C-team

WLV 25  25

Raton 9    9

JV

WLV   26  14

Raton 28  25

Varsity

WLV    25  26  17  13  15

Raton  13  24  25  25 11

Tough Loss for Lady Tigers

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            Wow oh wow, wipe the sweat from my brow, heart pounding, sweaty palms kind of volleyball Saturday afternoon in Tiger Gym as the Lady Dons came to play and play they did taking the Lady Tiger to five games in the district match.

            As game one got underway it looked like both teams had just woke up and were sluggish then the Lady Dons came alive and worked the net with great blocks turned points and hits that fell to the court. Finally the Lady Dons scored the final point and ended the Lady Tiger misery.

            Game two however started the sweaty palms as both teams came alive and the battle of the net began in earnest. Both teams were making the blocks and hits at the net and the score went back and forth as players like Maya Roybal and Faith Romero went head to head with Arissa Maldonado and Mikala Vertovec. Others at the net for West included Ellena Armijo, Larissa Gallegos and Rebecca Goldean. Goldean one of the taller West players was deadly at the net with spikes while Maggie Honeyfield, Jordan Valdez and Makayla Mondragon along with Breannon Trujillo battled the blocks and hits. The lead had changed hands several times and the game was tied multiple times with the last coming at 24. Yet by the final whistle the Lady Tigers had powered their way to 26 and a win.

            This battle continued throughout the game two and into game three. The girls had some extended vollies that kept the heart pounding as the ball went back and forth with diving saves and hits stretching the out of bounds line. The crowd by now was well into the games cheering both teams on and making this an afternoon to enjoy and remember for the girls.

            In game four it looked like West might have lost their rhythm as they dropped this game by more than 10. It didn’t last and the tiebreaker was just as exciting as game two and three. Raton took an early lead but West stayed close and tied it up before they extended the lead by four 10-6 But Raton continued to battle and keep it close until West put together a rally that extended their lead and as the final whistle blew gave them the win by four.

            Raton with a 3-1 record in district play is easily in front and on their way to a district title. The way the district plays out will now fall to how Robertson and West play each other. West beat Robertson 3-0 in their first meeting. Taos is in last and with losses to all three district opponents will likely stay there. Raton will host Taos on Thursday and travel to Robertson Saturday to end regular season play. 

Senior Arrissa Maldonado demonstrates the magic of volleyball as she makes the hit with her eyes closed Saturday evening (10-22-2011)

Senior Arrissa Maldonado demonstrates the magic of volleyball as she makes the hit with her eyes closed Saturday evening (10-22-2011)

Brittny Garcia makes the hit and slides it by Larrissa Gallegos and Ellena Armijo Saturday evening (10-22-2011)

Brittny Garcia makes the hit and slides it by Larrissa Gallegos and Ellena Armijo Saturday evening (10-22-2011)

Here Elena Romero goes tip to tip with Maggie Honeyfield Saturday evening (10-22-2011) in Tiger Gym

Here Elena Romero goes tip to tip with Maggie Honeyfield Saturday evening (10-22-2011) in Tiger Gym

Cardinals stun Tigers at Home

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            Two plays, only two plays and a PAT, Robertson was on the scoreboard with seven and only 45 seconds have run off the clock. Coach Brock Walton later said, “I thought we were better prepared than we really appeared to be.” As The Robertson Cardinals stun the Tigers in a 35 to 6 romp.

            The Robertson defense did their job as well and held Raton at bay. The next Robertson series ended with a field goal attempt that went wide. Raton now had the ball on the 20 and with the help of a persona foul penalty they moved forward. Matt Ortiz laid out a short pass to George Marquez and 60 yards later Raton had six. The PAT wobbled wide and it was a 6-7 game at 3:58 on the clock.

            As second quarter action got underway Robertson’s Justin Bustos made the 37-yard field goal, 11:52 on the clock and it was a 6-10 score. Again the Cardinal defense did their job and kept Raton clear of the goal line and getting the ball back on their 23.

