Friday, December 2, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
JV
Raton 25 17 20
West 17 25 18
Varsity
Raton 25 25 25
West 17 18 18
Raton brings home district Championship
By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
It’s been a
long long time since the Lady Tigers of fall have brought home a district
championship, actually it’s been since 1977. Yet Saturday night in West Las
Vegas they not only did they did it in style taking the match in three games as
did the JV team as well.
The JV Lady
Tigers swapped scores in games one and two with West but in the tie breaker oh
wow what a different story that one was as the lead swapped and the score saw
ties several times during the game. It was tied at 14 and 15 and on until at 18
Raton managed to get a break and take the lead 19-18. Then it was on the wire
and West had a bad hit and the score was 20-18 Raton JV bring it on home a
district title as well.
The stage
was now set for the varsity. Again the Lady Tigers as they have in past matches
played it tough at the net until the coaches adjusted and the vollies and passes
went deeper in the court.
Raton took
an early lead in all three games and managed to create and maintain at least a
three to five point lead throughout the remainder of the game. Early on though
the girls had to work to break it out but it didn’t take long as they pulled
out in front while still in the single digits scores.
While Raton
looked like the winning team West seemed flat and while they had some strong
play at the net with great blocks yet the spikes often went wide or long.
As game
three moved along the Ladies hit a slump and were up by 12 with West making a
rally. A rally that fell short for West and allowed Raton to end the game by
seven.
Raton will now travel on to Albuquerque for state tourney play this week.
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| Its official the winning circle on the floor after the Lady Tigers won the 2AAA district title. |
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| The 2011 2AAA District Championship Team Kalista Dorrance, Breannon Trujillo, Mikala Vertovec, Makayla Mondragon, Shania Dorrance,Brittni Garcia, Arissa Maldonado, Maggie Honeyfield, Jordan Valdez, Sarandon Walton |
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| RHS Seniors Arissa Maldonado, Brittni Garcia, Maggie Honeyfield, Jordan Valdez. |
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Wild Finish to Regular Season Game
By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Great
defense in the first half kept the score in the single digits as the Tigers
hosted undefeated rivals St. Mike’s Horseman Friday night in the Jungle. Second
half play was a wild and raucous game.
The Raton
defense came on strong and held the Horseman’s first drive to a few plays. The
Horseman faked the punt to no avail and turned the ball over on downs at the
50-yard line. Five plays later Matt Ortiz scrambled, zigged and zagged his way
32 yards for six. The 2-point failed and Raton lead 6-0.
An offside
penalty on the kickoff forced Raton back five and kind of set a tone of
different for the rest of the game. St. Mikes went three and out on their next
series and Raton took the punt at the 21. From there they chewed up ground on a
penalty plagued drive that saw both teams commit the infractions. Raton a
procedure and holding call and St Mikes a pass interference and offside call.
Yet the drive ended in the end zone when Josh Carrasco picked off a Matt Ortiz
pass and carried it to the 14.
St. Mikes
ended the quarter and three plays later ended their drive when Luis Ruiz
snatched a Louis Montoya pass at the 1-yard line and facemask penalty took it
out to the 16. But its not over yet as Raton drives the field and breaks into
the red zone only to see their hopes dashed when Alexander Saiz picks off a
Matt Ortiz pass in the end zone.
The Raton
defense however holds up and forces St Mikes to punt and Raton starts at the
38. Raton unfortunately becomes their worst enemy when a 25-yard pass play is
called back on a hold and an 18-yard pass play is called back on an illegal
block forcing Raton to punt.
St Mikes
takes advantage of the situation and drives down inside the red zone but the Raton
defense holds tough and St Mikes Santo Coppola boots one high and straight kick
for a 27-yard field goal. Its now a 6-3 ball game and 26 seconds left in the
half and to the surprise of many as St Mikes comes into the game not only
undefeated but allowing their opponents very few points.
Second half
action continues with different as Luis Ruiz gets smacked hard and looses the ball out near the 50 on
the kickoff. St Mikes turns right around and Mark Hightree grabs a Louis
Montoya pass at the Raton 33. Unable to do much Raton turns it over on downs at
the 41.
