Cats open district play against Bulldogs

CLOVIS - To say it's been a rough start to the 2022 football season for Clovis High's football team would be putting it mildly.

Still, there's some light at the end of the tunnel as the Wildcats (0-6) get ready to start District 5-6A play on Friday at Albuquerque High.

None of the five district teams comes in with a winning record - Santa Fe Capital posted the best pre-district mark at 3-3.

Meantime, the Cats endured a tough one-point loss to Eldorado on Sept. 17 before falling at home to Roswell High 49-0 on Friday.

First-year Clovis coach Andrew McCraw said that while his squad has played a challenging pre-district schedule, so has everyone else.

That would include the Bulldogs (1-4), who edged Organ Mountain 22-20 in their opener but have dropped four in a row. They're coming off a 48-8 defeat to La Cueva on Friday.

"A lot of teams lost talent from last year," McCraw said. "We're all still trying to figure it out.

"We want to play well in district, and our kids are still working hard to get there."

Clovis edged the Bulldogs 25-24 last season at Leon Williams Stadium. Top players for Albuquerque High include junior quarterback Frank Hren, senior fullback Damian Garcia and sophomore linebacker A.J. Stanley.

"They've had a couple of games not go their way," McCraw said. "I'm sure they'll be itching to come away with a win (this week).

"Our pre-district schedule (has) prepared us (for district). I thought we had kind of turned a corner against Eldorado, but last week we struggled."

Junior quarterback Jett Stone, who missed Friday's game against the Coyotes with a hand injury, practiced on Monday and McCraw expects him to be ready to go this week. He added that junior guard/defensive tackle Jeremiah Johnson, who has not played this season due to a hip injury, could make his season debut against the Bulldogs.

Rams visit Valley - Portales High returns to Albuquerque on Saturday for its final pre-district game against Valley, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.

The Rams (6-0), currently No. 1 in Class 4A according to MaxPreps, face their second Class 5A opponent from Albuquerque this season. They defeated Highland 31-16 in the season opener on Aug. 19 at Greyhound Stadium.

While Portales cruised past Pojoaque 54-0 on Friday at home, the Vikings (3-2) are coming off a 48-0 loss to Class 5A top-ranked Piedra Vista on Saturday.

PHS coach Jaime Ramirez said Valley reminds him a bit of Highland. The Vikings' only other loss was against Class 6A Cibola.

"They're a lot like Highland in terms of what they try to do," he said. "They want to impose their will on you."

Leaders for Valley are senior running back/linebacker Richard Henderson, senior running back Caeden Jojola, junior wide receiver/defensive back Natavious Stallworth and sophomore linebacker Christian Powell.

"They're definitely a good football team," Ramirez said. "Their defensive linemen are aggressive, attack-first kind of players."

With last week's lopsided win, Ramirez was able to give his starters plenty of rest and noted the team came out of the tilt relatively healthy.

After a bye next week, the Rams make another trip to the Duke City on Oct. 14 for the District 4-6/4A opener against Albuquerque Academy. It will be their fifth time on the road in six contests.