Tucumcari opens season Friday

It's been a hot summer, but new Tucumcari football coach Tarik Embrack noted that his still-young team will need to keep its cool to have a better chance to succeed this season.

Tucumcari will open the season at 7 p.m. Friday with a home game against Mescalero Apache.

The Rattlers traveled to Pojoaque for a scrimmage on Thursday, which was Embrack's first chance to see what his players would do in an 11-against-11 situation.

Embrack graded his team a "C" in its performance, with "a lot of positives." No score was kept at the scrimmage, but he recalled that Pojoaque scored four touchdowns to Tucumcari's one.

He said there are many things his team, which was 0-10 last season, needs to work on before its first game, and a big one that emerged last week is composure.

"Our guys need to do a better job of controlling their temper," Embrack said. "What I saw was a lot of pushing and shoving ... a lot of trash talk.

"And as a coach, I think that's a reflection of me. So I got a lot of work to do in that aspect. There has to be something I can do because we're going to lose a lot if I keep allowing them to do that."

Embrack said even if an opponent instigates something, his players shouldn't retaliate because the referees will see that and, at best. flag his team 15 yards for personal fouls or unsportsmanlike conduct or, at worst, eject the player from the game.

"The game has always been about trash talk since it was created," Embrack said. "But you got to be level-headed. You got to be smarter. These guys are going to talk and they're trying to pull you out of character, and you got to be disciplined enough to not let it happen. Let your play do the talking."

At the scrimmage, Embrack said his linemen and skill players performed well.

Of the latter, that included sophomore wide receiver and slot back Daymion Urioste, who peeled off two plays of over 50 yards. Embrack also praised sophomore quarterback Nick Romero but noted he needs to not force passes to his receivers.

He also liked what he saw from sophomore wide receiver Kamren Apodaca, who filled in at quarterback when Romero was "banged up" for a few plays.

Embrack said his offense drove down the field against Pojoaque but suffered back-to-back quarterback sacks. That worsened the Rattlers' field position and forced an unsuccessful pass play on fourth down.

On defense, "we were there almost every play. We just didn't make the tackle," Embrack said. "We actually looked prepared. We had to make some plays and didn't. And I expect that because it's only been a month (of practice). It expect it with a young team."

For Friday's game, Embrack didn't want to reveal too much about his team's offensive gameplay. He allowed that he would play Romero at quarterback, junior Jordan Rincones at running back and senior Antonio Gonzales at fullback. Urioste would play running back but also would be moved around to various spots.

He said he'd use a rotation of junior Jase Aughtman and Apodaca at wide receiver, plus junior Julian Griego at tight end. Apodaca also will play quarterback during run-oriented plays.

Embrack noted his offensive line is a bit small, but those players performed well during the scrimmage.

On defense, "we'll be able to match whoever we play. That's the best way I can put it. We're in a flexible formation. We have the players in position to do that."

Embrack is in a unique position to form a detailed gameplan against Mescalero Apache because he coached the Chiefs during their 2-8 season a year ago before moving on to Tucumcari.

Alex Sedillo, who was the Chiefs' defensive coordinator a year ago, now is their head coach.

"I kind of have an understanding what he wants to do," Embrack said, explaining he changed Sedillo's duties to offensive coordinator right before he accepted the Tucumcari job this summer.

"It's a basic spread. What he's going to do is he's going to spread it out and try to run it."

Embrack anticipates junior Jason Kanseah to be a focal point in the Chiefs' offense.

"I do have a plan for him," he said. "I have two guys that are going to be in a rotation, and they're going to be guarding him at all times, no matter where he goes, no matter what he tries to do."

Another versatile Mescalero athlete is senior Angelo Rocha.

"He's a very good, hard worker ... a very athletic kid that can play anywhere, do anything you need him to do," Embrack said.

Embrack said he has appreciated the support from his Rattler staff and the community during his first few weeks on the job.

"Everyone's been welcoming," he said. "There's a lot of stuff that we got to get in order before this first game that would have been so much better if I had the team since January. But all of you people that I've met so far have made it easier, made it to where I'm a little bit more comfortable."

Home games for the Rattlers include McCurdy on Sept. 1, Raton on Sept. 8 and a Homecoming game against Hozho Academy on Sept. 21. District matchups include Ruidoso on Sept. 29 and Dexter on Oct. 20 at Rattler Stadium. Tucumcari has a bye week on Oct. 6.

Logan football

The Longhorns open their eight-man football season with a home game at 7 p.m. Saturday against Alamo Navajo, though the time or date could change due to an ongoing referee shortage.

Dwayne Roberts, in his fifth year at Logan, returns many players from a 6-5 team, though one big graduation loss is Park Strong, an all-district and all-state player who anchored the defense at linebacker, played running back and handled kicking duties.

Other non-district home games for the Longhorns include Magdalena on Sept. 8 and Dulce on Sept. 22.

The start of district play next month will prove Logan's mettle, as Melrose, Tatum and Fort Sumner each have proved to be state contenders in recent years. Home district games include Melrose on Oct. 13 and Tatum on Oct. 20.