Cats perk up after posting first victory

CLOVIS — After finally hitting the win column on Friday night, Monday’s early-morning workout for Clovis High’s football team was a little peppier than usual.

“The music sounded a little better, and the kids’ effort was a little better,” Wildcats coach Cal Fullerton said of the team’s heart-stopping 25-24 Class 6A District 2/5 win over Albuquerque High on Friday night at Leon Williams Stadium. “It was a good way to start the week.”

The Cats (1-4, 1-1 district) will try to make it two in a row on Friday in a 7 p.m. kickoff at Santa Fe High. Fullerton said, though, that the Demons (5-2, 1-2) aren’t the same team which represented the school in recent times.

“You think of Santa Fe High football, especially in the last decade, and it’s not been very good,” Wildcats coach Cal Fullerton said. “Their coach (Andrew Martinez) has done a good job of getting kids out and getting the community excited.”

Clovis is, of course, hoping to build on Friday’s win. The Cats let all of a 19-3, third-quarter lead get away before pulling it out on a 91-yard touchdown pass from Milo Acosta to R.J. Nora with just under two minutes remaining.

It was the second one-point decision at home for the Cats, who lost in Game 2 to El Paso Ysleta 34-33 after a late failed 2-point conversion attempt.

“This one was a lot different,” Fullerton said. “The momentum of the game turned really quick.”

Key players for the Demons are senior running back/safety Markell Mora and senior quarterback Luc Jaramillo. Fullerton said he thinks Mora is among the top five players in the state.

“He’s a dynamic kid, and a heck of a player,” Fullerton said. “The quarterback can run the football, and he can throw it on the run.

“We have to go in there with the mindset that we want to keep it going.”

Fullerton said sophomore running back Kash Roberts, who missed last week’s clash with a thigh contusion, could be back for this one.

Rams visit Hatch Valley — Portales High will look to shake off another tough loss when it visits Class 3A Hatch Valley in a 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.

The game was originally to be played on Friday night, but was moved to accommodate officials.

While the Rams fell to 1-5 with a last-minute 25-21 loss to Dexter on Friday night at Greyhound Stadium, the Bears (0-6) are having an even tougher time. Normally quite competitive in Class 3A, Hatch has been outscored 216-18 so far and is coming off a 36-0 loss at Hope Christian.

“On film, they’re better than that,” Rams coach Jaime Ramirez said. “They just haven’t gotten things together, I guess.”

It will be just the third road game so far for PHS. The Rams lost their opener at Hope 28-14, but blew out winless Rio Grande 53-0 on Sept. 25.

Meantime, none of Portales’ four home losses was decided by more than 10 points, and three of the setbacks were simply gut-wrenching.

“After watching film, everything we did (wrong) is correctable,” Ramirez said. “I still believe in our boys, and in what we’re doing.

“We did some good things on Friday night. We definitely need to clean some things up and get better in (those) areas.”

He said Hatch operates out of multiple formations on offense, generally trying to spread defenses to open up the running game. The Bears’ base defense is 3-4, but they will go to a 4-2-5 look against spread offenses.

Leaders for Hatch are senior quarterback/free safety David Holguin and junior running back/cornerback Layton Gillis.

No one is tearing it up in District 4-4A, although Lovington (4-3) is ranked No. 1 and Silver (5-1) and Ruidoso (3-3) are also in the top six in the class.

Getting another win would help the Rams’ mindset heading into its Oct. 16 district opener at Ruidoso, Ramirez said.

“Whoever gets hot at the end is going to be the team that wins it,” he said.