Dexter hands Rams first defeat, 24-13

The quest for back-to-back undefeated seasons for the Portales Rams came to a unexpected halt Friday night when the Dexter Demons capitalized on Portales’ miscues and handed the Rams a 24-13 loss to spoil their homecoming game.

It was a game that focused on defense as the Dexter 3-0 halftime lead would indicate. Portales (4-1) had trouble moving the ball throughout the game as Dexter (5-0) kept running back Darion Ontiveros and quarterback Junior Ramirez in check.

Correspondent photo: Chris Cook

Portales’ Josiah Lucero wraps up Dexter’s Gabino Rodriguez in Friday’s non-district game at Greyhound Stadium.

“We just ran up against a good team,” Portales defensive coordinator Victor Lopez said. “Dexter is a senior-heavy front. Anytime you give up touchdowns on offense or special teams it’s hard to overcome, regardless of what level (you’re playing at). Our guys fought hard. We kept shooting ourselves in the foot.”

The Demons won the turnover battle, pressuring Ram quarterback Junior Ramirez into two fumbles and two interceptions.

Dexter, meanwhile, didn’t turn the ball over and simply made the Rams pay for each error.

Down 10-0, Portales rallied with a Ramirez keeper, and later took the lead when Carlos Garcia caught a 34-yard pass for a 13-10 advantage.

The lead wouldn’t last long as Dexter’s Gustavo Macias took the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to put the Demons up for good.

“No one likes to lose,” Portales coach Jaime Ramirez said. “It hurts everyone when you lose. We came out here as a team. We lost as a team.”

Ramirez did say his defense played a good game.

“Our defense kept us in the game,” he said. “We played horrible as a team in total but our defense did well. We didn’t get it done as a team. That’s on us. We have to check ourselves and get better.”

The Rams had one final chance to take the lead as they got the ball back with 4:45 left in the fourth quarter. However, facing a fourth-and-long, Junior Ramirez threw his second interception of the game, a nail-in-the-coffin pick-six for 45 yards.

The good news for the Rams was that this loss was in the regular season against a non-district opponent. With the season halfway done, there’s still time to right the ship.

“You always learn from your mistakes,” Lopez said. “It’s not the end of the world. We just need to get back to the drawing board.”

Portales hits the road next week as it travels to Espanola to take on the Sundevils Friday night.