Rams blanked at home by No. 4 Hawks

VOLCANO VISTA 33, RIO RANCHO 0

RIO RANCHO — This is a game that the Rams would like to forget.

Rio Rancho (5-3, 2-1) fell victim to the visiting Volcano Vista Hawks' (7-1, 3-0) stout defense and smash-mouth running game Friday, a 33-0 defeat for the Rams.

It was a tough night for Rio Rancho as Volcano Vista’s front seven wreaked havoc all night with batted balls, quarterback pressures, collapsing pockets and instinctive play from the high-motor linebackers. The Hawks' front seven batted nine thrown balls and forced three turnovers.

“We got beat tonight, plain and simple. We got to be tougher. They’re a good football team. I don’t feel like they are 33 points better than us,” RRHS head coach Nate Pino said. “We got to be tougher at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. We got whooped on both sides on the front, and that was the difference.”

Volcano Vista did not waste any time throwing balls on the gusty night and opted instead for a run-heavy offense with mauling blockers. The Hawks ended up scoring five rushing touchdowns (four in the red zone), and they missed a couple of PATs (one blocked, one short).

In the first quarter, the Rams' quarterback carousel began with JJ Arellano who bobbled a snap while in shotgun. The turnover would lead to a goal-line rushing touchdown for Volcano Vista courtesy of sophomore bruiser D'angelo Mitchell.

After the fumble, sophomore Micah Takahashi entered the game and took snaps under center.

Unfortunately, things did not get better.

After feeling some heat, Takahashi drifted outside the pocket and threw a desperation ball to a pool of Hawk defenders. Volcano Vista defensive back Hudson Brown made the interception.

The interception led to another Volcano Vista goal-line touchdown, this time scored by senior running back Mason Gurule, who would score two more on the night, and finish the night with three touchdowns.

The Hawks put the game away when Volcano Vista quarterback Ilijah Hansen made a dive for the pylon on a designed quarterback play action run to put 26 on the Rams. The Hansen touchdown all but left the Rams in the rearview mirror, and the Hawks never looked back.

In the third quarter, Takahashi took the quarterback reins for the rest of the night after Arellano’s second fumble.

When all seemed set in stone, Ram sophomore Noah Lovato blocked a punt on special teams and provided a bit of excitement for the home crowd.

“It was just kinda what we needed in the moment,” Lovato said. “We just got to work as a team. Our theme this week was unity, and we are going to rally together.”

Unfortunately, the short field for the offense didn't result in any points.

The second half saw only one touchdown (a Gurule run), and the Hawks rode in the driver's seat for the remainder of the game.

The Rams will look to get back on track as they hit the road for a showdown with the Farmington Scorpions (4-4) on Oct. 25.