Artesia has dropped Clovis for next season

[Dog 1]

Clovis will not be on the Bulldog schedule next season. Alamogordo will replace them on the Dog schedule.

[Agent Orange]

I wanted to recap the series since it picked up again in 2005.

2005 Clovis 35-42
2006 Artesia 34-26
2007 Clovis 36-38 ESPN Game
2008 Clovis 24-34
2009 Clovis 48-10
2010 Clovis 13-7
2011 Clovis 33-25
2012 Artesia 55-48
2013 Clovis 48-17

We were 2-7 against the Clovis Wildcats, kinda hate to see this one go, most the games were competitive, I'd trade Las Cruces first before Clovis. Alamogordo was 1-9 last year, schedule got a lot easier.

[Mr. Pitch]

I might be mistaken here but I think Lovington, now a district contest, moved to the Clovis date as an additional district game. The 1st playing date of the year is not normal for district contests. The Lovington date(last Friday in August) is now filled with Alamogordo. I could be wrong, but that is at least what I thought I understood.

[Agent Orange]

Sounds about right to me Mr. Pitch, I forgot Lovington is a District opponent next season.

[90sdogs]

Here is next years schedule:



Belen



@hobbs



@valencia



Deming



Carlsbad



Las Cruces



@alamogordo



Roswell



goddard



Lovington







Home/away may be different but order is correct.

[Jades]

Personally, if we are stuck with this seeding crap, I like the moves made in the schedule, except Alamorgordo is 5A. I think we should have found another good 4A program in that spot. I like the Hobbs and Carlsbad games because of regional rivalries but the more good 4A teams on the schedule, gives us a better indication of where we stand in 4A and should make the seeding much more fair. No guarantees of that but if we win or lose against a 4A team, there really should be no issue where you should be seeded in relation to that team. I wish we could get Las Cruces off the schedule also. Not because of the competition but for the same reason. It would allow us to see where we are in relation to another 4A competitor. There are several to choose from within the same 3 to 4 hour drive it takes to go to Cruces.

[crispysdad]

Jades...it's kind of a Catch-22. If you soften up the schedule, you soften up the team. If you strengthen the schedule (in order to strengthen the team) with teams like Clovis and Cruces, then you stand the chance of loosing a few more games...loosing respect.....and getting screwed over in the seeding process.

I tend to fall in line with the idea of strengthening the schedule and going into the play-offs with a few more loses and probably a lower seed. You go into the playoffs with an excellent team and the low seed won't matter. Yeah, it may cost you a home game but you work your way through the bracket to the title game. Make the seeding committee look like idiots.

[Mr. Pitch]

Feb 12, 2014 1:18:14 GMT -7 crispysdad said:

Jades...it's kind of a Catch-22. If you soften up the schedule, you soften up the team. If you strengthen the schedule (in order to strengthen the team) with teams like Clovis and Cruces, then you stand the chance of loosing a few more games...loosing respect.....and getting screwed over in the seeding process.

I tend to fall in line with the idea of strengthening the schedule and going into the play-offs with a few more loses and probably a lower seed. You go into the playoffs with an excellent team and the low seed won't matter. Yeah, it may cost you a home game but you work your way through the bracket to the title game. Make the seeding committee look like idiots.

This is football and injuries, bumps and bruises occur.  I get that.  But a football schedule that has too much of a heavy diet of schools more than twice your size can cost you in more ways than seeding in a, IMHO, idiotic system.  When I was in junior high 1 year, Artesia rolled out what I beleive was one of our better teams.  Beat the duo of Timmy Smith/Ruben Berry led Hobbs Eagles in the opener, then proceeded to lose key players week after week till there were just a handful of the originals out there.  That year it was Hobbs, Roswell, Carlsbad, Seminole, and maybe another Texas team or 2.  I truly think that was the best team around early, but lost Israel Carrera, Mark McCaleb, Eric McCaleb and Scott Runyan to serious leg injuries.  There were other injuries that devastated that team as well.  It's fun beating those folks when you can, but there is a down side.

[crispysdad]

Feb 12, 2014 4:38:45 GMT -7 Mr. Pitch said:

Feb 12, 2014 1:18:14 GMT -7 crispysdad said:

Jades...it's kind of a Catch-22. If you soften up the schedule, you soften up the team. If you strengthen the schedule (in order to strengthen the team) with teams like Clovis and Cruces, then you stand the chance of loosing a few more games...loosing respect.....and getting screwed over in the seeding process.

I tend to fall in line with the idea of strengthening the schedule and going into the play-offs with a few more loses and probably a lower seed. You go into the playoffs with an excellent team and the low seed won't matter. Yeah, it may cost you a home game but you work your way through the bracket to the title game. Make the seeding committee look like idiots.

This is football and injuries, bumps and bruises occur.  I get that.  But a football schedule that has too much of a heavy diet of schools more than twice your size can cost you in more ways than seeding in a, IMHO, idiotic system.  When I was in junior high 1 year, Artesia rolled out what I beleive was one of our better teams.  Beat the duo of Timmy Smith/Ruben Berry led Hobbs Eagles in the opener, then proceeded to lose key players week after week till there were just a handful of the originals out there.  That year it was Hobbs, Roswell, Carlsbad, Seminole, and maybe another Texas team or 2.  I truly think that was the best team around early, but lost Israel Carrera, Mark McCaleb, Eric McCaleb and Scott Runyan to serious leg injuries.  There were other injuries that devastated that team as well.  It's fun beating those folks when you can, but there is a down side.

You are very correct. In fact, I had planned on mentioning the downside of possible injuries as a result of a brutal schedule, but I forgot and left it out. Started to go back and edit in in a few minutes after I noticed it but decided what the heck.

I never will forget hearing my mom and dad talk about the Bulldogs going to Dumas TX in the late 50s or early 60s and half the team coming back to Artesia on crutches.

[Jades]

Yes, I understand all of that about the strength of schedule but I said " strong 4A teams". I realize there is a difference between strong 4A and 5A teams but I still say it would help take the seeding out of the committee hands because you have comparable teams in the process. Just because Belen is undefeated and we lose to a Hobbs and a Las Cruces does not mean Belen is better than us. Now we will know. I have always said if you are going to seed something, you have to have some kind of comparable information to make a correct seeding. Undefeated means zilch, we have proven that over and over. By the same token, it we beat a Clovis or a Carlsbad early in the year, it does not mean we will beat a Belen or Los Lunas in the playoffs and I don't think it helps our seeding in this system so why risk the injuries mentioned above for not much help in the seeding process. I agree with your concept and if there was no seeding I don't think you would have seen us make this move. Besides, what does a Clovis and a Las Cruces gain by playing us. It is a no win situation for them with plenty of risk to their seeding if they lose. Just my opinion.

[Agent Orange]

Hate to say it but I agree with Jades ha ha, rather pickup a decent/good 4A team than an awful 5A team. Farmington would be a good addition, although the distance to travel is pretty long but Goddard had Aztec on their schedule. Sometimes you don't have much of a choice though and you got to take what you can get.


Like I said, wish it was Cruces traded not Clovis, great team but I don't know what you learn going up there and losing 54-0 except you don't belong on the same field with them, that had to been the longest ride home ever. A waste of time and school money, of course this isn't always the case but we knew we were in for it this year.

[Jades]

ouch Randall, LOL