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