Goddard overhauls Wildcats 51-21

ROSWELL — The Clovis Wildcats were a yard away from a commanding lead on the Goddard Rockets. They finished about a mile behind the Class 4A Rockets.

CMI photo: Kevin WilsonThe ball is knocked loose from Clovis running back Kamal Cass (20) on the goal line in the third quarter Friday night at the Wool Bowl, as Wildcat tight end Marshall Winn (89) tries to get to the loose ball. Goddard's Keanu Ortiz, right, picked up the fumble and Goddard scored a go-ahead touchdown on the ensuing drive in the 51-21 win.

The Rockets rode a pair of third-quarter turnovers into points as part of a 37-0 second half and a 44-0 run to close the game, helping them stay perfect on the season with a 51-21 whipping of the Wildcats on Friday night at the Wool Bowl.

Goddard (5-0), which faces Carlsbad next week, rallied from down 21-7, and flipped a close game by converting a pair of Kamal Cass fumbles into touchdowns.

One came with Cass, who finished with 265 yards on 29 carries and all three Clovis scores, on the Rockets' 1. After Goddard finished off a seven-play, 99-yard drive with Cody French's 6-yard run, the Rockets made quicker work of a second fumble with Anthony Ornelas' 36-yard fumble return.

CMI photo: Kevin WilsonClovis defenders Jacob Esquibel and Marcos Trujillo wrap up Goddard running back Cody French in the first half Friday night at the Wool Bowl in Roswell.

Clovis coach Eric Roanhaus thought Cass had a great first half — with 229 yards on 18 carries and touchdowns of 6, 8 and 83 yards — and didn't have a bad second half. But there were mistakes, and the Wildcats let things snowball quickly.

"We're about to make it 28-21 and we fumble it, and all of a sudden, they make it 28-21," Roanhaus said. "We fumble it again, and it's 35-21. It's like every time something bad happens, we're all, 'Here we go again.' From senior down to sophomore, we don't handle adversity very well."

Rockets coach Sam Jernigan, who also thought the Ornelas return was somewhat of a game icer, said while both teams got turnovers, the Rockets got some of theirs in better places to take advantage. They did on long and short drives, with French rushing 24 times for 210 yards.

"He was really good at calling his blocks," Jernigan said of French. "He gets better every week, and shows our other kids how it's done."

The Wildcats welcomed back starting quarterback Dakotah Yandell, who finished 4-of-7 passing for 31 yards in his first game since suffering a ligament injury in a preseason scrimmage against Las Cruces High.

"He was OK," Roanhaus said of Yandell. "He was hesitant, but that's what I expected. Dakotah didn't have an impact either way (good or bad)."

The Wildcats finish the regular season with three of their final four games at home, starting Friday against Artesia. The Bulldogs are coming off a 54-27 defeat to Cruces on Friday night.