Rams post solid 21-6 district win over Colts

SILVER CITY – Senior quarterback Tommy Lopez ran for one touchdown and threw for a pair to senior running back Kaidyn Cordova on Friday night and Portales High posted a 21-6 victory over Silver in a District 2-4A matchup.

The Rams (4-3, 2-1 district) nearly had a shutout, but Silver managed to break through with seven seconds left on a 53-yard pass from junior Josiah Madrid to senior Mekhi Grant.

PHS moved into a tie for third place in the district with Valencia (5-2, 2-1), trailing Manzano (5-1, 2-0) and St. Pius (4-2, 2-0) by one-half game in the seven-team district. The Rams host St. Pius on Friday night.

“We played pretty good all the way around tonight,” Rams coach Jaime Ramirez said. “For sure, it was one of our better defensive games this season.”

Each side had three possessions in the first half, and all six possessions resulted in time-consuming marches. The difference was the Rams scored on their latter two drives en route to a 14-0 halftime lead.

After getting stopped following a first-and-goal on their opening possession, the Rams kept Silver out of the end zone after a long march and then went on a 73-yard drive that ended with Lopez going in on a seven-yard keeper with 10:22 left in the half.

PHS made it 14-0 when Lopez found Cordova on a 10-yard score with 1:50 remaining in the half.

Portales then intercepted Madrid on three straight Colts possessions in the third quarter – junior Klayton Hamilton, Lopez and Cordova had the picks – and the Rams built their lead when Lopez hit Cordova on an 18-yard scoring play and senior Joel Lujan booted his third PAT with about a minute left in the third quarter.

The Rams kept the pressure on Madrid all night. Hamilton and senior Gideon Smith had sacks.

“Everything was going good tonight,” Ramirez said. “Our offensive line did a good job in the first half, and the third quarter as well.”

Lopez, who filled in at QB after seniors Paxton Culpepper and Dallas Lozano went down with season-ending injuries early on, is getting more comfortable in the position, Ramirez said.

PHS plays two of its remaining three tilts at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium – not that Ramirez is one to get ahead of himself.

“We take it one game at a time,” he said. “The boys are playing together and fighting through the adversity.”

Cats fall at Cruces – Clovis High remained winless for the season as Las Cruces High rolled up 35 first-quarter points en route to a 55-3 District 3-6A victory on Friday night at Las Cruces’ Field of Dreams.

The Wildcats (0-6, 0-2 district) put together a solid drive on their opening possession and got on the board with a 23-yard field goal from freshman Josiah Trujillo, cutting the Bulldawgs’ lead to 7-3 four minutes in.

But the Bulldawgs returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and later added a pick-6 to turn the game into a runaway.

First-year Cats coach Stan Hodges saw some good things from his squad in defeat.

“In the first quarter, we moved the ball and had some big plays,” he said. “We had some good output from our quarterback (sophomore Javier Jimenez) and our running back (junior John Royal), and Cliff Brown had a big catch for us (on the opening drive).”

The Bulldawgs (5-2, 3-0), ranked fifth in 6A, added a pair of touchdowns early in the second stanza, but the Cats held them off the rest of the half and went into the intermission trailing 49-3.

Cruces tacked on its final score early in the third, ending the game on the 50-point rule.

“I was pleased with our offensive production,” Hodges said. “Our defense was really scrappy tonight, but they were facing a formidable opponent.

“Our kids just fought hard. I really saw some improvement tonight.”

Clovis is back in action on Friday night with a 7 p.m. district game at Leon Williams Stadium against Organ Mountain. The Knights (3-4, 2-1) pulled out a 41-40 overtime win at Carlsbad on Friday night.