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.
