Just what the Eagles needed

Hobbs' Isaiah Lintz returns a kick for a TD.

  As I said in my last blog entry, "The Big Mo" (as in momentum) was up for grabs Friday night when the Hobbs football team took on Roswell High at Watson Stadium – and the Eagles took it with a 43-28 win.

  It wasn't pretty by any means. The teams combined for nine turnovers, but luckily for Hobbs, it only had three of them and overcame a sub-par offensive night (262 yards of offense, only 54 in second half) thanks to great field position due to turnovers and big returns on kickoffs (including Isaiah Lintz's 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown) to come away with the win and much needed momentum for a tough two-game road swing (more on that in a second).

  Hobbs' defense bent but didn't break in the second half, creating four turnovers and allowing only two Roswell scores – both in the third quarter. While the Eagles' defense is a work in progress, what stood out Friday against the Coyotes was their hitting. This is the best hitting defense Hobbs has had since I started covering the team. It doesn't have the speed of past defenses, but for the most part, if an Eagle defender got a hand on a Roswell player, he made the tackle.

'The Big Mo' up for grabs in Hobbs matchup with Roswell

Hobbs' Keith Sanders

  There's no district title on the line. It's not a district game. Heck, it's not even a game against a team in its own classification.
  But the Hobbs football team's matchup with Roswell High 7 p.m. today at Watson Stadium is a pivotal one for the young and inexperienced Eagles.
  A win against an improving Roswell program, a team that nearly beat No. 8 Carlsbad in Carlsbad, for an unranked Hobbs (1-1) squad that played better in a week-two loss to Class 4A No. 2 Artesia then it did in a week-one win over Gadsden would go a long way when it comes to confidence and momentum heading into probably the toughest schedule in the state over the next two weeks.
  After tonight's game with the Coyotes, Hobbs travels to play Class 5A No. 2 Las Cruces High and follows it up with a trip north to face Class 5A No. 1 Cleveland in Rio Rancho.
  B. R. U. T. A. L.

Joe Langston Gym spells trouble for Eunice foes

Eunice's Laura Clack

  Joe Langston Gym in Eunice looks like any other gym – brick on the outside, concession stand as soon as you walk in and two seperate entrances in the front to reach the actual gym.

  But as you turn the corner to enter the gym, it's quickly apparent Joe Langston Gym isn't like most gyms.

  And it's what gives the Cardinals and Lady Cardinals a great home-court advantage, something I was reminded of when I covered the Eunice volleyball team's sweep of Dora on Tuesday.

  Quickly you'll notice the yellowish green lighting. I've never been in a gym lit like this. You almost feel like you have sunglasses with yellow lenses on. It's crazy (and drives photographers nuts as well. Tough to get clear action shots).
  The low ceiling is the next thing people will notice, particularly during volleyball matches. During Tuesday's contest against Eunice, Dora repeatedly bashed their digs and passes into the ceiling. Eunice did it as well, but having practiced at this gym for hour upon hour, day after day, the Lady Cardinals know how to play the carom off the ceiling.

Fantasy Football Drafts: A Growing Social Event

  With a cold soda and sandwich, I settled in front of my home computer and went to work early Monday on something of the utmost importance.
  Not a story, feature or column.
  It was fantasy football draft time.
  In a league appropriately called the Bush League, college buddies (including former News-Sun sports editor Jon Roetman), a few friends of theirs and my best friend since I was in grade school took about two hours trying to take the first giant step toward becoming Bush League XIV champ (we also play fantasy baseball, so this is the second half of our seventh season).
  Don't worry, I'm not here to explain how my draft went. Talking about your fantasy league in depth ranks right behind bad poker beat stories and just ahead of how your child's t-ball game went on the people-don't-give-a-crap meter.
  But drafts have become this sacred event. It's a time of bonding. While my league does its draft online because we have people in four different time zones, many pick a destination and have it there.

Fanaticism: An epic roller coaster

  Sports fanaticism is an epic roller coaster ride, dishing out emotional highs and lows.
  Sometimes as a sports journalist, however, you grow a little cold to it. My job is to be an objective observer, not caring who wins or loses, and it desensitizes you as a sports fan. As Joe Friday in Dragnet so eloquently put it, "Just the facts, ma'am." That's what journalists are about.
  But as I raced home Saturday night to catch my alma mater Oregon take on LSU on my DVR – carefully avoiding the score for about two-plus hours (turning off my phone, not going on the internet) – fanaticism smacked me square in the face. It was great. It was the slow climb up that steep roller coaster.

Four hours, 65 points and 970 yards later ...

  Four hours, 65 points and 970 yards of offense later, Class 4A defending champ Artesia came out on top of Hobbs 45-20 in a game Friday at the Bulldog Bowl that was closer than the final score indicated, though Hobbs trailed from the first quarter on.

Hobbs RB Aderiole Moore (22)

  The Eagles couldn't get out of the way of their own offensive dominance (438 yards of offense, including 374 rushing at 8.3 yards per carry) as they lost three fumbles (two inside the Artesia 20) and had two touchdowns called back due to penalties (neither possession Hobbs scored).

  Hobbs running back Aderiole Moore had a break-out game, rushing for 242 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, and quarterback Brayden Price looked confident running the offense in just his second start, rushing for 65 yards (including 21 yards lost on two sacks) and 64 yards passing (which could've been more if not for a few dropped passes).

Cardinals cruise, show class, give thanks

Eunice QB Tyler Almager

  The Class 2A second-ranked Eunice football team could've made it a short night at Watson Stadium.
  Taking a 41-0 lead over the Hobbs junior varsity early in the second quarter, the Cardinals pulled the majority of their starters and got their second string some time, avoiding the 50-point mercy rule (a New Mexico rule stating if a team is up by 50 points or more, the game is over).
  Even though the selfish-journalist-thinking-about-deadline part of me wouldn't have argued against an early end to the contest, the result of playing all four quarters was beneficial for the teams on the field - especially the Cardinals.
  Playing the game out gave Eunice backups valuable experience and time on the field that will be tougher to find later in the season. The Cardinals' schedule will get tougher, injuries happen and giving these guys time now will make them better prepared if an injury does occur and they have to step in.