A few days before Rio Rancho High School varsity boys soccer coach John Shepard's team was to play Clovis, "Shep" said he knew nothing about the Wildcats.

That didn't hurt his team's chances of winning: The Rams rolled over Clovis 4-1, thanks to a pair of first-half goals by Kyle Stephenson that twice gave RRHS the lead, the second to keep.

"That's what I'm talking about, having a young guy step up. It's nice to see that," Shepard said of Stephenson, a junior. Maybe that'll serve as an omen.

Shepard knows even less about the Rams' opponent Friday at 2 p.m., Wesleyan.

"I know they're not from New Mexico," he said, unsure of what state the team, invited with the Rams to a tournament at St. Pius X, hails from. The Rams face Wesleyan (from North Carolina) at 2 p.m. at be Rios Field on the SPX campus.

In the game's 18th minute, a cross-the-field pass from Mike Gonzales to Stephenson gave the Rams a 1-0 lead, but the Wildcats' Brian Aragon tied it about seven minutes later, scoring on the only shot Clovis got off in the first half.

"That was a great shot; you put some side-netting on a ball, you've got to applaud that - that was a great shot."

Spencer Porter played 'keeper in the first half, while Pedro Duran, also facing one shot, kept the 'Cats off the scoreboard in the second half.

Three minutes later, in the 28th minute, Stephenson converted a pass from Nico Muniz to make it 2-1, with the Rams getting the lead to keep.

Mike Gonzales made it 3-1 four minutes into the second half, with Kenny McAvoy credited with an assist.

Mark Vargas nearly made it 4-1 when his shot from about 35 yards out hit the crossbar and deflected away.

Muniz iced the game with about two minutes to play, although Justin Doss came close to yet another goal for the Rams when he broke through the defense, only to shoot the ball over the goal.

"I saw some pleasant surprises; I saw some things I didn't expect to see yet because we've had only four practices," Shepard said. "Some of the boys stepped up nicely already, and I'm pleasantly surprised at that.

"The 'keepers both have been working real well in practice and each has strengths the other doesn't have," Shepard said, when asked about the goalkeeping change at intermission.

"Our fitness and control finally took over; we were able to control the ball and make them do the work," Shepard said of the second half, mostly played on the CHS side of the field.

Headers: The Rams are scheduled to meet St. Pius, the No. 1 team in 4A, Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Ben Rios Field.

... The RRHS junior varsity beat the Wildcats 7-1 in a game played at Rio Rancho Stadium before the varsity contest. Trevor Simpson and Seth Smith each scored twice for the Rams, while Devin Potter and f5reshmen Brian Montano and Andres Dominguez added a goal apiece in the rout.

... Former Rams standout Keith Vargas, Mark's brother and a senior at Eastern New Mexico University, assisted on the Greyhounds' lone goal Sunday, a 2-1 loss to Regis University in Denver. Former Rams goalie Wally Fink is a sophomore forward at Regis, where he is a teammate of junior defender Sean Murphy, also from Rio Rancho and a former St. Pius Sartan soccer player.

... The Rams were fifth in Class 5A in the first coaches poll in the Albuquerque Journal. The top four are La Cueva, two-time defending champ Eldorado, Highland and Sandia.

... After this weekend's tournament at St. Pius, the Rams are idle until next Thursday, when they play in the annual Academy tournament.