The Raton Tiger football team traveled a long way from home on Saturday , September 17 as the Wingate Bears, near Gallup, NM, hosted the Tigers with the two squads playing each other for the first time ever.
The Tigers didn’t seem to have any ill effects of the 6 hour plus drive, as they came out fired up on both offense and defense and cruised to a 42-14 win to even their season mark at 2-2.
Raton’s Christian Snyder gobbled up a fumble on the second play of the game to give Raton a short field. The Tigers worked quickly moving the 25 yards with the final yard earned by Jonathan Cabriales and the extra point earned from his toe, Raton lead 7-0 with less than two minutes gone in the first quarter.
Cabriales worked both sides of the ball equally impressive as the senior intercepted Wingate’s Marcel Wilson on the next series and returned it 60 yards to set up Raton’s second score. A 21 yard run by sophomore Ismael Tafoya and Cabriales’ extra point made it 14-0 with less than half of the first quarter played. Raton’s defense held and after a personal foul on Wingate to keep the Raton drive alive, it was Raton’s QB Dustin Segura getting his first of two TD passes to Gabe Martinez, the first a 20 yarder was sandwiched around an interception by Christian Snyder and the second pass, a 16 yarder, gave Raton a 28-0 lead, while still in the first quarter.
The Raton offensive line opened up gaping holes all day for Cabriales and the other rushers for Raton, with Cabriales 51 yard scamper early in the second quarter giving Raton a 35-0 lead and a continuos run clock for the rest of the game.
Cabriales had a 98 yard punt return for a TD and another 40 TD run called back. That didn’t stop Dustin Segura, though, as the Raton signal-caller streaked 85 yards with 9:21 left in the third quarter for Raton’s last score of the afternoon.
A 4A District 1 school, Wingate got a couple of late scores on a Raton defense consisting of younger players getting game-time reps for coach Giacomo.
Raton’s next game is a Homecoming tilt against Cuba in the Jungle on Friday, September 23 at 7 pm.
The game will, of course, be broadcast on KRTN FM 93.9.
