Rams, Huskies looking for win column

When the Portales Rams host Hope Christian in a 7 p.m. kickoff today at Greyhound Stadium, it'll be a battle of two teams trying to find their way into the victory column.

Hope Christian (2-4) did just that last week, beating Socorro 21-14, but the Albuquerque-based Huskies aren't really used to being a sub-.500 team.

"I attribute a lot of it to injuries," Hope coach Darrel Kindig said. "I think it's going to be an exciting game. It's the first year we've played, so we haven't seen a lot of them on film, but we're looking forward to playing them."

First-year PHS coach Jaime Ramirez, meantime, is hoping the bye week the Rams (1-4) just enjoyed will help recharge his troops after a tough 15-14 loss to Dexter on Sept. 28 at Greyhound Stadium.

"We were able to get some kids healed, and work on some things to get better," he said.

Kindig said the Huskies lost junior quarterback Luke Dye to a season-ending knee injury early in a 40-0 loss to Class 2A top-ranked Santa Rosa on Sept. 22. Kindig said junior John Jensen, who played well last week, should start against the Rams.

Others getting a look at quarterback include seniors Skylar Martin, the team's fullback, and Tommy Riley.

"Luke's an extremely gifted young man," Kindig said. "We've had a lot of injuries, (but) we've had a couple of kids step up and play well for us."

Kindig said the Huskies are running a double-wing style of offense for the second year. Last season, they reached the Class 3A state semifinals before losing to St. Michael's.

Ramirez said Hope has a couple of formidable players on defense in senior nose guard Sammuel White and senior linebacker Blake Howington.

"They're really pretty fundamentally sound and aggressive up front," Ramirez said. "They play off their defensive line play; their nose guard sets the tone for the defense.

"Their record isn't indicative of how good they are."

Sophomore Paul Conrow will direct the Rams' offense this week for the second consecutive game, Ramirez said.

"I thought our defense played pretty good," Ramirez said of that game. "We've done a good enough job defensively to win some ballgames. We just haven't done a good enough job on offense."

GAMEDAY

• What: Hope Christian (2-4) at Portales (1-4)

• When: 7 p.m. today at Greyhound Stadium

• Last week: The Huskies picked up their second win, a 21-14 decision over Socorro at Milne Stadium in Albuquerque. The Rams had an open date.

• Last year: The teams did not meet.