LOVINGTON — Junior running back Edgar Medina scored on a 19-yard run with just over six minutes left and Lovington held off Portales 17-14 Friday night in the District 4-3A opener for both teams.

Portales (5-3), ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, mounted a late scoring opportunity only to come up short. The Rams had third-and-10 on the Lovington 11 in the closing seconds when senior quarterback Michael Trujillo scrambled for six yards and went out of bounds just before time expired, giving Portales one more opportunity.

Disdaining a possible tying field goal attempt, the Rams went for it on fourth down, but Trujillo’s pass into the end zone fell incomplete.

Trujillo completed 15-of-24 passes, throwing for two touchdowns with one interception. Junior running back Jesus Davalos finished with 115 yards on the ground.

The Wildcats (5-3), ranked third in 3A coming in, held the potent Rams in check through the first half.

Sophomore quarterback Jacob Jameson scored on a 30-yard run in the first quarter and junior Rafael Herrera kicked a 31-yard field goal midway through the second stanza for a 10-0 lead at halftime.

Portales broke through in the third quarter when Trujillo found senior Nick Bliss for a 9-yard scoring pass. The Rams took the lead on a 25-yard TD strike from Trujillo to senior Brandon Adkins with 8:29 left in the game.

Portales had the better of it statistically, posting a 15-11 edge in first downs and a 261-227 margin in total offense.

Adkins caught six passes for 49 yards and Bliss hauled in five for 93.

For Lovington, Jameson completed 14-of-21 passes for 128 yards and added an additional 58 yards on the ground.

Junior running back Dominic Moreno caught six passes for 98 yards.