A teen boy in an orange-and-grey soccer uniform kicks the ball past an opponent in all white.

AHS Sports Wrap: All teams on the plus side heading into September

Brienne Green

September 2, 2025

PICTURED: Moises Corza delivers the game's first goal Aug. 23 vs. Moriarty at The Mack.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

The 2025-26 sports schedules may only be a few weeks old, but already the Artesia High School Bulldogs have been putting the state on notice. And with all teams sporting winning records as they head into the meat of their regular seasons, September is shaping up to be an exciting month!

BULLDOG FOOTBALL

A teen boy in a black-and-orange football uniform lungs toward the goal line as two opponents in white and black attempt to tackle him.

PICTURED: Jack Byers dives for the goal line through a pair of Eagle defenders as Steven Williams (66) blocks Friday, Aug. 29, against Hobbs at Bulldog Bowl.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

The 2025 Bulldog football team is off to a dominant start following a pair of big wins over Class 6A competition.

Read all about Artesia's season-opening win over rival Carlsbad in the Eddy County War here.

And get all the details on the 'Dogs' thrilling victory in their home opener against Hobbs here.

LADY BULLDOG SOCCER

A teen girl in a black-and-orange soccer uniform dribbles the ball as two teammates follow behind her.

PICTURED: Estrella Gutierrez dribbles the ball up the middle during Artesia's Aug. 19 home opener against Hobbs at The Mack.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

The Artesia girls' soccer team kicked off the new sports year at AHS, travelling to Silver City Aug. 16 for the Silver Invitational, and the girls in orange couldn't have asked for a better start. The Lady Bulldogs returned from their opening road trip with a 2-0 record in hand, having shut out fellow Class 4A host Silver, 2-0, and mercy-ruled Class 5A Alamogordo, 10-0. The Lady 'Dogs logged a goal in each half of their bout with the Lady Fighting Colts and built a commanding 6-0 lead over the Lady Tigers at the half before finishing that contest out with four more goals in the second 40 minutes.

Artesia returned to the Mack Chase Athletic Complex Aug. 19 for their 2025 home opener against another 5A opponent: Hobbs. And while the perennially tough Lady Eagles ultimately came out on top, 3-0, the Lady Bulldogs put forth another great effort. Artesia held Hobbs to just a single goal in the first half of play, that coming in the opening four-and-a-half minutes of play. The Eagles would keep the action predominantly on Artesia's half of the field but only managed two more shots on goal in the opening 40 minutes of play.

The Lady 'Dogs came out firing in the second half, posting their first two SOG of the day in the opening seconds. But the girls in black and gold would regain control from there, posting a pair of insurance goals with 19:59 and 2:51 to go in the game to round out the 3-0 final.

A teen girl in a black-and-orange soccer uniform kicks the ball away from an opponent in white.

PICTURED: Midfielder Kaylee Berdoza turns the ball away from a Hobbs player as she prepares to send it the other way.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

The Artesia girls spent the second weekend of their season at the Alien City Invitational in Roswell, where their 5A gamut continued. The Lady Bulldogs opened against Mayfield, going one goal to three against the Lady Trojans through the opening half before falling by a final of 4-1. That sent them into a rematch with Silver, which they took by an identical result of 2-0 before closing out with a big win over 5A Clovis, 2-1. The Lady 'Dogs would turn around to face the Lady Wildcats for the second time in a week Aug. 28 on the road and again were able to edge Clovis by a goal, 3-2.

The early run finds the road warrior Lady Bulldogs at 5-2 on the season as they prepare to hit the highway again Tuesday for a 6 p.m. varsity-only bout against Ruidoso. The 1A-3A Lady Warriors are currently 3-0 with wins over West Las Vegas (5-0), Goddard (2-0) and Moriarty (4-0). The game will be played at Ruidoso Middle School, and tickets are on sale now for $6 each.

BULLDOG SOCCER

A teen boy in an orange-and-grey soccer uniform sends the ball into the air toward the goal as an opponent in white attempts to slide in.

