Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 1300
Menaul scored 18 unanswered points in the second half to surge to a 24-6 non-district victory over visiting Logan in eight-man football action Friday. The Longhorns committed six turnovers during the game, compared to one for the Panthers. Logan lost three fumbles, two onside kicks and one interception. Menial committed one turnover. “You can’t have as many turnovers as we had and expect to come out on top,” Logan coach Dwayne Roberts said. With the game tied 6-6 after intermission, Logan drove to Menaul’s 6-yard line but lost possess...
Logan's volleyball team on Saturday captured its second tournament title in as many weeks - this time, defeating host Tucumcari in the championship match. The Lady Longhorns overcame an opening-set loss to prevail 17-25, 25-13, 25-14, 25-19 in the finals of the eight-team Tucumcari Invitational. Logan (6-0) also won their Lady Longhorn Volleyball Tournament the previous weekend. Kaylee Williams, the tournament's Most Valuable Player, made a team-high 13 kills and added four aces for Logan. Teamm...
Alex Bueno De La O was Tucumcari High School’s top runner at the season-opening Clovis Invitational cross-country meet Friday, finishing 22nd overall. The junior finished the 5,000-meter course at Ned Houk Park in 20 minutes, 50.24 seconds at the seven-team event. Tucumcari was the smallest-enrollment school at the race. With other Rattler runners, freshman Bryan Carreon Reyes of Tucumcari finished 27th (21:38.04), junior Julian Flores, 38th (24:06.90), sophomore JT Turpin, 44th (27:13.52) and freshman Paxton Smith, 46th (29:41.62). T...
The San Jon volleyball team prevailed Thursday in a five-set battle at non-district foe Dora, equaling the number of wins the Lady Coyotes compiled all of last season. Down 2-1 in sets, San Jon rallied and eventually emerged victorious 19-25, 27-25, 21-25, 25-10, 15-8. San Jon improved to 3-1 overall, matching the number of wins from last season’s 3-19 campaign. Later, during the Tucumcari Invitational tournament, San Jon earned to more wins to surpass last year’s total. (See other story in this edition.) San Jon coach Bobby Kandel said his...
Two freakish lapses in special teams during the second half proved decisive in Tucumcari’s 20-6 non-district football loss Friday at Thoreau. Leading off the second half, Thoreau’s line-drive kickoff went between Tucumcari players and seemingly straight to the Hawks’ Irvin Smith, who ran it 23 yards downfield to Tucumcari’s 23-yard line. That set up Thoreau quarterback Isaac Bear Eagle’s 2-yard touchdown run to break a scoreless tie. Tucumcari coach Tarik Embrack described the quasi-onside kick as a “crazy accident.” “I’ve never seen a play...
Logan took a big first-half lead and largely dominated during a 44-12 victory over non-district foe Questa during eight-man football action on Saturday afternoon. The Longhorns (2-0) led 36-6 at intermission. “The boys played well,” Logan coach Dwayne Roberts said. “I saw some positive things and some things to work on. I’m very proud of the boys.” Logan quarterback Brock Burns threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Aydin Kotara run for 159 yards and a touchdown, and Izaiah Kneitz combined for 110 yards rushing and receiving with a TD. Also...
LOGAN - The Lady Longhorns took a path to redemption Saturday during their season-opening volleyball tournament. First, they dominated defending champion Tucumcari 25-11, 25-14, 25-10 during the morning semifinals. The Lady Rattlers later wound up in third place after downing Grady in five sets. Then the Lady Longhorns after a slow start downed Springer - the team that bounced Logan out of contention for the tournament title last year - by a score of 22-25, 25-16, 25-12, 25-20 in the finals....
For once, Tucumcari won’t be the only team competing in cross country in Quay County. San Jon has joined the fray this fall. Tucumcari and San Jon are scheduled to meet at the Amarillo ISD Invitational on Sept. 9, the Ruidoso Cross County Invitational on Sept. 30 and the City of Natural Lakes Invitational in Santa Rosa on Oct. 28. Tucumcari coach Tim Clark, in his second year, said he has at least five boys and three girls participating in the sport. He particularly excited about Alex Bueno De La O. “He’s been running all summer, and I’m e...
