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