Texico, CCS absorb losses

JAL — Texico and Jal went back and forth most of the night on Friday, with the Wolverines fighting uphill much of the time.

They took the lead with under three minutes left on a long touchdown pass from sophomore Cade Figg to junior Jahvon Askew, only to see the Panthers put together a game-winning scoring drive and pull out a 63-56 win.

“They have a good team,” Wolverines coach Bob Gilbreath said of Jal. “They have a big offensive tackle (6-foot-5, 300-pound senior Rogello Carreon) who has committed to Boise State. His little brother (junior Alexavier Carreon) is the quarterback, and he’s probably a better player than the other one is.”

Texico twice erased 14-point deficits, going in front 56-55 on Askew’s late tally.

“We just couldn’t tackle,” Gilbreath said. “We made a bunch of mistakes, but I will say the kids competed their tails off.”

It’s a bit of a learning process for the Wolverines, Gilbreath said.

“I think we played four seniors and two juniors that had played before,” he said. “I feel really good about our team. We just have a few things we need to clean up.”

Senior running back Cade Collins posted three TDs for Texico, while senior wide receiver Brayden Bender caught a pair of scoring passes from Figg. The Wolverines converted on 4-of-8 2-point conversion attempts.

Texico welcomes Dexter on Friday night in its home opener.

Ramah 58, Clovis Christian 8 — At Jim Hill Field, the 6-man, top-ranked Mustangs came out and smacked the young Eagles in the mouth.

Ramah led 28-0 at the quarter. It was 38-0 before CCS got on the board on the final play of the half on a 22-yard TD pass from sophomore Jaden Martinez to junior Kimber Barnett.

Freshman Manu Garbarino added the 2PAT kick for the Eagles.

CCS lost senior running back Noah Ashford (knee) and Barnett (leg) to second-half injuries.

Ramah ended the game on the 50-point rule when it scored with about four minutes left in the final period.

Due to a cancellation when Dora opted out of its season, Clovis Christian doesn’t play again until hosting Lake Arthur on Sept. 10 in its district opener.

“Give us some time,” CCS coach Trent McKay said. “We’ve got several weeks now to get ready (for the next game).

“For so many of these kids, it was their first experience playing football. Ramah came ready to play, and they took it to us.”