Second Half Troubles Tigers

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

It was a back and forth first half that ended in a tie game going into the locker room but the second half of the game was a totally different story as Pojoaque ran off with their homecoming game 40-21.

A pass interception by Caleb Wood ended the first Pojoaque drive but Raton was unable to convert the drive into points and turned the ball over on the Pojoaque 15 yard line. From there Pojoaque took the ball down to the 20 where a pass from John Answorth to Vidal Gonzales found the end zone for six. Mario Urquidi made the PAT and it was a 7-0 ball game with 53 seconds left in the first quarter.

Raton took the ball into the second quarter and the end zone with a 10 yard run by Tyler Vertovec, Toby Henson stuck the PAT and tied the game at seven, the clock read 9:08 left in the second quarter. Then the fireworks began and with less than three minutes to play both teams found the end zone and not just once either.

The next Pojoaque drive went 10 quick plays and ended on a five-yard pass play to Arsenio Cole. The PAT failed and left it 13-7 with 2:49 on the clock.

Luis Ruiz made the magic happen and took the kickoff 64 yards to the Pojo 25. Three plays later Seth Parker scrambled 13 long yards for six. The PAT was blocked and it was a tie game again at 13 with 1:34 left in the half.

                  Pojoaque made a 59-yard pass play to Juan Rios on their third play from scrimmage for six. Mario Urquidl took it in for the 2-point conversion and it was a 21-13 ball game with 1:04 on the clock.

                  Three plays later Mark Hightree, all alone, takes a Toby Henson 27 yard pass play for six with 25 seconds left in the half. Caleb Wood ended the Pojoaque drive with another pass interception to end the half and leave it a 21-tie game.

                  Raton's first series of the second half ended with a punt after two holding calls. The Punt gave Pojoaque the ball on the 42. After seven plays Isaac Martinez took a 5-yard pass play for six. The PAT was good and that started the Pojoaque scoring for the second half with 6:44 on the clock.

                  Adam Duran picked off a Toby Henson pass and went about 35 yards for the TD. Urquidi's PAT was good and its 34-21 score. That one play really seemed to take the air out of the balloon for Raton and they never were able to recover.

                  Raton again suffering from the yellow flag is faced with a 4th and 22. Toby Henson fakes the punt and heads up field only to turn it over on downs at the 50-yard line.

                  Five plays later Jesse Gomez takes it five yards for six more Pojoaque points. A bad snap doomed the PAT and left the score 40-21.

                  Raton takes it into the fourth quarter and ended the drive in five plays when an Elk player got a hand up and batted down the fourth down pass play. Caleb Wood having a great game ended the next Pojoaque drive with another pass interception. Raton however unable to do anything had to punt it away.

                  The remainder of the game went back and forth and Pojoaque ended it with a knee for the win and a fine finish for a homecoming game.

                  Raton will now look forward to this week and homecoming on Friday. The girls will host West Las Vegas Lady Dons Thursday evening for their portion of the homecoming week. 

Isaac Martinez (21) and Adam Moore (23) break up a pass to Tyler Vertovec on the goal line early in the game Friday night in Pojoaque.

Mark Hightree makes one of several catches Friday night in Pojoaque as Jesus Urquidi bears down.

Its a foot race as Luis Ruiz scampers 64 yards down the field before Juan Rios finally catches him with a shoestring tackle at the Pojoaque 25. Raton would capitalize on the return when Seth Parker would take it in from the 13 yard line.

The frustration began to set in as coach Hunker Main looked on from the sidelines after Pojoaque had scored twice more.

Jordan Mendez takes the hand off from QB Toby Henson. Mendez would make several runs late in the game for Raton.

Jordan Mendez (5) and Mario Urquidi (24) go for the loose ball as a bad snap to John Ainsworth (7) on the PAT, gets loose.

Raton's Tyler Vertovec breaks up this pass from John Ainsworth to Paul Tafoya late in the game Friday night in Pojoaque.

There he goes again, Caleb Wood makes another pass interception early in the fourth quarter. Mistakes plague Raton on the series and they go three and out.

Volleyball Raton v Clayton
Cteam
Clayton 25. 25
Raton 21. 11

Jv
Clayton 23. 19
Raton 25   25

Varsity
Clayton 23. 26. 11. 18
Raton 25. 24. 25. 25

Raton takes four to Win

By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media

The Yellowjackettes traveled to the jungle gym Tuesday afternoon for Raton's home opener. The Lady Tigers took the match in four with a very close loss in game two.

While game one was a win by two it wasn't that close until late in the game. Strong play at the net and good volleys kept it exciting. In game two the Lady Tigers trailed by as much as seven until they pulled it together with several slams and tied the game at 21. It was nip and tuck until an error allowed Clayton to get the upper hand and finish it out winning by two.

