Column - Playoff destiny in Hobbs football team's hands

  The Hobbs football team continued to do what it needs to do to be considered a Class 5A playoff team Friday night by crushing Lea County foe and Class 3A Lovington 47-0 at Watson Stadium.

  The Eagles have shown an ability all season to not just beat, but pummel teams that – on paper – Hobbs is better than (whether we knew the Eagles were better or not prior to the game).

  In Hobbs’ six wins this season, the Eagles are outscoring their opponents by 24.6 points per game. The closest a team has come to beating Hobbs in those games is Roswell High, who lost by 14 points but trailed by as much as 27 in the second half.

  But Roswell at 5-2 also holds the only winning record of the teams Hobbs has beaten as those teams combined are 13-27. Of course, that’s not all Hobbs’ fault as I don’t think a lot of people thought Artesia (2-5), Lovington  (1-5) or even Alamogordo (1-5) would be where they are this season.

VIDEO - Hobbs vs. Lovington football

  The Hobbs football team defeated Lovington 47-0 on Friday at Watson Stadium. This is my first crack at voicing over my crudely shot, cell-phone video so my apologies in advance if I mispronounce someone's name.

Hobbs football stats through week 6

Hobbs statistics through week 6 (Eagles are 5-1)

Individual Stats

Passing

David Romero: 88-for-156 (56.4 percent), 1,358 yards, 15 TDs, 10 INTs

Kolin Zembas: 3-for-6 (50 percent), 42 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs

Receiving

Steven Olivas: 26 rec., 573 yards, 9 TDs

Kolin Zembas: 21 rec., 372 yards, 5 TDs

Brody Engle: 14 rec., 172 yards, TD

Brandon Amaya: 13 rec., 47 yards

Oscar Baeza: 6 rec., 83 yards

Dalton Piwenitzky: 4 rec., 52 yards

Jeremy Padilla: 3 rec., 56 yards

Alec Smith: 1 rec., 32 yards

Lane Moore: 1 rec., 5 yards

Sam Anaya: 1 rec., 4 yards

Devin Beard: 1 rec. 4 yards

Sunday column - Eagles answer the call

  Last week after the Hobbs football team’s 50-7 loss to Class 4A defending champion Goddard in Roswell I wrote Friday’s contest against Alamogordo will tell us a lot about the Eagles’ resolve and character.

  After all – as Hobbs fans know – losses such as the Goddard defeat in the past have had residual effects on the Eagles, usually leading to a downward spiral.

  Anyone who watched Hobbs against Alamogordo Friday night knows it’s safe to say the Eagles weren’t going to let that happen.

  Hobbs dominated the Tigers to the tune of a 41-0 victory in front of the biggest crowd I’ve seen at Watson Stadium in my eight seasons covering Lea County sports.

  The Eagles’ defense dominated – posting its first shutout in six years, holding Alamogordo to 209 yards, getting key stops on its side of the field and creating turnovers to give the Hobbs offense short fields to work with.

Video - Hobbs football's 41-0 win over Alamogordo at Watson Stadium

Hobbs football stats through Week 5

Individual Stats

Passing

David Romero: 72-for-133 (54.1 percent), 1,075 yards, 12 TDs, 9 INTs

Kolin Zembas: 2-for-5 (40 percent), 37 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs

Receiving

Kolin Zembas: 21 rec., 372 yards, 5 TDs

Steven Olivas: 20 rec., 397 yards, 6 TDs

Brandon Amaya: 11 rec., 29 yards

Brody Engle: 9 rec., 100 yards, TD

Dalton Piwenitzky: 4 rec., 52 yards

Oscar Baeza: 3 rec., 66 yards

Jeremy Padilla: 3 rec., 56 yards

Alec Smith: 1 rec., 32 yards

Sam Anaya: 1 rec., 4 yards

Devin Beard: 1 rec. 4 yards

Sunday Column: Loss to test Hobbs football's resolve

  There were no happy faces on the Hobbs sideline as the clock ticked to zero and the scoreboard read 50-7 in favor of Goddard on Friday night at the Wool Bowl in Roswell.

  Prior to the game Hobbs had aspirations of making a statement against the defending Class 4A state champion Rockets – a program the Eagles have struggled with since 1988, going 3-23 over that time.

  Hobbs was 4-0 for the first time since 2000 heading into the contest and felt like it had the pieces to compete with the Rockets.

  Instead, Goddard showed why it’s one of the premier programs in the state and the Eagles confirmed they still have work to do as the Rockets took advantage of Hobbs’ carelessness with the football early in the game (four turnovers in the first five possessions) to build a 41-0 halftime lead on its way to the 43-point victory.

  The lesson learned was a painful one for the Eagles on Friday.