The Lovington Wildcats will take on the Goddard Rockets at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Goddard will be up against a hot Lovington team: the squad just extended their winning streak to four. The Wildcats claimed a resounding 54-0 win over Santa Teresa. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico football rankings (they are ranked 20th, while the Desert Warriors are ranked 79th) , the win two weeks ago wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jayden Gutierrez
| 10/17/25 vs Gadsden | 3 |
| 10/31/25 vs Santa Teresa | 2 |
| 09/19/25 vs Goddard | 2 |
| 08/29/25 vs Portales | 1 |
Jayden Gutierrez continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 58 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing for 69 yards and one TD. He has become a key player for Lovington: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 3-4 otherwise. Kylan Spencer was another key player, rushing for 26 yards and one score.
Special teams also deserves some recognition, posting 12 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Elijah Rivero, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Goddard rose to the challenge on Saturday. They put the hurt on the Wildcats with a sharp 35-14 victory. Considering the Rockets have won five matchups by more than 20 points this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Goddard found their leader in sophomore Nate Vasquez, who rushed for 58 yards and a pair of TDs on only seven carries, and also threw for 87 yards and one touchdown.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Goddard was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 258 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Deming only rushed for 69.
Lovington's record now sits at 6-4. As for Goddard, their record is now 7-4.
Lovington strolled past Goddard in their previous matchup back in September by a score of 44-26. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
