2023 Team Preview: Rio Rancho Rams
In this article:
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>Rio Rancho 2023 Preview</strong></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>Head Coach</strong>: Nate Pino </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>Mascot</strong>: Rams </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>Twitter</strong>: @_RRHSathletics; @RR_Rams_Athlete; @natemp83</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>Colors</strong>: Navy Blue and Hunter Green </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>2022 Record</strong>: 7-5 (6A Quarterfinals) </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>Overview</strong>: Seven years have passed since Rio Rancho last won a state championship in football, and for some Rams supporters it probably feels like an eternity. Of course, they've appeared in the Class 6A state championship twice since then (2019 and 2021) but lost to crosstown rival Cleveland both times. Last season was one of transition for the Rams as many of the players who led Rio Rancho to a few feet of the mountaintop graduated in the spring of 2022. But a new crop of players are beginning to grow up and could lead the Rams back to prominence.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Junior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='613752' first='JJ' last='Arellano']</strong> emerged in the second half of last season as a talented dual threat quarterback. However, he suffered a serious injury in Rio Rancho's quarterfinal playoff loss at Centennial and only recently was cleared by team doctors to participate in all full team activities. As a result, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274972' first='Noah' last='Nelson']</strong>, who started at QB in the first half of 2022, will likely begin the season as the Rams starter. When Arellano is comfortable and ready to go, the Rio Rancho coaching staff will have a decision to make on who the QB will be. Nelson displayed improved poise and a greater understanding of his progressions during the summer.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='590563' first='Rayce' last='Ramirez']</strong> is back at running back following a solid junior campaign in 2022 and he should again fuel the Rams' ground game. Promising sophomore <strong>Ethan Rolon</strong> is the backup. Speedy senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='590564' first='Anthony' last='Raymer']</strong> leads the wide receiver corps. Raymer ran in the 4.5 range at summer camps and should be a handful for opposing defensive backs all season long. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='275082' first='Dominic' last='Valencia']</strong> and junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1259000' first='Jace' last='Pitt']</strong> give the Rams a reliable trio catching the football. <strong>Michael Santos</strong> will be the tight end. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The offensive line is filled with juniors, starting with left tackle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1257335' first='Jack' last='Warble']</strong> and guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1118245' first='Ronald' last='Thomas']</strong>. Juniors <strong>Javier Camarena</strong> and <strong>Jose Zapien</strong> are battling for starting spots, giving the Rams the possibility of starting four juniors on the O-Line. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='815957' first='Jose' last='Ontiveros']</strong> is the center.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Defensively, the Rams return most of their defensive front seven. Defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='590594' first='Xavier' last='Provencio']</strong> earned all-state and all-district honors last season and will be counted on to do it again. <strong>Michael Cordero-Gill</strong> will line up at the opposite DE spot. Senior ILB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1103708' first='Ryan' last='Brown']</strong>, who has offers from all three New-Mexico-based D2 programs, spearheads the linebacker corps. He'll be joined on the second level by the hard-nosed <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='817417' first='Andrew' last='Gustafson']</strong> at OLB.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The secondary will feature plenty of new faces. They improved as 7-on-7 season went on. Safety <strong>Michael Jacques</strong> has enjoyed an outstanding summer. <strong>Vicente Tafoya</strong> has the other safety spot. Cornerback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='815950' first='Diego' last='Montano']</strong> had six interceptions in 2022. Sophomore <strong>Quinten McKinley</strong>, younger brother of former Rio Rancho standout Jaylen McKinley, will compete for starting CB job as well as junior <strong>Colton Baca</strong>. Look for <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='274972' first='Noah' last='Nelson']</strong> to play some snaps at safety in addition to his QB duties. He saw action there during 7-on-7 season. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>2023 Schedule</strong>: Rio Rancho opens the season with a showdown against 6A runner-up La Cueva. Consecutive road trips to Las Cruces (Organ Mountain) and El Paso (Eastlake) highlight early September. Hobbs visits Rio Rancho on Oct. 15 for an intriguing non-district matchup. The following week Farmington comes to town. District play begins Oct. 6 at home against Atrisco Heritage.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Aug. 18 at La Cueva</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Aug. 25 ELDORADO</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Sept. 1 at El Paso (TX) Eastlake</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Sept. 9 at Organ Mountain (Sat.)</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Sept. 15 HOBBS</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Sept. 22 FARMINGTON</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Oct. 6 ATRISCO HERITAGE*</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Oct. 13 at Cibola*</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Oct. 20 at Volcano Vista*</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Oct. 27 CLEVELAND*</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>* District Game </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>Coach's Comments</strong>: “Noah has really improved with his poise. He has a better understanding of his progressions. The biggest thing he's working on is valuing the football. He knows when to take shots but when it‘s not there, he'll hold it rather than force it. He has a better grasp of what we need out of him, protecting the football, knowing the offense and putting us in positive situations. . .Our offensive line has juniors almost across the board. They're a group that were dominant as freshmen and they were a really good JV group last year. We like what we see from them. They've committed to the weight room. When you do that, you have an opportunity to be successful. They're a smart group that works well together. We're very excited to see what this group will do this year. The fun part is we'll have them for two years. . .Our front seven on defense, we bring almost everybody back. We have some new faces in the secondary, but they're capable. They've grown the most of any position group wen you look at spring ball to the end of summer. We had a bunch of seniors graduate back there, but we've had some guys step up.” – Rio Rancho head coach Nate Pino. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/RR_Rams_Athlete/status/1661447076537053184?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} -->
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/RR_Rams_Athlete/status/1661447076537053184?s=20
</div></figure>
<!-- /wp:embed -->
<!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/natemp83/status/1686586787387617280?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} -->
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/natemp83/status/1686586787387617280?s=20
</div></figure>
<!-- /wp:embed -->
Rio Rancho 2023 Preview
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue Reading
Already a subscriber?
Log in
