Football Recap: Artesia Takes Down Ranked Lovington

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Previous Games

09/26/25 - Home	56-23 W
11/16/24 - Home	45-7 W
09/27/24 - Away	57-21 W
09/22/23 - Home	44-0 W
09/23/22 - Away	53-15 W
+ 5 more games

Artesia faced Lovington in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Bulldogs took their game with ease, bagging a 56-23 win over the Wildcats. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by 24 points or more this season.

Leading Artesia to victory were Bryce Parra and Derrick Warren. Parra gained 190 total yards and three touchdowns, while Warren threw for 241 yards and four touchdowns. Parra is also crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 118 every time he's taken the field this season. Trent Egeland was another key player, picking up 36 receiving yards and a pair of scores.

Artesia's run defense was locked in: Lovington could only muster 2.8 yards per carry. The team can thank Daelon Pacheco for the heroic effort on defense: he. Artesia didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.2.

Artesia didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. Tootie McNeil picked up that interception and then proceeded to rub salt in the wound by taking it back the other way for a touchdown. He got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.

Lovington's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Elijah Rivero, who gained 109 total yards and a touchdown, and Kylan Spencer, who threw for 167 yards and two TDs. Rivero didn't just play on offense: he also made five total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defended one pass.

The victory (which was Artesia's third in a row) raised their record to 5-1. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 14.7 points on average over those games. As for Lovington, their loss was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 2-4.

We've got plenty of inter-district action coming up soon. Artesia will challenge rival Santa Teresa at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, Lovington is set to square off against their familiar foe Mayfield at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.