By Eric Butler
MaxPreps.com
So far, so good for Eldorado football coach Charlie Dotson.
Two games into his first campaign as the Eagles head coach, Dotson saw his team play perennial power Clovis to a virtual standstill for much of a 24-7 loss and then led Eldorado to a 21-10 victory over heated rival La Cueva.
The Eagles trailed 10-7 in both games. Against the Bears on Friday (Sept. 14), however, Michael Cantwell hit Ross Williams with a 54-yardtouchdown pass midway through the third quarter and Eldorado capped the win with a Logan Lippert five-yard TD run.
Though the Eagles fans at Albuquerque's Wilson Stadium were naturally elated, Dotson sounded notes of caution for the faithful after the game.
"Whenever you get a victory against your rival, it's pretty big and we're happy about it," Dotson said. "But, before the game, I told the kids that - win or lose - we have a long way to go.
"I'm trying to keep some perspective, because Eldorado beat La Cueva last year and then lost to them in the playoffs."
Oh yeah, that's right.
After knocking off the Bears in the 2006 regular season, the Eagles were tossed out of the Class 5A playoffs in the first round when LaCueva gained vengeance through a 21-17 victory.
"There's a chance we could see them down the road and they had one of their best players (Gus Bowe) out," Dotson added.
In other 5A action, Cibola remained unbeaten after rolling through St. Pius 35-8 at Albuquerque's Milne Stadium on Friday. The Cougars (3-0)burst to a 28-0 lead at intermission as Cibola quarterback Jonathan Mader threw a pair of touchdown strikes.
Defending 5A champ Mayfield bounced back from its first loss in a couple of years, a defeat to El Paso Montwood in week two, to take a road victory over Carlsbad - but just barely.
The Trojans (2-1) justedged the Cavemen 11-6 and had to have a 67-yard fourth quarter drive to do it. The winning points for Mayfield came on a four-yard TD run by Nathan Enriquez to finally upend upset-minded Carlsbad (0-3), which took a 6-3 lead in the second quarter on a 66-yard pass from NathanClark to Gio Flores.
Clovis (2-1) shut out Amarillo Palo Duro 33-0 as the Wildcats got 100-yard rushing performances from Derrick Phillips (132 yards) and Manuel Robles (117) while Alamogordo, 5A runner-up a year ago, got a pair of short touchdown runs from Sammy Luna - and an 81-yard TD run from Bobby Wride - to knock off Alamogordo 29-14.
A pair of Las Cruces 5A teams also got notable victories as Onate traveled to Silver to beat the 4A Colts 34-14 while Las Cruces High stayed at home and upended Albuquerque Sandia 27-13.
One Class 4A team scored a victory over a 5A squad and, to no one's surprise, it came from powerhouse Artesia. The Bulldogs won a 42-35 shootout over Rio Rancho in Artesia as Oklahoma University recruit Landry Jones threw for 390 yards passing and three touchdowns.
Volleyball: Rockets Take Roswell Tourney
Playing on their home court, the Goddard Rockets won the 16-team Zia Classic on Saturday (Sept. 15) and they had to beat primary rival Roswell High to do it. Although Roswell is the defending Class 4A state champs and the Coyotes did knock Goddard out of last year's state tournament, the Rockets' one win over their crosstown rivals did come in the 2006 Zia Classic.
This time, Goddard did it again with a 25-17, 25-21, 24-26, 28-26 victory over the Coyotes.
"I love playing Roswell and we did really good tonight," said Goddard senior Tiffany Gibson, the tournament MVP.
The Rockets got a boost in the off-season when former Rio Rancho athletic director Andy Sweet was hired as the school's principal. His daughter Tarrah had started as a freshman while in Clovis in 2005, but was waiting her turn to play at setter for the powerful Rams.
When the Sweets moved to Roswell, it solved two problems. Tarrah Sweet, now a junior, slid into the Rockets' setter position - which, in turn, freed up some of Goddard's best hitters from setting responsibilities.
"Both Hailee Harton on the outside and Chloe Blach in the middle were also setters, so they were going to have to run a 6-2 with them. I knew they needed a setter, so that's been really good. And everybody has worked to include me in everything," Tarrah Sweet said. "It's been hard, going to three different high schools in three years, but this has been a good move for me and my family. It was really easy to get into the small-town atmosphere, because people just accept you like it's nothing."
After the win over Roswell High, Gibson said that the offensive adjustments have accompanied an improvement on defense - a staple of Goddard coach Bobby Bates best Rockets teams in the past.
"We have better defense than last year, I'd have to say that," said Gibson, who added that Bates gives the team extra incentive to perform well in that part of the game. "If we don't get it right, we have to do Nasty Nancies all around the court - where you slide and then you run, then you slide, then you run backwards, and then you slide again."