Portales pulls away late

PORTALES — Portales’ football team knows that even with a first-round bye it takes three steps to win a state 4A championship. And the Rams took Step 1 on Saturday afternoon at Greyhound Stadium.

With a punishing defense and a steady, persistent offense, the second-seeded Rams pulled away from Silver late and posted a 33-7 victory in Saturday’s quarterfinal.

Silver’s nickname is the Fighting Colts, and fight they did. Well into the fourth quarter, they trailed only 20-7, had the ball, and were on the move. But that drive was squelched by a Jordan Garcia interception, soon followed by an 81-yard Wromiah Gbassagee touchdown run that pretty much sewed it up for the Rams.

Portales (11-1) advanced to the 4A final four, and will play Lovington this coming Saturday.

That’ll be Step 2. The Rams had a little time this past Saturday to savor Step 1.

“It’s a huge step, and it feels great,” Portales receiver/linebacker Kellan Hightower said after contributing to that step with a 77-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 39-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Allen that iced it with 3:09.

“I’m extremely proud of the boys. They played tough,” Portales head coach Jaime Ramirez said.

For Silver (6-6), making it tough for a while against a quality team was a source of pride for Fighting Colts head coach Raul Diaz.

“Portales has a great program, they’ve done a great job,” Diaz said. “We’re just trying to develop what we’re trying to do, and I was very happy with the way our seniors got us here this year.”

Bye-rested Portales started with a crackle, getting a 19-yard pass from Baylor Diaz to Anthony Montoya on the game’s first play from scrimmage, bringing the Rams to Silver’s 38 that quickly.

The drive, though, stalled at Silver’s 23, officially ending when a Diaz pass completion to a leaping Jalen Allen was out of bounds past the right side of the end zone.

Portales was soon back in business three plays later, when an Isiah Saiz interception set up first-and-10 for the Rams at Silver’s 29. But the ensuing drive also sputtered on downs, this one at the Colts’ 34.

The Rams’ third and fourth possessions ended with punts, while their defense was keeping Silver similarly contained, resulting in a scoreless game at the end of the first quarter.

In fact, the opening play of the second quarter was a Silver punt. However, the second play of the new period was a 67-yard Diaz touchdown run, on which he ran right, then got outside and headed down the sideline to Silver’s end zone.

Josiah Tellez’s extra point made it 7-0 Portales with just 21 seconds elapsed in the second quarter.

Silver, though, bounced right back, driving 64 yards in eight play on its next offensive series — a march that included an 18-yard run by quarterback Walker Wenzel that turned a fourth-and-five situation from Portales’ 38 to first-and-10 from the Rams’ 20.

A 12-yard pass to Tony Granado drew Silver closer and Wenzel then completed an eight-yard scoring to Granado, followed by Daniel Martinez’s game-tying extra point with 8:05 left in the half.

Portales’ ensuing possession resulted in a 27-yard Owen Smith field goal that gave the Rams a 10-7 lead with 2:56 to go in the second quarter, and after a Colts’ punt ended their next offensive series, the Rams’ new possession that began at their own 23 lasted just one play — Hightower’s 77-yard touchdown jaunt, which came with him temporarily playing quarterback in place of a dinged Diaz. Hightower rolled out, took off, and ran right toward paydirt.

“Our quarterback got hurt and we needed a big play,” Hightower said. “I came in and did what I did.”

Tellez kicked another extra point to hand Portales a 17-7 lead with 1:29 left in the half. And that was the score at intermission, with the Rams having gained a bit more comfortable wiggle room.

“We had that first quarter where we came out a little bit shaky,” Ramirez said, “and we knocked off a little bit of that rust from having a couple of weeks off. We came in a little bit flat.”

A 32-yard Smith field goal was the third quarter’s only points, and occurred with 4:06 remaining in the period to make it a 20-7 game.

Almost halfway through the fourth quarter, it was still a 13-point difference, with Silver on a drive set up by Craig Key’s interception at the Colts’ 7. Silver drove all the way to Portales’ 30, before Garcia’s leaping interception gave the Rams possession at their own 15.

Following a four-yard Gbassagee run, he carried again on second-and-six from the 19, slipped a tackle not far past the line of scrimmage and broke into the open field. Gbassagee was so free that he could lope the last five yards or so.

A Tellez line drive gave Portales a 27-7 lead with 5:19 left in the fourth.

Late in the game, with Hightower once again in at quarterback, he looked to run before glancing downfield and lofting a 39-yard score to Allen.

The extra point was partially blocked, but the Rams had a very comfortable — and insurmountable — 33-7 lead with 3:09 remaining in the fourth.

Soon, they were officially booked in the state semis for this coming weekend.

“Any time you can make it to the semifinals,” Ramirez said, “you’ve accomplished some goals.”