PICTURED: Eighth-grader Jackson Jowers posts a goal in the 22nd minute of Artesia's game against Moriarty Aug. 23 at The Mack.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

Also getting their 2025 campaign off to an excellent start is the Bulldog soccer team, which stands at 5-2 following an early run through some of the top Class 5A and 4A competition in the state.

The 'Dogs opened their schedule Aug. 19 on the road against 5A Hobbs and found themselves confronted with the conundrum faced by soccer teams throughout the state: a baptism by fire due to lack of practice time. The biggest challenge on the night for the Bulldogs came from a lack of adequate time to iron out the finer points of strategy, such as set pieces, which is a source of frustration for coaches.

"We didn't even get to make our teams until the 12th, and then we're playing our first game on the 19th," head coach Phillip Jowers said after the game. "We had our first official practice Aug. 11, and there are all sorts of other things that have to be sorted out before you can start dialing in on things like set pieces. You have to evaluate, hand out equipment, etc., so you're realistically only looking at two or three days of actual practice. If we got to start our season on the same day as other sports, we'd have had a full week of practice, probably would've made at least a couple of the eight free kicks we didn't convert, and it's a completely different game."

But the 'Dogs fought through the associated adversity to put forth a strong effort, trailing the Eagles by just one, 2-1, at the break. Freshman Jonathan Corza notched that goal midway through the first half on an assist from Samuel Nielson. Artesia was unable to stage a tie in the final 40, however, and Hobbs tacked on an insurance goal for the 3-1 win. Junior keeper Ryker Hays finished with four saves on the night.

"I was really pleased with the way the guys played," Jowers said. "We're not building a program anymore. The program is built. Kind of our mantra this year is that we're going to train harder than any game we play. We're also kind of preaching to the boys that we're all in this together. Positivity is power, and we fight for each other on the field. We're trying to incorporate more of a culture into the program as far as positivity, encouragement, leadership, and the mindset that no one guy is greater than the team."

Next up for the Bulldogs was their 2025 home opener Aug. 21 against West Las Vegas at The Mack, and the 'Dogs put on a veritable offensive clinic vs. the Dons. While holding WLV to just a single shot on goal in each half, Artesia scored four apiece: one in the opening minutes, two midway through, and one in the final 10 minutes of both. Senior Damian Lopez logged a pair of goals and two assists on the contest, with one goal apiece scored by Cutter Summers, Anton Wodarz, Adan Rojas, Moises Corza, Jonathan Corza and Jayden Soto.

Artesia was back at The Mack two days later to host their first 4A matchup against Moriarty, and again, the boys in orange were on fire offensively. With the contest playing out almost exclusively on the Pintos' portion of the pitch, Moises Corza got the ball rolling for Artesia just a minute-and-a-half in, and the 'Dogs would shell shock Moriarty from there, with Wodarz dribbling around a pair of defenders to make it 2-0 four minutes later on a shot high into the net and Corza picking up his second goal just over two minutes after that. With 27:58 to go in the first, Nielson launched one in from 15 yards outside the box to set the halftime tally at 4-0.

A teen boy in an orange-and-grey soccer uniform lunges to kick the ball as an opponent in white attempts to bump him off course.

PICTURED: Anton Wodarz sends the game's second goal around a Moriarty defender.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

The Bulldogs picked right back up where they'd left off in the second half, scoring in the opening 30 seconds on a point-blank boot by Jonathan Corza. Three more goals hit the back of the net in the 20th, 22nd and 27th minutes of the half off the feet of Wodarz, Jackson Jowers and Lopez, respectively, and Moises Corza closed out a hat trick with a penalty kick at the 7:43 mark to make it 9-0 Artesia. The Pintos then made their lone shot on goal of the afternoon count with four minutes to go in the game, scoring on a Jaxson Torres goal to prevent the shutout, 9-1.

That victory led into a particularly busy five days last week for the Bulldogs, as the team headed to Roswell Aug. 26, then to Los Alamos over the weekend for the Louie Cernicek Invitational.

Against Roswell High Tuesday, the 'Dogs and 5A Coyotes battled to a 1-1 tie in the first half before outscoring their hosts 2-1 in the second for the 3-2 win. Moises Corza accounted for two of those three goals and Joshua Vazquez the third, while Hays finished his evening in goal with seven saves.

