Let's Dance: Rams prepare for big game on Homecoming, following loss in LC

RIO RANCHO — Starting on Monday, Rio Rancho High School will be all decked out for Homecoming week. Decorations, themes, dances, you name it.

But while the fun and games ensue in the school, it will be all business on the football field.

“It’s going to be a big game; there's gonna be a lot of distractions,” Head Coach Nate Pino said. “It’s Homecoming, obviously, so it’s about getting the kids to focus and lock in.”

Coming off a tough loss to Las Cruces, the Rams will return home for a big matchup versus the Centennial Hawks.

Rio Rancho battled with the second-ranked team in the state, the Bulldawgs, early on, holding a 15-14 lead in the second quarter. However, troubles stopping the run and a momentum-shifting call against the Rams allowed the Dawgs to run away with it.

“Obviously, we've got to be able to stop the run better. We competed well in the first half, but we kind of had that call go against us in the second quarter.” Pino said.

A Rio Rancho fumble, on a play where the Rams made a clear false start, went unnoticed by the referees in what ended up as a game-shifting turnover.

“We didn't respond well; we gave up a touchdown on the next play. We drove the ball in the next series, we had a couple of guys we didn't get the ball to,” Pino said. “Things kind of got away from us a little bit. But they (Las Cruces) are a real good football team. A lot of kudos to them.”

While the 47-22 loss was not the outcome they were looking for, it may be the outcome they needed as a wake-up call for the rest of the year.

“I think at the end of the day, it is week three. We did a lot of good things, but there's a lot of stuff that we need to work on if we're going to be competitive in the upper echelon,” Pino said. “And I think we have the talent to do it, but we’ve got to clean it up. We've got to be more physical, we've got to attack, we've got to get after it on defense,”

Pino is right, it’s still only early September. But with Rio Rancho vs Centennial, as Cleveland and Las Cruces face off on the same night across town, week four could have major implications for the rest of the season in the 6A District.

No matter how you spin next week’s schedule, the Rams are still taking things week by week.

“We just gotta learn from our mistakes; we're gonna have to adjust,” Pino said. “Look at personnel, kind of evaluate everything real quick. We aren’t going to do anything drastic, but what are we gonna do to be better? We got to be able to compete week in and week out, and really just get better.”

Taking a look at the Centennial personnel, Rio Rancho’s run defense will have to make those adjustments quickly. The Hawks have put up 180 yards or more on the ground in both of their first two games, averaging at least 6 yards a carry.

Centennial defeated Rio Rancho twice in 2024, including in the second round of the state playoffs. While the Rams may look for some revenge for last year, this Hawks team is full of new faces in 2025.

“I know they're a good football team, but personnel changes year to year, but they're going to have good kids, for sure,” Pino said. “But at the end of the day, it's a good football team, and we've got to prepare for them.”

The Rams have not defeated the Hawks since 2017, but it’s also been a few years since Rio Rancho has had offense with this much firepower — 130 points through the first three games is the highest total the Rams have put up since 2021, when they made the state championship game.

Receiver Parker Miller, coming off a three-touchdown week against Clovis, delivered another big play for a score against the Bulldawgs. Ethan Rolon rumbled his way into the endzone, giving the running back five touchdowns on the year.

If quarterback Micah Takahashi can keep finding his plethora of weapons next Friday against Centennial, fans should be in for a good one.

The Rams and Hawks will kick off at 7 p.m. Sep. 12 at Rio Rancho High School.