Rams go deep on Hope
Big completions over the top turn the tide
The dog days of August are generally affiliated with baseball, and in that vein, it seemed appropriate that the Portales High football team played some serious long ball on Saturday afternoon.
The Rams connected on scoring passes of 52, 98 and 72 yards against Hope Christian, and those big plays, along with Portales’ run defense and pass rush, were the difference in a 22-13 season-opening victory on a broiling hot day at Milne Stadium.
Portales quarterback Baylor Diaz, converted from running back where he played last year, picked apart a young Hope Christian secondary, throwing for 250 yards on just seven completions.
“We knew going in that our weakness would be in our secondary,” Huskies coach Gary Beck said. “We knew that would be an issue.”
Diaz and Jalen Allen hooked up for a 52-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter for the game’s opening points.
Isaiah Trujillo of the Huskies kicked a 34-yard field goal on the next possession to cut the deficit to 6-3, and early in the second quarter, a brilliant Hope Christian punt pinned Portales at its 2. The Huskies, with a stop, could have flipped the field position. The Rams weren’t pinned for long. On first down, Diaz went over the top down the far sideline to Allen. He caught it at about the 25, a Hope defender’s attempt at a shoestring tackle from behind near midfield didn’t work, and Allen coasted to the end zone to complete a 98-yard score.
“I just told (the coaches), that he (the defensive back) was pressing me, so just call the 1-on-1,” Allen said. “And let me go get it.”
With a 2-point conversion run, Portales extended to a 14-3 lead.
“I think that’s the benefit of having some kids with some speed,” Portales coach Jaime Ramirez said. “And having a quarterback that can throw the deep ball. That’s something we’ll try to utilize all season long.”
On the third play of the second half, Portales perfectly executed a hitchand-go, and Diaz lofted a TD pass to a wide open Kellan Hightower for about the easiest looking 72-yard touchdown pass you’ll see. And with a 2-point run by Diaz, the lead swelled to 22-3.
The Huskies played with more urgency in the fourth quarter, getting a short TD run by Blaine Miller and another field goal from Trujillo.
Six Portales sacks, combined with several terrible snaps that cost Hope huge chunks of yardage, led to this: The Huskies finished with minus-15 yards on the ground.