Rams reach 4A title game with rout of St. Michael's

PORTALES — The Portales High football team is headed to the New Mexico class 4A state championship after handing battered and bruised St. Michael's a 38-0 shutout loss on Saturday at Greyhound Stadium.

Much like their quarterfinal victory over Silver the previous weekend, the second-seeded Rams (11-1) controlled every aspect of the game. Portales even had luck on its side, turning the ball over twice with both times amounting to nothing for the Horsemen.

Darion Ontiveros led Portales with two touchdowns and over 100 yards rushing in the first half, while quarterback Junior Ramirez also had two scores and finished around the century mark on the ground as well.

Top-ranked Robertson (13-0), which beat No. 4 Hatch Valley 38-20, will travel to Portales for a rematch of a 2015 semifinal game, where Robertson finished off Portales' season with a 26-14 win. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Rams coach Jamie Ramirez said, "I think that one thing we preach to our kids is to beat the team that's at hand, don't look ahead. Focus on the team we have to beat, play them like they are the better team and like you have something to prove every single week."

The Rams' defense generated a several turnovers, picking off four passes during the contest, as well as stopping three fourth-down conversion attempts by St. Michael's. One of the interceptions was returned for a score, with Portales' Logan McDaniel going 34 yards down the sideline after the pick.

"Whether you say defense or offense, they are all the same kids. ... We take pride in what we do," Ramirez said. "Our defense is the heart and soul of our team, it gets us going in everything we do."

Jeremy Karngbaye highlighted Portales' defense, recording nearly 10 tackles while batting down several passes and recording a safety on sack of St. Mike's junior quarterback Antonio Gabaldon for the only points of the second half.

"My plan was if the play didn't come to my side, I was still going to get there and make a play," said Karngbaye. "So at the end of the day, I couldn't say I didn't try every time."

Despite having beaten the Horsemen 38-12 in the teams' regular-season meeting on Sept. 16, the Rams had no problem coming out fired up for this game. The only drawback to their excitement was a unusually large amount of penalties — exemplified by a drive in the second quarter where half a dozen penalties forced Portales to generate well over 100 yards of offense for one score.