A teen boy in a black-and-orange football uniform runs over the goal line with the football tucked in his right elbow as a teammate blocks an opponent in white and teal.

Bulldogs dominate in fourth district bout

Brienne Green

October 7, 2025

PICTURED: Cael Houghtaling bounds into the end zone from 23 yards out as Jack Byers (88) throws a block in the background.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

If the Bulldogs were looking to put a bark on the first half of their District 2-AAAAA schedule, they couldn't have been much louder than they were Friday night at Bulldog Bowl.

The boys in orange delivered a near-perfect performance against the Desert Warriors of Santa Teresa in their fourth D2 competition of the season, ending the contest at the half with a 58-0 win that improved their season record to 6-1 and kept them unblemished in district play thus far. The 'Dogs have dominated their district competition to this point, additionally defeating Deming 41-14, Lovington 56-23, and Gadsden 35-7 in a game that also ended at the half due to inclement weather.

With the exception of a game-opening fumble, the Bulldogs controlled every aspect of the game Friday. The offense scored to cap all six of their remaining drives on the night. The special teams had a field day, tacking on a pair of touchdowns of their own, recovering a fumbled kick, and causing a safety. The Orange Crush, meanwhile, forced punts to end all seven of the Desert Warriors' possessions -- five on three and out -- while working on their own half of the field just once on the night, that following the fumble in Artesia territory.

Santa T. forced that turnover on the first play from scrimmage, with defensive end Adien Rodriguez stripping the ball and linebacker Damian Salazar recovering at the Bulldog 38. The Warriors were set back by a false start, however, and would ultimately punt from the 43. Three plays later, the 'Dogs were on the board, as senior QB Derrick Warren sent a pass to Trent Egeland, who dodged a would-be tackler before going untouched the rest of the way for a 46-yard score. Artesia ran a fake on PAT, but the conversion pass attempt fell incomplete, leaving the score at 6-0 with 9:41 to go in the first.

A teen boy in a black-and-orange football uniform runs with the ball in his right hand.

PICTURED: Trent Egeland covers the final few yards of a 46-yard touchdown on a pass from Derrick Warren.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

A teen boy in a black-and-orange football uniform hunches down as he runs into the end zone with the ball in his right elbow as two opponents in white and teal look on.

PICTURED: Bryce Parra arrives in the end zone with a two-yard touchdown.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

After a 27-yard punt return by Charlie Campbell, the 'Dogs set up shop at the Santa Teresa 16 but were briefly stymied by a holding penalty. On fourth and 12 from the 18, however, Warren would fake a pitch and connect again with Egeland for a first down at the Desert Warrior two, and senior RB Bryce Parra took it from there. This time, the conversion attempt -- yet another pass from Warren to Egeland -- was successful, putting Artesia up 14-0 at the 7:21 mark. Just under two minutes later, the 'Dogs would make that 21-0 when Edel Villa ran through three tackles and up the home sideline for a 55-yard punt return touchdown.

A tackle of Santa T. junior running back Hector Alvarez for a loss of three by Marco Soto and a sack of quarterback Ramon Duenez by Brandon Baeza for a loss of one later, the Bulldogs were back in the end zone on a three-yard pass from Warren to Sawyer Whitehead, who caught the ball with two defenders on his back just inside the end zone to set the first-quarter tally: 28-0.

The Desert Warriors' longest series of the night took the contest into the second quarter, as Alvarez carried Santa T. to their second first down of the ballgame and a roughing penalty on Artesia gave them their third. They'd be forced to punt from their own 39, however, and following a near-62-yard touchdown pass from Warren to Jack Byers -- whose final defender to beat latched onto his hand during a stiff-arm and finally managed to drag him down at the one -- Warren hit Jett Fuentes for the touchdown at 10:55 to start the 35-point clock.

A teen boy in a black-and-orange football uniform celebrates in the end zone with two teammates.

PICTURED: Edel Villa (33) celebrates his 55-yard punt return for a touchdown with Ulises Montanez (89) and Tootie McNeil (21).
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

The 'Dogs' special teams put the ball immediately back in the hands of the offense after Bradyn Franklin recovered the fumbled kickoff, and Artesia needed just one play to score from the ST 23: a Cael Houghtaling cross-field sprint 38 seconds later. After a sack of Duenez for a loss of seven by Derek Lopez -- who pounced on the QB just before he attempted to release a pass -- the Desert Warriors were again forced to punt, this time from their own 10-yard line. And unfortunately for Santa T., Soto was there to meet it, blocking the ball out the back of the end zone for a safety with 7:16 remaining in the half. Eleven seconds later, Parra snapped up an onside kick, burst through three tackles, spun out of another, and outran the final two contenders for a 71-yard KOR touchdown that put the 50-point mercy rule in play, 51-0.

