By Josh Franklin — Heartbreak hit the Goddard Rockets football team on Oct. 23, when Artesia beat them 28-27 at the Wool Bowl.
The back-and-forth matchup saw each team find the end zone four times, but extra-point attempts proved decisive as weather cut the game short. Artesia blocked Goddard’s potential game-tying extra point at the end of the third quarter on what became the game’s final play. Earlier in the game, Goddard blocked an Artesia extra-point attempt, but the Bulldogs made up the point with a successful two-point conversion.
Goddard coach Art Bolaños didn’t know the kick would be the game’s last play.
“If I had known that they were going to call that game shortly afterward, I would have gone for two,” Bolaños said.
Bolaños and Artesia coach Jeremy Maupin agreed to call the game after both teams retired to their locker rooms.
Artesia improved to 5-4 overall and 5-1 in district play, while Goddard fell to 4-5 and 3-3.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Bulldogs boast stingy secondary play against Rockets
The Artesia secondary did what only one other defense has done all season: keep Goddard quarterback Nate Vazquez in check, albeit in a three-quarter game.
Vazquez connected with wideouts Eli Cooper and Noah Lujan for a touchdown apiece, but Artesia kept Goddard’s passing game from reaching its usual efficiency.
The Bulldogs held Vazquez to a season-low 37% completion rate and 143 passing yards, Goddard’s second-lowest passing-yardage total of the season.
Artesia and Lovington are the only two defenses that have limited the talented junior quarterback in both passing yards and completion percentage. The Wildcats held Vazquez to a season-low 136 passing yards on 52% passing on Aug. 21.
When Vazquez has been limited in either stat this season, he’s still found a way to be effective. In his two other games below 60% passing, excluding Artesia and Lovington, Vazquez threw for more than 200 yards. His only other game with fewer than 200 passing yards came against Mayfield, when he finished with 159 yards but completed 79% of his passes.
Rockets find success on the ground
Goddard rushed for 242 yards against the Bulldogs, its third-highest rushing total this season.
Running back Isaiah Montoya rushed for a season-high 184 yards and a touchdown against Artesia. Vazquez added 58 rushing yards and a touchdown in the two-person rushing attack.
Oct. 23 was just the fourth time this season that Goddard has posted 200-plus rushing yards, but the Rockets’ run game is trending in the right direction with three straight games at that mark.
Goddard relies on young talent
Sophomore wideout Bryant O’Mera remained a staple of the Rockets’ passing game, serving as Vazquez’s go-to option against the Bulldogs. He caught three passes for 53 yards, leading Goddard in both categories.
Vazquez targeted O’Mera frequently, but Artesia’s secondary limited the wideout’s production. The performance left him 16 receiving yards shy of 500 yards for the season.
Cooper has also contributed to Goddard’s passing game lately, catching a touchdown pass in each of the last two games. His two varsity receptions this season total 37 yards, including a 15-yard score against the Bulldogs.
“(Cooper’s) done every bit of good to use those opportunities to get better,” Bolaños said. “He’s getting more comfortable in those Friday nights. … He just had a big role for us.”
As Goddard deals with injuries, younger Rockets like Cooper are making their opportunities count.
“They give us an opportunity to win,” Bolaños said about younger players making an impact lately. “A lot of that is just their focus, their ability to step up and do what’s right.”
