Wolverines seek first win against Foxes

The Texico Wolverines haven’t exactly gotten off to the kind of start they would have liked this season. Meantime, Fort Sumner has come out of the gates strong.

The two old-time rivals get together for the fourth time in the last five years on Friday at Texico in a 7 p.m. start.

The Class 2A Foxes (2-0) have already whipped Class 4A New Mexico Military (34-20) and Class 3A Santa Rosa (31-6) while the 3A Wolverines (0-2) have managed only six points so far in road losses to 4A Portales and former district rival Dexter.

Wolverines coach and Texico alum Ryan Autrey says the problem isn’t hard to figure out.

“If we make the mistakes we’ve been making, we’re in for a long night,” he said.

Fort Sumner, ranked No. 1 in 2A, has generally dominated its larger foes, holding them to a combined 19 first downs and just 388 total yards.

“They’ve got some good kids and they’re always going to play hard,” Autrey said. “We’ve just got to eliminate a lot of mental errors to have a chance. We’ll have to do a good job of tackling.”

On offense, the Foxes are averaging more than 360 yards a game with a relatively balanced attack. Sophomore quarterback Jude Segura has completed 32 of 52 passes so far for 332 yards.

“He’s an athletic kid and does a good job with the football,” Autrey said.

Other key players for the Foxes include senior tight end-defensive end Hunter Sparks and junior two-way lineman Hunter Sturgeon, Autrey said. Meantime, Fort Sumner is averaging around five yards a carry with a ground game led by juniors Justin Downey and Kreston Butterfield and freshman Francisco Chavez.

Autrey pointed out that last week’s 20-6 loss at Dexter was closer than the score indicates, noting the Demons got a clinching touchdown in the final minutes.

Attempts to reach Foxes coach Brad Holland this week were unsuccessful.