The next two games were simply Raton as they they pulled out in front early. In game four the Lady Tigers struggled but maintained lead and finally the win.

The Lady tigers will host West Las Vegas in the jungle on October 11 for the volleyball homecoming.

Tara McDonald sends the ball back over while Caydence Sisneros is below in case she missed. The Lady Tigers lost both C-team games.

Leah Cimino makes the slam in the JV game against Clayton.

Breannon Trujillo sends it back over for the Lady Tigers during the varsity game.

Lady Tiger Michelle Guara goes to the floor to keep the ball in play during the varsity game Tuesday evening.

Back down it goes as, Dominque Zamora makes the play during the varsity game in the jungle.

Yellowjackette Kylah Mann stretches it out to make the play and keep the ball in play Tuesday evening in the jungle.

Mikala Vertovec makes the play at the net sending it to the floor for another Lady Tiger point.

Mikala Vertovec goes for the slam as Yellowjackettes Raegan Harris and Montana Baker set up for the block.

Strong play at the net was the key to the Raton wins here Breannon Trujillo makes the play as Montana Baker goes for the block.

Another strong play at the net as Raegan Harris makes the slam over the net Tuesday evening.

Yellowjackette Raegan Harris makes the block as Makayla Mondragon meets her at the net Tuesday evening in the jungle.

The Tigercats Dance Team prepare to raise ole glory before the game. The RHS band provides the music to the Star Spangled Banner

Tiger's second half effort falls short

By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media

    When the final buzzer sounded there was 99 points on the score board and more yardage in one play than you can count on your fingers and toes, Friday night as Raton hosted Clayton in the jungle.
    Clayton's first series, while it ended with a fumble after two plays, was in no way an indication of how the rest of the game went. Raton took the fumble 66 yards in eight plays. Seth Parker plowed over the goal line from two yards out for six. A high snap blew the PAT and it was 6-0 with 9:00 minutes on the clock.
    Clayton countered with 52 yard 6 play drive that ended with a 33 yard romp by Alberto Salgado followed with a 2-point conversion by Nick Wiseman for the lead at 8-6.
    Raton took the next series 65 yards with the help of two 15-yard penalties to the three. From there Jordan Mendez forced it in for six more and the 2-point conversion failed leaving the score 12-8 with 4:25 in the first.
    From there own 45 Coby Bagwell put it up to Salgado, who was clobbered by Nick Cimino and charged with pass interference but that penalty was offset with a holding call in the Yellowjacket back field to call the play back. Then Nick Wiseman took it 33 yards. Clayton ended the drive with Bagwell tunneling through from the one for six. The 2-point was good, it was now 16-12 Clayton with 2:36 still left in the first.
    Three and outs for both teams finished the quarter and they started the second quarter just like the first with Clayton taking a 4-play 70 yard series for six. The scoring play was a 50-yard run by Wiseman who simply broke the line and was gone with no one even close as he crossed the goal line. The 2-point conversion made it 24-12 Clayton.
    It didn't stop there as Clayton broke the punt return for 49 yards to the Raton one. The 2-point was good but an unsportsman like penalty was called after the play and accessed on the kickoff that went out of bounds and added five more to the kickoff, Clayton then kicked off from the 20.
    Caleb Wood returned the kickoff to the 47 where Raton went 28 yards on a pass to Mark Hightree and another pass play for 20. Raton finished the drive with a Toby Henson run from the 12 for six. It was now 20-32 with 6:49 on the clock.
    Another on side kick attempt left Clayton the ball on their 41. They ended this drive with a 14 yard pass play to Koy Geary and Wiseman added the 2-points for a 40-20 score.
    Clayton recovered the kickoff when the ball fell just right on Tyler Vertovec's foot and took a flying leap about 15 yards up field giving Clayton the ball at the Raton 30. The Raton defense dug in and held fast turning the ball over on downs. Geary then picked off a Henson pass and two plays later ended the half.
    Raton started the second half off with a 40 yard pass play to Hightree from the Raton 30 and followed it up with a 30 yard run by Toby Henson for six more. It was now a 27-40 game.
    It was back and forth from there until Wiseman picked off another Henson pass that went 36 yards for six. The 2-point failed and it was a 46-27 game with 1:25 left in the third quarter.
    Caleb Wood picked off a Bagwell pass to move the game into the fourth quarter where Raton, in short order, added six more on a 49 yard pass play to Hightree. Henson split the uprights, 34-46 and it still wasn't over.
    Raton struck again with a on-side kick that Moss Saccomanno recovered on the Clayton 48. This time it was Tyler Vertovec who took a Henson pass for a 47 yard play for six more points. Koy Geary got the height to block Henson's PAT to leave the score 40-46 with 7:49 to play.
    A holding call pushed Clayton back to their 23 but three plays later it was Wiseman again who took it 69 yards for six. The 2-point failed and left it 52-40.
    Its still not over as Raton puts together a drive that used them all. It ended when Mark Hightree squirted for a four yard run to pay dirt. The PAT was good and true and it was 47-52 with 2:39 on the clock.
    Clayton went into clock management mode and ended the game on a knee.
    Coach Brock Walton told his team that the second half of that game was one fantastic piece of work. With two starters out, Seth Parker and Jordan Mendez, the younger players had to step up and make good and good they did as Dakota Martinez filled in at the running back spot, while others made the big plays on special teams.
    Walton was very pleased with the way the team came together and played the second half out scoring Clayton and showing how well they can play. The mistakes that had plagued Raton were greatly reduced in this game.
    Raton will travel to Pojoaque on Friday for the first ever night game under the lights in Pojoaque which will also be their homecoming game as well.   

