Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Portales opens district play with 26-14 win over Ruidoso
Portales defenders Dason Davis, left, and Luciano Rodriguez meet Ruidoso receiver Grant Oberheu to break up a pass attempt in the fourth quarter of Friday's District 3/4-4A game at Greyhound Stadium. The Rams never trailed in a 26-14 victory, their fourth in a row.
Portales defensive end Philip Blidi gets his arm up to block the punt attempt by Ruidoso's Layson Powell in the third quarter of Friday's game.
PORTALES - If you just look at the score, Friday's Class 4A District 3/4 clash between Ruidoso and Portales High at Greyhound Stadium seems like nothing out of the ordinary.
Suffice it to say, looks can be deceiving.
After a relatively quiet first half played in about 55 minutes, the final two stanzas took nearly an hour and a half before the Rams claimed a 26-14 victory.
The game featured eight interceptions and more than 200 yards in penalties, the bulk of it coming after the halftime break.
Portales (7-1, 1-0 district) took advantage of six Warriors turnovers - five interceptions and a fumble. And it was a pick by senior cornerback Jayden Killette which set the tone.
After forcing Portales into a three-and-out on the opening possession of the game, Ruidoso drove to the PHS 30 when, on third down, senior quarterback Gage Guardiola saw his deep pass picked off by Killette. He weaved his way through traffic on an 84-yard return before he was dragged down at the Warriors' 2.
Sophomore QB Hagan Rains skirted right end for the score on the next play, a lead the Rams never surrendered.
"I was playing my zone, and broke on the ball hard," said Killette, who also had a second-half interception. "I got a little gassed (at the end of the return).
"We needed a spark there."
Rams coach Jaime Ramirez concurred the early INT was one of the big plays of the night.
"They had a good drive going on," he said. "It was a big pick by Jayden Killette."
Guardiola kept the Warriors (3-5, 0-1) in striking range most of the night, completing 21-of-46 passes for 260 yards. But he was intercepted five times, including the two by Killete.
Ruidoso (3-5, 0-1) ran off 31 plays in the first half to 22 for PHS, but the Warriors failed to dent the scoreboard.
Guardiola led the his team on a seven-play, 59-yard scoring drive following the second half kickoff, but it took the Rams just one play to regain control - senior Wromiah Gbassagee's 55-yard run set up by a long kickoff return.
A blocked punt set the Rams up inside the Ruidoso 10 later in the quarter, and Rains soon made it 26-7 with a 1-yard run.
"I thought our defense looked good tonight," Ramirez said. "I know our offense moved the ball at times tonight, but penalties and (three) turnovers hurt us."
Gbassagee finished with 113 yards rushing for the Rams while Rains, making his third consecutive start since replacing the injured Baylor Diaz, went 9-of-18 for 155 yards. He had a 70-yard TD strike to senior Jalen Allen for the game's first score.
"He did enough to win the game for us, but there are things he's got to improve on," Ramirez said of Rains. "I thought our defense pulled us through tonight."
PHS will try to move close to a district title on Friday when it plays at Moriarty (2-6, 0-1). Rival Lovington awaits at home the following weekend.
"We can't look past Moriarty," Killette said. "We need to get ready for each team.
"I just think we need to keep playing the way we are."
