Four schools hit the road Friday night, but Santa Fe Indian School has the toughest test when it plays at undefeated Raton

Enough about Raton’s football team playing a soft early schedule.

Where these Tigers are located, just a few miles from the Colorado border, it’s not easy to piece a schedule together that will satisfy enough teams if they get a visit from Raton, and then the rest take the ride, short or long.

And so, after handily winning its first six games that included a cast of 2A opponents, the Tigers made the trip south on I-25 to West Las Vegas and returned home with a surprising 14-7 win at a site not easy to win at.

Then came Robertson. The Cardinals traveled up to Raton and left with a 28-26 defeat when the Tigers stopped a late Robertson drive.

So both West Las Vegas and Robertson have a loss each and both came versus Raton. So after the Tigers on the prowl welcome Indian School Friday night, they have a bye weekend and then plays their regular-season finale at St. Michael’s on Saturday afternoon Oct. 30, and that should decide the district champion and the state rankings that will go towards the state tournament seedings.

Raton is currently ranked No. 1 in 3A, St. Michael’s second, and behind Socorro are the Dons and Cardinals.

The other team in District 2 is Santa Fe Indian School, and it gets to make the trip up to Raton. Under new head coach Bill Moon, the Braves were usually short on their roster but still managed to win five of their six starts. But what followed were huge setbacks in which they were scoreless in a 54-0 whooping at Robertson followed by a similar 53-0 loss versus visiting St. Michael’s

And so it’s a a drive to this game on its schedule that arrives now for Indian School as as it tries to match up with a Raton team that mixes the run-and-gun offense with an aggressive defense and is deep in depth.

Pojoaque Valley (5-3) also takes to the road against Moriarty (3-3), which plays a much stronger slate then the Elks. While 4A Pojoaque was taking on some  average 3A teams, Moriarty lost to visiting 6A Santa Fe High and lost by one point, 35-34, at 5A Capital. The Elks have outscored the opposition 261-44.

Los Alamos takes a 3-4 overall record to Piedra Vista (5-3) in a District 2-4A test. PV has scored 154 points, allowed 138 and had some close games that it won and lost. The Hilltoppers have tallied 183 points and have given up 248.

Then there’s winless Espanola Valley seeking its first win in seven outings. The Sundevils head up to Taos (3-4) in a 2-4A tilt. They have given up 186 points and have scored only 35. They don’t figure to win this one either.

There are six remaining undefeated teams, Rio Rancho High and Rio Rancho Cleveland in 6A, Farmington and Los Lunas in 5A, Raton in 3A, and Eunice in 2A. There are nine winless teams left, with three in 4A and two each in 6A, 5A and 3A,