It's early, but Lovington appears back on track

Sports writer

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Based on the first week, it looks as though the Lovington Wildcats are back.

Coming off a 1-9 campaign, only the second losing mark since coach Jaime Quinones’ first season in 2006, Lovington blanked Hope Christian 21-0 in its opener Saturday at Milne Stadium in Albuquerque.

The Wildcats host longtime district rival Portales High in a non-district clash at 7 p.m. today.

Quinones, with most of his players back and no one starting both ways, is hoping for a quick turnaround from last season.

“It was a difficult year for us,” he said. “There were games where we had chances to win, but we just couldn’t get over the hump.”

PHS coach Jaime Ramirez said that while Lovington provides a stiff challenge for his team, he’s looking for a better effort than in last week’s opening 33-20 loss at Las Vegas Robertson.

“We’re looking to improve big time,” he said. “We had 11 snaps over the quarterback’s head (last week), and we definitely want to fix that.”

Even in times where they’ve managed to win, the Rams have always had their hands full with the now-Class 5A Wildcats.

“Defensively, they’re really aggressive,” Ramirez said.

“Offensively, they run the ball well and their quarterback (senior Jordan Garcia) does a good job throwing the ball.”

Meantime, the Rams will be going up against a defense which played well in the opener.

“I was very pleased with our defense,” Quinones said. “I think we held (Hope) to about 100 total yards.”

Ramirez said the Rams also played reasonably well on defense last week, trailing just 7-0 at halftime.

“Our defense kept us in the ballgame,” he said. “But those (bad) snaps really put us in a hole.”

Both teams have to get used to playing an early-season game after years of meeting in the regular-season finale.

“It’ll be different,” Quinones said. “We’ve played Artesia (now a district foe) for the last 38 years in (the second) game, and now we’re playing Portales. But we’re excited; it’s still a rivalry game.”

Portales (0-1) at Lovington (1-0)

• When: 7 p.m. Friday

• Coaches: Portales, Jaime Ramirez, 3rd year, 8-14; Lovington, Jaime Quinones, 9th year, 55-42.

• Radio: KSEL-FM 105.9

• Last week: The Rams lost at Las Vegas Robertson 33-20 on Friday. The Wildcats blanked Hope Christian 21-0 on Saturday in Albuquerque.

• Last meeting: 2013, the Rams edged Lovington 20-17 at Greyhound Stadium. The Wildcats, though, lead the all-time series 45-18-2 and have won 23 of the last 26 meetings.