Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The youthful Tucumcari football team suffered another loss, but it scored its first touchdown of the season during 54-6 non-district loss Friday at Loving.
The Rattlers’ first score of the year occurred in the first quarter after the Falcons scored their second touchdown. On the ensuring kickoff, Daymion Urioste found a seam down the sideline and streaked to a 78-yard score.
“We got some good blocking on the front line, he got around, got outside and took it to the house,” Tucumcari first-year coach Donnie Garcia said. “Any way to score is a good thing.”
Tucumcari (0-3) didn’t find the end zone again, but Garcia said he saw improvement with an offense that has struggled this season.
“We did move the ball a lot better,” he said. “These little steps we’re taking to improve the offense are working.”
Garcia said his team’s offense was hampered by the loss of three linemen to injuries from the previous week’s game, including center Nolan Ryen. A younger lineman was pressed into snapping duties against Loving (3-0), ranked seventh in the latest Class 2A coaches poll.
“We worked it out pretty good,” Garcia said. “Occasionally the ball would be snapped over the quarterback’s head. For the most part, we did move the ball, which was a positive thing for the kids.”
Garcia said his offense advanced twice into red zone against Loving but no further.
“We’re hoping to get all the (injured) players back this week,” Garcia said. “As long as those kids return, we’ll make progress each week. We’ve got to get a little blocking in there — not that we didn’t try. It’s hard for the younger kids when they don’t weigh enough.”
Garcia said his defense played well for a second straight week, forcing two interceptions and recovering one fumble against the Falcons.
“On defense, we’re making more progress,” he said.
“I think the effort is there,” he added. “We’ve just got to keep going and learning what it’s all about.
“As long as we show progress each week, the kids will learn from that and get better and better. We’ve made tremendous strides for these kids to figure out what it’s like to play varsity football. They’re having to grow up fast. We’re getting there.”
The Rattlers travel again this week, this time to Raton for a 7 p.m. game Friday. The Tigers, ranked fourth in the latest Class 3A coaches poll, improved to 3-0 after a 48-8 victory over Trinidad, Colorado, last week.