St Mikes keeps it to the ground and
chews up the yardage. A stubborn Raton defense holds St Mikes at the 2-yardline
and turns it over on downs. To the dismay of Raton fans the Tigers fumble on
the 8-yard line and St Mikes capitalizes when Salamon Montoya crosses the goal
line for six. The Coppola PAT was good and it was now a 10-6 game with 2:35
left in the third.
Two plays
later Josh Carrosco pulls in an Ortiz pass and rambles the 30 yards for another
Horseman TD (6-17). The PAT is good and St Mikes has scored twice in less than
a minute with 1:42 left on the clock in the third.
Raton
carries the ball into the fourth quarter and another pass interception by
Salamon Martinez at the Horseman 16 yard line dashes Tiger hopes of another
score.
St Mikes
drive again chews up ground and then the fireworks go off with a team brawl
that occurred when Mackenzie Main sees movement and plows through the St Mikes
line, seconds later both teams were being pulled apart by officials and
coaches. When it is all said and done, after about a 10-minute break as officials
conferred, two players are ejected George Marquez and #68 (not on the Roster) from
St Mikes. The ball is now on the Raton 25 and St Mikes completes the drive with
a Daniel Ortega run from the three. Coppola’s PAT is good and it’s a 24-6
score.
Raton goes
three and out and St Mikes takes it the distance and finishes it off with an18
yard run by Salamon Martinez. PAT is good and it’s 6-31 with 4:25 on the clock.
Raton
drives it down the field with purpose and bang Joaquin Garcia picks off an
Ortiz pass at the 10 and an open field in front of him. 90 yards later it’s six
more points for the Horseman. Coppola’s PAT is good and it’s a 6-38 game with
only 1:28 left on the clock.
Game over
the coaches try to pump up the boys telling them they played one heck of a game
and the numbers on the scoreboard don’t tell the whole story at how close the
game really was. Coach Walton felt the defense played one of their best games.
It was the big plays that really hurt Raton like the two pass interceptions
that resulted in touchdowns.
Raton will
now wait to see if they will be on the 12 team bracket for the state tourney.
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| Salamon Martinez hurdles Dylan Aragon Friday night in the Jungle |
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| Salamon Martinez hurdles Dylan Aragon with Tyler Vertovec in hot pursuit |
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| Whoops there goes the ball |
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| Alexander Saiz picks off a Matt Ortiz pass intended for Mark Hightree in the end zone. |
Friday, November 4, 2011
Robertson 22 17 17
Raton 25
25 25
Lady Tigers continue in District Tourney
By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Lady Tigers
looked like a totally different team Thursday night as they hosted the
Robertson Lady Cardinals for a district 2AAA tourney match.
As game one
got underway about 7:00 p.m. Thursday night in Tiger Gym it was a totally
different looking Lady Tiger team that came to play compared to last Saturday’s
performance in Las Vegas against the Lady Cardinals.
Yet the
Lady Cardinals came to play as well and the score stayed close the whole game
never separating more than three points. Both teams exhibited strong play at
the net with blocks and spikes going hard. The problem for both teams came from
the service line as both teams missed critical serves during the game.
Game one
was by far the most exciting of the night with both team making some great
plays to keep the ball in play. There were saves made that would make any coach
and fan proud as the girls stretched it out and even got a hand under the ball
as it fell to the floor to keep it in play. With the score tied several times
during the game Raton did manage to slip ahead after a tie at 22 and take the
win 25-22.
The next
two games however were a bit easier for the Lady Tigers as they played some of
their best volleyball and Robertson seemed to have problems with vollies and
serves. Game two was a bit closer early on but Raton pulled it together and
widened the point spread and finally the win.
In game
three Raton took the early lead and at times had as much as a 10-point lead
during the game as the Lady Cardinals just seemed to loose that groove. Missed
hits and miss communication resulted in Lady Tiger Points. The Lady Cardinals
did however make a short rally, to little to late resulted in a 25-17 loss.