Upside down we go as Alberto Salgado gets upended by the Raton Tiger defense Friday night in the jngle

On the kickoff return Mark Hightree is flying down the field when

He meets Dakota Montoya a big 6' 5" 265 pound junior. Hightree was shaken on the play but returned to make a big difference in the game with long yardage plays and a TD to his credit after being out two weeks with a concussion

Bam Goes Nick Cimino who breaks up this pass play but gets called with pass interference however a lucky break as Clayton gets called for a hold. They replay the down.

Caleb Wood gets a hand in to break up this pass play with Koy Geary.

Caleb Wood makes a great play for the Tigers and breaks up this pass to Koy Geary

It Koy Geary again, this time he blocks a Toby Henson PAT late in the game Friday night in the Jungle

Photos from the game are available at
http://martymayfieldphoto.smugmug.com/RHSFootball2012-1

Tough season continues for Tigers

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            Friday night the Jungle came alive as the Raton High marching band performed for pre-game activities and the Tigers warmed up for another tough game on the field.

            Raton took the opening kickoff and started off with a penalty, a mental mistake, that Coach Walton feels are fixable. But as the night wore on the mistakes continued, as did a number of turnovers. Four plays later Portales took the ball with the help of a 15-yard personal foul penalty against Raton and marched down the field. It took Portales 8-plays to go the 58 yards finishing the drive with an 11-yard romp by Osbaldo Naverette for six. The PAT was good and it was 7-0 Portales with 7:29 still on the clock.

            Raton’s next series ended on a fumble that resulted in six more Portales points as J P Sullivan scrambled 65 yards for six. The PAT was good and it was 14-0.

            With the ball again, Raton moved up the field but was forced to punt the ball away. The Raton defense held strong holding Portales to three and out but a fumble on the punt return gave Portales the ball on the Raton 33.

            Four plays into the second quarter the Rams were again in the end zone.
The PAT fell wide and it was 20-0. Another three and out for Raton gave Portales the ball on their 27. Two passes later, one a 60-yard pass play to Cruz Belden put six more on the board. The PAT was good and it was 27-0 with 8:52 on the clock.

            Then as if a switch came on Raton marched down the field and finished it off with a 1-yard romp by Seth Parker for six. Toby Henson put it through the uprights and it was 7-27.

            Raton’s Dante Mileta recovered an onside kick that started a six play 36 yard drive with a pass play to Tyler Vertovec for six. Henson made good on the PAT and it was 14-27.

            On Portales’ next series the yellow flag resulted in the ejection of a Portales coach and penalties that moved the ball back to the Portales 19. The punt gave Raton the ball to finish the half.

            On a brighter note the Raton Tigercats performed halftime and was followed by the RHS marching band on the field. It was quite a sight to see the band on the field.

            Third quarter action moved on with three and outs for both teams before a Raton fumble resulted in a 4-play drive from the Raton 27. Navarette carried the ball the one-yard for six. Dustin Sisneros once again placed the ball through the uprights to make it 34-14.

            Taking over on downs Portales put together a three-play drive that included a 25-yard pass play to Daniel Hernandez followed by a 15-yard run by Paul Conrow. The PAT went wide and left the score 40-14.

            Raton started off with a pass interception by Daniel Wattenbarger then Luke Cimino recovered a Portales fumble on the Ram 36. From there they moved forward and just inside the fourth quarter Seth Parker rambled 23 yards for six. Henson then made the score 21-40.

