The first round of the NM High School AA Playoffs was delayed in Northern NM by the big snow storm this past week, so Raton hosted the Jal Panthers on a rare Monday afternoon kickoff in the Jungle on Veterans Day. It was a beautiful sunny day and after a lot of volunteer Booster help to clear the field, the Tigers benefitted from the return of QB Cannon Walton and a solid defense to score a 41 – 12 win to advance to the quarterfinals this weekend.
Walton had been absent from the lineup for the last two regular season games with a hamstring injury, but the senior showed no ill effects by faking the handoff on the fourth play from scrimmage and streaked to a 65 yard scoring run and with the Logan Elliott extra point Raton had a quick lead 7-0 with only 1:15 off the timer.
Jal’s QB Daniel Ornelas responded to the Raton score by leading the Panthers on a nine play 60 yard scoring drive with the payoff a nine yard TD pass to Andre Rodriguez. The two point PAT pass was incomplete and Jal was within 1 with 8:05 left in the first period.
Ornelas doubles as the kicker and the junior squibbed the kickoff and surprised Raton with the Panthers recovering on the Raton 34. After a 25 yard screen pass to Coby Vargas, the Panthers had a first and ten from just outside the Raton 10. Raton’s defense then came alive as on fourth and three from the four, Cannon Walton deflected a pass in the end zone and gave Raton the ball at their own 3.
Walton from his own end zone handed of to Wyatt Berry on an en around for a gain to the 19 and then in an almost mirror image of his first long run, Walton went wide, found the blockers and the crease and accelerated for an 81 yard TD and with the Elliott PAT, it was a 14 – 6 Raton lead with 3:29 left in the first.
The Raton defense pitched another 3 and out with the help of Raton’s Jayden Padilla and on their ensuing possession they held the ball for 10 plays, but the drive stalled after getting down to the Panthers five and then driven back by the Panther defense finally turning it over at the 22. Jal reeled off 8 plays before fumbling and Raton’s Santiago Padilla recovers at the Raton 40.
Raton capitalized on the turnover going 60 yards in six plays with half of it a 30 yard run right up the gut by Walton and with 1:30 left in the first half Raton lead 21 – 6.
The second half began with a Raton three and out on Jal’s offense and then Raton took over after the punt. A 19 yard pass to Berry, a 14 yard run from Joseph Saenz, and a 21 yard swing pass to Kael Walton, set up Cannon Walton’s 4th rushing TD from 2 yards out and a doink off the goalposts for a missed extra point had Raton leading 27 – 6 with 8:34 left in the third.
A sack by Harlem Corley of Raton snuffed out the next Jal offensive series, but Jal’s defense bowed their neck and made Raton punt for the first time in the game.
Jal’s offense then marched to the Raton 21 yard line and on fourth down Elijah Kenney stripped the ball from the intended receiver in the Raton endzone.
Raton took over near the end of the third quarter and began a 7 play 79 yard drive, resulting in a TD pass of 39 yards for the first play of the fourth as Walton found Wyatt Berry over the top. The score made it 35 – 6.
In the ensuing Jal drive, a 39 yard completion of their own took it to the Raton 41. But on fourth down a bad snap gave Raton another scoring opportunity. This time an 8 play, 55 yard scoring drive resulting in Cannon Walton’s fifth rushing TD, this one for 3 yards, and a continuous clock score of 41 – 6.
The continuous clock didn’t last long though as Ornelas hit Andre Rodriguez with a short completion, but Rodriguez zigged and zagged his way 85 yards for the score at 5:11. The PAT was no good, and it was 41 – 12.
Jal was intercepted by Raton’s Joseph Saenz with less than a minute to go and Raton ran out the clock for the win and a quarterfinal date with #2 seed Santa Rosa.
