Rattlers take district loss

Five turnovers spelled doom for Tucumcari in a 50-0 district loss Friday to a state-ranked Dexter team during the Rattlers' final home game of the season.

The Demons (7-2) led 42-0 at halftime and scored another touchdown and a two-point conversion early in the third quarter to end the game via mercy rule.

Tucumcari fell to 1-8 overall and has gone four straight games without scoring after a 35-33 overtime loss at Santa Rosa on Sept. 20. The Rattlers totaled just 21 yards of offense, while the Demons amassed 316.

Tucumcari lost three fumbles, threw one interception and turned the ball over another time when a bad snap kept the punter from making the kick, leading to the Demons tackling him on Tucumcari's 1-yard line. That set up the final touchdown to end the game. Several other Dexter touchdown drives came on a short field after Tucumcari's lost possessions.

Rattlers quarterback TJ Lampkin was under siege much of the game; he was tackled for a loss seven times.

The Rattlers remained shorthanded with just 21 varsity players, in part because of lingering injuries to senior running back and linebacker Robbie Hartmann and junior lineman Devin Apodaca kept them sidelined.

"We played pretty well at times in the first half - moved the ball and played pretty good defense at times," Tucumcari coach Wayne Ferguson said. "I know we're shorthanded, but we quit playing at times, and it steamrolled."

Dexter coach Arturo Duran said he could relate to Tucumcari's injury problems.

"We had a couple of starters who are out, but we had kids who stepped up and performed," he said. "The effort they showed was outstanding.

"It's tough when you go through that," Duran continued, referring to Tucumcari. "He's doing the best he can with the players he has. I wish him nothing but the best."

The closest Tucumcari came to ending its scoring drought was when running back Charles Prieto, with Dexter leading 42-0, broke through the line for a 43-yard run before being tackled from behind at Dexter's 24 late in the second quarter.

Lampkin then was sacked on successive plays, and another scramble by him gained minimal ground at the 33. Tucumcari punted instead of trying a fourth-down play.

Dexter nearly scored after the halftime buzzer on a series of lateral passes for a 55-yard gain before the ball carrier was dragged down at Tucumcari's 40.

Ferguson said that play never should have started; a timekeeper mistakenly stopped the clock for several seconds, apparently forgetting the clock-running rule when one team has a 36-point lead.

The Rattlers finish their season at 7 p.m. Friday at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. The Colts (5-4) fell 22-7 Friday to Tularosa, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com with a 7-1 mark. Tularosa is tied with Dexter in District 4 with a 2-0 record.

Before the game, Tucumcari seniors participating in fall sports, along with their parents, were honored:

Football seniors: Hartmann, Lampkin, Julian Vargas, Camden Sandoval, Jeremiah Cordova, Ryan Birch, Briceida Enriquez and Aubrey Sandoval.

Volleyball: Mariah Ruvalcaba-Vasquez, Tianna Peterson, Emily Lopez, Jasmine Jones, Chantal Gardea and Aaliyah Brown.

Cross country: Ashley Shipley, Joe Martinez, Alexander Lujan, A'Leaya Lucero, Erin Encinias and Lezit Castillo.

Cheerleading: Ruvalcaba-Vasquez, Peterson and Kayleagh Morris.