            Raton and Portales exchanged pass interceptions with Raton’s Caleb Wood taking the Portales interception to the Ram 18. A 21-yard pass play to Tyler Vertovec resulted in another six for Raton. Henson again made it good on the PAT and it was 28-40 with 5:29 left on the clock.

            A fumble on the punt return gave Portales the ball back on the Raton 20. Luis Ruiz makes up for his punt fumble with a pass interception that was followed by Miguel Garza picking off a Henson pass at the Raton 29. Four plays later Portales’ James Sotelo took it 18 yards for six with a 1:35 on the clock. Sisneros shanked the PAT and left the score 46-28.

            Seven turnovers and mental mistakes, as coach Walton later put it, it is hard for any team to recover from a couple of turnovers let alone seven. He added we have been working on the mental mistakes all week and think we have them fixed but come game time there they are again.

            Walton added that he felt he wasn’t getting his point across to the players and he takes 100% of the blame for that.

            Raton will host Clayton in the Jungle Friday night. Clayton now 3-0 before Friday night’s action will again test the Tigers to see if the fixes are working.

The RHS marching band performs during halftime Friday night

Daniel Hernandez makes the jump and catch for Portales Friday night

Jordan Mendez takes the ball from Toby Henson before meeting a host of Rams on the line

Its a loose ball that gives Portales the ball deep in Raton territory Friday night

Seth Parker plows over the behind the blocking of Jeffrey Conder for Raton's first TD

Dante Mileta recovers the onside kick that resulted in Raton's second TD of the night

Luis Ruiz breaks it up and the ball falls incomplete Friday night in the Jungle

Jordan Mendez once again scrambles through the holes for yardage

Another loose ball this time Raton makes the recovery

Luis Ruiz makes it look pretty but

But Ram Matt Martinez breaks the pass play up

Volleyball Raton at Trinidad 9-20-2012
Cteam
Raton     16   25   4
Trinidad 25  19  15

Jv
Raton     25  24 15
Trinidad 17  26  8

Varsity
Raton     26  25  25
Trinidad 24  13  21

Highlights
Mikala Vertovec served five aces about midway through game one to help the Lady Tigers pull out a tight one. Even still the Lady Miners tied it at 22 late in the game.

Little mistakes by Raton put the Lady Miners in the lead until Raton pulled it together and tied the game at 15. Raton finally pulled out in front and went on to maintain a 4-point lead to win.
 

Ila Medina, Rhiannon Barela and Kristina Jansen vie for the ball during the JV game in Trinidad Thursday

Harley Smith slams it past the fingertips of Lady Miner Josie Waldo during the JV game Thursday in Trinidad

Lady Tiger Leah Cimino up for the slam Thursday during the JV Game

The team of Kallista Dorrance(9) and Makayla Mondragon for the block. Kallista makes the block and sends it back over the net

Lady Miner Ashleigh Vecellio meets Shania Dorrance at the net during the Varsity game

Mikala Vertovec meets Molly Roth during the Varsity game in Trinidad

Dominique Zamora passes it back over the net Thursday during the Varsity game

Shania Dorrance makes the pass on the line

Tara McDonald and Alicia Pais meet on the court for the ball during the C-team game Thursday afternoon in Trinidad

Long Trip Down I-25

Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            One of the tough things in Tiger Football is traveling for a Friday night game at a far away school and Friday night was no exception for this young Tiger team as they made the trip to Socorro to play the Warriors.

            That long trip was only made tougher on the first drive of the game as Socorro went 62-yards in four plays for six followed by Raton going three and out. Soccorro followed that one up with a 72 yard six play drive that ended with another run by Zeb Esquivel for six. The 2-point conversion was good and Socorro lead 14-0 with 5:53 on the clock in the first quarter.

            Raton’s next drive looked like they finally started to gel and they rumbled down the field only to be interrupted by an interception that gave Socorro the ball on the 20. With the help of two offside penalties and a 62 yard run by Damian Baca the Warriors put up six more and Zach Binger split the uprights to make it 21-0.

            Another great kickoff return by Seth Parker, his second that took the ball to the 35, started the next Raton drive. They rumbled down the field again this time turning the ball over on downs at the half-yard line.

            Soccorro a running team finally tried to change things up with the passing game and ended their drive with three incomplete passes. Raton took the ball on their 31 and Jordan Mendez plowed it in from eight yards out. Toby Henson made the PAT and Raton was on the board 21-7. Raton would end the half with a pass interception by Luis Ruiz who scampered 65 yards only to be pushed out of bounds after the clock had run out on the half.

