Cats open district play against Bears

CLOVIS — Coming off an unwanted two-week bye, Clovis High’s football team jumps into Class 6A District 2/5 action this week when the Wildcats take on La Cueva in a 7 p.m. Friday kickoff at Leon Williams Stadium.

Meantime, Portales High is also seeking its first victory when the Rams visit Rio Grande (0-5) in a 1 p.m. start on Saturday.

CHS (0-3) saw its game at Rio Rancho canceled on Sept. 17 due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols before having its bye last week. Meantime, the only loss for La Cueva (4-1) came at the hands of Rio Rancho (50-0) on Aug. 27.

“They’re a typical La Cueva team — good athletes everywhere,” Wildcats coach Cal Fullerton said. “Defensively, they play a whole lot of man(-to-man) coverage. Offensively, they do some RPO (run-pass option) stuff.”

Fullerton said the Bears are a run-oriented team, led by junior running back Gabriel Bule.

“They have a good line this year,” he said. “They’ve got a really good junior class, and they’re probably getting better each week.”

Senior linebackers Dominic Diz and Hunter Haemker lead the way on defense for La Cueva, Fullerton said.

If nothing else, the extra time off has allowed the Cats to get a number of bodies healthy.

“Last Wednesday and Thursday, we finally got most of our kids back,” Fullerton said. “We had two of our better practices.

“We’re excited to get the chance to get back out there this week.”

Rams, Ravens seeking first win — One team will break the ice on Saturday at Rio Grande in a matchup of 0-4 squads.

While the Rams have struggled so far, the Ravens have perhaps had an even tougher time. Rio Grande forfeited its season opener to Atrisco Heritage and has been outscored 141-6 the last three outings, including a 55-0 loss on Friday at West Mesa.

Saturday will be the home opener for Rio Grande.

Portales coach Jaime Ramirez said the Ravens’ roster is comprised largely of sophomores and juniors. The top player may be sophomore quarterback Brandon Carmona.

“They’re big up front,” he said. “They play a 3-4 defense, and on offense they’re run-heavy.”

Coming off a heartbreaking 21-20 loss to St. Pius last Friday in the finale of a three-game homestand, Ramirez said the Rams are making progress.

“I thought our (late-game) goalline stand against St. Pius was a good sign,” he said. “It’s an indication we’re coming along.

“We keep getting better each and every week. We need to establish the run game on offense and make sure we don’t give up any big pass plays.”

Three games remain before the start of District 4-4A play on Oct. 15 at Ruidoso.

“We’re going to use these next three games to help us get to where we need to be,” Ramirez said.