
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In the last 30 years, Artesia and Clovis have been dominant football programs. Despite winning 26 state titles between them, Artesia (16) and Clovis (10) have managed to avoid each other for the most part.
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On Friday (Oct. 13), the schools met up for only the fourth time since the mid-1970s and the orange-clad Bulldogs of Artesia came away with a 34-26 victory in Clovis over the Wildcats.
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Artesia (7-0), top-ranked in Class 5A, got 221 yards in passing from junior quarterback Landry Jones and seized the lead on his one-yard quarterback sneak in the second quarter.
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With 2:59 left before half, Artesia went ahead 13-6 on a 32-yard pass from Jones to Scott Poe. From that point on, it was a role-reversal from the 2005 contest between the two traditional powers. In the contest last year, it was the Bulldogs that had to constantly fight from behind while playing at home.
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"I felt where the momentum really shifted was when we held them the first drive of the second half, when they drove it down the field," Artesia coach Cooper Henderson said.
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Clovis (5-3), the second-ranked team in Class 5A, got the ball to start the third quarter, moved from its own 13 yard line to the Bulldogs' 20 in 13 plays. The last was a completion from Wildcats' quarterback Jordan Mendoza to Bryce Hill, who shook a tackle and gained a first down. However, on the very next play, Clovis fumbled and the 'Dogs recovered.
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Only six plays later, Jones hit Caylan Hutson for a 54-yard pass to give the visitors a 20-6 advantage.
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In future years, it may be Jones - a 6-5 athletic star-in-the-making quarterback - that gets talked about when reminiscing begins to occur. But the really keen old-timers will remember the one Bulldogs' running back, in a four-receiver wideout offense, that burned Clovis in 2006.
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Jeremy Duran ripped through the Wildcats' defense for 157 yards on 17 carries in the win.
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"It's a big stepping-stone. It (the Clovis game) gets the guys pumped up, of course," Duran said. "And when we play like we can, we can dish it out."
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The next day, in Albuquerque, a couple of top Class 5A squads met with much anticipation. Cibola and La Cueva lived up to expectations and the tussle between the Cougars and Bears went into overtime before Cibola finally came away with a 21-14 victory.
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La Cueva (3-4) forced the OT when the Bears' offense drove 67 yards late in the game to tie the game on a Richard Bohlken three-yard run.
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Cibola (6-1), ranked third in 5A, got the ball first in overtime and quarterback Jonathan Mader hit paydirt on a 5-yard run. The Bears tried to answer with a touchdown of their own, but quarterback Harry Oms bobbled a snap on fourth and goal from the one and the play died short of the goal line.
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In other 5A games, Sandia bludgeoned Santa Fe 35-0, Rio Grande clobbered West Mesa 46-7 and Highland controlled Eldorado in a 28-10 victory.
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Highland's win came after much of the first half was played tightly.
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The score was 7-7 after Eldorado's A.J. Ortiz ran 66 yards with a fumble by Medina with 3:49 left in the second quarter to tie the game.
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But on the ensuing kickoff, the Hornets' Daniel Yurcisin ran 88 yards for a touchdown.
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"It was a great wedge up the middle. I just felt like we needed a lift after they scored," Yurcisin said. "I was just hoping to give that to us."
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Boys Soccer: Rams Still District-perfect; Matadors Not Anymore
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With the soccer regular season winding down, a pair of teams had perfect district marks they wished to maintain. Rio Rancho did with a 2-1 overtime victory over West Mesa, but Sandia saw its unblemished record go away following a 2-1 OT loss to Albuquerque High.
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Rio Rancho (10-5, 7-0 in 1-5A) barely won out over the Mustangs (13-5, 4-3) on Friday - but only taking the victory in the penalty kick shootout. The deciding PK was from Garrett Smith, whose successful shot was followed by Rio Rancho keeper Spencer Porter's stop on an attempt from West Mesa's Edgar Venzor.
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The host Rams took a 1-0 lead on a shot by Trevor Madding in the 32nd minute. But West Mesa, five minutes into the second half, knotted the game on a goal from Juan Rios.
On Saturday, Sandia (14-3, 6-1 in 2-5A) wasn't so lucky staying perfect in district. After scoring in only the second minute of the game, by Matadors' Eric Tilley, Albuquerque High (12-4, 2-3) had the advantage the rest of the day.
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Bulldogs' keeper David Zuniga came out of goal and booted home a penalty kick in the 25th minute to deadlock the contest.
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Much later, after numerous Zuniga saves against Sandia, Albuquerque High's Jaime Garcia popped in a shot with five minutes left in the first overtime period to give the 'Dogs the victory.