The Tucumcari Rattlers celebrated homecoming with a 47-14 win over the New Mexico Military Institutes Colts. They didn’t celebrate for long. "We are starting a new season," said Rattlers coach Dub Smith. "We are starting our district run and our record as of now is 0-0. We will face Texico next week and they are a great team. Texico stands between us and a district championship. We need to be real sharp on Friday, play good defense and eliminate mistakes." That game is 7 p.m. Friday at Tucumcari. The Rattlers (5-3) dominated the first half, jumping out to a 21-0 lead. Striking first for the Rattlers was senior quarterback Andrez Apodaca in the first quarter with a leap from the 1. In the second quarter sophomore Lucas Benavidez ran it in from 3 yards out and senior Andre DeBord capped off the half with a 25-yard jaunt. The second half was filled with action the Rattlers started the scoring with 8:11 left on the clock with a 18-yard touchdown run from senior Ryan Fought. However late in the third quarter the Colts seemed to come to life. With 37 seconds left in the third the Colts put together a 49-yard drive ending with a 3-yard touchdown run by sophomore fullback Andrew Trujillo. On the following kickoff the Rattlers fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the Colts to end the third quarter. "We fumbled the ball a couple times and made a few mistakes but we will work on correcting them come Monday," Smith said. "We will work on drills all week to correct the mistakes we have made. A mistake in a crucial moment can cost you game." The Colts tried to capitalize in the fourth quarter but Debord ended it with a third-and-8 interception on Colts quarterback Quinby Johnson was picked off by Debord. The Colts offense later took advantage of a lost Rattler fumble, as NMMI junior Harvey Johnson broke free from three tackles and went 76 yards for a score. Just as it seemed that the Colts were making a come back the Rattlers stepped up their play. The Colts tried an onside kick with 7:22 left in the game, but the Rattlers recovered the ball and junior Adrian Prieto ran 20 yards for a touchdown two plays later. On the following kickoff Rattlers defensive end freshman Matt Pacheco forced a fumble recovered by Tucumcari. Five plays later, Benavidez ran 22 yards for his second touchdown in the game. Prieto made it 20 points in 3:23 with an 8-yard run, coming off a lost NMMI fumble.