Sartans cruise past Rams

After three possessions, it looked like anything but an offensive eruption for St. Pius.

The Sartans surrendered a safety less than a minute into the game, followed by punts on their next two tries.

Then sophomore running back Hershul Olloway Jr. broke off a 62-yard touchdown run, and the floodgates opened. St. Pius piled up 511 total yards and rolled to a 48-18 District 2-4A victory over Portales High on Friday night at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium.

Olloway netted 160 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, while 6-foot-5 sophomore quarterback Isaiah Carpenter passed for four TDs as the Sartans (5-2, 3-0 district) remained at the top of the 2-4A standings.

They did it with head coach Curtis Flakes II unavailable after sustaining a torn Achilles on the sideline during the team's previous game.

"It was a fun win," said 31-year-old Davis Cantwell, the Sartans' special teams coordinator who took over as head coach for this one. "We've got a great staff and a lot of great kids."

Carpenter was called for intentional grounding in the end zone on the game's third play, and PHS (4-4, 2-2) added a 35-yard field goal by senior Joel Lujan later in the period for a 5-0 lead.

It was obvious early on, though, that the Rams were having trouble with the Sartans' size up front, and eventually they broke out the speed as well. Olloway's long TD run with 2 ½ minutes left in the opening stanza gave St. Pius the lead and began a stretch of three touchdowns on four possessions.

By halftime it was 20-5 and, suffice it to say, it didn't get any better for Portales when play resumed.

"We lost the battle up front," Rams coach Jaime Ramirez said. "Sometimes it happens that way. We had trouble everywhere."

PHS senior quarterback Tommy Lopez was running for his life most of the night. He completed 9-of-21 passes for 117 yards and a score, but also had three interceptions and was sacked three times.

"Offensively, we were a little slow at first, but we stuck to our game plan," Cantwell said. "What we lacked in size, we made up in speed."

Carpenter completed 17-of-27 passes for 321 yards, throwing for two touchdowns apiece to sophomore wide-outs Kayl Cox-Liggins and Curtis Flakes III, son of the head coach. Cox-Liggins finished with six catches for 185 yards, including three receptions of more than 40 yards.

Lujan rushed for 122 yards on 12 carries for the Rams, including a 5-yard TD run in the third quarter. Portales' other score came on a 1-yard pass from Lopez to senior Kaidyn Cordova in the final stanza.

The Rams have a bye week before visiting Albuquerque Academy on Oct. 26. They close the regular campaign at home against Chaparral on Nov. 1.

"Our focus now is (on) Academy, which is another good football team," Ramirez said. "We'll make adjustments. We're going to regroup and get better."