Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Portales assistant coach Mike Prokop shows players proper defensive stance during Monday morning's practice at Portales High School.
PORTALES — Defending Class 4A state football champion Portales High didn't waste any time on Monday getting the season started, although it wasn't quite what Rams coach Jaime Ramirez had hoped.
Due to Sunday night's rain, the Rams moved to their indoor facility for a 12:01 a.m. practice on Monday — the earliest time teams were able to start. The workout lasted about 2 1/2 hours.
"It wasn't the normal practice we would've had outside on the field," said Ramirez, beginning his sixth season at PHS. "But we modified the practice and did what we could."
The Rams are coming off solid playoff runs the last two seasons. After finishing 11-1 with a semifinal loss in the 2015 playoffs, PHS went 12-1 last season and pounded Robertson 43-14 in the 4A championship game at Greyhound Stadium.
Portales graduated 20 seniors off its 2015 squad, and lost 14 from last year's contingent. Ramirez said this year's team has 16 seniors.
Despite the heavy replacements in that time, he believes the program has become well-established.
"The last couple of years we've felt like we had the team that was good enough to win the championship," Ramirez said. "Honestly, every year we feel like we have a chance.
"We're still finding out where all the pieces go, but I expect we'll be a good football team this year."
The Rams are slated to go from 6:30 a.m.-10 a.m. each day this week through Friday, with a short break in the middle, then lift weights and be done well before noon. Next week, with teachers reporting, the team will practice from roughly 5-8:30 p.m.
The first two days are in shorts and helmets only, with shoulder pads added for Wednesday and Thursday's workouts and full pads for the first time on Friday.
The Rams host a round-robin scrimmage with New Mexico Military, Eunice and the Clovis junior varsity on Aug. 18. They open the season a week later at Texico.
"We want to be a team that does things right," Ramirez said. "The goal is to win every year. We want to improve every game and (be playing) our best football at the end of the season."
