Rams lose top receiver for season

Portales improved to 2-0 with a 22-14 win at Tularosa on Friday, but lost its No. 1 receiver for the rest of the season.

Senior Manuel Sisneros suffered a torn spleen in the second half of Friday’s game against the Class 2A Wildcats. Portales football coach Glen Johnson said that Sisneros will likely be in the hospital for at least a week, and there’s virtually no chance of him suiting up again for the Rams.

“As far as football goes, (anything involving) contact,” Johnson said, “that’s probably something that won’t happen this year.”

Sisneros caught six passes for 81 yards and one of Portales’ three touchdowns in Friday’s win. He, along with seniors Briant Banister and Austin Pullen, were the centerpieces for the Rams’ pass-oriented offense.

“You talk about a tremendous asset to the program,” Johnson said of Sisneros, who caught nine passes for 123 yards on the season. “(He’s) a great kid and excellent football player. That changes the view of things as far as what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Most likely, Pullen and Banister will each move up one on the receiver depth chart. Pullen had five catches for 43 yards in Friday’s game, while Banister had two catches for 34 yards. The Rams may also turn to senior Matt Lujan, who had one reception for 22 yards.

Senior quarterback Seth Clabaugh threw for 180 yards and rushed for 53 yards on the night, while senior Cole Parrish led the Ram running attack with 74 yards on 20 carries.

Parrish and Clabaugh had the other two touchdowns for the Rams.

The Ram defense held the Wildcats to 179 yards.

Portales hosts Raton 7 p.m. Friday at Greyhound Stadium.

Floyd football

The Floyd six-man football team dropped to 1-1 on the season after a 68-6 dismantling at the hands of Sanderson, Texas.

The Broncos were knocked out of the contest early due to a few bad snaps and an opportunistic Eagle squad. Floyd coach Jeff Gillespie said the Broncos fell behind 2-0 on a safety resulting from a high snap, then the Eagles scored on a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff to start the rout.

“I think they’re better than they were last year,” Gillespie said. “They’re a lot more potent and fine-tuned than when we played them last year.”

The Eagles (2-0) are ranked No. 3 in Texas by sixmanfootball.com.

Gillespie said the game was 52-6 with a minute to go, but Sanderson scored twice in the final minute — including the final play of the game — to boost the final margin.

Chance Chenault scored the lone touchdown for Floyd on a six-yard pass from Jerrod Long.

The Broncos will have their homecoming game on Saturday, when they host a 1 p.m. game against Lazbuddie, Texas, at Portales Junior High School.