Rams have no trouble with Jags, roll 44-9
Los Lunas blanks rival Valencia in 5-5A opener
RIO RANCHO — Third-ranked Rio Rancho scored on four of its first five possessions Friday night as the Rams crushed Atrisco Heritage Academy 44-9 for their sixth win in a row.
With six players suspended for the game because of what head coach David Howes termed “team discipline issues that we had to take care of,” some different names than usual found their way into the end zone.
Among them were Daniel Barraza, Nikili Bowyer and Devon Dyer, who caught touchdown passes of 38, 13 and 5 yards from senior quarterback Isaiah Chavez.
Barraza’s catch and a 44-yard field goal by Zack Benedict gave the Rams (6-2, 3-0 in 1-6A) a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
The catches by Bowyer and Dyer in the second quarter, along with a 25-yard pick-six by Junior Hodnett, gave the Rams a 30-0 lead late in the first half.
The Jaguars (0-7, 0-3) spoiled the shutout on the final play of the half, when Diego Winnikoff kicked a 19-yard field goal.
Rio Rancho meets No. 1 Volcano Vista a week from Saturday at Nusenda Community Stadium.
— Gary Herron
LOS LUNAS 50, VALENCIA 0: In Tomé, the Tigers (5-2) breezed to a mercy-rule victory Friday over the Jaguars (1-6) in a District 5-5A opener.
“We said this is the second part of our season and we wanted to come out and make a statement,” Los Lunas coach Jeremy Maupin said. “We wanted to come out and play good football, play our type of football and I thought the kids responded.”
The Tigers (5-2) scored less than 20 seconds into the game on their first play from scrimmage. Quarterback Kade Benavidez flipped the ball forward to running back Donald Thomas, who got to the right sideline and went untouched into the end zone to put LLHS up 7-0.
Later, running back Derek Chavez took the ball up the middle from inside the 5. A 2-point conversion made it 15-0 in favor of the Tigers.
Thomas got his second TD of the game, this time through the air, as Benavidez hit him in stride on a slant route in the middle of the end zone to make it 22-0.
Isaac Felts and Dominic Baca both had touchdowns off interceptions for Los Lunas.
— Cameron Goeldner
ALSO FRIDAY: At the Field of Dreams, Centennial (8-1, 4-1 in 3-6A), after some early trouble against Hobbs, outscored the Eagles 27-0 in the third quarter and rolled to a 62-20 victory. … Defending Class 4A state champion Taos was down 19-7 at home to St. Pius, but the Tigers (4-4, 2-1 in 2/5-4A) rallied for a crucial 21-19 victory over the Sartans (3-5, 2-1). … Class 5A’s No. 1 Roswell (8-0) won its District 4-5A opener, outscoring Artesia (5-3, 0-1) 14-0 in the third quarter after a close first half and eventually beating the Bulldogs 48-28. Goddard beat Alamogordo 40-10 in that district’s other opener Friday … In a District 2/6-5A opener at Milne Stadium, Capital (4-3) came from behind for a 20-13 win over Del Norte (2-6). Santa Fe beat Los Alamos in the other opener in that district. … At Hutchison Stadium in Farmington, the Scorpions (7-1) routed Highland (5-3) in a District 1-5A opener. … Bernalillo (6-2, 2-1) bounced back after a loss to St. Pius eight days earlier by blanking visiting Pojoaque Valley, 52-0. … In District 3/4-4A, visiting Lovington (5-3) whipped Moriarty (2-6) in a league opener, 56-14.