Football Game Preview: Goddard Rockets vs. Lovington Wildcats + Official Tickets

The Goddard Rockets will challenge the Lovington Wildcats at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Goddard is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They put the hurt on Deming with a sharp 35-14 win.

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.

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.

Meanwhile, Lovington got themselves on the board against Santa Teresa two weeks ago, but Santa Teresa never followed suit. They blew past the Desert Warriors 54-0. The victory was nothing new for the Wildcats as they're now sitting on four straight.

Goddard better keep an eye on Jayden Gutierrez. He was instrumental in Lovington's win, rushing for 58 yards and two scores, while also throwing for 69 yards and one TD. Gutierrez's passing game has become a key predictor of the Wildcats' success: the team is 4-1 when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 2-3 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Kylan Spencer, who rushed for 26 yards and one touchdown.

Special teams played a big role in the game for Lovington, adding 12 points to the final score. 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.

Goddard's win bumped their record up to 7-4. As for Lovington, their victory bumped their record up to 6-4.

Goddard ended up a good deal behind Lovington when the teams last played back in September, losing 44-26. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Gutierrez, who rushed for 65 yards and a pair of scores on only six carries, and also threw for 109 yards and one TD. Now that the Rockets know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.