The Lady
Tigers will travel to West Las Vegas Saturday for the District 2AAA
championship match at 7:00 p.m.
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Monday, October 31, 2011
District 1A Volleyball battle continued Saturday
Springer 24 25
17 21
Des Moines 26 23 25
25
District 1A Volleyball battle continued Saturday
By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
The battle
for supremacy continued Saturday night in District 1A volleyball as the Des
Moines Lady Demons hosted the Springer Lady Red Devils yet it took the Lady
Demons four games to stay off the Lady Red Devils.
A walk in
the park it wasn’t either as the lead changed several times in game one and was
even tied going into the final points of the game at 24. The battle at the net
was between Lady Demon Shelby Walker and Alisha Frye.
As game two
continued other net battles started such as the one with Samantha Bostillo and
Brandy Burton. It was blocks and spikes back and forth again keeping the score
close until Springer took the lead and went on to win it by two after a tie at
23.
The match
continued and was destined for four or five games by this time. The Lady Demons
currently are in first place in the district and in game three continued to
show why as they created a small lead and hung on to pulling out the game by
eight.
Game four
was a bit closer yet strong play with good spikes from Shelby Walker and
Samantha Bostillo lead the Lady Demons to a lead. But the Lady Red Devils wouldn’t
give up that easily and created some long lasting vollies that kept up the
excitement.
By the end
of game four it was a Des Moines match and a firm grasp on the lead in the
district. District 1A will start tourney play this week as well with Cimarron
traveling to Questa for match one on Tuesday and the winner will travel to
Springer on Thursday. Des Moines will host the district championship on
Saturday.
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
C-team
Raton 25 25
Robertson 21 21
JV
Raton 25 25
Robertson 12 23
Varsity
Raton 18 25
25 25 14
Robertson 25 27
22 13 16
Robertson dowses first place hopes for Tigers
By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
It was
another one of those volleyball matches that kept fans on the edge of their
seat and whooping and hollering cheering the girls on. But when this one was
over Raton saw a first place finish dashed as they fell to a 3-2 district
record behind West Las Vegas 4-1.
In game one
fans were wondering if the girls would wake up as they fell short 25-18. During
game one it was bad serves and missed hits that gave Robertson the win.
The girls began to come alive and
play ball in game two as they kept close or took a brief lead during the game.
Again it was the girls play at the net that kept things going. Robertson began
to play the longer shot instead of the spike. As Raton adjusted they stayed
close and tied the game at 24 and 25. West made the last two points and won
that game.
Raton and Robertson again kept it
close with neither team taking a solid and commanding lead during the third
game. Raton finally took the lead and the win after a tie at 22.
In game four Raton took off and
managed an early lead and later a commanding lead. From there they looked more
like the Raton team they were known for. It was a 2-2 match and time for a tie
breaker.
The heat was on and both teams kept
this a close one. It was a tie game not once, not twice, but several times and
again at 14. Hearts a pounding and sweaty palms and who was going to bring this
one out. Robertson got a lucky hit and took the lead. It was 15-14, one point
left for the win. The volley went back and forth and a hit went just out side
the reach and hit the floor inside the white line. Robertson won 16-14 and the
disappointment could be seen.
Instead of a tie breaker in Taos with
Raton and West, as was talked about it, will be Taos traveling to Robertson on
Tuesday for the beginning of the district playoff. The winner will come to
Raton on Thursday and that winner will go to West Las Vegas on Saturday for the
championship game and a chance of a state tourney trip. Go Lady Tigers!!!
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Yellow Flags Fly in Friday night game
By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
The
AstroTurf at Perkins stadium in Las Vegas saw plenty of yellow (20 penalties) Friday
night as the Dons hosted the Tigers for a district match up.
It was also
a night of big plays and missed tackles as both teams changed the numbers on
the scoreboard often for a total of 100 points by both teams. Raton however put
more on the board for the win, a final of 60-40.
Scoring
started late in the first after a troubling start for the Tiger offense. Raton
held West and they turned it over on downs with Raton promptly turning it back
over to the Dons. The defense held and again Raton took over on downs and it
was a 45-yard TD pass to Mark Hightree that put Raton on the board first. The
2-point try was good and Raton was on top 8-0 at 4:20 on the clock.