The San Jon volleyball team earned its first victory of the season last week with a 25-13, 25-22, 25-16 decision over district foe Clovis Christian. San Jon improved to 1-1. It was Clovis Christian’s season-opener. “They did well, really started playin as a team more and having fun with it,” San Jon coach Bobby Kandel said. “Our serving has really improved; that was our focus for the game.” The Eagles were led by a pair of freshmen — Reece Robb and Madisyn Kruckeberg — with four kills each. Hannah Medina added seven aces. However, Clov...
The Tucumcari football team and its fans did a lot of celebrating late Friday at Rattler Stadium. Then again, if you'd won your first game in almost two years, you'd do a lot of celebrating, too. The Rattlers, anchored by a stout defense that forced six turnovers, scored five unanswered touchdowns in the second half to roll to a season-opening 32-6 victory over Mescalero Apache. It marked a successful debut for new Tucumcari head coach Tarik Embrack. Tucumcari sophomore back Daymion Urioste...
Tucumcari's volleyball team overcame a 2-0 match deficit and a bad case of jitters by rallying to defeat Fort Sumner 23-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-21, 15-12 on Saturday in both teams' season-opener. Sisters Caylee and Cambree Benavidez led the Lady Rattlers with nine kills each. Haisley Huffman added six kills. July Lafferty added four blocks, and Kirksey Smith totaled three service aces. Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez said it was only the second time her team has defeated perennially tough Fort Sumne...
LOGAN - Logan grabbed a two-touchdown lead before Alamo Navajo even touched the ball during a 50-0 Longhorns victory in nine-man football action on Saturday. Here's how it happened: The Longhorns, after securing the opening kickoff, ran nine plays for 58 yards. Quarterback Brock Burns finished the drive by connecting on a 9-yard touchdown pass to Devin Kotara for a 6-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, the Cougars' returner let the bouncing ball get behind him, then slipped trying to pick it up near...
San Jon’s volleyball team dropped its match 11-25, 15-25, 25-22, 15-25 on Saturday to a taller Roy-Mosquero squad, but the Lady Coyotes’ coach saw encouraging signs with his team. Sarah Archuleta — San Jon’s only senior — led the team with four kills, and teammate Addie Lafferty added three. Dakota Fisher made six assists and served 12 points during the match. The non-district matchup at San Jon was the season opener for both teams. San Jon only has eight varsity players on its roster, and only six suited up Saturday. Meanwhile, first-yea...
It's been a hot summer, but new Tucumcari football coach Tarik Embrack noted that his still-young team will need to keep its cool to have a better chance to succeed this season. Tucumcari will open the season at 7 p.m. Friday with a home game against Mescalero Apache. The Rattlers traveled to Pojoaque for a scrimmage on Thursday, which was Embrack's first chance to see what his players would do in an 11-against-11 situation. Embrack graded his team a "C" in its performance, with "a lot of positi...
Because she has six seniors and nine returning starters, Tucumcari’s volleyball coach holds high hopes for the upcoming season, starting with a home match starting at 1 p.m. Saturday against Fort Sumner. But coach Dana Benavidez, in her eighth season, acknowledged she’s a bit concerned about filling one position: libero. The Lady Rattlers lost Alexus Lafferty at the position to graduation. Lafferty was a four-year starter and multiyear all-district player. Her jump-serves put defenders on their heels, and her quick reflexes on defense pre...
A former Pecos High School basketball coach was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to five counts of coercion and enticement of minors. Joshua Rico, 27, of Pecos pleaded guilty to the five counts on Dec. 22, according to a news release last week from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque. Upon his release from prison, Rico will be required to register as a sex offender and serve a 20-year term of supervised release. A federal grand jury indicted Rico on May 12, 2021. According to court documents, as e...
