Portales finishes regular season with win over NMMI

Staff report

ROSWELL — Portales locked up second place in District 4-4A football with a 21-13 win over New Mexico Military Institute on Friday night.

With the game tied 7-7 at halftime, the Rams (6-4, 3-1 district) received the ball to start the second half and wasted no time taking the lead on a Bronte Staugaard 1-yard run.

NMMI (7-3,1-3) scored on the ensuing drive as quarterback Todd Dennis hit Mauricio Cantu with a 14-yard pass, but the Colts missed the extra point attempt to keep the Rams in front.

PHS overcame three holding calls and converted a fourth-and-long on its next drive, with Staugaard capping off on a 6-yard TD run.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Rams’ defense held the Colts out of the end zone on four straight downs from inside the PHS 10-yard line, including the last two plays from the 3.

With less than a minute to go, the Rams fumbled the ball inside their 30-yard line to give the Colts one more shot. However, safety Matt Martinez ended the comeback effort when he collected his second interception of the game to seal the win.

The Rams, who are ranked fifth in the latest Class 4A Maxpreps.com, will learn their playoff fate tonight when the New Mexico Activities Association announces its football playoff pairings.

The top four teams in the 12-team field earn byes. The second four teams will host first-round games next week.