Rattlers rally past Chiefs

The Tucumcari football team and its fans did a lot of celebrating late Friday at Rattler Stadium. Then again, if you'd won your first game in almost two years, you'd do a lot of celebrating, too.

The Rattlers, anchored by a stout defense that forced six turnovers, scored five unanswered touchdowns in the second half to roll to a season-opening 32-6 victory over Mescalero Apache. It marked a successful debut for new Tucumcari head coach Tarik Embrack.

Tucumcari sophomore back Daymion Urioste accounted for 128 yards rushing and receiving and scored two touchdowns. He set up a third TD with a key pass reception. Sophomore teammate Kamren Apodaca also scored two touchdowns.

Tucumcari's win was its first since Sept. 3, 2021, when the Rattlers pulled off a last-second 12-7 victory over Loving in near-darkness after an earlier lightning strike knocked out Rattler Stadium's lights.

The last time the Rattlers notched such a resounding victory was in 2018, when they blasted Albuquerque Academy 44-0.

While his team still is young, Embrack said it's a motivated group that wants to absolve itself of an 0-10 campaign last season.

"We've got a bunch of guys that are hungry," he said. "They want to change the culture. They know how things have been for the past couple of years, and they came out here and played like it."

Chiefs coach Alex Sedillo said his team suited up only 15 players, and the Rattlers wore them down. Playing in 95-degree heat at kickoff didn't help, either.

"Conditioning was a big part (of the loss). We had a lot of guys cramping," Sedillo said.

"I don't think the scoreboard showed exactly what was going on," he added. "But against a 3A team that's well coached with a lot of players, I think we did extremely well for our first game out, holding it to 6-0 all the way to the start of the third quarter."

This year's Rattlers, carrying U.S. and Tucumcari flags, opened the season by entering the stadium through a new, giant inflatable helmet provided by the Diamondbacks Booster Club.

But it was Mescalero Apache that drew first blood, driving 73 yards on its first possession to take a 6-0 lead. Landyn Hiles scored on a 13-yard run.

After that, Tucumcari's defense took the upper hand and never let the Chiefs in the end zone again. The Rattlers made 16 tackles for a loss or no gain, recovered five fumbles and made an interception.

Embrack said his defense showed a lot of enthusiasm.

"I told them earlier that had this 'black Nike energy,'" he said. "The young kids, they know what that is. That means you mean business."

"They made a good adjustment," Sedillo said of Tucumcari's defense.

However, Tucumcari's offense was stuck in neutral during the first half. Embrack acknowledged he initially overthought his offensive approach. He decided to use Urioste more during the second half after talking with athletic director and former Rattlers football coach Wayne Ferguson.

"He told me something I needed to know from the beginning: If you got playmakers, use them," Embrack said. "That's what my offense was supposed to do. I got in love with the fact I had two big running backs, but I forgot about Daymion, I forgot about Kam. I was thinking too hard, thinking too much."

Urioste made his presence known late in the third quarter. On a run to the right side, he turned the corner and outran the Chiefs defense for a 48-yard score. That tied the game 6-6.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Urioste on third-and-long caught a 36-yard pass from quarterback Nick Romero at the 1-yard line. That set up Apodaca, who plays quarterback on short-yardage or option plays, for the sneak for the TD. Tucumcari took its first lead, 12-6, with 6:41 remaining.

Embrack said he tries to take advantage of Apodaca's 6-foot-3 frame near the goal line.

"He's a big dude. Who's going to want to tackle him?" the coach said.

Less than two minutes later, Mescalero's punter, probably seeing a Rattler rushing toward him out of the corner of his eye, whiffed on his kick and Tucumcari defender Shane Jaggers recovered the ball at the Chiefs' 6-yard line.

That set up Antonio Gonzales' 1-yard touchdown run. Romero ran a two-point conversion to make it 20-6 with 4:52 remaining.

Three plays later, Tucumcari's Eric Acosta intercepted a pass and returned it to Mescalero's 23.

A roughing-the-passer penalty and Romero's 11-yard run set up another 1-yard quarterback sneak for a score by Apodaca. Tucumcari led 26-6 with 1:08 left.

Three plays later, two Rattler defenders sandwiched a Chiefs receiver after he caught a short pass, knocking the ball loose. Jaggers, noticing the referees hadn't blown their whistles, scooped up the ball and returned it 33 yards to the Chiefs' 7-yard line.

That set up Romero's 7-yard touchdown pass to Urioste for a 32-6 lead with 38 seconds left.

During the final seconds, players tried to sneak up behind Embrack to dump a cooler of ice water onto him to celebrate the victory. The coach, showing flashes of his former running back speed, foiled that attempt by scampering away on the sidelines.

Sedillo, who was Embrack's assistant at Mescalero Apache last season, said it was fun to coach against a former colleague.

"We like to compete, and we want to win," he said. "He left our kids with a lot of wisdom that they really showed out here, a lot of heart. We wish the best for him and his crew there."

The win touched off celebrations in the stands, field and parking lot. Minutes after the game ended, a bunch of players carried the Tucumcari flag back into Rattler Stadium for a victory lap.

"I appreciate the fans, everyone who showed up tonight," Embrack said. "You could see they're hungry as well for the team to be successful again. That's why I came here."

Tucumcari travels to Thoreau for a non-district game at 7 p.m. Friday. Thoreau, which went 9-3 last season and qualified for the Class 3A playoffs, defeated Zuni 52-0 on Friday.