            The next Robertson series was all Dalan Abreu with a little help from Cardinal quarterback Girard Maestas who took it on the ground and rambled up the field. Abreu himself went 10, 15, and then 30 yards, which placed the ball at the Raton one. Abreu did the honors and went in almost untouched. Bustos missed the PAT and left Robertson on top 16-6.

            The second half was even crueler to the Tigers when Robertson’s Dalan Abreu picked off a Matt Ortiz pass at the Raton 40. A 28 yard run by Maestas was called back on a hold and then a procedure penalty had Robertson on a 1^st and 25. A run then a 25-yard pass play and it was at the five. This time James Gonzales took the honors and six. Bustos shanked the PAT and it was now a 22-6 ball game.

            The Robertson defense forces a Raton punt and from the Robertson 37 they march up field. Penalties plague this series but they go both ways and a facemask penalty puts the ball on the Raton six. Maestas rambles in from the six and Bustos nails the PAT for a 29-6 game.

            Raton rumbles down the field, inside the red zone Raton suffers a sack and then in the end zone it goes, no not a Raton touchdown but a Robertson pass interception by Dominic Lucero. Robertson took the ball at the 20 and worked it to the 35 where Girard Maestas seals the deal with a 65-yard romp for six. The PAT failed and left the score a dismal 35 to 6 with only 5:42 left on the clock.

            Robertson again ended another Raton drive deep in Cardinal territory when Lucero found another Matt Ortiz pass. It was only a matter of running out the clock and Robertson did that with the second-string offense then the first-string defense held Raton and forced the ball over on downs. A knee ended the game and a stunned Raton team wondered what happened.

            After the game the Raton huddle was quiet and coach Walton shaking his head told KRTN we will have to go back and look at the video. He added the coaches will have to study the video and see what went wrong. One thing that did go wrong was allowing the run to the outside, which often times ended in big yardage.

            Raton will now prepare and travel to West Las Vegas for the final district game of the season Friday night.

            

It right there as George Marquez makes it look so easy as he brings in a beautiful Matt Ortiz pass Friday (10-21-2011) night in the Jungle

It right there as George Marquez makes it look so easy as he brings in a beautiful Matt Ortiz pass Friday (10-21-2011) night in the Jungle

Sticky hands and concentration and Mark Hightree brings this one in for a Raton first down and puts them in striking distance Friday (10-21-2011) night

Sticky hands and concentration and Mark Hightree brings this one in for a Raton first down and puts them in striking distance Friday (10-21-2011) night

Its an open field tackle as Dylan Aragon brings James Gonzales down Friday (10-21-2011) night in the Jungle

Its an open field tackle as Dylan Aragon brings James Gonzales down Friday (10-21-2011) night in the Jungle

The clock explains it all as Girard Maestas goes down the near sideline toward the pylons and the final six of the night for Robertson (10-21-2011)

The clock explains it all as Girard Maestas goes down the near sideline toward the pylons and the final six of the night for Robertson (10-21-2011)

Cteam

Robertson 25  23  15

Raton         18  25  12

JV

Robertson 18  22

Raton          25  25

Varsity

Robertson 16  15  19

Raton         25  25  25

Tigers taste Cardinals in district match

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            Raton Lady Tigers continue their district win streak with a 3-0 win over the Robertson Lady Cardinals Thursday evening in Tiger Gym.

            Again as in other games the Lady Tigers worked the net well as Mikala Vertovec and Arissa Maldonado teamed up for blocks and Mikala with hits over the net from sets from Arissa. Jordan Valdez and Breannon Trujillo were also big contributors at the net.

            In game one the Lady Cardinals kept the backcourt busy for Raton setting up the passes so the net squad could do their job. Raton took an early lead and didn’t look back. Abbey Bradley and Caelin Bustos along with Jenna Rhoads worked the net for Robertson but often found the ball falling back in their laps from the blocks put up by the net squad.

            Game two was another runaway as Raton put up a big lead of 11 or 10 points before they finally put it away by 10. Maggie Honeyfield along with Vertovec made the hits sail and tough to handle for the Lady Cardinals.

