Hawks take down Rams at Field of Dreams

LAS CRUCES — It was a collision of two 6A titans for the second night in a row at the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces as No. 2-ranked Centennial (4-0) defeated visiting No. Rio Rancho High School (2-2), 49-27.

The night belonged to Centennial quarterback Zaiden Davis, without a doubt. The senior quarterback ran for five touchdowns and passed for another. In the opening drive, Davis rushed down the field, going 80 yards in three plays on his own legs and scoring a virtually untouched TD less than two minutes into the game.

It was a tough night for the RRHS Rams, whose QBs threw three interceptions.

Rams starting QB JJ Arellano managed to hit his receivers on several deep passes, including a 30-yard bomb into a tight window to hit receiver David Butler. But Centennial’s pass coverage was fierce, and the Rams were eventually forced to rely on their legs.

After Arellano threw his second interception at the start of the third quarter, Rams head coach Nate Pino decided it wasn’t Arellano’s night and put in sophomore Micah Takahashi at QB.

Takahashi sparked the Rams offense, which had stalled since the first quarter, with a rushing touchdown from the 5-yard line with just under six minutes left in the third quarter and a 6-yard passing TD to wide receiver Parker Miller two minutes later.

Unfortunately, Takahashi had a pick-six in the fourth quarter that finally closed the door on the feisty Rams, and the fresh blood on offense did little to shore up the struggling RRHS defense. The Hawks continued to roll behind their behemoth quarterback.

The fourth quarter got chippy, and flags — including several dead-ball unsportsmanlike conduct and taunting penalties — slowed the game to a crawl.

When the dust settled, the score read 49-27, and the Centennial Hawks had defended their home turf.

Next up...

Centennial faces Carlsbad at home at 7 p.m. Sept. 19.

RRHS is heading to El Paso, Texas, to take on the Eastlake High School Falcons as they look to end their two-game skid and repeat La Cueva’s impressive out-of-state win against Flagstaff in week two (Aug. 31, 2024: 39-32 in 2OT).