2023 Team Preview: Portales Rams
Photo: Twitter
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<p><strong>Portales 2023 Preview</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Head Coach</strong>: Jaime Ramirez </p>
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<p><strong>Mascot</strong>: Rams </p>
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<p><strong>Twitter</strong>: @PHS_RamFootball</p>
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<p><strong>Colors</strong>: Red and Black </p>
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<p><strong>2022 Record</strong>: 9-3 </p>
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<p><strong>Overview</strong>: After a disappointing campaign in 2021, Portales bounced back strongly last fall with nine wins (2 of the 3 losses were to Lovington) and an appearance in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs. The good times should continue for the Rams in 2023 as most of the major contributors from last season are back. Rising junior (2025) dual threat quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615523' first='Paxton' last='Culpepper']</strong> threw for 2,290 yards and 27 TD while rushing for 265 yards and 7 TD as a sophomore in 2022. Leading rusher Emmanuel Diahn graduated but 2025 RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='613751' first='Kaidyn' last='Cordova']</strong> and 2024 RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1103853' first='Zach' last='Radloff']</strong> are back and they should form a nice 1-2 combination. They got the majority of the carries in the second half of the season when Diahn was injured. Others could join the battle later.</p>
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<p>All of the top receivers from last season return, led by rising seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='591958' first='Zane' last='Mayberry']</strong> (36 receptions), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1103881' first='Andru' last='Ontiveros']</strong> (32) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1103868' first='Braden' last='Beck']</strong> (28), and rising junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1594674' first='Tommy' last='Lopez']</strong> (29). The Rams must rebuild their offensive line, though, with just two starters returning plus another who saw playing time in 2022. Rising senior <strong>Jose Bustamante</strong>, <strong>Abraham Dunor</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='815911' first='Nehemiah' last='Yorfee']</strong> all have experience at the varsity level.</p>
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<p>Defensively, Portales returns all but one starter on defense. DL AJ Lopez is the lone significant loss for the defense. Dunor and Yorfee anchor the defensive line. At linebacker, rising junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='613053' first='Manny' last='Chavez'] </strong>already has 234 career tackles and still has two more seasons remaining. He'll play the MIKE position in Portales' 3-3-5 alignment. <strong>Layton Faust</strong> will be the SAM LB. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615696' first='Rigoberto' last='Holguin'] </strong>will likely be the WILL LB. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275478' first='Devin' last='Diaz']</strong> and <strong>Santino Espinoza</strong> will line up at outside linebacker. Lopez returns at free safety along with Mayberry, Beck and <strong>Xavier Tarpeh</strong> at cornerback. </p>
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<p><strong>Schedule</strong>: Portales plays an intriguing non-district schedule with trips to Albuquerque (Highland) and reigning Class 3A champion Ruidoso to open the schedule. The home opener against West Las Vegas is one of the best 4A-3A matchups this season. Few will be better. They also travel to Eunice for a rare 4A-2A encounter followed by a home game against 5A Valley. The district schedule is challenging with Albuquerque Academy, Bernalillo and Lovington. The Rams end the season with consecutive road games. They play five of six games at home in the middle portion of the schedule. </p>
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<p>Aug. 19 at Highland (Sat.)(Milne)</p>
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<p>Aug. 25 at Ruidoso</p>
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<p>Sept. 1 WEST LAS VEGAS</p>
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<p>Sept. 8 VALENCIA</p>
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<p>Sept. 15 ST. PIUS X</p>
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<p>Sept. 22 at Eunice</p>
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<p>Sept. 29 VALLEY</p>
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<p>Oct. 6 Bye</p>
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<p>Oct. 13 ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY*</p>
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<p>Oct. 20 at Bernalillo*</p>
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<p>Oct. 27 at Lovington* </p>
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<p>* District Game </p>
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<p><strong>Coach's Comments</strong>: “Last season ended earlier than we wanted but we return a lot of dudes. We're hungry and the guys will continue to work hard in the summer. We want to win the summer. We have developed a culture that we expect to work hard and do well. . .Paxton just needs to sharpen his skills and become a good team leader. This will be his second year as the starting quarterback. What comes with that is we expect him to be better at everything he does. His ability to audible will be even better. He enjoys distributing the ball and he has very good vision. . .Offensive line is the position we have to make sure we're running on all cylinders. . .[player_tooltip player_id='613053' first='Manny' last='Chavez'] is outstanding. He has a nose for the football. He has really worked this offseason to get bigger and stronger. Having him coming back at MIKE is super important for us.” – Jaime Ramirez.</p>
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Portales 2023 Preview
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