Serving the High Plains
link Rattlers running back Billy Sandoval leaves the Foxes’ defenders behind as he rushes 87 yards for a touchdown during Friday night's 28-17 win over Fort
Sumner at Rattler Stadium.
QCS Senior Writer
The Tucumcari Rattlers, 2-3, are looking for another win Friday night when they take on the 1-3 Cardinals at Eunice.
The Cardinals have a new coach who runs a new system with a spread offense that will most likely rely heavily on its passing game, said Rattlers head coach Wayne Ferguson.
Ferguson said the Cardinals have probably watched earlier film on the Rattlers and taken note of breakdowns in the secondary’s pass coverage.
Ferguson said the Rattlers are not looking at the Cardinals’ record and assuming it is a match they can win easily. He said the team is well aware it will have to be mentally focused and execute its assignments while following through on the fundamentals.
The Rattlers had success in defending the pass during Friday night’s 28-27 win over the Fort Sumner Foxes at Rattler Stadium.
The Rattlers’ secondary came away with two interceptions, one by Zedric Henderson Greene and Billy Sandoval.
The game was won as the Rattlers defense forced Foxes quarterback Jason Hughes to throw an incomplete pass as time expired.
Rattlers defensive end Josh Goode sacked Hughes for a 7-yard loss on the prior play with 34 seconds remaining in the game. The sack forced a hurried tempo by the Foxes as they had exhausted all of their time outs earlier in the final quarter.
“I saw the quarterback begin to roll out and knew I had a chance to sack him,” Goode said.
At the start of the game, the Rattlers overcame an early fumble in the first quarter. The Rattlers’ defense forced the Foxes to attempt a 23-yard field goal that went wide right.
The Rattlers were quick to take advantage of the missed field goal by scoring with a 82-yard touchdown rush by Sandoval.
Quarterback Tyler Ferguson rushed in for the two-point conversion.
“Once I got the ball I saw the opening in the defense and knew to keep low and keep moving my legs,” Lopez said.
The Rattlers rushed for 193 yards and passed for 135 more yards against the Foxes.
The Rattlers scoring was a mixture of run and passing: Running back Daniel Lopez rushed for a two-yard touchdown, extra point Sandoval was good; running back Zach Martinez rushed for a three-yard touchdown, extra point Sandoval was no good; Ferguson threw a slant pass to Lopez for a 62-yard touchdown, extra point Sandoval was good.
Game time: 7 p.m., at Eunice
8-man
The Logan Longhorns, 2-2, will look for their third win of the season Friday night as they take on the 1-4 Mountainair Mustangs at Logan.
The Longhorns won their second game of the season on Friday when they beat the 2-3 Bears 70-34 at Cloudcroft.
Game Time: 7 p.m. Friday at Logan.
6-man
The Grady/San Jon Coyotes, 4-0, are coming off a bye week and will look for their fifth win of the season and second district win Friday at Roy against the Longhorns.
They are 2-1, with a young team due to the loss of seniors, and have a good running back, said Bobby Gomez, Coyotes head coach.
Gomez said the Coyotes coming of the bye week the Coyotes will be rested but will need to get back to the mental focus they had during the teams first four wins. He said the team is eager to get back on the field and continue their season success.
Game time: 6 p.m., Friday at Roy