            The third quarter was a much different ball game, as Raton looked like a team revived, with a kickoff return by Seth Parker that went 45 yards to the 50. However it was a back and forth quarter with neither team making it to pay dirt. Raton ended the quarter with the ball, and on the move, only to end it with a punt pinning the Warriors at the 11 followed by a holding penalty that set the ball on the Warrior 5-yard line.

The Tiger defense did the job and the Warriors went three and out. Zach Binger boomed the punt and Raton took it at the 42 but on the next play Binger stripped the ball out of a scrambling Toby Henson’s hands and gave the Warriors the ball on the 35.

Zeb Esquivel did it again with a 26-yard romp to pay dirt. With 4:40 on the clock it was 28-7 Socorro lead.

Raton took the ball once again with a great kick off return by Seth Parker to the 39. Unable to make connections and a penalty forced Raton to turn the ball over on downs at their 45. Socorro’s Damian Baca took the ball wide and turned the corner with three Tigers in tow and scampered the 45 yards for another Warrior TD. Binger’s PAT made it 35-7.

Raton however was not finished and put together a 66-yard drive that finished with a 9-yard run by Seth Parker for six. A high snap doomed the PAT and left the final score at 35-13.

As coach Brock Walton points out this team is young and will continue to work on the mental game. Two offside penalties to give Socorro a first down is just one sign that shows Raton’s aggressiveness and desire. As a young team they can only get better and as they work on the mental mistakes Raton fans can look forward to an improved team for their first home game Friday night against Portales in the Jungle.

Miners Retrieve Coal Bucket from Tigers

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            After three years in Raton the traveling coal bucket trophy is back in Trinidad after a tough game in Trinidad Friday night. Coach Brock Walton commented after the game that this is one of the best Trinidad teams he has seen in the last 10 years as they tromped the Tigers 41-6.

            According to Walton the young Tigers team put together a great two and half quarters and watched as his team stumbled after a third Trinidad TD in the third quarter.

            Raton struck pay dirt first in the game after holding Trinidad to a three and out on the first series of the game. It took Raton 11 plays to go the 70 yards for their first score but event that wasn’t without a couple of penalties that at one point had Raton with a first and 22 that was followed by a sack. Then a 30-yard pass play to John Duran kept the drive alive. Quarterback Toby Henson scrambled the final 12 yards for the TD. The hike was missed on the extra point try leaving the score 6-0 Raton.

            Trinidad answered quickly with a 75-yard kickoff return by Thomas Bowman. The PAT went wide left and it was tie game at 6-6. From there it was a defensive game until Trinidad’s Danny Martin picked off a Toby Henson pass that gave the Miners the ball at the Raton 31.

            With a grinding ground game the Miners took it to the 1-yard line where Miner Quarterback Dante Begano drove it in with seven seconds left on the clock. The 2-point try failed and that left the score 12-6 Trinidad at halftime.

            As third quarter action got under way It quickly became a Miner’s ball game as they took the ball 83 yards in 10 plays and capped it off with a successful 2-point try by Devon Payne to make the score 20-6 Trinidad with 4:24 left on the clock. Coach Walton commented later that he could tell that TD was the breaking point for the Tigers. He could see the disappointment in the team even from up in the coach’s box.

            Trinidad scored again on a 2-play drive that ended with a 57-yard pass to Devon Miller for six followed by a Danny Martin PAT for a 27-6 lead. The scoring continued in the fourth quarter and with a 1-yard run by Chris DeAngelis with Danny Martin’s PAT good.

            A mishandled hike from center on a punt attempt and a mad rush by Trinidad left the ball on the Raton 8-yard line which allowed Trinidad another easy score when Chris DeAngelis rumbled the eight yards for six. Martin’s PAT was good and left the score 41-6 with 6:54 left on the clock in the fourth period.

            Both defenses carried out their assigned tasks well the remainder of the game. After the hand shakes Colton Ruscetti followed by some of the Miner Seniors retrieved the coveted Coal Bucket and returned it to Trinidad after a three-year absence.

            Raton will travel to Socorro Friday to take on another class AAA powerhouse. Coach Walton is looking forward to district play hoping the very tough on the road schedule Raton is enduring will have his team prepared to take on the tough District 2AAA opponents later this year.

Tiger Luiz Ruiz brings down a Toby Henson pass early in the game in Trinidad Friday night

 

Miner Chris DeAngelis carried the ball often and well for the Miners, here Tiger Jordan Darras gets a DeAngelis ankle to bring him down.

Tiger Seth Parker carries the ball for a few yards gain Friday night in Trinidad

Colton Ruscetti retrieves the Coal Bucket for Trinidad returning it to the Miner trophy case after a 3-year absence Friday night

The Miners rally around the coveted coal bucket after a 3-year stay in Raton