LAS CRUCES – The Bulldawgs were backed against a wall – both literally and figuratively.
The figurative wall was far more daunting than the literal wall, even though the figurative wall would still rely somewhat on results outside of Las Cruces High’s control. A loss to Alamogordo (4-3, 1-1) would put the Bulldawgs (1-5, 0-2) squarely behind the eight ball in a playoff race that, before the Week 7 matchup, had become far tighter than Las Cruces would have liked.
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But Las Cruces was also backed against the literal wall of his own goal line – over, and over and over again in the first half after a grueling three-turnover performance in the game’s first 24 minutes. And, in the final three minutes, was backed into the pressure-filled walls of a fourth-and-17 and a second-and-goal at the five-yard line with its first playoff win on the line.
The Bulldawgs just weren’t able to break through.
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Las Cruces’ 13-10 loss to Alamogordo was far from perfect and oftentimes sloppy, but the Bulldawgs had their chances to knock off the Tigers to pick up their first district win of the season. Las Cruces committed five turnovers – including three in the first half – in the loss but only punted twice. The Bulldawgs had an opportunity to steal a victory in the final 20 seconds at Alamogordo’s five-yard line, but Las Cruces’ pass was intercepted for its fifth turnover of the night.
Neither team had a win over a 6A opponent heading into Friday’s game at the Field of Dreams. Las Cruces likely needs at least two additional victories over district opponents to squeak into the postseason.
“It hurts, I’m not going to lie. I hurt for these seniors especially, but it hurts for the whole group, really,” head coach Mark Lopez said. “The defense played great. I can’t remember having a game where we only punted twice and got 10 points.”
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Las Cruces allowed 10 points off three first-half turnovers to an Alamogordo team seeking its first win over the Bulldawgs since 2006 and played arguably one of its sloppiest first halves of the season. Las Cruces threw an interception at the one-yard line on its opening drive, lost a fumble Alamogordo returned for 50 yards on its second drive, and had a punt blocked on its second-to-last possession of the first half.
Alamogordo scored a touchdown off Las Cruces’ first-half fumble, but Las Cruces only allowed one field goal off its other two turnovers. The Bulldawgs massively out-gained Alamogordo in the first half but were haunted by their three turnovers and a bounty of penalties, which included six penalties in the first 15 minutes.
Las Cruces’ defense was backed inside its redzone three times in the first half but managed to force a pair of field goals, and Alamogordo’s only touchdown of the night came on a drive that started at the Bulldawgs’ 15-yard line. The Tigers led 13-10 at halftime. Both teams were scoreless in the second half.
“(The defense) played great. We’ve struggled a little bit defensively this year, and we worked our tails off to get better and I really feel like they played a great game,” Lopez said. “To have that opportunity at the end where you feel like, ‘Hey, we’re at least going to kick a field goal to take it into overtime here,’ but it just didn’t play out that way.”
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Las Cruces threw its second interception of the day midway through the third period but avoided another turnover until the final 20 seconds. The Bulldawgs did not force a takeaway defensively but stopped Alamogordo on a fourth-and-four attempt at Las Cruces’ 30-yard line in the final three minutes.
Freshman backup quarterback Gunnar Guardiola, in on the final drive for injured starter Matt Lashley, led the Bulldawgs 68 yards to Alamogordo’s five-yard line with 20 seconds left, but Las Cruces’ fifth and final interception sealed the win for the Tigers.
Las Cruces plays Organ Mountain next Friday at the Field of Dreams. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m
“(Now), it’s focusing on what we can do to get better. We win as a team; we lose as a team,” Lopez said. “And we have to do a better job of taking care of the football.”
Stephen Wagner is a sports reporter for the Las Cruces Sun News. He can found on Twitter at @stephenwag22 and reached at [email protected].
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