Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
State-ranked Ruidoso cruised to an unsurprising 45-0 victory over a young and winless Tucumcari squad, but the Rattlers’ coach saw encouraging signs from his squad.
The Warriors, which improved to 6-1 overall, led 21-0 after the first quarter and 35-0 at halftime. Ruidoso is ranked fourth in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com.
Ruidoso totaled nearly 400 yards of offense. Quarterback Cooper Pritchett was 9-for-12 passing for 212 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran for another TD. Kaden Sago ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns in just eight carries.
Tucumcari (0-7) had its moments, including a sack by Josh Pacheco. Quarterback Nick Romero also connected for several big-yardage pass completions to Kameron Apodaca, who was moved from quarterback to the backfield or wide receiver because of his bigger size.
“It was nice to have a bigger target” for the quarterback, Tucumcari coach Donnie Garcia said of moving the 6-foot-3 Apodaca.
“Nick had some good throws, and we had some pretty positive things happen,” Garcia added. “With Ruidoso being ranked, we still got to play the whole game with them. It was pretty positive for the kids.”
Tucumcari passed for 135 yards during the game, one of its best offensive performances of the season.
However, the Rattlers totaled just 35 yards rushing, were tackled for a loss nine times and couldn’t find the end zone despite three trips inside their opponent’s 20-yard line, mostly because of penalties.
Garcia was a lot more encouraged by what he saw, though.
“We were driving the ball, and we were starting to play together as a team,” he said. “We’ve got to build that continuity between them so the kids understand that playing as a team means a lot. They were supporting each other; no one was hollering at each other. Like I told them at the end, all of this is going to benefit us.”
Tucumcari senior defensive back Santiago Montano suffered a concussion during a tackle. He is required to be sidelined for at least 10 days, but may return to the gridiron before the Rattlers’ next game. Junior running back Antonio Gonzales also suffered a shoulder injury Friday.
Tucumcari has a bye week to help heal up, then is scheduled to host district foe Hope Christian at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14.
Hope Christian (3-3-1) eked out a 29-28 overtime win over New Mexico Military Institute on Saturday. The Huskies are ranked eighth in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com.