Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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PORTALES - Things were a little shaky early for the Portales High girls on Friday night. But not for long. Trailing 9-4, the Lady Rams erupted for 17 unanswered points and never looked back in a 54-34 District 4-4A victory over Artesia at the Ram Athletic Center. Portales stretched its winning streak to seven games heading into Saturday night's makeup of Tuesday's snowout at Roswell Goddard. PHS extended its run to 25-4 before the Lady Bulldogs' Elliot Harrison hit a 3-pointer...
PORTALES — When New Mexico Military junior Daniel Xibille suddenly found himself in foul trouble, it didn’t take long for the Colts’ fortunes to change. Xibille carried NMMI early, scoring 18 of his team’s 25 first-half points. But he picked up his third foul midway through the second stanza and eventually fouled out without scoring after halftime, and Portales High took advantage to breeze to a 74-40 victory on Thursday night at the Ram Athletic Center. On Friday night, the R...
PORTALES — If nothing else, second-year Eastern New Mexico University softball coach Kira Zeiter is an optimist. Picked for 15th place in the new 17-team Lone Star Conference’s preseason poll earlier this week, Zeiter is determined to prove the skeptics wrong — and with a 25-player roster that features 15 freshmen, no less. “We did a lot of good things last year, (among them) sweeping Texas Woman’s for the first time in (program) history,” said Zeiter, whose contingent...
CLOVIS - Clovis Christian's girls are more competitive this season than at any time in recent years. Still, though, it's a lot to ask for them to stay with the better teams in the area with two starters down. Fort Sumner opened an 18-3 lead at the end of a quarter and put 10 players in the scoring column Friday night in handing the Lady Eagles a 53-32 setback in the District 4-1A opener for both teams at the CCS gym. Junior Keeli West was the only player in double digits for...
PORTALES — Portales High boys basketball coach Rickie McBroom knows his team is close to where it would hope to be; just not close enough at this time. The Rams went down for the third consecutive night in excruciating fashion — and the fourth time in five nights for the week — as they lost to District 4-4A rival Lovington 52-50 on Saturday night in the Portales Shootout at the Ram Athletic Center. PHS (5-9) lost a last-second 58-57 decision to Texico on Tuesday at the RAC,...
PORTALES — So far, it’s been a tough week for the Portales HIgh boys basketball team. The Rams, playing four games at the RAC in five days, dropped the first three of them by a combined nine points, including Friday’s 60-55 loss to Lubbock Christian in the Portales Shootout. LCHS (8-5), a Texas Class 4A TAPPS program, outscored the Rams 18-10 in the final period and claimed the victory behind 21 points from junior forward Alex Lack. PHS (5-8) was hoping to get back on track in Saturday night’s finale against District 4-4A ri...
PORTALES — Pojoaque girls coach Seledon Martinez knew his team would face some stiff competition in the Portales Shootout. It’s nothing that won’t help the Elkettes down the line, though, and if they can win a game or two, all the better. “This is almost like a mini-state tournament,” Martinez said after the Elkettes subdued Portales High 52-37 on Friday night at the Ram Athletic Center. “Anybody here can win it.” Senior Michaela Martinez led three players in double figures for Pojoaque (10-4) with 18 points. The Elkettes,...
MELROSE — What’s in a number? Not a whole lot, when it comes to seeding for this week’s EPAC basketball tournament, says Melrose girls coach Caleb King. “It’s the first time we’ve been the (No.) 1 seed since I’ve been at Melrose,” said King, whose Lady Buffs (8-1) earned that honor for the 10-school event which begins today at Melrose. “It’s a privilege to get that, but you’re going to have to play three good games to win it. We just have to take it one game at a time.” The top two seeds have first-round byes, with...
PORTALES — With limited numbers, Santa Rosa’s boys played a deliberate style on Saturday. That was just fine with Portales High, which isn’t uncomfortable with a slower pace itself. The Rams’ 3-2 zone bottled up Santa Rosa most of the way, and PHS pulled away down the stretch for a 54-43 win over the Lions at the Ram Athletic Center. Junior post Josiah Tellez (17 points) and senior guard Rico Diaz (15) both notched career scoring bests, with much of their damage coming after the Lions (5-5) had rallied for a three-p...
FARWELL — There are turnovers … and then there are turnovers, as in the open-court kind. The Farwell Steers made too many of the latter on Friday and absorbed a 55-48 loss to Clarendon. For the game, the Steers committed 25 turnovers. Coach Shane Perkins was less concerned about the number of floor errors as he was the type. “It’s been a problem most of the year,” Perkins said. “It’s not just the shots you don’t get, it’s how many layups they (Broncos) get at the other end.” C...
FARWELL — With key players in early foul trouble, someone had to step up for Farwell’s girls on Friday afternoon. Senior guard Karson Barnes provided the spark, hitting a pair of third-quarter 3-pointers and scoring 10 of her career-best 16 points after halftime as the Lady Blue pulled away from Clarendon 51-38. Junior Presley Agee and senior Ainsley Actkinson, often the team’s leading scorers, were each saddled with three fouls before halftime. But Farwell (15-7) took contr...
PORTALES — The first postseason football win in school history and a trip to NCAA Division II South Central Region competition for the women’s basketball program highlighted 2019 for Eastern New Mexico University sports. The school also enters the decade with a new athletic director, as Portland State deputy athletic director Matt Billings was chosen to the position last week. As of Jan. 20, he replaces Greg Waggoner, who stepped down in June and is slated to become the AD in January at NCAA Division III Johnson & Wales Unive...
