Lovington pulls away, hands Rams 49-24 loss

Sep. 2—LOVINGTON — A lightning delay and subsequent suspension of play didn't do the Portales High football team a whole lot of good over the weekend.

Facing Longtime rival Lovington, the Rams and Wildcats played most of the first quarter of their matchup on Friday night before the weather halted things. After getting home late, PHS returned to Lovington to finish it on Saturday afternoon and the Wildcats pulled away late for a 49-24 victory.

Junior quarterback Justin Allen survived two interceptions and threw for 135 yards and a touchdown for the Wildcats (1-1). Senior Zachary Dias led a balanced rushing attack with 74 yards.

"We played a better game than we did the week before," Rams coach Jaime Ramirez said, referring to the team's opening 41-6 loss to Roswell Goddard on Aug. 22 at Steve Loy Stadium. "I was proud of how we fought for three quarters. It was a tighter game than the score shows."

Lovington led 15-6 late in the opening stanza when play was halted. Freshman quarterback Kingston Lee threw 20-yard TD pass to sophomore slotback Joseph Kita to pull PHS to 15-12 at the break.

After the Wildcats added a touchdown and a field goal, sophomore Jacoby Bamforth scored on a 20-yard pass from Lee late in the third to make it 25-18. But Lovington added 24 points in the final period, including a pair of punt returns, before the Rams got a 5-yard TD pass from Lee to senior Antonio Bonilla on the final play of the contest.

The Rams return home on Friday night to face former District 4-4A rival in a 7 p.m. kickoff.

"We've played them the last four or five years," Ramirez said. "They're an extremely aggressive, solid football team."

The Spartans are 2-0 with wins over Valley and Highland. Both games were low-scoring and tight, with the matchup against the Hornets going into overtime.

"They bring a lot of pressure on defense," Ramirez said. "Offensively, they like to throw the ball deep."

Senior Anthony Willie played in the opener, but missed the Highland game due to concussion protocol. Ramirez expects him to be back this week.

Senior Josh Barajas leads the Spartans in rushing with 94 yards through two weeks, while senior wide receiver Joseph Duran has four catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Obviously, the young Rams have plenty of room for improvement.

"We've just got to get better all the way around," Ramirez said. "A lot of (the problem so far) has been lack of execution on our part."

Lovington pulls away, hands Rams 49-24 loss

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