'New Mexico Forever:' West Texas football no match for Rio Rancho

RIO RANCHO 26, EASTLAKE (EL PASO, Texas) 21

RIO RANCHO — Clear eyes and full hearts weren’t enough to help the visiting Eastlake Hawks (1-3) of El Paso, Texas, as they lost to the Rio Rancho Rams, 26-21, on Friday night.

“They’re a good football team. ... To hold them to 21 is huge,” Rams head coach Nate Pino shouted over the celebratory fireworks after the game. “And we started five sophomores out there, and they made no excuse. Our theme of the week was grit ... and those guys embodied that. It was fun.”

One of those sophomores was quarterback Micah Takahashi, who started for the first time after veteran JJ Arellano was benched during a tough 43-27 loss to Centennial (5-0) in Las Cruces last week.

Takahashi had a good night, passing for three touchdowns in the first half. His longest was a 23-yard bomb to receiver Jace Pitt with under a minute left in the first half. Takahashi also hit Pitt for a 4-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter for the Rams first TD of the game. His third was also a deep pass, this time to receiver Parker Miller for 23-yards with 7:04 left in the first.

Though Takahashi’s scoring damage was done through the air, his real work was with his legs. His elusiveness and speed had him taking the Rams down the field on designed runs that ended with massive chunk plays, the longest being 39 yards.

“He’s a playmaker. He’s creative. He makes things out of nothing sometimes,” said Pino. “I think that’s the biggest thing. He keeps us out of negative plays ... He’s like a little Kyler Murray (quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals) back there. That’s who he reminds me of.”

Takahashi was subbed out halfway through the fourth quarter after a number of hard hits had him limping to the sideline.

Arellano came in with 7:38 left in the game and made an immediate statement. On his first play from scrimmage, he threw a 25-yard rocket to Pitt, the receiver's second TD on the night.

“Coming into this game, I was mentally prepared for anything,” Arellano said. “I knew I had to bounce back from a tough week last week. But most importantly, I had to hold my composure, be ready to go whenever my name was called. Opportunity presented itself, and I went out there and I took my opportunity.”

Arellano continued to lead his team through the remainder of the game, firing them up on the sidelines and showing off his running ability. He had a 28-yard TD run called back on a holding penalty.

“It was not easy for (Arellano) to let (Takahashi) take the lead there, but he was unselfish all week and he worked hard,” said Pino. “And we told him, ‘I don’t know what it’s going to be, but you're going to get an opportunity.’ And he went in there and threw a touchdown pass and finished it out. He put in the preparation; he didn’t pout. I’m super proud of that guy.”

The Hawks didn’t go quietly.

Eastlake QB Luke Lomeli relied on receiver Ethan Rivera and running back Damian Saenz to help push his offense. He hit Rivera on a deep pass that ended in the Haws' sole passing TD. Their first TD was a rush from Saenz at the goal line, and their second was a 5-yard run from Lomeli in the second half.

Several missed deep balls from the senior QB proved costly, however, and the Hawks turned the ball over on downs three times in the second half.

With under three minutes left in the game, the Hawks began their final drive from their own 30-yard line, down 26-21. The Rams defense rose to the challenge. A critical pass breakup from cornerback Kai Bradford gave the Rams the ball, now with just under two minutes remaining.

RRHS pounded the middle, looking for the game-sealing first down that would allow them to run out the clock. With just over a minute left, Arellano took the ball up the middle and was stopped at the first-down marker. The chains came out to measure, and the Rams were given the first down.

Game. Over.

“Close games like this are exciting because they show who wants it more and who’s going to fight harder,” said Arellano.

Arrellano knelt out the clock and the Rams went home with a 26-21 victory over a West Texas football team under our own New Mexican “Friday Night Lights.”

Takahashi finished the night with three passing touchdowns. Arellano finished with one. Miller and Pitt caught two touchdowns each.

The team will evaluate how to proceed at the quarterback position next week, but Pino says the Rams are in a good spot.

“We are super proud of both those guys.”

Next up: The Rams open district play at home versus Cibola (2-3) at 7 p.m. Oct. 4.

CLEVELAND 49, PEBBLE HILLS (EL PASO, TX) 27

EL PASO, TEXAS (Sept. 20, 2024) - It’s one thing to defend one’s home field, but to go into West Texas and hope to come out with a “W” is another thing altogether.

But that’s exactly what head coach Robert Garza and his Cleveland High School Storm did on Friday night when they defeated the Pebble Hills Spartans out of El Paso, Texas, 49-27.

The game started as a match between evenly matched teams. Cleveland’s grit up front held serve against a sizable Spartans line, but it was a contentious game.

Storm QB Jordan Hatch finished the night with three passing touchdowns on 18 pass completions (25 attempts) for 276 yards. He tacked six rushes for 60 yards onto that as well.

Hatch opened the CHS scoring with a 56-yard-deep pass to Juan Munoz, who finished the night with the video-game-like stat line of 204 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns (one rushing and one receiving.)

Cleveland had seven total touchdowns in the game: three passing and four rushing.

Senior receiving-back Isiah Yannis had 15 carries for 149 yards (including a 55-yard run) and two TDs. He also caught one pass for 17 yards.

The Storm’s top receiver was Jacob Maldonado, who caught five passes for 91 yards and added a rushing touchdown to his state line, just for good measure.

Pebble Hills received in the first half and immediately pushed down the field. The Spartans’ sophomore QB Joe Fernandez broke free at the 15-yardline and scored just three minutes into the game; one of two rushing TDs for the young QB.

The other two Spartan touchdowns came from stud running back Zerian Quarles, who carried the ball 16 times for 142 yards.

The Spartans were able to hang tough with the New Mexican juggernauts through the first half, a missed PAT being the scoring difference (Storm leading 14-13).

The second half was a different story. CHS managed to speed the game up and score on every possession. The Storm outscored the Spartans in the second half, 35-14.

The final score was 49-27 and the teams from Rio Rancho capped off a night of big wins.

Next up: CHS has a bye week and then face Farmington at home at 7 p.m. in the Storm’s first match of district play. Farmington is 3-2 and coming off of a loss to the La Cueva Bears.