Rattlers struggle with errors

It's tough to find a silver lining sometimes, but Tucumcari coach Wayne Ferguson tried after Friday's 21-0 defeat to Dexter.

"Games like tonight are difficult but we know they are helping us prepare for district play," Ferguson said.

The visiting Demons (3-1) rolled out 418 yards, and only punted twice in the victory.

"The guys have to work harder on being mentally strong to avoid committing costly errors," Ferguson said.

One such error, a holding penalty, erased what would have been an 18-yard rushing touchdown by Rattlers running back Seth Martinez.

The Rattlers ended up getting nothing later in the drive, when a pass by Casey Carter was intercepted at the 5.

The Demons posted 95-yard rushing touchdown by running back Gustavo Macias on the ensuing drive.

"The guys tried to tackle the runner up top, instead of engaging and wrapping him up," Ferguson said. "We work on tackling all week, and the guys have to transition what they've learned from practice and apply it in the game."

The Demons also got touchdowns on a 45-yard pass from Sergio Ramirez to Jarren Amaro and a 2-yard rush by Macias.

Martinez led the Rattlers with 150 yards of offense, 120 of them on the ground.

However, turnovers - two fumbles, two interceptions, - troubled the Rattler offense. The Demons only scored on one of those turnovers, but it wasn't much of a moral victory.

"We have to take care of the ball, we can't continue to have scoring situations slip away due to turnovers," Ferguson said.

Eight-man

The Logan Longhorns offense found its rhythm in the first half of Friday night's game against Boise City but ran out of steam at the falling 60-14 to the Wildcats at Logan.

"We were able to run the football well in the first half, scoring twice and holding a 14-0 lead into the second quarter," said Scott Dean, Longhorns head coach.

Dean said things were going well for the Longhorns (0-4) early on in the competition against the Wildcats. However, he said the team, with only 11 players suiting up, began to tire as the Wildcats came back with big play after big play.

"It is hard when you have guys playing both ways," Dean said. "Our offense had to fight for yards in the second half of the game, while trying to contain the Wildcats' offense."

Dean said he is not making any excuses, neither is the team, they know the schedule has been tough pitting them against some of the top ranked teams in the state early in the season. He said several key players are getting healthy and he hopes to have a full roster (17 players) in a few weeks.

"We are getting healthy, hopefully at the right time to win those crucial games as district approaches," Dean said.

Dean said the team will travel Saturday to Albuquerque to play the 1-1 Foothill Falcons. He said the Longhorns are expecting a tough game against the Falcons who were able to play against a strong Carrizozo team, losing by one point.

Game time: 1 p.m., in Albuquerque at 1200 Hazeldine South East near the Central New Mexico Campus.

Six-man

Following a bye week the San Jon/Grady Coyotes will look to return to the win column after a 45-28 loss on Sept. 8 at Reserve.

The Coyotes, 1-1, will travel Saturday to play the New Mexico School for the Deaf's Roadrunners at Santa Fe.

Game time: 2 p.m., at Santa Fe.