West
fumbled again on their next series with Raton recovering it on the Raton 36.
Raton started down field and a couple of penalties Raton makes it to the West
15 and a short pass to Seth Parker finishes the drive for six. This time the
2-point failed leaving Raton on top 14-0 with 2:06 on the clock.
Stephen
Urioster took the ball 90 yards on the kickoff and started the scoring for
West. The 2-point failed and it was a 14-6 game with 1:48 still left in the first.
A couple of
punts later and Raton took the ball on the 46. A 14-yard run was called back on
a holding penalty followed by a 49-yard pass to Troy Hall for six more Raton
points. It was another pass to Hall for the 2-point try and a 22-6 ball game
with 10:36 in the second.
More yellow
on the kickoff and a play later West fumbles the ball and Seth Parker takes it
to the 39. Two runs later and another flag followed by a sack and George
Marquez fumbles at the West 39. Here it comes another big West pass play to
Jordan Lopez for 61 yards and six more. The 2-point failed and Raton was up by
10.
The on-side
kick off gave Raton great field position at the 50. Yet a holding penalty and a
sack along with a bad snap on the punt gives West the ball on the Raton 19.
Three plays later David Sanchez scampers the eight yards for six. Jay Morrales
plowed through for the 2-point play and it was a 22-20 game with 4:54 on the
clock.
Raton
suffers again from a yellow flag and is forced to punt. West starts up field
and despite a 15-yard offensive interference call West gets the ball to the
three where quarterback George Martinez scampers the three yards for six. With
35 seconds on the clock it was a 22-26 ball game after a failed 2-point try.
Raton goes
45 yards in two plays and a short pass to George Marquez makes six with 11
seconds on the clock. Another pass and George finds the end zone again for the
2-point conversion and it’s a 30-26 ball game. The kickoff ends the half and a
wild quarter.
The third
quarter starts where the second left off when Raton’s Matt Ortiz gets off a
pass to George Marquez who zigs and zags the 45 yards for six with only 11:14
on the clock. Ortiz takes it in for the 2-point and a 38-26 game.
Wow!! It’s
another 90 yard plus scamper by Jordan Lopez for another West TD, the 2-point
failed and with only 58 seconds gone on the clock it was a 38-32 game.
Raton goes
the 55 yards with the help of two offside penalties and finishes the drive with
a Matt Ortiz scramble of five yards for six. Seth Parker takes it in for the
2-point and only 10:13 on the clock. That’s three scores in only a minute and
47 seconds and a 46-32 game.
Raton
recovers the on-side-kick but West intercepts a Matt Ortiz pass at the West 36.
West heads up field and despite a holding call keeps on going and then George
Marquez finds a George Martinez pass and takes it to the 23. A pass
interference call on a pass to play puts the ball at the West 40 then West
intercepts an Ortiz pass and takes it to the 46 and tacks on a facemask penalty.
Dylan Aragon picks off a Martinez pass in the end zone to save a West touch
down.
Raton gets
a couple of big plays with a 33 yard Ortiz run and 15 yard pass play and this
drive ends with a 2-yard pass play to George Marquez and six more. The 2-point
fails and it’s a 52-32 game.
Three and
out for West then a play later its another pass interception giving West the
ball at the Raton 42. Another three and a fake punt and a holding penalty gives
west a chance but still turn the ball over on downs.
Raton has a
34-yard pass to Hall followed by a 49-yard pass play to Tyler Vertovec for six.
Ortiz scampers in for the 2-point conversion and it’s a 60-32 game with 4:40 on
the board.
George
Martinez scampers 48 yards to Raton 1-yard line and then dives over the line
with 2:42 left. A pass to Jordan Lopez adds 2-points and it is a 60-40 ball
game.
Raton with
the help of two offside penalties and a procedure call manage to run the clock
out and put to bed a wild ball game and a 2-1 district finish. Raton will now
host Santa Fe St. Mikes Friday night.
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