Hawks beat Rams for just second time

RIO RANCHO — Christian Sanchez’s 29-yard field goal with 47.9 seconds left in regulation made a winner of fourth-ranked Volcano Vista, involved in its second shootout in the City of Vision in eight days as the visiting Hawks beat No. 9 Rio Rancho 38-35 on Friday night.

The Rams (4-5, 3-1 in 1-6A) had a chance to force overtime. But a rare offensive pass interference call, which moved Rio Rancho back 10 yards, hindered Zack Benedict’s hopes of nailing a game-tying 39-yard field goal on the final play of the game.

That miss meant the Rams had gone 0-for-3 in the red zone in the fourth quarter.

Earlier in the quarter, Jaylen Morgan fumbled the ball away and quarterback Isaiah Chavez threw an interception into the end zone on the next visit, and then the missed tying field goal.

Led by senior quarterback Jake Deatherage, the Hawks (7-2, 3-1), who suffered a shootout loss last week at No. 1 Cleveland, made big plays when they needed to. After giving up the game’s first touchdown when Joah Flores fumbled the ball away on the first play of the game, the Rams made him pay. Chavez tossed the first of his two TD passes to Jeremy Rotert, a 3-yarder on fourth down.

Deatherage scored the Hawks’ first TD on a 47-yard run, and added a 25-yard TD pass to Jacob Werner as Volcano Vista took a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Chavez scored on a 1-yard run and then threw a 32-yard scoring pass to Tyrese Watson as the Rams got the lead back; Flores atoned for his earlier gaffe when he returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards to tie the game at 20.

The Rams’ D’Metrius Rhoten gave his team the lead at halftime, 28-20, after he outran the Hawks’ secondary on a 51-yard scamper.

Jimmy Gallegos of Volcano Vista had a 17-yard TD run to start the second half scoring, tying the game at 28. Rhoten returned that ensuing kickoff 84 yards for another Rams lead, only to see Deatherage hook up with Ivan Rodriguez on a 31-yard TD pass.

With the teams tied at 35 entering the fourth period, Sanchez’s field goal was the lone scoring.

It marked just the second win in 10 games against the Rams; VVHS’s first win had also been in Rio Rancho, a 25-24 state quarterfinal victory over the No. 1 Rams in 2012.