The Goddard Rockets’ defense had no answer for Carlsbad quarterback Marley Munoz as the Cavemen won 35-19 Friday, Aug. 28 at the Wool Bowl.
Aside from his passing game, Munoz also rushed for 131 yards and four touchdowns on 16 carries.
“The game plan was to the stop the running game,” Goddard head coach Art Bolaños said. “We knew that Carlsbad was going to run their quarterback. I feel like we had some success with that early on, but it’s hard to stop.”
A back-and-forth first half
The Rockets’ defense held the Cavemen scoreless until Munoz scored on a quarterback keeper from the 10-yard line with 26 seconds left in the first quarter to give Carlsbad a 7-0 lead.
Goddard (0-2) then answered in the second quarter, as quarterback Nate Vazquez threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Jose Porras with 8:47 remaining in period to tie the game at 7-7.
But Munoz continued to make his presence felt, scoring a 7-yard rushing touchdown with 2:35 left in the quarter to put the Cavemen ahead 14-7.
Goddard refused to let the deficit grow, as running back Isaiah Montoya punched in a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 14 seconds left in the half. Vasquez, who also handles the kicking duties, missed the extra point and left the Rockets trailing 14-13 at halftime.
Carlsbad takes control
After intermission, the Rockets received the kickoff and were unable to get any offense going. Munoz scored a 4-yard rushing touchdown to put the Cavemen ahead 21-13 with 7:58 to play in the third period.
The Cavemen (2-0) began to exercise their dominance on offense in the fourth quarter, as Munoz scored a 14-yard rushing touchdown to give Carlsbad a commanding 28-13 advantage with 4:42 remaining. On the Cavemen’s next drive, Munoz struck again. Instead of doing damage with his legs, he threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jaxson Duarte to make the score 35-13 with 3:40 left.
The Rockets fought to the end as Vazquez tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to receiver Noah Lujan with 32 seconds to play, making the final score 35-19.
Carlsbad head coach Cale Sanders said he is glad his team claimed victory, but that there is still work to do moving forward.
“We did some good things and we did some bad things,” Sanders said. “I’m pleased to get the win because wins are hard to come by, but I think we could’ve executed a little better.”
Up next
Goddard will be back in action against Los Lunas at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4 on the road.
The Cavemen next play Lovington at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4 in their home opener.
Marshall Mecham can be reached at (915) 232-1793 or on X @mecham_marshall. Mecham serves with the New Mexico Local News Fellowship, which places emerging journalists in newsrooms across the state. Learn more at www.newmexicolocalnewsfellowships.org.
