LOTS OF CHANGES FOR LOVINGTON THIS SEASON
The Lovington Wildcats come into this football season as the defending state champs, but they will defend their Class 4A title with a new head coach, and in a new classification. Lovington native Josh Bailey takes over the program after Anthony Gonzales left for another coaching job in Texas. “I couldn’t be more excited,” said Bailey. “It’s my alma mater, I love Lovington and bleed blue. When the job opened up, I looked in the kids’ faces and knew I wanted to be there for them.
Lovington ended last season on a seven-game win streak, capped off with a 57-21 victory over Portales in the championship final. Is there pressure for a local first year head coach coming into a situation like that? “I think so,” answered Bailey. “And I’m excited about that. I wouldn’t have it any other way. When you coach and play in Lovington, the expectation is to win a state championship.
“I hope we have a fearless group that’s not afraid to go out there and play hard and play for each other,” said Bailey. “I feel really good about what we have going on.”
Lovington didn’t lose a lot of seniors, but they were impact players. “It’s not easy to replace guys of that caliber, but we don’t have many holes,” said the 1st year head coach. The Wildcats will have to make up for the loss of quarterback Wyatt Gomez, who threw for over 3,600 yards and 51 touchdowns last season. Senior Matthew Prudencio (senior QB/safety) is expected to take over at the quarterback position. “He’s a quiet guy, but one of the hardest workers in the building, and flies under the radar,” said Bailey. Lovington is also expecting production from Camon Ochoa (senior RB, safety), Valente Herrera (senior tackle), Alec Holguin (senior WR,RB), and Patrick Sanchez (senior WR/QB). “I feel like our seniors are pretty salty,” Bailey described.
Lovington High School made the move up to Class 5A this year. The Wildcats are now in a district with Roswell, Goddard, Artesia, Mayfield, Gadsden, Deming, and Santa Teresa. “I think we are going to play in the toughest district in the state of New Mexico,” said Bailey. “Our schedule that we’ve played every year leading up to this has prepared us. Our schedule doesn’t look a whole lot different. We are playing some of the same schools, they’re just now a district opponent.”
“Our effort and energy has been great over the years, people all over the state talk about it,” said Bailey. “Our motto is going to be ‘Be Fearless’. I want us to go out there and play free. When I was a player, I played better when I played confident, and so I want our guys to be confident no matter who the opponent is.”
Lovington will open the season at home August 23rd when they host Hobbs. The Wildcats will have a championship rematch with the Rams in Week 2 at Portales.
