Prep football: Lions whip Rattlers

Santa Rosa’s Stephen Sanchez ran for four touchdowns and more than 200 yards — mostly in the first half — as the Lions drubbed rival Tucumcari 46-0 on Friday night at Rattlers Stadium.

The Lions, 4-1 and ranked third in Class 2A, totaled 386 yards rushing and didn’t throw a pass except for a broken play on a two-point conversion attempt. Elijah Velasquez added 94 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Lions. Santa Rosa made six running plays of 25 yards or more.

The Rattlers (1-4) let a good scoring opportunity go to waste on their first possession. Aided by two Lions penalties and Alijah Jimenez pass completions of 23 and 10 yards to Rod Dunlap, Tucumcari marched to a first down at Santa Rosa’s 9-yard line.

But Jimenez fumbled when a running back in the wrong formation bumped into him. Santa Rosa recovered on the 15.

“Offensively, we had stuff there. We just couldn’t execute,” Tucumcari coach Wayne Ferguson said.

Tucumcari managed 90 yards rushing during the game, mainly through Robbie Hartmann’s 68 yards on 19 carries. Jimenez was 5-of-13 passing for 91 yards and one interception.

Four plays after the fumble, Sanchez scored his first touchdown on a 68-yard scamper. Naheim Chico kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Lions lead.

“We let ourselves get shell-shocked,” Ferguson said. “We made (Sanchez) look like an NFL player. They loaded him up the ball, and we didn’t do a very good job stopping him.”

Tucumcari’s next possession was a three-and-out, forcing a punt. Set up by his weaving 53-yard run, Sanchez scored on a 15-yard scamper with 2:11 left in the quarter. Chico made the kick for a 14-0 lead for Santa Rosa.

Sanchez looked comfortable in his role Friday in Santa Rosa’s single-wing offense, but coach Mario Trujillo said he actually was in an unfamiliar spot.

“He had to make an adjustment this week,” Trujillo said. “We had to switch him around, so he was in a position he wasn’t used to. But he’s a strong senior, he’s been with us for a long time and he’s a hard worker, so it was an easy switch for him.”

Tucumcari’s next series failed to do much. On the punt attempt, Dunlap bobbled a low snap and was tackled at Tucumcari’s 20. On the next play, Sanchez ad-libbed after recovering his team’s fumble behind the line of scrimmage and scored with 29 seconds left in the first quarter. Chico’s kick made it 21-0.

Thanks to stout running by Hartmann, the Rattlers moved the ball into Lions territory at the 38-yard line. But Santa Rosa intercepted Jimenez’s pass on second-and-long. Two plays later, Velasquez scored on a 62-yard run. Chico’s kick missed, but Santa Rosa owned a 27-0 lead.

Jimenez moved Tucumcari into enemy territory again with a 15-yard completion to Jesus Ramos to the 37. But Jimenez was sacked for a loss on third down, forcing a punt.

On the next play from scrimmage, Sanchez scored on a 52-yard run. Chico’s kick made it 34-0 with 4:48 left in the second quarter.

The Rattlers moved the ball into Lions territory again with a 15-yard completion to Seth Martinez and a Jimenez scramble for a 7-yard gain to the 38. The drive stalled after four straight pass incompletions.

With only 15 seconds before halftime, Velasquez scored on a 32-yard run to give Santa Rosa a 40-0 lead.

On the opening possession of the second half, the Lions didn’t break off any long runs but marched down the field with running plays. Daniel Esquibel scored on a 2-yard plunge, and Chico’s kick made it 46-0.

The Rattlers defense toughened in the second half, stopping two Santa Rosa possessions without scores.

“We made some halftime adjustments that slowed them down a little bit,” Ferguson said. “I put nine people in the box.”

Tucumcari hosts the Robertson Cardinals (4-1) of Las Vegas at 7 p.m. Friday.