Cleveland’s Tre Watson (11) crosses into the end zone to get the result. Clovis’ CJ Gutierrez tries to chase him down. (Jim Thompson / Albuquerque Journal)
RIO RANCHO – That was the Cleveland Storm … with rust?
On a windy, cold Saturday afternoon that started with snow at kick-off, the storm’s first preparatory soccer game of this cut-off spring season was a resounding success as senior quarterback Jeff Davison scored five touchdowns in a strike against Clovis between 45 and 14.
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And Cleveland, the youngest Class 6A champion in 2019, was quick to talk about how much improvement could be made.
“We have a lot of rust,” said Storm coach Heath Ridenour to his team. And his team seemed to agree.
The presence of rust was not easy to see. According to MaxPreps.com, this was a get-together for the state’s two best teams. It was not difficult to determine which one started the day in first place.
The Storm led at halftime at the spring opener by 31: 6 and dominated the Wildcats (1: 1) from start to finish. Cleveland scored on each of its first five possessions. Davison tossed TD passes of 2 yards and 21 yards to Watson on the storm’s first two trips.
“He’s so fun to play with,” said the Fresno state Watson. “We call him a baby Patrick Mahomes. He has a knack for the game, it is a lot of fun to play with and he always finds an open man. “
Davison scored two TD runs in the second quarter, including one from 15 yards, in the first two quarters for the Storm offensive.
“We started early, and that’s a big deal for us,” said Davison, who was 18 of 23 feet long. “We had a great schedule and we did it pretty well.”
Ridenour sang his quarterback’s praises.
“He’s a three-year starter and it’s the first time I’ve had a three-year starter in the program,” said Ridenour. “And it shows. We gave him the keys to the kingdom this week. We said to him, “You have to make a lot of calls. You will put a lot of pressure on ‘”
Clovis scored a goal in the first and last possession of the game.
Jeston Webskowski, who was tied to the University of New Mexico, shot a 50-yard run in the Wildcats’ inaugural streak and scored in the first few moments to reduce Cleveland’s lead to 7-6. Clovis went for 2 and failed.
Webskowski unofficially finished with 106 yards on 21 runs. He was alongside teammates Jaden Phillips and Ernesto Acuña and Cleveland’s Luke Wysong one of four Lobo recruits under contract in the game. He had a standout game, including a 69-yard TD pass from Davison in the third quarter for a 38-6 lead.
The assault defense with nine returning starters was the unit overlooked on Saturday. It was excellent physically and throughout.
“This is how you play (defense),” said Ridenour. “You will win a lot of football games.”
– James Yodice
CLEVELAND 45, CLOVIS 14
Clovis 6 0 0 8-14
Cleveland 14 17 7 7-45
Classification: Cle, Tre Watson 2 Pass by Jeff Davison (Trey Ortega Kick); Clo, Jeston Webskowski 1 run (pass failed); Cle, Watson 21 Pass by Davison (Ortega Kick); Cle, Ortega 31 FG; Cle, Davison 15 Run (Ortega Kick); Cle, Davison 2 Run (Ortega Kick); Cle, Luke Wysong 69 Pass from Davison (Ortega Kick); Cle, Josh Perry 7 Run (Ortega Kick); Clo, Blake Ross 11 pass from Milo Acosta (Blake Muscato Run). Rec .: Cle 1-0; Clo 1-1.
First runs: Clo 9; Cle 17. Rushes-Yards: Clo 41-184; Cle 32-95. Pass: Clo 1-12-2-11; Cle 18-23-0-275. Total offense: Clo 195; Cle 370. Punts average: Clo 4-26.5; Cle 2-37.5. Fummel lost: Clo 1-0; Cle 2-1. Penalty: Clo 5-43; Cle 7-65.
RIO RANCHO 57, SANTA FE 6: In Santa Fe, Zach Vigil scored three times and quarterback Joey Cave twice as the Rams won the long-awaited debut of head coach Gerry Pannoni.
Rio Rancho led 21-0 after the first quarter and defeated the Demons for the seventh time in as many encounters. Vigil had a quick touchdown and a touchdown that first quarter, and Cave scored a 3-yard run.
The Rams were leading 35-0 at halftime.
The vigil ended at 88 yards over 11 runs; Cave ran 60 yards with 10 runs, and was 9 of 14 that passed 150 yards. The Rio Rancho defense limited Santa Fe to 16 express items and only 42 yards of total offense.
– Gary Herron
RIO RANCHO 57, SANTA FE 6
Rio Rancho 21 14 9 13 – 57
Santa Fe 0 0 6 0 – 6
Classification: RR, Zach Vigil 7 Pass from Joey Cave (Elijah Smith Run); RR, Cave 3 run (run failed); RR, Vigil 6 Run (Zach Benedict Kick); RR, Smith 66 Pass from Cave (Benedict Kick); RR, Vigil, 5 Run (Benedict Kick); RR, Cave 11 Run (Benedict Kick); RR, security, barge blocked outside the end zone; SF, Martell Mann 3 Run (Pass Failed); RR, Fabiano Valdez 11 Fumble Return (Benedict Kick); RR, Dominick Priddy 9 run (no PAT). Rec .: RR 1-0; SF 0-1.
First runs: RR 17, SF 6. Rushes-Yards: RR 33-173; SF 32-16. Pass: RR 10-19-1-162; SF 3-9-1-26. Total offense: RR 335; SF 42. Penalty Yards: RR 7-76; SF 3-35. Punts average: RR 1-40; SF 1-14. Fumble lost: RR 2-0; SF 6-2.
EVEN SATURDAY: In Tucumcari, quarterback AJ Rivera threw four touchdown passes – two to Tyler Wilson – for the Albuquerque Academy (1-1), who defeated the Rattlers 42-7. … In Bernalillo, the Spartans opened their season with a 50-0 win over Gallup. Tristen Ludi-Herrera caught a touchdown pass for Bernalillo and also returned a punt for a score.
SATURDAY RESULTS
Albuquerque Academy 42, Tucumcari 7
Animas 40, Carrizozo 26
Bernalillo 50, Gallup 0
Capital 55, Los Alamos 7
Cleveland 45, Clovis 14
Crownpoint 20, Newcomb 12
Cuba 20, Thoreau 6
Goddard 50, Artesia 22
Hatch Valley 13, Tularosa 8
Hope Christian 49, Hot Springs 14
Moriarty 50, Espanola Valley 0
Mountainair 28, Gateway Christian 18
Rio Rancho 57, Santa Fe 6
Roswell 24, Carlsbad 14
Santa Rosa 40, room 0
Taos 21, Raton 14
Texico 46, NMMI 7
Tohatchi 22, Shiprock 18
