Rattlers come from behind

Fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns by Caleb White and TJ Lampkin fueled the Tucumcari football team to a come-from-behind 27-20 victory Saturday afternoon at Albuquerque Academy.

On paper, it appeared the Rattlers (1-1) dominated in the trenches against the Chargers (1-1). Tucumcari totaled 337 yards on the ground and shut down Academy’s rushing game to minus-14 yards.

For the Rattlers, Robbie Hartmann ran for 112 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, Lampkin rushed for 118 yards and a score on 16 carries, and White ran for 95 yards and two TDs on 12 carries.

With such rushing, Tucumcari quarterback Jesus Ramos didn’t have to do much passing, going 4-for-7 for 28 yards.

But Academy threw for 203 yards to partially offset its anemic ground game and benefited from Tucumcari miscues — including a penalty that nullified a Lampkin interception returned for a touchdown — to keep the game close.

“We didn’t make mistakes in the second half like we did in the first half,” Tucumcari coach Wayne Ferguson said, summing up the victory. “We had a couple of penalties, a couple of miscues; we blew a couple of plays. … We just shot ourselves in the foot too many times.”

The Chargers scored in the third quarter to take a 20-14 lead. After that, it was all Rattlers, with two touchdown drives to retake the lead for good. The Rattlers’ second score came with about two minutes left, and Academy was unable to muster a responding drive.

“We showed some character in the second half,” Ferguson said. “After last week (a 40-14 loss to Escalante), we’re going to take any kind of victory. At least we showed the fortitude that we can come from behind if we have to and buckle down.”

Tucumcari hosts Fort Sumner (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday. The Foxes blasted Cuba 57-7 on Friday and lost their season-opener to New Mexico Military Institute 23-19.

“They’re not as good as they have been, but they’re going to be a solid and well-coached team, and they’ll be aggressive,” Ferguson said.