Tucumcari junior running back Lucas Benavidez is tackled by Texico senior Brett Anderson for a short loss in the first half, during Friday night's game at Texico’s Field of Dreams. Texico won 48-7.

Tucumcari freshman Angelo Montano takes the hand off from junior quarterback Alex Hutchins during Friday’s game against Texico High School. Texico won 48-7.

Texico running back Edgardo Meza throws a stiff arm to get past the tackle of Tucumcari sophomore Jakus Martinez for a long gain in the second quarter of Friday’s game at Texico. The Wolverines won 48-7.

TEXICO — The Texico Wolverines had some trouble finding the energy they mustered in their 28-14 upset of then-No. 1 Santa Rosa last week.

Still, they had too much talent and experience for an extremely young Tucumcari squad Friday night, rolling to a 48-7 win over the Rattlers in a District 6-2A matchup.

Junior Seth Bailey scored four touchdowns — two rushing, two receiving — as the Wolverines (8-0, 2-0 district), now ranked No. 1, stormed out to a 34-0 halftime lead.

Meantime, Texico’s defense sacked junior quarterback Alex Hutchins three times — two by senior nose guard Mark Rivera — for 43 yards in losses in the first half and limited the Rattlers (3-6, 0-2) to one first down in that time.

The 6-foot-1, 192-pound Bailey divides time on offense as the fullback in the wishbone and as a slotback receiver. He caught three passes for 37 yards — including scoring passes of 13 and 11 yards from senior quarterback Brett Anderson — and rushed 11 times for 75 as Texico outgained the Rattlers 357-133.

“Usually, I’m more of a run-blocker,” Bailey said. “They were leaving the veer open a lot, and Brett was making the right reads.”

Junior Edgardo Meza ran for 82 yards and senior Mario Posada added 78 yards on the ground. Posada ran 30 yards for a score on the first play of the second quarter and returned a punt 69 yards to the end zone late in the half.

Tucumcari, which had only three juniors and two seniors in uniform, regrouped at halftime and Hutchins led the Rattlers on two second-half drives, the first covering 60 yards in nine plays and ending in a 7-yard TD pass from Hutchins to freshman wide receiver Angelo Montano.

The second drive, though, ended on downs after the Rattlers had second-and-goal on the Texico 1.

“We’ve had that all year,” said Rattlers coach Daniel Hutchins, who is Alex Hutchins’ father. “We’ve driven on teams all year, but that’s where you see our youth.”

He noted that the Rattlers had a potential touchdown pass dropped late in the half, setting up fourth down and forcing a punt, which Posada returned for a score.

“That’s a 14-point (swing) right there,” Daniel Hutchins said.

Texico coach Mike Prokop said he was concerned about maintaining intensity after last week’s emotional road win.

“It’s a long season,” Prokop said. “It’s the people that handle things that get to the playoffs.

“This is a motivated group. I don’t have to do a lot to motivate them. We have good senior leadership.”

Alex Hutchins completed 17-of-40 passes for 146 yards for the Rattlers, with freshman Jakus Martinez catching six for 71.