The final seven minutes went swiftly as Artesia's second string took the field, forcing a final Santa Teresa three and out before notching one last TD. Ray Ray Cano would come back for a pitch that fell behind him and still gain seven yards before a 12-yard pass from Lucas Atkins to Holt Crawford brought about first and goal from the five. Cano took it from there on the option to set the final with 32 seconds on the clock, 58-0.

A teen boy in a black-and-orange football uniform catches the ball with his back to the camera as two opponents in white and teal move in to tackle him.

PICTURED: Sawyer Whitehead receives a three-yard touchdown pass from Derrick Warren.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

The Bulldogs finished with 247 yards of offense through two quarters while holding Santa Teresa to just 24. All three Artesia ball carriers on the night delivered a touchdown, with Parra going 3-23, Houghtaling 1-23, and Cano 2-12. Warren was eight of 12 passing for 177 yards and three scores and Atkins one of one for 12 yards, and the receiving corps lined up thus: Egeland 2-62 with one TD, Byers 1-62, Whitehead 3-39 with a TD, Fuentes 2-14 with one TD, and Crawford 1-12. Corbyn Dominguez was 6-6 on PAT.

The 'Dogs now head into their 2025 open week. They'll resume the second half of their district schedule at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, against Roswell High at Wool Bowl. The Coyotes -- who also have an open date this Friday -- stand at 5-2, 4-0. Roswell fell to Alamogordo 27-13 and Hobbs 37-27 during regular-season play, defeating Los Lunas 27-8, and have thus far topped Lovington 18-13, Deming 58-19, Santa Teresa 54-0, and Gadsden 33-14 in D2 action.

Tickets for the Oct. 17 showdown -- a rematch of the last two Class 5A state championship games -- are already on sale and can be purchased via Artesia's GoFan site.

A teen boy in a black-and-orange football uniform runs over the goal line with the ball in his right hand as teammates and the home crowd cheer in the background.

PICTURED: Bryce Parra takes the final step in a 70-yard kick return for a touchdown as the Bulldog sideline and crowd cheer him on.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

STAT BOX

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER
Artesia- Trent Egeland 46-pass from Derrick Warren (pass failed), 9:41
Artesia- Bryce Parra 2-run (Warren to Egeland pass good), 7:21
Artesia- Edel Villa 55-punt return (Corbyn Dominguez kick good), 5:38
Artesia- Sawyer Whitehead 3-pass from Warren (Dominguez kick good), 3:15
SECOND QUARTER
Artesia- Jett Fuentes 1-pass from Warren (Dominguez kick good), 10:55
Artesia- Cael Houghtaling 23-run (Dominguez kick good), 10:17
Artesia- Safety (Marco Soto punt block), 7:16
Artesia- Parra 71-kick return (Dominguez kick good), 7:05
Artesia- Ray Ray Cano 5-run (Dominguez kick good), :32
THIRD QUARTER
Mercy Rule
FOURTH QUARTER
Mercy Rule

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
Artesia- Houghtaling 1-23; Parra 3-23; Cano 2-12
Santa Teresa- Julian Torres 8-12; Hector Alvarez 5-6; Ramon Duenez 2-(-8)
PASSING
Artesia- Warren 8-12-177-3-0; Lucas Atkins 1-1-12-0-0
Santa Teresa- Duenez 3-15-14-0-0
RECEIVING
Artesia- Jack Byers 1-62; Egeland 2-62; Whitehead 3-39; Fuentes 2-14; Holt Crawford 1-12
Santa Teresa- Julian Maynez 1-8; Santiago Arellano 2-6

TEAM STATISTICS

FIRST DOWNS
Artesia 6; Santa Teresa 3
RUSHING YARDS
Artesia 6-58; Santa Teresa 15-10
PASSING YARDS
Artesia 189; Santa Teresa 14
TOTAL YARDS
Artesia 247; Santa Teresa 24
PENALTIES
Artesia 3-35; Santa Teresa 5-25
TURNOVERS
Artesia 1; Santa Teresa 1