Wildcats host Grants in homecoming tilt

While Grants is improved from last year’s rebuilding squad, there aren’t a lot of reasons to believe the Pirates will be able to pull off a major upset and spoil the Wildcats’ homecoming contest Friday night.

Meanwhile, there are a few reasons to believe Friday’s game won’t be a repeat of Clovis’ 50-0 victory when the teams played last year in Cibola County.

Clovis (3-3), coming off a 29-21 loss at Wolfforth Frenship last week, will be without a pair of significant offensive weapons. Junior running back Micah Gray, who aggravated a pair of discs in his neck on a helmet-to-helmet hit last week, is in a neck brace with weekly checkups and no timetable for a return. Senior receiver and defensive back Tucker Dobbs will be absent with a stinger.

link Staff photo: Kevin Wilson

Clovis junior Fernando Acosta is third on the Wildcat roster in tackles with 41, and leads the team with four sacks. The Wildcats host Grants tonight in their homecoming game.

“Two of our fastest guys are Micah and Tucker, and we won’t have them,” Clovis coach Eric Roanhaus said. “We beat (Grants) with speed last year. We’ve got Seth (Lopez, sophomore running back), and that’s our speed.”

Lopez, in Gray’s absence, will move up to the No. 1 running back spot while junior Bubba Alonzo shifts from fullback to the second halfback spot. Seniors Jaren Gonzales and Jacob Wimberly have been taking reps at fullback.

Clovis will get some help in the secondary, with juniors Lane Kelley and Austin Contreras rejoining the lineup.

While the Pirates run a spread offense, Roanhaus feels running back Trey Narramore is good enough to play for most Class 6A teams and presents a threat.

“I think they play better defense (than last season),” Roanhaus said. “They’ve got one kid who plays both ways that’s 6-6, 310 (defensive tackle/guard Bradley Hatton); he’s huge.”

Attempts to contact Grants coach Rio Thompson were unsuccessful. He is in the second year as head coach, since being hired last year four weeks before the season opener.

Roanhaus noted that Grants is one win better than Clovis, but also notes that the Wildcats had opportunities to win each of their last two road games at Rio Rancho and Frenship.

Senior linebacker Jared Duncan concurs.

“We feel like we need to finish off games; we feel like we could easily be 5-1 at this point,” Duncan said. “We need to focus on ourselves more than on Grants. We’ve got to make stops, and we’ve got to come away on offense with some points.”

Following this week, all four District 4-6A teams will have a bye, followed by Clovis visiting Hobbs and Alamogordo hosting Carlsbad in what has a chance to be a battle of 7-0 vs. 0-7.

Game day

Grants (4-2) at Clovis (3-3)

7 p.m., Leon Williams Stadium

On the air: KCLV-AM 1240; KCLV-FM 99.1; KTQM-FM 99.9; streaming online at kclvsports.com at ktqmclovis.com.

Coaches: Grants, Rio Thompson, second season, 7-9. Clovis, Eric Roanhaus, 38th season, 331-136-5.

Last week: Grants suffered its worst loss of the season, 53-14 against at Farmington. Clovis suffered a 29-21 loss at Wolfforth Frenship.

Last meeting: 2014, Clovis 50-0. It is the only matchup between the teams.

Pirates players to watch: DT/G Bradley Hatten, Sr., 6-6, 300. RB Trey Narramore, Sr., 6-0, 170.

Clovis leaders: Junior Micah Gray, out indefinitely with a neck injury, leads Clovis with 961 yards rushing on 143 carries and 12 scores. Sophomore Seth Lopez has 320 yards on 37 carries and three touchdowns. Senior Daulton Hatley has completed 25-of-59 passes for 588 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions. On defense, senior Jared Duncan leads Clovis with 48 tackles, though juniors Skyler Wadas (44) and Fernando Acosta (41) aren’t far behind. Acosta leads the team with four sacks.

— by Kevin Wilson