Rattlers' comeback against Huskies falls short

Tucumcari’s inability to convert a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference during a 22-20 district loss Saturday afternoon against Hope Christian at Nusenda Community Stadium in Albuquerque.

Daymion Urioste scored two touchdowns — including a 99-yard pass reception — and totaled more than 200 yards of offense in a losing cause for Tucumcari. Kamren Apodaca also scored a rushing TD.

The Rattlers fell to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in district play.

The loss hurts Tucumcari’s chances of qualifying for the Class 3A playoffs, though the Rattlers still could gain a berth by defeating visiting Dexter on Friday or New Mexico Military Institute on Oct. 27.

Hope, ending a six-game losing skid, improved to 3-6, 1-2.

Hope quarterback R.J. Montoya scored two touchdowns.

The Rattlers had an 80-yard touchdown by Urioste in the first half called back due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the other side of the field.

Problems with penalties have been a thorn in coach Tarik Embrack’s side all season.

“I told them we’ve got to limit the mistakes,” he said. “I’ve said this from the beginning: We’ve got to stop beating ourselves with the penalties.”

Embrack said the Huskies ran a bunch of quarterback-draw plays the Rattlers defense had a difficult time stopping. The Huskies held a 16-0 advantage at halftime.

“When we went into the locker room, I told them they were in a position they haven’t been in a long time. ‘You play this game to the best of your ability, or it’s over,’” he recalled.

“I got onto them and told them, ‘You determine if you want to keep playing (in the playoffs) in November or you want it to be over in a couple of weeks.’”

A long Urioste run set up Apodaca’s 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Hope countered with a TD and led 22-8, then watched as the Rattlers whittled away the gap.

Tucumcari’s Julian Griego caught an interception and made a long return to Hope’s 5-yard line.

On fourth-and-long, Urioste caught a short pass from Nick Romero for a touchdown to make it 22-14. A pass attempt from Romero to Apodaca failed during the two-point attempt.

After a long drive, the Huskies seemed poised to ice the game with a touchdown. But Hope’s quarterback fumbled while trying to lean the ball over the goal line during a quarterback sneak, and Tucumcari recovered at the 1-yard line.

That set up a short pass from Romero to Urioste, who outran the defense for a 99-yard touchdown to make the score 22-20.

“He’s one of the fastest guys in the state, one of the best athletes in the state,” Embrack said. “He can do anything when he gets to the edge.”

A Hope penalty during the play gave Tucumcari the ball on its 1 1/2-yard line for the two-point attempt. Apodaca, who frequently moves to quarterback on short-yardage plays, tried to bull his way into the end zone on a sneak to tie the game, but the referees ruled he was just short.

“When I went to go ask them where they spotted the ball, even though (the ball was set up) half the distance to the goal, they tried to tell me they spotted the ball on the 3,” Embrack said. “I don’t see how that even make sense with a 6-foot-3 dude who’s trying to reach over the goal line.”

Tucumcari tried an onside kick to get the ball back, but the Huskies were ready for it and recovered with 5 1/2 minutes left. After that, they ran several running plays to burn the remainder of the clock.

Tucumcari will play Dexter in a district game at 7 p.m. Friday in the Rattlers’ regular-season home finale. Dexter (6-2, 1-1) lost 22-8 Friday to NMMI, which took over first place in the district with a 3-0 mark.

Embrack said his team will need to tighten its defense to have a chance against the Demons.

“I do believe Dexter is one of the better teams in the state,” he said. “If they do what they do best, and that’s run the ball with a quarterback option and spread the field, we’re in trouble. We have to figure out how to stop the run.”