By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
It didn’t take La Junta long to put a stop to the Raton offensive drive after the season home opener got underway Friday evening in the Jungle on August 24th as La Junta held Raton to a three and out and then began their own scoring drive for six.
La Junta took the ball over on their own 35 with senior Jon Nuschy at the helm where he would take the ball and run and run some more. As La Junta moved down the field, Nuschy topped off the first drive with a 29 yard TD run for the score, however his PAT was blocked and left the score 6-0.
On Raton’s second drive they ended with a blocked punt that Ryan Malden picked up and scampered 32 yards for six more. The 2-point try was good and left Raton down 14-0 with 7:51 on the clock in the first quarter.
Raton’s next drive ended quickly with a pass interception by Kyle Keck who took the ball in for a pick six. The PAT failed leaving it a 20-0 score.
Another three and out for Raton resulted in two long passes for La Junta and another score as Noah Barrett took the 25 yard pass play in for the score and the PAT was good and it was a 27-0 game with 5:18 on the first quarter clock.
A fumble on the kickoff gave the ball back to the LJ Tigers on the Raton 25. A holding penalty put it on the Raton 35 where Ryan Malden took the handoff the 35 yards for another six. The PAT failed and left the score at 34-0 with 4:54 left on the clock.
Raton still was unable to effectively move the ball and turned the ball over on downs at the 47. La Junta put it on the ground as Dillon Stevens took the second play and scrambled 33 yards to pay dirt for another six. The PAT was good and it was a 41-0 game. A chop block on the PAT pushed La Junta back to the 25 for the kickoff which gave Raton great field position after a long kickoff return.
Raton ended the quarter and then turned the ball over on downs at the La Junta 27. The JV team then setup a 12 play 73 yard drive the ended in a 10-yard run by quarterback sophomore Nathan Frankmore for six. The PAT failed and left the score 47-0.
Raton and La Junta battled the remainder of the quarter moving the ball back and forth but neither team could find the spark to get the ball over the line to end the half.
As the second half got underway, Raton came out of the locker room with adjustments that saw them gel and begin to play a with fewer mistakes. Both teams however were unable to find the end zone as the running clock sped things up and put an end to the game.
Coach Tory Giacomo noted the boys came out with the first game jitters and made the mistakes the that a young team often makes. He went on to note that they went in at halftime and told the boys what they needed to do to get back on track. They did as they held La Junta scoreless in the second half. Richie Acevedo told KRTN the five seniors will have to step it up and help lead this young team as the go through the season.
Raton will travel over the pass for the Battle for the Coal Bucket game in Trinidad on Friday, September 31 at 7:00 p.m.
Post Game Interview with Coach Tory Giacomo and Richie Acevedo
