By Marco Martinez, special to the Roswell Daily Record — The annual Red vs. Blue matchup between Roswell and Goddard High Schools takes place Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Wool Bowl. To prepare for the 2026 game, we look back at how both teams performed last year and how they are shaping up in 2026.
A look back at 2025
In 2025, the Coyotes ended their season with a 9-4 record that included a trip to the 5A State Championship. Their journey started in non-district play in the regular season. It was three games against Los Lunas, Alamogordo and Hobbs, with the Coyotes beating Los Lunas before losing to Alamogordo and Hobbs. After those three games, they entered district play, which started with two home games against Lovington and Deming. The Coyotes won those two games before going on the road against Santa Teresa and Gadsden, which were also wins. The Coyotes then returned home to face Artesia and Mayfield, with the Coyotes falling to Artesia and beating Mayfield. This led to their rivalry game against Goddard, which the Coyotes won 35-21. It also ended the Coyotes’ regular season with them going 7-3 heading into the playoffs. In the playoffs, the Coyotes were the second seed, granting them a first-round bye. In the second round, the Coyotes beat Belen 51-0 before heading into the semifinals against Gadsden, which the Coyotes won 35-17. Their wins in the playoffs qualified the Coyotes for the championship game against Artesia, where the Coyotes lost in a nail-biter 24-25.
How is 2026 going so far?
At press time, the Coyotes have played seven games, have a 6-1 record and were 4-0 in district play. The Coyotes started with three non-district games against Hobbs, Randall and Rio Rancho, which ended with wins against Hobbs and Rio Rancho and a loss to Randell. This put them at 2-1 entering district. In district, the Coyotes started with two away games against Alamogordo and Deming, winning 56-26 and 48-12. The Coyotes then had two home games against Chaparral and Gadsden, and those ended in wins as well with scores of 50-0 and 49-14. At press time, the Coyotes still have away games against Artesia and Mayfield before hosting the rivalry matchup against the Goddard Rockets.
2026’s key players
The quarterback for the Coyotes has been Junior Andruw Fuentez and, so far, has thrown for 1,597 yards, 23 touchdowns and two interceptions. He has also added five rushing touchdowns. The Coyotes add Fuentez to a rushing attack that had 1,532 yards and 20 touchdowns, with 12 players contributing to those stats. The rushing leader was Luis Rodriguez, who had 503 yards and five touchdowns. For receiving, Danny Castro leads the team with 594 yards and nine touchdowns. He is followed by Izaic Gonzales, who is not far behind with 508 yards and eight touchdowns. For special teams, kicker Benjamin Vera has kicked 38 extra points and has made 36 of them. On defense, Jonathan Ellis leads the team in total tackles with 44, while he and Michael Herrera lead the team in solo tackles with 35 each. Jake Amador has the most sacks on the team with three, while Kasyn Flores has the most interceptions with three.
