Raton cruises to 44-6 victory

Despite missing two players and a third starter sidelined early in the game with an injury, state-ranked Raton cruised to a 44-6 victory Friday night over Tucumcari during the Rattlers' annual Homecoming game.

Meanwhile, Tucumcari's already-thin offense became thinner when the Rattlers lost fullback Khobie Salvador to a knee injury in the second quarter. That was after that Rattlers lost tailback Charles Prieto to a shoulder injury the previous week.

As a result, the Rattlers (1-3) totaled just 86 yards of offense and three first downs. Tucumcari's only touchdown - a 3-yard run by sophomore Antonio Gonzales - came after a botched punt attempt by Raton (4-0) midway through the fourth quarter gave Tucumcari a short field.

A bright spot for Tucumcari coach Wayne Ferguson was freshman running back Jordan Rincones led the team with 30 yards rushing on six carries. Another freshman, Jordan Pena, had a team-high eight carries.

"Our freshmen stepped in and did a little better than some of our upperclassmen did," Ferguson said.

The Tigers, ranked fifth in the Class 3A coaches poll and averaging nearly 40 points coming into Friday, sputtered early.

"We were pleased with the way we played defensively in the first half," Ferguson said, but lamented his team's offensive woes, including three turnovers. "(Raton) had a short field, and we couldn't get anything going offensively."

Coach Tory Giacomo attributed the slow start to two players sitting out the game after getting into a sidelines fight the previous game against Trinidad. The Tigers also lost a tight end and middle linebacker to an injury early in the game Friday.

"Once we got going, we picked it up a little bit," Giacomo said. "We need to do a better job preparing our second-team guys. If someone goes down, we gotta make sure we have that leadership and have guys in place ready to do their job.

"What we're trying to preach to our guys is to face adversity," he added. "We handled it tonight all right, but I wasn't pleased with some things out there. We've got to clean a lot of things up and prepare guys so they're in the right spot."

Led by quarterback Dylan Quartieri's three touchdown passes and a fourth he ran in himself, Raton led 22-0 by halftime and 36-0 before the end of the third period.

In addition to Quartieri, Raton was blessed with a skilled receiver in Chance Middlebrook, who caught a touchdown pass and two-point conversion, and fleet running back Ahsan Maso, whose long runs helped set up Raton scores. Their big plays often kept Raton's drives going.

"It seemed like every time we made a mistake, it was someone who broke down in their responsibilities," Ferguson said. "But we're improving a little bit, week by week."

Tucumcari's lone score came midway through the fourth quarter. A bad snap forced Raton's punter to try to run with the ball, but he was tackled for a 12-yard loss deep in Tigers territory. A penalty gave the Rattlers a first down at the 11.

Rincones had a 9-yard gain to get close to the goal line, and Gonzales punched it in on the next play for the TD. Tucumcari's kick on the PAT attempt was blocked.

About 30 minutes before kickoff, the Rattler Stadium's lights on the south end of the field winked out. A local repairman got one of the two lighting sets operating shortly after the game started. As a result, field visibility on the south end was dim but playable. The stadium's lighting system was damaged by a lightning strike last month, and parts to fully repair it are on back order.

Tucumcari's next game is at 7 p.m. Friday at arch-rival Santa Rosa. The Lions (1-3) defeated host Escalante 14-10 on Saturday.

Homecoming

Pregame festivities for Tucumcari's Homecoming had a new twist.

Because the game was scheduled on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks and just a few weeks after than Aug. 26 attack that killed 13 U.S. soldiers in Kabul, Afghanistan, more displays of the red, white and blue were visible during the game, including the Tucumcari fire department using one of its trucks to hoist an American flag high into the air near the north end zone.

Just before kickoff, a group of Tucumcari football players placed American flags beside a group of 13 empty chairs - signifying the 13 recent U.S. casualties - near the field. The public address announcer also asked for a round of applause for all the first responders or veterans in the stands.

For the Homecoming court introduced before the game, senior Amber Owen was named queen, and she was escorted by Reyes Garcia. The other queen candidate was senior Madison Dysart, escorted by Andrew Henderson-Clark.

Candidates were voted on by the football team, and the winner was chosen by the student body.