Rams see ‘Red’ in rambunctious rout of ranked rival

ALBUQUERQUE — A blur of red streaking across the pitch. That's all spectators saw as Rio Rancho midfielder Christian Barricklow, “Red” to his family and friends, knocked in the Rams' fourth and final goal in Thursday night’s heated match between ninth-ranked Rio Rancho (8-2) and third-ranked Atrisco Heritage (5-3-1).

“What a great finish. Red is one of those solid guys,” said Rams head coach John Shepard after the game. “He is super athletic, and he is super versatile.”

The Atrisco Heritage Jaguars were riding high coming into the match versus the Rio Rams. And why not? They’re ranked No. 3 in the state, according to MaxPreps, but an argument could easily be made for the Jags in the top spot. After all, their last two wins were against No. 1 Eldorado and No. 2 La Cueva.

“It’s a nice measuring stick for us,” Shepard said. “Atrisco is one of the top teams in the state. They showed that in the second half. Wow. They’re clearly one of the top teams in the state. I hope it builds our confidence knowing that we can play with anybody.”

Red was just one of the players who had a big night in the Ram’s final non-district match of the season. Senior forward Aaron Meserve scored two goals in two minutes at the end of the first half after being knocked around in the box by a physical Atrisco team.

Just to add to the demoralizing final few minutes for the Jags, Meserve then assisted in a goal from another senior forward, Bryson Strohecker, who shot a rocket to the back of the net just a minute after Meserve’s second.

At that point, Shepard subbed out Meserve and Strohecker for the final two minutes (plus stoppage time) of the half.

Despite the rough end to the half, Atrisco made the appropriate adjustments at halftime and came out of the gate in the second half looking like a different team. While the first half saw the Rams dominate time of possession, the second was much more even-handed. It was also much more contentious.

Just minutes into the half, Strohecker received a yellow card to add to his stat line.

After the Jaguars scored their first goal, a rocket from junior Erik Bustillos roughly 10 minutes into the half, Rams freshman Dashon Bynum attempted to retrieve the ball from the back of the net. When he turned around, he found himself trapped in the corner by a celebrating Atrisco team. A misunderstanding and short scuffle took place. The referees, coaches and team captains de-escalated the situation quickly, but not before some shoving and shouting ensued.

After the dust settled, Bynum received a yellow card and was pulled by Shepard. Bustillos received a red card and was ejected from the game.

“We’ve been working a lot on our emotional control and keeping our heads. I was super proud of our guys,” said Shepard.

A short time later, junior Elehi Ortega scored another goal for the Jaguars, putting the game at 3-2 and well within reach of the highly ranked Jaguars.

Then came junior midfielder Christian “Red” Barricklow, who cut across the Atrisco box with only minutes remaining in the game and pounded in a final nail for the floundering Jaguars.

“He can play anywhere, and he’s someone everyone wants on their team,” Shepard commented after the match.

The game ended 4-2. The teams congratulated each other with respect and without incident. Some heated words between coaches and referees aside, both sides handled the emotions well.

“Yeah, that game got pretty feisty,” Shepard said. “But our guys kept their heads. Their guys kept their heads also, for that matter. I think we can be super proud of them.”

The Rams need to stay focused on what’s ahead. This game marks the end of non-district play for the Rams, who may be a dark horse to take the state championship title this year. Their 8-2 record is deceiving. RRHS opened the season 2-2 and is now riding a six-game winning streak. But district play starts next week, and the Rams need to rest up and get ready.

“(This victory) a nice positive going into district. The problem is we got some injuries,” Shepard said. “We’re hoping with some days off for the weekend, we can get some healing done.”

Rio Rancho will open district play at home against Farmington who have found some recent form, defeating Bloomfield 1-0 after a six-game losing streak. That match is 6 p.m. Sept. 25.