Eastlake outruns Rams, beat RR 51-28 in Texas

EL PASO, Texas — “Don’t Mess with Texas” is the old saying.

And Rio Rancho found out the hard way on Thursday night.

Rams football made its way to El Paso to try to break a two-game losing streak against Eastlake High School. After a game-opening touchdown drive by Rio Rancho to make it 8-0, the Falcons responded with 35 unanswered points in the 51-28 loss.

This yearly meeting between the out-of-state schools, now in its fourth season, has been won by the home team every year. Rio Rancho took a 26-21 victory over Eastlake in 2024 at home before they would get their revenge on their home soil.

While it took some time to get going, the Falcons' offense was running at breakneck speed at its peak. Quarterback Julian Williams and a speedy backfield caused problems for the Rams' defense, with Williams picking up two touchdowns on the ground and one in the air.

Along with dangerous speed, some tough breaks hurt Rio Rancho in the early going. Eastlake wide receiver Jorge Ramirez had three third-down conversions alone on Thursday, along with running back Zeke Herrera breaking out a 20-plus-yard run on a crucial fourth down. Several instances where the Rams' defense was a play away from getting off the field.

Throw all of that on top of a fumble on a kickoff to give the Falcons the ball back, and it was a tough night in the Lone Star State for Rio Rancho.

However, despite taking some blows, the Rams did not quit. Rio Rancho manufactured 21 points in the second half, including two touchdowns by senior receiver Parker Miller.

Miller’s two-score night is his second straight game with two touchdowns and his third multi-score game of the year, becoming a problem for opposing secondaries.

Micah Takahashi posted three passing touchdowns, two to Miller and one to receiver Jace Lee, for his third game this season with three scores or more. Rio Rancho’s quarterback, still only a junior, is starting to come into his own in 2025.

It was not a night the Rams will want to remember, but they may be better for it in the long run. After last week’s home loss to Centennial, head coach Nate Pino talked about turning these losses into lessons.

“These are things that we have to learn from,” Pino said. “We’ve got a good football team, and I think we can make a run at things. We just gotta clean some stuff up.”

Rio Rancho will head into a bye week next week. Following the off-time, the Rams return to action for district play against Cibola, on the road, on Oct. 3.