The New Mexico Activities Association implemented what is being called a “two strikes, you’re out” sportsmanship policy after nearly 80% of its members voted for the bylaw change. The new policy will be enacted during the 2023-2024 school year. “We are glad to see our member schools approve this updated bylaw which coincides with our ‘Compete with Class’ initiative and hope this will help eliminate much of the growing bad behavior,” NMAA Executive Director Sally Marquez stated in a news release last week. The updated bylaw specifies the possibi...
Three of Quay County’s Little League baseball teams competed in the recent District 4 tournament in Las Vegas, with the intermediate, age 11-13 team making finishing second. The age 11 to 13 Quay County All-Stars scored a 14-10 victory over Las Vegas but were ousted after consecutive losses to La Plaza during the double-elimination tournament. Johnny Aughtman, one of the squad’s coaches, said the team looked “really sharp” during the tournament. “We lacked experience. That’s probably what cost us,” he said. “But they had a blast.” The Qua...
A Tucumcari native was among five individuals named Saturday to the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. Danny Villanueva, born in Tucumcari as the ninth of 12 children in 1937, had several big moments of glory for New Mexico State University and then with the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. Villanueva's family moved from Tucumcari to Phoenix just a few days after he was born. Villanueva later played high-school sports in Calexico, California. He kicked a field goal and two extra poin...
Five Logan High School players earned Class 1A all-state honors last week, including junior pitcher and shortstop Kaeden Stoner, who was named Player of the Year. Other Longhorns who landed first-team all-state honors were senior catcher Park Strong, freshman first baseman Mason Wallin, freshman outfielder Aydin Kotara and sophomore outfielder Diego Sanchez. As a pitcher, Stoner sported an 0.95 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings. As a hitter, Stoner hit .455 with 19 RBI and a team-high 44...
Four Mesalands Community College athletes returned home empty-handed after the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming, concluded Saturday. Stampede athletes Andy Guzman and Marco Juarez in the bull riding, Jeremy Hennen in the bareback riding and Bryan Huey in the saddle bronc riding failed to score in any of their competitions during the week. The no-scores had to be particularly frustrating for Guzman, who finished fourth in bull riding at CNFR last year and earned Rookie of the Year honors. Guzman also was champion in the event of...
If Tucumcari High School's new football coach doesn't succeed, it probably won't be because of a lack of effort. Tarik Embrack, who was informed on June 8 he got the job as the Rattlers' gridiron coach, repeatedly used the words "hard work" during a phone interview last week. He said he'll wake up early each day to prepare his players for practices and games. "I expect the kids to give the same energy," he said. "Over time, you develop those habits, you outwork your opponent, study film, doing...
The Quay County Little League All-Stars fast-pitch softball team’s first-ever foray in to the postseason was a short one, with it losing both its games Saturday at the District 4 Tournament in Las Vegas. Quay County, an age 9 to 11 team, dropped its opener 16-4 to Las Vegas on Saturday morning, then was eliminated 19-1 by La Plaza later that day during the double-elimination tourney. Quay County coach Jakus Martinez said nerves and a lack of experience bedeviled his team. “It was the small things, the little plays, that separated us,” he said....
The Logan Longshots, a high-school trap and skeet shooting team in only its third year of existence, won the state title during recent competition at Raton. The 10-member squad competed at the three-day Scholastic Clay Target Program at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton and earned the state-champion varsity trap team award, plus the season-champion varsity trap team award. Coach Jerry Bob Osborn said his team took a slim, 14-bird lead after the first day and managed to build on it over the...
The New Mexico Activities Association board of directors last week proposed bringing the hammer down on member schools that engage in “egregious acts of unsportsmanlike conduct” by teams or spectators. Dusty Young, associated director of the NMAA, stated in an email the proposed changes in the organization’s bylaws must pass a vote by member schools before being implemented. He said that vote will take place “over the next few weeks.” “There was not a specific incident,” Young added, “just something that the NMAA and our member schools have be...