Fort Sumner victorious over Rattlers

Tucumcari committed turnovers during its first three possessions, and that's all a stout Fort Sumner team needed in a 50-0 victory Friday night at Rattler Field in a football game shortened by the mercy rule.

Tucumcari's lost possessions in the first quarter came on two fumbles and one tipped pass that was intercepted. Fort Sumner (2-1) converted two of those opportunities into touchdowns and 15-0 lead.

"We'll take those turnovers any time," smiling Fort Sumner coach Brad Holland said after the game.

Tucumcari coach Wayne Ferguson warned his team about avoiding those types of miscues.

"We preached all week about not being our own worst enemies," he said. "That's what kept Academy (a 27-20 Tucumcari win) in the game. That was a big part of my pregame speech in the locker room - take care of business and do what we have to do to take care of the ball.

"Last week, I said our kids showed some character and grit against Academy. This week we didn't show any. We even had some kids fighting among themselves, which is disappointing."

Any possibility the Rattlers (1-2) could mount a rally for the second straight week was short-circuited by the Foxes' defense. They allowed just 59 yards of offense and three first downs.

"They totally shut us down offensively, no matter what we tried to do," Ferguson said. "We had a hard time getting stuff going.

"We told our kids they would be the toughest test of the year," he added. "Everybody thought because Fort Sumner lost a bunch of kids from last year, they wouldn't be very good. After watching them on film, I knew they would be our toughest opponent up to this point."

One bright spot for the Rattlers was Nathan Estergo, pressed into service on special teams. He averaged more than 18 yards per kick return and looked fearless doing it.

"He ran hard and wasn't afraid to stick his nose in there," Ferguson said.

Ferguson said "at times we played good defense" against the running game, holding the Foxes to fewer than 100 yards. But Foxes quarterback Kane Burney threw for 225 yards and four touchdowns and ran for two more. Izaiah Padilla and Daejon Coronado each caught two TD passes.

Fort Sumner scored three more touchdowns in the second quarter for a 36-0 halftime lead.

The Foxes opened the second half with Burney's 10-yard touchdown run, set up by Padilla's 58-yard kickoff return to Tucumcari's 12-yard line.

On Tucumcari's next play from scrimmage, the Foxes recovered a fumbled snap at the 33. Burney scored three plays later on a 2-yard plunge, and Francisco Chavez tallied a two-point conversion to make it 50-0, ending it via mercy rule with 5:10 left in the third quarter.

"I'm happy we're getting out of this game healthy, especially with our numbers," Holland said, who has fewer than 20 players on his varsity roster.

The Rattlers weren't as fortunate. Running back and linebacker TJ Lampkin aggravated an ankle injury in the first quarter and was sidelined the rest of the game.

Tucumcari's next contest is its Homecoming game at 7 p.m. against Raton (1-2). Socorro defeated Raton 55-7 on Friday.