The Goddard Rockets football team will face the Deming Wildcats at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at Memorial Stadium.
The game marks the second consecutive season the teams have met in Week 7, with Goddard winning last year’s matchup 40-33 at the Wool Bowl.
The Rockets (2-4, 1-2 District 2-5A) are coming off a 34-20 loss to the Gadsden Panthers (5-1, 2-1) on Sept. 25 at Sal Gonzalez Stadium. Deming (1-5, 0-3) also suffered a district road loss, falling 38-22 to the Mayfield Trojans (2-4, 2-1) at the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces.
After opening district play with a 47-0 shutout victory over the Chaparral Lobos (3-3, 0-3), Goddard has dropped two straight.
Still, there have been signs of life.
Running back Isaiah Montoya is one of them, rushing for 52 yards on 10 carries and scoring two touchdowns against Gadsden. Quarterback Nate Vazquez has also become a factor with his legs. Against the Panthers, he scored his first rushing touchdown of the season on a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats also struggled recently. They lost three consecutive games and struggled to keep pace offensively, scoring 90 points through six games while allowing 257.
Quarterback Richard Holguin shouldered much of the offensive workload. Through six games, he completed 45.7% of his passes for 579 yards, four touchdowns and eight interceptions. His top receiving target has been Jordan Milo, who has 26 receptions for 408 yards and a touchdown.
Holguin, however, is productive on the ground. The sophomore rushed for 775 yards and nine touchdowns on 106 carries.
For Goddard, Saturday’s matchup is an opportunity to turn in a complete performance and snap its losing streak. For Deming, it is a chance to end its skid and gain momentum in district play.
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.
