Disastrous series dooms Rattlers

A disastrous sequence of five touchdowns allowed in a seven-minute span Friday spoiled Tucumcari's annual Homecoming game during a 56-0 loss to Robertson at Rattler Stadium.

The game ended midway through the fourth quarter due to the mercy rule, but the Cardinals (3-2) had all but won the game against the Rattlers (0-6) before the first period ended. Tucumcari was hampered by five turnovers and only 29 yards of offense.

The Rattlers' coaches knew their young team faced a tough task before kickoff, with four linemen out of the starting lineup. Two were injured, and another two were sidelined due to academic eligibility or disciplinary reasons.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals drew motivation from a tough 21-13 loss to Ruidoso earlier this month, before a bye week in their schedule.

"We stewed over that for two weeks," Robertson coach Leroy Gonzalez said. "That still was on our minds, and we wanted to get ready for the second half of the season."

Tucumcari trailed just 7-0 more than midway through the first quarter. Then the roof fell in:

• Robertson running back Jesse James Gonzalez scored on a 4-yard run. The extra-point kick made it 14-0 with 5:07 left in the quarter.

• After a three-and-out by the Rattlers offense, a Robertson defender charged up the middle and blocked punter Antonio Gonzales' kick. Nathaniel Gonzalez of the Cardinals recovered the ball in the end zone for a 21-0 lead with 4:12 left in the period.

n Rattlers freshman quarterback Kameron Apodaca attempted a pass up the middle, but Kenneth Montoya intercepted it and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. That gave Robertson a 28-0 advantage with 4:01 left in the period.

• On Robertson's next possession, Gonzalez finished a five-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. That made it 35-0 with 13 seconds remaining in the quarter.

• After another three-and-out Rattlers possession, Gonzales kicked a wind-aided punt of nearly 60 yards. But Montoya picked up the ball, streaked down the sideline, the cut across the field for an 80-yard TD return. That made it 41-0 with 10:05 left in the second period.

After the return, Tucumcari's coaches were heard admonishing their players for their lack of effort on that play.

"It's all heart; nobody gave any whatsoever," one shouted.

Not long after another Robertson touchdown midway through the second period to make it 48-0, Tucumcari's coaches went back to the locker room to talk things over with their team.

"I told them, 'It's got to come from inside. You've got to find your heart and play this game with your heart,'" Tucumcari head coach Donnie Garcia said when asked what he told his squad at halftime.

"I didn't holler at them. I told them yelling at them wasn't going to do any good. They've got to find themselves."

The Rattlers performed somewhat better in the second half, stopping one Robertson drive.

"In that third quarter, they gathered themselves," Garcia said. "We were playing some younger players, but they moved the ball and stopped them once on defense. It's hard, especially when we're playing against bigger kids."

Coach Gonzalez, whose team totaled less than 250 yards of offense because of a short field and Tucumcari's turnovers, said he knew what the Rattlers were up against.

"They fought, but it's tough when you've got a bunch of young guys," he said. "They'll be all right in three years. They've got some freshmen out there that are pretty tough."

What dismayed Garcia was his team had a good series of practices leading up to the game, including new wrinkles in the offense that put more runners in the backfield.

"We worked hard on the (blocking) sleds last week," Garcia said. "We'll keep doing it this week. It's got to pay off for us eventually."

Rattlers senior linebacker and guard Xzander Garcia, overhearing his coach being interviewed after the game, felt compelled to speak up.

"The community needs to know the coaches prepared us," he said. "We just need to be more aggressive, work hard and get everybody up."

"We just need to do it as a team, all together," the coach added.

Tucumcari travels to Ruidoso for a 7 p.m. game Friday for both teams' district opener. Ruidoso (5-1), ranked fourth in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com, defeated Tularosa 43-6 on Friday. The Warriors' only loss was a 26-14 decision at Class 4A power Portales early in the season.