CLOVIS — If nothing else, the Clovis High Wildcats have played a fairly challenging early-season schedule. That resulted in some losses out of the gate, but the Cats have now strung together four consecutive wins after pulling away late from Rio Rancho 68-53 on Saturday night at Rock Staubus Gym. Senior forward Darion “Ro” Morgan led four players in double figures for the Cats (5-3) with 15 points, and also grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds. “I knew it would be a tough game,” CHS coach Jaden Isler said. “Both teams played...
PORTALES — Portales boys coach Rickie McBroom figured he had bigger things to worry about on Friday night than a basketball game. McBroom, who underwent surgery for prostate cancer in October, said he received word before Friday’s contest against Littlefield that everything has checked out well in his treatment. That made Friday’s hard-fought 60-54 loss to the Wildcats at the Ram Athletic Center at least a bit easier to accept. PHS (2-3) trailed all the way except for two early ties, but kept pushing Littlefield (13-1) until...
TEXICO — Four years ago, the Elida boys basketball program was in mothballs. Since rebooting it in 2016, though, the Tigers have made steady progress. They entered this weekend’s Citizens Bank tournament with a 7-0 record and a pair of tournament titles, and ready to really challenge themselves. Things didn’t go as planned on Thursday as the Tigers were overwhelmed by Class 3A Tohatchi 76-56. But Elida got back on the winning track the next day, scoring at least 20 point...
PORTALES — They may have not have been expecting to pitch a shutout, but the Portales High Rams were certainly confident heading into last weekend’s Class 4A state championship football game at Bloomfield. Portales, seeded second, shut out the top-seeded and unbeaten Bobcats 23-0 for the school’s sixth state football crown, and second under coach Jaime Ramirez in the last four seasons. A celebration is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday at the Ram Athletic Center on the PHS campu...
PORTALES — Portales High’s girls return all but two players from last year’s team. Despite that, the Lady Rams remain young as they head into a season-opening tournament this weekend hosted by Santa Fe High. PHS has just one senior to go with nine sophomores and three juniors on its opening roster. The Lady Rams face Espanola Valley at 2 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Santa Fe meet. Despite the team’s relative youth, seventh-year coach Wade Fraze said the Lady Ra...
PORTALES — Suffice it to say, it’s a quick turnaround for the football-playing members of Portales High’s boys basketball squad. After pounding top-seeded Bloomfield 23-0 in Saturday’s Class 4A state championship football game, the Rams were slated to begin their basketball campaign on Tuesday night at home against Dexter with only one practice for the full roster. No problem, really, said Rams senior Kellan Hightower on Monday. “It’s going to be a little tough, conditionin...
ELIDA — Times have changed in boys sports at Elida. A lot. After years of struggling to even field teams, the Tigers posted a winning record in basketball in 2018-19 and reached this year’s 6-man state championship game in football. They hope to continue that success on the hardwood this season as first-year coach Jared Fraze tries to implement an up-tempo pace. “We’re kind of changing up the style,” he said. “If (the players) buy into it, I think we could really be good.” Elida (15-11, 6-4 District 4-1A) made it to the sta...
PORTALES — When Portales High takes on top-seeded, unbeaten Bloomfield in Saturday’s 1 p.m. Class 4A state football championship game at Bloomfield, Rams coach Jaime Ramirez said the teams will be strikingly similar in style. “They’re a very good football team,” Ramirez said Monday of the Bobcats (12-0). “They’re aggressive and fast, and they’re solid on defense and offense. “To be honest, they’re a lot like we are.” Bloomfield was the 4A runnerup last year, losing in the f...
PORTALES — For most teams, at any level, losing the starting quarterback to injury is, at the least, cause for concern. Portales High, though, has seen its signal-caller go down twice, and in both instances the Rams hardly missed a beat. Junior Baylor Diaz, the original starter, is slated to be under center on Saturday when PHS (11-1) visits top-seeded and unbeaten Bloomfield (12-0) in a 1 p.m. battle for the Class 4A state championship. Diaz sustained an ankle injury early i...
MELROSE — Who needs a district basketball championship? At least last year, Melrose’s boys didn’t need no stinkin’ district championship. Despite finishing third in District 6-1A, the Buffaloes got hot at the right time and captured their second consecutive Class 1A state crown, topping district rival Fort Sumner 54-50 in the championship game at The Pit in Albuquerque. The Buffs (25-7, 4-4 district) won the last three of five matchups last season against the Foxes. With state titles in each of his first two years at the sch...
PORTALES — Longtime rivals Portales and Lovington played only three weeks ago. They meet again on Saturday, with much more on the line this time. The Rams (10-1), seeded second in the Class 4A state playoffs, invade third-seeded Lovington (7-4) in a 1 p.m. semifinal clash. Even though PHS won the earlier district meeting 35-13, locking up its fifth consecutive district title, Rams coach Jaime Ramirez figures this one will be tougher on the Wildcats’ home blue turf. “We know...
TEXICO — One big roadblock remains in the Texico Wolverines’ bid to secure the school’s first state football crown since 2008. Texico visits two-time state champion Eunice for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday in a battle for the Class 2A title. The teams met on Sept. 27 at Eunice, with the Cardinals posting a 34-19 win. Since then, though, the Wolverines (8-4) have won six in a row to clinch their first winning campaign since 2012. “We went through a lot of adversity early,...
MELROSE — Suffice it to say, Tristan Sena had a full night in his final football game at Melrose High School. To say he was a stat-stuffer may be a bit of an understatement. Sena scored six touchdowns — in four different ways — and threw for another while intercepting two passes as Melrose captured its fifth 8-man state championship in six years with a 56-44 victory over Tatum on Friday night. The third-seeded Buffaloes (11-1), outplayed for much of the first half, turne...
