Clovis' Roanhaus one away from 300th win

At 299-103-5, Eric Roanhaus is third on the New Mexico career wins list, and is 57 wins ahead of Artesia’s Cooper Henderson. He needs a seven-win season to pass Bill Gentry. If he passes leader Jim Bradley for the top spot, Roanhaus will either have won his 11th title or be playing for it — he needs 12 wins to get there.

Of the top six on the list, Roanhaus is the only coach to collect all of his victories with the same school.

Most wins:

• Jim Bradley

Mayfield/Roswell (310-83-8)

• Bill Gentry

Highland/Eldorado (305-102-5)

• Eric Roanhaus

Clovis (299-103-5*)

• Cooper Henderson

Ruidoso/Artesia (242-83-1*)

• Travis Lee

Hot Springs/Lordsburg/Silver City (234-197-3*)

• Ralph Bowyer

Carlsbad/Grants/Belen (172-108-9)

• Dave Tomlinson

Menaul (156-109-17)

• Ray Gianinni

St. Pius (146-51-2)

* — Active

Source: New Mexico Activities Association

A look at some of the big wins along the way:

Longtime Clovis football booster Mike Mitchell wrote about Roanhaus’ most memorable wins for the 2002 football program:

• December 1978: A fourth-and-goal gamble pays off with less than 1:40 to go, as Clovis upends Eldorado 7-3. It is Roanhaus’ first title.

• December 1981: Hobbs’ Timmy Smith, who would go on to set a yardage record in the Super Bowl with the Washington Redskins, is held to 27 yards as the Wildcats defeat the Eagles 27-7.

• December 1982: The Wildcats make it back-to-back, defeating Alamogordo 20-7

• December 1983: The 4A title game featured a pair of teams with national rankings — Roswell at No. 7 and Clovis at No. 9. The game even drew coverage from a young sports network called ESPN. The battle never materialized, as Clovis defeated the Coyotes 50-18.

• December 1984: Same teams as last season, Clovis and Roswell. Different site, this time in Roswell. Same result, Clovis 17-0. (Career win No. 72).

• December 1985: The five-peat is official after the Wildcats explode for 28 second-half points in a 36-12 win over Alamogordo.

• September 1988: A 21-7 win over Artesia gives Roanhaus career victory No. 100.

• December 1990: The Wildcats return to Class 4A elite, with a 28-0 blanking of Eldorado in the title game to cap off a 13-1 season (Career win No. 130).

• December 1991: Another repeat for Roanhaus, but this one wouldn’t come easy. The 12-2 Wildcats needed triple overtime to defeat Eldorado this time, 13-10.

• December 1994: Clovis trailed Goddard 10-7 late at the Wool Bowl in Roswell. Roanhaus calls a reverse, and the Cats are in the end zone. They take a 14-10 win.

• December 2001: Roanhaus has nine titles, but never perfection. He found it in Las Cruces, with a goal line interception securing a 17-10 win over Mayfield. Both teams entered the game 12-0.