            In game three the Lady Tigers took off but faltered and the Lady Cardinals cut the five to seven point lead to one. It was 18-19 and Raton pulled the plug on the Lady Cardinals with a couple of aces and hits that dropped in the Robertson court.

            Raton finished the Lady Cardinals off to go 3-0 in district play and will now host the Lady Dons Saturday afternoon in Tiger Gym. 

Breannon Trujillo makes the hit as Brittnay Boyle goes for the block in the varsity game with Robertson Thursday (10-20-2011) evening in Tiger Gym

Breannon Trujillo makes the hit as Brittnay Boyle goes for the block in the varsity game with Robertson Thursday (10-20-2011) evening in Tiger Gym

Lady Cardinal Jenna Rhoads makes the hit as Breannon Trujillo gets the block and Mikayla Mondragon helps out Thursday (10-20-2011) evening

Lady Cardinal Jenna Rhoads makes the hit as Breannon Trujillo gets the block and Mikayla Mondragon helps out Thursday (10-20-2011) evening

Tigers tame Tigers in Taos

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            It looked like it might be a run away game as the Raton Tigers took off on their first possession and went the distance for six followed by another TD before the end of the first quarter for a 13-0 lead.

            Raton went the 75 yards on their first drive in the air, in part with one 50-yard pass play to Mark Hightree. The drive culminated with a 7-yard pass play to Devon Casias. Jordan Darras’ PAT was good and Raton was up by seven.

            Raton took a fumble at the Taos 29 and turned it into six more when a Matt Ortiz pass was tipped by Taos Tiger Max Suazo that fell right into Devon Casias’s hands at the five, Casias then walked into the end zone. Darras’ PAT went wide leaving the score 13-0.

            Max Suazo took the kickoff to the Taos 44 and then a 47-yard pass play from Dakota Swinehart to Max Suazo took the ball to the Raton three. From there it was Isaac Gonzales who took it in for the Tigers and Swinehart’s PAT made it a six point game with 2:05 left in the first.

            Swinehart added three for Taos on a 30-yard field goal with 9:56 in the second.

            It became a defensive struggle until Raton fumbled at the Taos 15 the on the next play Taos fumbled on their 21 and Raton was able to make that turnover work in their favor and put six more on the board when Mark Hightree took it in from the five. At 7:02 in the second it was a 19-10 game.

            Taos turned it around and went 79 yards with the help of a 68-yard TD pass play to Josh Valencia. Swinehart’s PAT was good and brought the score to 19-17 with 6:25 on the clock.

            Dakota Swinehart with his leg and kicking ability took away any chance of a kickoff return by putting the ball deep into the end zone preventing any Raton returns most of the night. From the 20-yard line Raton moved forward, yet a holding penalty moved it back some. Later a pass interference penalty and an offside call helped move the ball down the field to give Raton good field position. From near mid-field Matt Ortiz put up one beautiful pass to Devon Casias that resulted in a 37-yard pass TD to extend the two-point lead to eight. The 2-point try failed and Raton ended the drive with a 25-17 score.

            Taos in hurry up mode took the ball to half-yard line and a tried to punch it in but a penalty and a tough Raton defense denied the score and ended the first half of the game.

            Raton began the third the way they did the first with a 8-yard pass play to George Marquez for six more and Matt Ortiz ran in the 2-point try to extend Raton’s lead 33-17.

            Raton spoiled the next Taos drive when Dylon Aragon picked off a Swinehart pass yet Raton failed to capitalize and turned it over on downs.

            Taos retaliated with a 5-play drive that ended with a 26-yard pass play to Suazo to begin the fourth quarter with a TD and another pass to Suazo for the 2-point conversion making it a 33-25 game.

            Raton started the 80-yard drive with a 49-yard Matt Ortiz scamper. Unfortunately a couple of penalties pushed Raton back 20 yards leaving Raton with a third and long. Ortiz found one of his favorite receivers in Devon Casias on a short pass and it was one of those tackle-breaking sprints to the end zone for six more. George Marquez took it on in for the 2-point try and Raton lead 41-25.

