Cavemen keep Cats reeling with 56-8 triumph

Even though Clovis High's football team has struggled mightily this season, Carlsbad coach Cale Sanders wasn't about to take anything for granted on Friday night.

After all, the Wildcats were also struggling last year at this time before ambushing the Cavemen 33-23 at Leon Williams Stadium, eventually winning a district title and earning Class 6A state playoff berth.

Not this time, though. Senior quarterback Kaden Perez threw for six touchdowns and ran for another, and Carlsbad scored on its first three possessions for a 21-0 first-quarter lead en route to a 56-8 District 3-6A thumping at Leon Willliams Stadium.

"We were in a similar situation last year, and we came out flat," said Sanders, a Roswell native who was a standout wide receiver at Eastern New Mexico University in the early 2000s. "The kids were more focused this year."

Perez threw three touchdown passes to junior wide receiver Robert Castenada in the first half, another one to senior running back Ian Sandoval in the second stanza and two more to junior wide receiver Richard Hernandez in the third canto. After the second one to Hernandez, the 35-point lead rule went into effect and the entire final session was played with a running clock.

Perez finished 15-of-27 for 240 yards, and Sanders said the TD passes were a school record. Meantime, the Cavemen added 242 on the ground, with sophomore Brock Wright leading the way with 19 carries for 127 yards and a fourth-quarter TD run.

"We still have a long way to go," Sanders said in looking ahead to the district slate. "I'm proud of what we did tonight. We didn't get lackadaisical after the game got out of hand."

Meantime, the Cats (0-5) had their moments. They put up 274 yards of offense, highlighted by an 11-play, 70-yard march that ended with an 8-yard TD pass from sophomore quarterback Javier Jimenez to sophomore wide receiver Ethan Gutierrez early in the second period.

First-year Cats coach Stan Hodges said he told his team not to worry about the scoreboard and concern themselves more with executing the process.

"You never know (what will happen) when you take a job," Hodges said when asked if he anticipated this much of a rebuild. "All you can do is come in and establish your system and your attitude.

"You've got to give credit to Carlsbad; they played well. They exposed us, and good teams will do that."

Hernandez caught five passes for 92 yards and junior wide receiver Eloy Lopez had five grabs for 67, while Castenada finished with just the three first-half TD receptions, covering 35, 26 and 13 yards

For the Cats, Jimenez was 14-of-26 through the air for 142 yards with two interceptions and also rushed nine times for 72 yards. Gutierrez caught five passes for 116 yards.

The Cats continue a tough district slate on Friday at Law Cruces High, currently ranked fifth in 6A by MaxPreps and one of three District 3 teams – including Carlsbad at No. 10 – in the top 10 in the class.

Hodges' goal is to keep the players and coaches pulling in the same direction.

"Our offensive line played their best game tonight," he said. "Defensively, we struggled because their (players on) offense (are) just bigger and stronger than (our defense).

"We've just got to get better and stay healthy, which is something we haven't been able to do this year."