Before this season started, second-year Portales head football coach Andy Correll circled Nov. 9 on his calendar, the Rams District 4-3A finale against Lovington. It was a game he thought would decide the district champion — and he was right. “They’ve looked for this game for quite awhile,” Correll said. “We kind of knew, with Lovington being the last game of the regular season — we kind of figured this would probably be for the district championship, so it’s time for them to step up and play. They’ve been looking forward to this for awhile.” Both the Rams (3-6) and the Wildcats (5-4) enter tonight’s game at Greyhound Stadium (7 p.m.) with an unblemished district record of 2-0. “We had another good week of practice much like the last couple of weeks,” Correll said. “The guys are really starting to take off with what we’ve been teaching them all year. It’s time to play.” You may see several similarities when the two offenses take the field tonight. According to Ram assistant coach and defensive coordinator Mark McAfee, the Wildcats spread the field like Portales, and use their quarterback as both a running and passing threat. “Probably their bread-and-butter play is going to be their toss-sweep,” Correll said. “They’re going to try to get their tailback on the perimeter and try to let him make a cut and make something happen.” Since starting the season 0-5, the Rams have won three-of-four games and posted 121 points in those four matches. “We’ve moved the chains,” Correll said. “That’s the biggest thing. That’s definitely our plan this week. We want to keep their offense off the field, eliminate turnovers and just score every time we can.” “We’ve got to stop their quarterback and their tailback,” McAfee said. “They’re going to try to run the ball on us and both of those guys have really good speed. So for us to be successful, we’re going to have to control those two guys.” Both Correll and McAfee talked about time of possession, and keeping the Lovington offense off the field. “I do believe we can throw on them,” Correll said. “But at the same time, I also believe we can run it. We’ll just have to see how things pan out.” “When that happens, as a defense, it makes your job a lot easier,” McAfee said. “If you can run the football then you’ve got a great chance in the playoffs,” Correll said. “And we’re looking at this game as a playoff game. We want to do everything we can do to control the clock, control the ball and take our shots when we want to.” Junior right tackle Adrian Gutierrez is sitting out tonight after suffering a mild concussion last week in Ruidoso. The Rams are also looking to win their first game at home this season. “I look forward to seeing how we respond at home,” Correll said. “It’s senior night, and this may be our seniors’ last game at home this season.” “I’m really excited about it,” McAfee said. “I really hope we show up and continue to play like we’ve been playing.”