            But it ain’t over until it’s over and the final buzzer sounds as Taos took the ball down to the three and Suazo punched it in. A penalty pushed Taos back five yards and the 2-point try failed. It was 41-31 with 6:47 left on the clock.

            It was left up to the defense now to hold on and keep Taos out of the end zone. Coach Brock Walton later told KRTN that the key to holding Taos back was to keep the ball away from Max Suazo which Raton managed to do rather well on the last Taos drive. Both teams turned it over on downs as the defenses dug in and held. Fortunately for Raton Taos made the final try and failed leaving Raton with the ball to run out the clock with just over two minutes left in the game. A Matt Ortiz run for nine and a five-yard romp by Seth Parker gave Raton the needed first down to keep the clock running and the game.

 Raton will host Robertson Friday night in the jungle, which should prove to be another close game. 

Taos Tiger Max Suazo tipped it and there he was, Devon Casias, all he had to do was walk it on in to the end zone for six Friday night 10-14-2011

It's one of those picture perfect passes to Devon Casias as Matt Ortiz lays right in his hands for six more Raton points Firday night(10-14-2011) in Taos

Its up and away as Isaac Gonzales can't quite handle a Dakota Swinehart pass, Raton's Luis Ruiz can't get turned enough to bring it in. (10-14-2011)

Dylan Aragon gets a hand on the ball to break up this pass to Josh Valencia late in the game Friday night (10-14-2011) in Taos

           

JV Scores

Raton       25 25

Springer    7   21

Varsity Scores

Raton      25  25  25

Springer 15 13  17

Tigers Dowse Red Devil Fire

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            Indoors and out of the wind the ladies took to the court in Sym Brown Gym in Springer Thursday for an evening of volleyball.

            The Lady Red Devils came out strong and stayed with it for the first part of game one and then something seemed to go south for the ladies. Strong play at the net with blocks and well placed spikes allowed the Lady Tigers to open up their lead and volley their way to a 10 point lead.

            Again as game two got underway the Lady Red Devils stayed in the game with Alissha Frye and Brittany Baca making the blocks and spikes at the net. Then the heat left the Lady Red Devils as Raton again pulled out and took a big lead. Well placed spikes by Maggie Honeyfield, Shania Dorrance and Brittni Garcia extended the lead to a final score at 25-13.

            Game three again stayed close in the beginning and this time stayed closer later in the game. Raton’s hitters again found the holes in the Lady Red Devil defense and extended the their lead. As the game wore down Raton put it away with some great vollies back and forth until the ball slipped in to the hole and found the court for the point.

            Both teams played well yet it seemed the Lady Red Devils got bit about half way through each game, some miscommunications also troubled the ladies. Despite the knee brace Brittany Baca played a strong game at the net as she went head to head with Raton players Mikala Vertovec, Briannon Trujillo, Jordan Valdez and Arrissa Maldonado who are tasked with the blocking duties for the Lady Tiger Defense.

            Raton will begin district play next week on Thursday at West Las Vegas while Springer will continue their district play against Des Moines Saturday.

Fingertip to Fingertip as Mikala Vertovec and Brittany Baca meet at the net During the volleyball match in Springer Thursday Afternoon (10-6-2011)

Kyra Laumbach puts it up as Mikala Vertovec makes the block Thursday afternoon (10-6-2011) in Sym Brown Gym 

Des Moines 9  11  17

Raton          25 25 25

Lady Demons struggle as Lady Tigers win in three

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            They were wearing the yellow jersey but watching the volleyball match Tuesday evening in Tiger Gym may be asking was that the Lady Demons from Des Moines? It was but they definitely were not playing up to the same caliber of play as they did when Raton was in Des Moines.

             Raton pulled out quick and early in all three games creating leads that grew to as many as 10 points. It wasn’t until game three that Des Moines was able to break the 10-point deficit.

