For many students in New Mexico, the school year has started. For football players, the games start next week and they will really count.
Training has been going on since July. The teams have taken part in practice matches. But now the final preparations are underway for the matches that start on Friday evening.
For more information on the teams in Chaves County and Artesia, check out the annual football tab, which will be included in Friday’s edition of the Roswell Daily Record. The football tab will include team previews as well as photos and interviews.
The only team that won’t play in Week 1 is NMMI. The Colts, who reached the Class 3A semifinals last season, begin their 2024 season at home against Loving on Aug. 30.
The first week will feature the other six local teams in action. Two teams, Roswell and Hagerman/Lake Arthur, begin on the road. The Coyotes, who were runners-up in Class 5A last season, travel to Los Lunas, and the Bobcats, who team up with neighboring Lake Arthur for football only, head to the other side of the state. They will play Dulce in an 8-team game on Friday night in Rio Arriba County.
The four other local teams play at home. Goddard, which made the playoffs last season but lost in its first game, begins its season in the Wool Bowl with new coach Arthro Bolanos against Portales, which lost to Lovington in the Class 4A title game last season. Gateway Christian, which lost in the 6-man title game last season, moves up to 8-man football this season and hosts Cloudcroft in its opener.
Dexter, which lost in the Class 3A quarterfinals last season, is looking to get back into the playoffs this season. The Demons start at home against Class 2A’s Jal. Finally, the defending Class 5A champion Artesia Bulldogs begin 2024 with a rivalry game. Artesia kicks off Friday night with its annual game against Carlsbad in the Bulldog Bowl.
