Rams' late bid comes up short against Spartans

BERNALILLO – Down two quarterbacks at the end, Portales High’s bid for victory came up just a bit short on Friday night.

Senior QB Uriel Castro was picked off four times, but threw for two scores – including a 49-yarder to senior running back Nathan Encinias with about five minutes left – and the Spartans claimed a 14-7 victory over the Rams.

“It was a tough ballgame,” Rams coach Jaime Ramirez said. “We played great defense all night. It was just two big plays on offense for them (which decided the game).”

Castro gave Bernalillo (3-0) a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter with a 59-yard scoring strike to junior wide receiver Joseph Duran. Portales (1-2) then stopped the Spartans on six consecutive possessions – two interceptions and four punts – before tying the game late in the third period after the second of sophomore linebacker Tommy Salgado’s two picks.

Portales lost senior quarterback Paxton Culpepper for the season to a torn ACL in last week’s loss to Lovington. Then his replacement, senior Dallas Lozano, sustained a knee injury during the Rams’ scoring march, and senior slotback Tommy Lopez stepped in for him and broke off a 12-yard TD run on the first play.

Junior Ever Dominguez kicked the tying extra point.

“It was a quarterback keep to the right,” Ramirez said of the play. “They overloaded one side, and he took it the other way and there was nobody there.”

Lozano, a starting running back for the Rams, was to go to Lubbock on Saturday morning to learn the extent of his injury, Ramirez said.

Lopez and junior Antonio Bonilla each added an interception for PHS.

The Rams return to action on Friday night, hosting West Las Vegas in a 7 p.m. kickoff.