Tucumcari football season ends in loss

Tucumcari continued to have matchup problems against the other team’s skill players during a 71-24 season-ending football loss Saturday at Raton.

The Tigers (2-1) raced to a 35-0 lead in the first quarter, partly because of Rattler turnovers and Raton’s superior speed.

“Once they got some space, it was hard to catch them,” assistant coach John Span said of Raton. “They had skill players that made it tough on us.”

Head coach Wayne Ferguson was unable to make the trip to Raton because of an illness in his family.

Despite the inauspicious start, the Rattlers (0-4) saw their best offensive output of the abbreviated season and scored in each of the remaining periods.

Senior wide receiver Josh Infante totaled more than 100 yards receiving for the Rattlers and caught two touchdown passes from senior quarterback Alijah Jimenez.

Senior fullback Colt Garcia scored the other touchdown for Tucumcari on a short rushing attempt, plus scored twice with two-point conversions.

Jimenez scored the other two-point conversion on a running play.

“The kids played hard and didn’t give up,” Span said. “I’m proud of them.”

Other Tucumcari seniors playing their final game were Dyson Clark, Daniel Chavarria and Devin Apodaca.

Raton plays St. Michael’s (2-0) at Raton on Saturday as part of the New Mexico Activities Association’s optional Week 5 schedule. No state tournament was scheduled for football this season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With basketball season looming, Tucumcari elected not to play a fifth football game.