Rio Rancho grinds out a win over Cibola in 1-6A opener

September proved to be an extremely rare month in the recent annals of Rio Rancho High School football. It was a month without a single win on the ledger.

That will not be the case in October.

The Rams and Cibola grinded their way around Nusenda Community Stadium on Friday night for well over two quarters, but No. 6-ranked Rio Rancho eventually found daylight, ending a three-game losing streak with a 25-15 win over No. 9 Cibola in a District 1-6A opener for both.

“It’s nice to come out here and prove to everyone what we’ve got,” said Rio Rancho’s standout wide receiver Parker Miller, who caught two touchdown passes.

The Rams (3-3) had not won since Aug. 29 at Clovis.

They suffered three understandable losses (Las Cruces, Centennial, El Paso Eastlake), followed by a bye week, so it had been a minute for Rio Rancho.

“We talked about the second season and a fresh start, and that pre-district slate prepped us for what’s ahead,” Rio Rancho coach Nate Pino said. “We talked about staying the course, and I’m proud of the guys for doing that.”

Defenses were in control in the first half, a half that ended 3-all. Cibola had another field-goal attempt go wide left.

An early Cougars gamble backfired on the opening drive of the third quarter, with Cibola going for a 4th-and-1 from its 29. The Rio Rancho defense stood tall, and got a stop.

Two plays later, quarterback Micah Takahashi threw a 29-yard TD strike to Miller, and a trick-play 2-point throw put the Rams in front 11-3. It was still 11-3 late in the quarter when Rio Rancho’s defense recorded an interception.

But Takahashi, in his only real error of the night, threw an ill-advised pass that was picked off by Cibola’s Mack Cash, who went the other way 21 yards for a pick-6 and an 11-9 deficit after the Cougars’ 2-point attempt failed.

Rio Rancho responded with its most important drive of the season. It covered 70 yards, lasted 14 plays, and ended with Miller hauling in a 6-yard toss from Takahashi along the near sideline in the end zone as he got a foot down. With a PAT, Rio Rancho was up 18-9, and possessed an all-important two-score lead.

“It was kind of, like, grit,” Takahashi said. “We just had to see how tough we were and what we were made of right there.”

What happened on the Rams’ next possession all but ended things. A Cibola punt pinned the Rams at their own 1, but two plays later, from the 4, Takahashi on a keeper quickly found the second level and out-sprinted the Cibola defense for a stunning 96-yard touchdown run, and a commanding 25-9 lead with 5:40 left.

“Made a play, made one (defender) miss … I just saw green grass,” he said.

Ending the losing streak, he added, was important for the Rams.

“We’ve had three weeks in a row with tough losses, it was nice to see this week pan out for us offensively,” Takahashi said. “We’ve been working hard on not letting (the losing streak) get to our heads.”

Cibola — 4-2 as its four-game winning streak was halted — did score on a Hayes Baum TD run with 3:46 left in the game, but the Cougars missed on a 2-point try and the Rams ran the clock out on their final possession.

“We just came out and executed (in the second half),” Miller said. “We came out a little flat, but we just all got on the same page and we executed very well.”

Said Pino: “It was a tough football game. We talked all week about enduring and finishing.”

Rio Rancho next visits Piedra Vista, on Thursday night. Cibola next faces Cleveland, on Friday night in Rio Rancho.