SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
Over the last four seasons, the Portales football team has won 45 times and lost only five. Its program has won four state championships.
But on Friday night of the season opener at home, the Rams fell, 10-3, to Albuquerque Hope Christian in overtime. It was a non-district game, so it could have been worse.
Still, Portales lost despite another stellar effort by versatile senior
quarterback Julian Urioste. He passed, he ran. He contributed a combined 296 yards, but no touchdowns.
Instead, Portales matched field goals with the Huskies until the overtime saw Hope control the ball and chalk up a 22-yard touchdown that put an end to a huge defensive game and left the Rams at 0-1 as they take on St. Michael’s Friday night at Eastern New Mexico University Stadium in Portales.
“It was a tough game,” said Rams’ defensive end/wide receiver coach Victor Lopez. “We would stop them, they would stop us. We lost the ball twice on a fumble and interception. They were moving for a TD and we picked off the pass. It might have been a low-scoring game, but it was a good game.”
Now comes the Horsemen after they, too, tumbled in a loss at Taos in non-district play. They might have thought they were running into another trap this time in Portales, but perhaps a defensive clash would be of more value to St. Michael’s.
And the reason would be Urioste, for if you can slow him down, you have a chance, and that’s what worked for the visitors. Urioste did pick up yards, but all it brought was a 22-yard field goalfrom senior Lester Adriade in the opening quarter. Hope answered back with a 31-footer not long after.
And that’s way it went after four quarters. In the OT, the Huskies moved the ball from their own 25 to the Hope 20, where senior quarterback Nick Henry tossed a 22-yard TD pass to junior Ryan Casper in the end zone.
Now Santa Fe High comes off a 39-2 setback against Robertson in Las Vegas, but so did Moriarty, which fell at home, 35-14, to West Las Vegas in a non-district contest. And that’s where the Demons play next, at Moriarty.
To them, it sounds just fine that the Pintos were beaten at home to the Dons, but it also could get Moriarty all charged-up Friday to even its record.
Offense, Santa Fe High needs offense, a safety wouldn’t do the trick.
Capital won its opener in a 67-14 non-district rout over visiting Pojoaque Valley, which plays at Santa Fe Indian School tonight following a 25-14 Braves’ defeat in the opener at Cuba.
But the Jaguars get a test Friday night and might need it against Deming, which turned back Gadsden, 18-12, on the road. Deming scored a touchdown in the first three quarters, while Gadsden tallied twice in the fourth quarterback.
The Jaguars play at home again, will have the usual support of their fans, and that might bring a well-contested contest. Capital runs a lot more than it throws, but managed to combine the two in downing the Elks, and again features an aggressive defense.
Pojoaque at the Braves could also be a tossup.Then there’s Los Alamos at Taos. The Hilltoppers rolled over visiting Espanola Valley, 57-12, so that’s 124 points scored by them and Taos, and that could make for a high-scoring non-district contest.
