Rams hitting road, seek 4-0 start

PORTALES — The Portales Rams beat the St. Michael's Horsemen twice in 2016, including wins of 38-12 in Week 4, and 38-0 in the 4A state semifinals — both played at Greyhound Stadium.

New year, new site, new just about everything as the Rams get set for the trip to Santa Fe for a 1:30 p.m. Saturday kickoff.

"Honestly, we just had a good performance both times against them — with two different quarterbacks," Portales coach Jaime Ramirez said. "The game was truly much closer than the score indicated. They were always moving into our territory and I think at halftime in the first game, it was only a one-score ballgame."

Portales, coming off a 3-0 start that includes last week's 56-28 homecoming win over West Las Vegas, will be stepping onto the field coming off a bus leaving Roosevelt County around 6:30 a.m.

While Portales is coming off of a strong second-half against West Las Vegas — leading to a 56-28 victory, St. Michael's is coming off of their first loss of the year. Moriarty took down the Horsemen (2-1), 41-15. However, Ramirez believes that no one should be deceived by that result, as he went on to say that St. Michael's is a well-coached, tough football team.

That should come as no surprise, as the Horsemen are led by 16th-year coach Joey Fernandez, who possesses a 139-51 career record. And while toughness will certainly be on display from the Horsemen on Saturday, it's deception that Ramirez is keeping his eye on.

"They use a combination of defenses — we might see anything from a 3-4, to a 4-3, or a 4-2-5," Ramirez said. "So, they mix up their defenses and try to get it where they try to confuse the quarterback."

Ramirez says the Rams have prepared for all three defenses, however. It's also unlikely that the Horsemen have faced a quarterback like Tyrese Dawson this year. Dawson was responsible for six total touchdowns (three passing, three rushing) in last week's win over West Las Vegas.

However, the Horsemen's creativity isn't limited to just one side of the ball. "They do a lot of things on offense that are multi-formational. They run the ball extremely well and they throw the ball extremely well. They have a good receiver in (Joey Fernandez, 5-11, 165 senior), and their quarterback's (Antonio Gabaldon) a good passer, and a good runner also."

Ramirez is uncertain as to whether St. Mike's runs a hurry up offense like West Las Vegas, because the game film quickly cuts from one play to the next. Historically, Ramirez said that the Horsemen tend to go fast when necessary, and vice versa.

One thing is for certain if the Rams want to have another big week — cut down on the penalties. The West Las Vegas game featured 280 yards in penalties, including 15 for 170 yards from Portales alone.

While some could attribute that to distractions like Homecoming a week ago, Ramirez doesn't see it that way.

"Honestly, last week's practice was fine," Ramirez explained. "Our boys practiced hard last week, (but) the way we played in the second half was more of an indication of the way we practiced last week.

"I think the penalties affected us in the first half, but I thought once we calmed down, we started doing the things that they were taught. We played pretty good football."