Wildcats' game limited to satellite

The Clovis Wildcats will be shut out Friday night from cable television.

Fans wanting to see the Clovis-Artesia high school football game broadcast nationally on ESPNU will need a satellite provider, such as DirectTV or Dish Network. Wing Street Assistant Manager Adam Baca said the Prince Street eatery will be providing a public showing of the game. Kelley's Bar & Grill will also show the game.

The 8 p.m. game at the Bulldog Bowl in Artesia will not be offered to city cable subscribers, according to a Suddenlink cable spokesperson.

Suddenlink does not carry ESPNU in any of its packages nor will it offer it as a special package, the spokesperson said Monday.

Clovis High School Athletic Director Brian Stacy said he tried to work out a deal with Suddenlink and Comcast (in Portales) to offer the game to Clovis cable subscribers. But he said the local cable stations were not able to make the broadcast available.

Clovis learned in July it would be included in ESPN’s Old Spice High School Showcase, which features some of the top teams and top recruits in the country.

Artesia senior quarterback Landry Jones is ranked 33rd in the ESPN top 150 for prep football recruits and No. 4 among quarterbacks.

Clovis (4-3) is coming off a 13-12 win over Cibola while Artesia (5-1) was off last week. Artesia beat Clovis 34-26 last year in Clovis.

The 14-game Old Spice Showcase schedule has 10 games on ESPNU, one on ESPN and three on ESPN2. ESPN and ESPN2 are carried by Suddenlink.

Local television stations can air the game, but Stacy said the cost is prohibitive.

“We’ve kind of looked at all of our (prospects) but there’s really nothing we can do,” he said.

ESPN wanted to pit Artesia against a team from either coast, but travel costs and the certain disruption to the team's season halted those plans, Artesia coach Cooper Henderson told the Albuquerque Journal in July.

Henderson countered with the date against Clovis.

The schools have combined for 38 state championships and 50 title-game appearances. Henderson and Clovis head coach Eric Roanhaus have amassed 21 titles between them and entered the 2007 season with 217 and 271 victories, respectively.

Game on

Any groups, organizations or businesses offering public viewings of Friday's game? The Clovis News Journal would like to spread the word.

Contact Managing Editor Rick White at 763-6991 or by e-mail: rick_white@link.freedom.com