A shot in the dark

A Hail Mary in the darkness delivered the Rattlers out of the darkness of a near-certain loss.

Tucumcari quarterback Andrew Henderson-Clark connected on a 45-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nathan Griego with no time left to give the Rattlers a come-from-behind 12-7 victory Friday evening over Loving at a darkened Rattler Stadium.

The wild finish concluded a bizarre game where the coaches from both teams agreed to kick off about 20 minutes early and play just two quarters because the stadium's lights were inoperable. Tucumcari head coach and athletic director Wayne Ferguson surmised a lightning strike the previous weekend fried the system's electronics.

Trailing 7-6, the Rattlers got the ball back near midfield with 11 seconds left after the Falcons went for a first down on fourth-and-5 instead of punting. The Rattlers defense tackled Loving running back Dylan Green for a loss to force a turnover of downs.

Henderson-Clark's first long pass to Griego fell incomplete. That set up the final play with five seconds left.

"We went into a shotgun (formation) and told the receivers to get into the end zone and told Andrew to throw it into the end zone, and we might get lucky," Ferguson recalled.

Henderson-Clark said he had several options for the long pass, but he acknowledged having just one in mind - Griego, who caught a 39-yard TD pass earlier in the game.

"I was going to look for nobody else but him," he said. "My faith was all on Nate on that last play because I trust him."

The feeling was mutual for Griego.

"I knew Drew could throw; I knew he could throw a deep pass. I just had faith in him," he said.

After the snap, Henderson-Clark chucked the ball deep into the near-night sky.

Griego was there waiting for the pass just outside the goal line.

"I looked back, and the ball happened to be right there," Griego recalled. "I caught it, saw the white line and dove for it (into the end zone). He threw it, I caught it, and it was a beautiful moment, man."

Ferguson said he didn't see the touchdown because of the darkness.

"I knew we had a receiver back there streaking behind them, but I didn't see the catch," he said. "I just saw everybody get excited and the referee with his hands up."

Henderson-Clark didn't see much of the outcome, either.

"I was kind of surprised because it was dark; you couldn't see that good," he said. "When he caught it, all sorts of excitement went through my head. It was a great moment."

The touchdown touched off a celebration of Rattler players on the field and Rattler fans in the stands, punctuated by the traditional fireworks blast after a score. Perhaps the fans didn't see the play, but the noise being made on the field led to an unmistakable conclusion - improbably, the Rattlers had won.

On the other sideline, several Falcons players sat in disbelief and dismay.

"They just did a good job executing, and we didn't," Loving coach Tyler Finch said. "It was unfortunate. It was a heck of a game, and I wish we could have played all four quarters, but you can't make excuses.

"Hat's off to Tucumcari; they did what they needed to do under these conditions and got the win."

After the game, Ferguson instructed his players not to entertain the notion their victory was a fluke.

"I told them, 'Don't let anybody take this away from you the way this ended. We earned that victory,'" he said.

Tucumcari scored on its first possession when Griego caught a pass near the sideline and ran untouched to the end zone because of blown defense by Loving.

"It was an audible at the line of scrimmage," Ferguson said of the play. "They didn't cover our receiver, and when they don't do that, we make an audible call from the sideline."

Matthew Calbert lined up to attempt the extra-point attempt for Tucumcari but never had the chance when the snap to the holder sailed high. That missed conversion kept the score 6-0 - a missed opportunity that would seem to loom large.

Early in the second quarter, Loving tight end Amari Benavidez - who would torment Tucumcari's defense for much of the game - caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Kaleb Rodriguez. Benavidez also had a touchdown and a long gain called back because of penalties.

Fernando Lara kicked the extra point after the TD to give the Falcons a 7-6 lead.

Loving moved the ball to the Tucumcari 7-yard line during one late drive, but five penalties in six plays moved back the ball. Finally, on fourth-and-long, Tucumcari's Khobie Salvador and Xzander Garcia combined on a quarterback sack to end the threat.

By then, darkness rapidly was approaching. The only illumination came from security lights at nearby buildings.

Henderson-Clark scrambled for 27 yards to Loving's 35-yard line with about three minutes left, but Tucumcari moved no closer to the goal line.

The Falcons got possession back with about two minutes left and needed a first down to cement their victory. They didn't get it, giving the ball back to the Rattlers for their final and ultimately successful bid for a touchdown.

Tucumcari improved to 1-2 overall. Loving fell to 0-3.

The Rattlers host Raton (3-0) for their homecoming game at 7 p.m. Friday. Raton defeated Trinidad 49-12 on Friday.