Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis High freshman defensive back Javi Jimenez drags down an Albuquerque High ballcarrier during the first half of Friday's District 5-6A football game at Leon Williams Stadium. The Wildcats throttled the visiting Bulldogs 42-12.
• Clovis leads 28-0 early in second
quarter en route to 42-12 triumph.
Clovis High's football team is positioned right where it was at this time last year.
The Wildcats went 0-6 in pre-district play in 2022, then found themselves going for a Class 6A state playoff berth only to lose 54-0 at Los Lunas.
Friday night, they opened their District 5-6A slate with a 42-12 rout of Albuquerque High in the district opener for both teams at Leon Williams Stadium.
The Cats weathered (pun intended) an hour-long lightning delay in the final minute of the first half. CHS went on with Homecoming ceremonies before the half was finished, and the teams took almost no break from there for the second-half kickoff.
Second-year coach Andrew McCraw, whose team let a 49-20 halftime lead get away in a 64-56 setback at Eldorado a couple of weeks ago, said he thought his squad let up a bit with a big halftime advantage.
"We have to get better when we've got the lead," he said. "But it was definitely good to win our first district game."
It was evident pretty early that the Cats (2-5) were more athletic than the Bulldogs, who dropped their fifth in a row since a season-opening 34-17 win over Organ Mountain. Senior running back Kash Roberts, who sat out the second half after getting nicked up, scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns, including a 55-yard sprint on the team's first play from scrimmage.
Senior quarterback Jett Stone added a 6-yard TD run in the opening canto, while sophomore linebacker John Royal recovered a bad Bulldogs snap on the bounce and carried it 30 yards for a score.
McCraw said a lot of it had to do with getting some players back and being able to spread the workload.
"We got some kids healthy," he said. "We had 11 different starters both ways tonight. We have some young kids who need to play and they earned it tonight."
With just under two minutes left in the first frame, the Cats had run just eight plays from scrimmage but were cruising with a 28-0 cushion. They made it 35-0 at halftime when freshman Javier Jimenez lofted a long pass intended for Stone which bounced off an Albuquerque High player and deflected to senior J.J. Jones, who took it in on a 67-yard play early in the second stanza.
Clovis couldn't find its mojo after halftime and was outscored by the Bulldogs 12-7.
"We know we have some younger kids who can play," McCraw said. "That's why it's been a frustrating year for us. We've just got to find a way to get it out of them."
Clovis finished with a 435-106 advantage over the Bulldogs in total offense. Meantime, the defense created five turnovers and came away with three sacks.
Stone led the Cats with 79 rushing yards on 13 attempts, while Roberts had 75 yards on just four totes before leading. Royal, who had a sack and a forced fumble on defense, also got a good look at fullback and delivered 68 yards on eight carries.
"Offensively and defensively, I was proud of our effort, but we've got to finish games," McCraw said. "We know what happens when we don't, but we've got to learn real quick."
The Cats next two games will be in Santa Fe, sandwiched around a bye. They take on Santa Fe High on Friday, then return to face Santa Fe Capital on Oct. 20.
