Rams' 'Midnight madness' draws 55

Portales High’s version of “midnight madness” went pretty well, Rams coach Jaime Ramirez said on Monday.

The Rams kicked off football practice with a 12:01 a.m. start on Monday and went until about 3 a.m., Ramirez said, adding that the last part of it was devoted to conditioning.

“They enjoyed it,” Ramirez said of his players. “Kids stay up late a lot of times anyways, so it’s not like they were tired or anything.”

The Rams were scheduled to resume practice at 6 a.m. today and go until about 10 a.m., with a 30-minute break in the middle. They will continue that schedule through Friday.

About 55 prospects were on hand on Sunday night, Ramirez said, including about 15 freshmen. He said the frosh will practice with the varsity/junior varsity squads through Thursday.

Ramirez added that he hopes to eventually have about 20-25 more players join the workouts, including about half from the sophomore through senior classes and half freshmen.

A handful of spectators were on hand for the opening workout.

“We had a group of about eight parents, and then some of the students were there to watch,” Ramirez said.

Today’s practice will be in shorts and helmets again, Ramirez said. On Wednesday and Thursday, the players will practice in shorts,

helmets and shoulder pads before dressing in full pads on Friday.

Next week, because of school in-service on Monday and Tuesday and an open house on Wednesday, Ramirez said the Rams will have one 2 1/2-hour workout each day, starting either at 6 a.m. or 5:30 p.m. School begins Aug. 14.

The Rams host a four-way scrimmage with the Clovis JV, West Las Vegas and Santa Rosa on Aug. 22 before opening the season on Aug. 29 at Las Vegas Robertson.