A potent offense and aggressive defense made for an easy night for the Tucumcari Rattlers

Led by Cameron Montano’s 255-yard, four-touchdown performance, the visiting Rattlers pounded the Dexter Demons, keeping them winless with a 40-0 rout.

The defense lit it up tonight,” said Rattlers head coach Daniel Hutchins. “They got to the Demons quarterback several times in the backfield.”

Montano scored on runs of 4, 12, 63 and 81 yards.

“My legs were so heavy,” Montano said. “I just kept moving them, trying to get positive yards and it turned into a touchdown.

“The offensive line did an outstanding job. They gave me the crease that I needed to break out and get free.”

Quarterback Dalton Wood hit Jantzen Darnell for a 50-yard scoring toss in the second quarter, and running back Clinton Marquez had a 10-yard scoring run for the Rattlers (4-3).

The Demons (0-6) got the ball to the Tucumcari 5 in the final minutes, but the Rattlers put up a goal-line stand to preserve the shutout.

Dexter also had a chance to score off a Tucumcari turnover inside their own 20, but Darnell jumped a route to intercept Clayton Garrett’s pass in the first play of the fourth quarter.

Hutchins said the Rattler defense has shown such improvement over the past two games.

“I can’t say enough about them,” Hutchins said. “I almost don’t want to mention names for fear of leaving someone out. They all played a heck of a game.”