The Lovington Wildcats faced off on Saturday against the Ruidoso Warriors. The state championship took place at the Lovington football field for the 4A district title.
It was a cold and rainy afternoon when the game began. Though the rain died down some a little bit into the game, mist and drizzle continued off and on, no doubt affecting the players on the field.
Though the Wildcats managed to pull off an impressive win against the Ruidoso Warriors, they did get off to a very rocky start with two early interceptions thrown giving the Warriors a big lead. Thanks to a blocked extra point by the Wildcats, the Warriors led 13 to 0 with the Wildcats eventually putting 7 points on the board before the end of the first quarter.
However, the Wildcats quickly turned around the momentum, catching up and surpassing the Warriors. In the last seconds of the first half, the Wildcats had a decent lead and control of the ball. Hoping to extend their lead before the half, they made several valiant attempts to get into the end zone, but ultimately couldn’t pull it off before the clock wound down. There were definitely some close calls, though.
One pass was caught in the end zone with what would have been the last play of the half. The ceremonial cannon to signal a Wildcat touchdown was fired off and the crowd started cheering. However, a flag on the play caused a redo of the down. Another would-be last play had Ruidoso’s team happily running for the locker rooms as they believed the half had ended, but thanks to another penalty, this time against the Warriors, the Wildcats got another attempt.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, and even using all their first half timeouts, they were unable to score a touchdown. Some fans in the stands grumbled about the team not simply kicking a field goal for an easy three points before the end of the half.
It didn’t matter, ultimately. The second half saw the Wildcats dominate the game with the Warriors only managing to score one more touchdown as the Wildcats extended their lead even further. The final score was 41 to 21 with the Lovington Wildcats declared District 4A State Champions.
The state championship trophies were presented immediately following the game by a representative from the New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA). The Ruidoso Warriors were presented with a Runner-Up Championship trophy and the Lovington Wildcats received the State Championship trophy.
Lovington was not the only Lea County team to win a state championship this season. Last week, the Eunice Cardinals won the 2A District State Championship title against another Lea County team, the Jal Panthers. That made five state championships in a row for the Eunice Cardinals.
This is the first NMAA state championship win for the Lovington Wildcats in 10 years. Last year’s football season was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the cancellation, Lovington High School and some other schools in the district opted to hold an unsanctioned tournament during the season, which the Lovington Wildcats won. No trophy was awarded, and it was not counted as an official NMAA state championship.