In their Cernicek opener, Artesia went scoreless with the host Hilltoppers through one half before coming up short, 1-0, in the second. Hays finished with five saves in that game and six the following morning when the 'Dogs came out on top of a District 4-AAAA preview against Goddard, 1-0. Moises Corza had Artesia's goal in that game and another in the Bulldogs' afternoon bout with Aztec. Artesia scored all four of its goals in the 4-1 win over the Tigers in the opening half, with Summers, Vazquez and Soto accounting for the other three.

The 'Dogs will now have a week to prepare for the New Mexico Challenge Cup in Bernalillo, where they're set to open against the host Spartans at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, before squaring off against Ruidoso at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6.

BULLDOG VOLLEYBALL

A teen girl in an orange-and-black volleyball uniform slaps an orange, black and white volleyball over a net.

PICTURED: Senior Demrie Howard spikes the ball over the net during Artesia's match against Alamogordo Aug. 28 at Bulldog Pit.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

The 2025 Bulldog volleyball team took the court for the first time just last week, but already the squad has a pair of wins over Class 5A opponents under its belt.

The Artesia girls kicked off Tuesday on the road against county rival Carlsbad and, after shaking off a little offseason rust, settled in for a 3-1 victory. The 'Dogs came up just short of the Cavegirls in the first set, 22-25, and had to battle the girls in blue into extras in the second, 28-26, to even things up. From there, however, the Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead in dominant fashion with a 25-6 win in Game Three before closing things out in the fourth set, 25-16. Kailee Padilla finished with 18 kills and six digs on the match; Jenna Whitmire and Demrie Howard with seven and five kills, respectively; Kirklyn Miller with 33 assists; Adrienne Harvey with four aces; and Breckyn Miller, Jacky Tovar and Brooklynne Ivans with seven digs each.

A teen girl in a black volleyball uniform spikes a blue and white volleyball over a net as an opponent in white and blue attempts to block.

PICTURED: Kailee Padilla sends a kill over the net in Game Two against Carlsbad.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

Thursday's home opener against Alamogordo at Bulldog Pit saw the 'Dogs notch a quick 25-16 win in Game One before fending off the Tigers in a marathon second set. Piecing together service points with help from kills by Whitmire, Padilla, Howard and Ashton Craft, Artesia built a 15-10 lead before a trio from service by Kirklyn Miller expanded their advantage to nine. Five straight points by Alamogordo trimmed that back to three, but an Avery Frederick ace and a hit into the net by the Tigers brought about set point, 24-17.

The suspense wouldn't end there, however, as the Tigers came roaring back with a seven-point service that gave them a one-point lead, 25-24, before Whitmire tipped the ball over the net, then slammed it home for a kill after Alamo returned. Craft then served out the game, 27-25, with Howard lofting over the final point. The third and final set was less up in the air. Frederick kicked that game off with four points from service, including a trio of aces. Two points apiece by Harvey and Ivans midway through gave Artesia a 10-point lead, and three from the line -- two of which were aces -- by Padilla took the Bulldogs over the 20-point mark, 22-11. A few side-outs later, with Padilla notching a kill to end Alamogordo's final service, Harvey fired match point over the net in the form of an ace to end the night, 25-13.

A teen girl in a black volleyball uniform blocks a blue and white volleyball back onto the opposing side of the net as three opponents in white and blue attempt to return it.

PICTURED: Jenna Whitmire (8) delivers a block on game point during the third set against Carlsbad.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

Padilla led the team in kills on the match with 12, followed by Howard with six and Whitmire with four. Breckyn Miller posted 10 digs, Padilla eight, and Kirklyn Miller six, and the latter also logged 19 assists.

The AHS netters (2-0) will next head to Roswell High Tuesday for a 6 p.m. match against the 5A Coyotes before travelling to Las Cruces Friday and Saturday to compete in the annual Sweet 16 Tournament. They'll open at 11:15 a.m. Friday against Silver, followed by a 12:45 p.m. match against Organ Mountain. Tickets to Tuesday's match in Roswell can be purchased here.