            As Raton pulled out in front and widened the lead they played the net very well making blocks that often fell back just beyond the net making it difficult for the Lady Demons to respond, when they did it made for a great series of vollies.

            It was game three when Des Moines finally began to look more like the team that took Raton in five games last month but it came a bit late and with a large point deficit that they were unable to overcome.

            Both teams will soon begin district play as Raton will travel to West Las Vegas next week and Des Moines travel to Springer on October 8^th.

Jordan Valdez and Shelby Walker meet hand to hand at the net Tuesday evening in Tiger Gym

Dakota Martinez shows the concentration to make the hit

Breannon Trujillo tries to avoid the net as Samantha Green goes up with the ball

33-8 Win crowns homecoming week

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            It was a defensive battle throughout the first half, back and forth up and down the field before the Tigers caught a break, found a hole in the Elk defense and Matt Ortiz hit Troy Hall for a 44 yard pass play that scored Raton’s first TD and set the tone for the rest of the Homecoming game.

            As the game wore on the playbook was wide open with Raton going to the air and the Elks staying on the ground. Fumbles on key plays turned the ball over and even a fake punt that resulted in a first down for Pojoaque still couldn’t bring the spark to start the fire the Elks needed.

            Pojoaque again turned over the ball on downs with a 1:14 left in the half and goose eggs on the scoreboard, Raton headed up the field. With just over 40 seconds left Matt Ortiz found Troy Hall and he managed sidestep a tackle and find a hole with blocking and down the field for a 44 yard pass play that found the end zone. Jordan Darras made the PAT and Raton went into halftime up 7-0.

            The second half of this game was nothing like the first half as the Elks bad luck would continue with a fumble at the Raton 25 on their first series which Raton capitalized on with another pass play this time to Devon Casias for 64 yards and another six. The PAT was wide right and left the score at 13-0.

            Jesus Urquidi muffed the kickoff and the ball came out to the 20. It was three and out and Raton took the punt with a penalty for illegal use of hands and started at the 40. On the ground with big George Marquez and Jon Mark Atwater, in the air to Devon Casias and Mark Hightree Raton ended this drive with a 20-yard pass play to Hightree for six. A failed PAT and it was 19-0 at 1:57 in the quarter.

            The third quarter ended for the Elks when Dylon Aragon picked off a Louie Martinez pass with 4 seconds on the clock. Two personal foul penalties on the play however set Raton back another 30 yards. Coach Brock Walton later said that when you play aggressive and don’t let up these things can happen and our boys didn’t make the infractions on purpose.

            Raton however overcame the penalties and this time it was a 7-yard pass play to Casias for six more. Darras’ PAT was good and Raton pulled out to 26-0.

            The next Elk series ended with another pass interception by Mark Hightree. On the 2-yard line Raton’s Jeramy Armijo playing as a running back on this play simply bulldozed over the line for six, the PAT was good and it was Raton 33-0.

            With the younger players in on defense for Raton to get them some playing time the Elks managed to get a TD with a 9-yard run by Mario Urquidi. Urquidi was also credited with punching the ball through on the 2-point try and it was 33-8 with 7:10 on the clock.

            The defense continued its dominance in the game. With Raton’s underclassmen at the helm the Tigers went three and out. The Elks moving down the field suffered another pass interception by Jordon Mendez. Raton ran out the clock to end a successful homecoming week with a win over the 5-0 Elks.

            Coach Brock Walton told students and parents at the homecoming assembly earlier in the day that he wouldn’t guarantee a win but would say that this would be one of Raton’s best-played games of the season. The Elks came into the game with a 5-0 record and much improved team over past years.

            Raton came into the season with a young and inexperienced team, Walton knew he had his work cut out and often expressed that this team would only get better with experience. With the first part of the season now behind them Raton will have a week off and then start play at the district level at Taos.

Brandon Baker wraps up Louie Martinez who looses the ball and Raton recovers the fumble Friday night 

Troy Hall slows up Martinez long enough for help to arrive and create a loss on the play 

Dylon Aragon ends another Elk Drive when he picks off a Louie Martinez pass