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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Monday, October 8, 2001
Eagle girls tame Lions in rematch
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
The Pecos Eagles started their 2001 volleyball season with very little
going right. The Clint Lions began it with very little going wrong.
But how you start a season isn't as important has how you finish _ provided
you turn things around in time. And Pecos Eagles' coach Becky Granado is
hoping the Eagles' recent turnaround continues going the way it did on Saturday,
when Pecos swept Clint, 15-3, 15-10, to begin the second half of the District
2-4A season.
"They did much better in the second game. I was proud of them," said Eagles'
coach Becky Granado, whose team has started strongly in each of their district
matches so far, then struggled after that. This time, Pecos never trailed
in either game, though they did allow Clint to rally from 3-0 and 8-3 deficits
in the second game to tie the score, before closing out the game with five
straight points.
While the Eagles and Lions came into the game with identical 3-2 district
records and similar regular season marks, Pecos had struggled in the early
going in pool round tournament play, and won just four of their first 19
matches. Clint, meanwhile, had played a much tougher schedule, including
a win over traditional District 3-4A powerhouse Pampa, and won a pre-district
match over El Paso Mountain View, the team picked to battle the Lions for
the 2-4A title.
But a few unexpected losses before the start of district, and the loss
of two starters who quit the team after Clint's three-game victory over Pecos
in the 2-4A opener, have left the Lions battling with the Eagles and Fabens
for second and third place behind Mountain View.
Clint still has senior hitter Collanne Bramblett, last year's District
2-4A Most Valuable Player, but in both games on Saturday the Eagles were
more than able to hold their own during Bramblett's first trip along the
front line, and then were able to keep the Lions from doing much damage later
in the games when she rotated back up front.
"I think it was Tiana (Terry) and somebody else who were getting their
hands on it and slowing her (spikes) down. It would be tough to slow her
down all the time, but I think we did a good job."
The loss of No. 2 hitter Marissa Arnold also meant the Eagles didn't have
to worry much about Clint's hitters once Bramblett went to the back line.
"They were a lot different team than we played the first time and that was
to our advantage. They couldn't generate any offense."
Terry had a couple of kills at the start of both games, and the Eagles
lead 4-2 in the opener and 3-2 in the second game when Bramblett went to
the back line. Pecos was able to open up the margin to 12-2 by the time Bramblett
got back up front in the opener, but didn't take as much advantage in the
second game, allowing Clint to rally once Bramblett got back up front.
Leslie Rodriguez and Christina Arenivas had kills and Victora Gomez added
an ace serve during the run in the first game, while Clint had all kinds
of problems passing the ball off serves. In the second game, the Eagles had
their own problems spiking the ball into the net at times, before finally
getting things going.
Bramblett had a pair of kills for points during the run, and a couple
of unforced errors by the Eagles allowed the Lions to tie the game. Pecos
then was able to break serve and go up 12-10 on a serve by Kathy Maldonado
and a spike by Becca Wein, who would finish off the match with a kill after
a bad relay by Clint's Korina Cardona and Bramblett, who by then had rotated
back to the back line.
"It helped that they had a one-man block, and our kids were able to take
advantage, which was nice to see," said Granado. "It's about time we started
taking advantage of that situation."
The win puts Pecos alone in second place in the district standings at
4-2, and gives them an 11-17 season record. Clint is 8-15 on the season and
falls into a tie for third at 3-3 with Fabens, who host Pecos on Tuesday
night.
While the varsity match only lasted about 45 minutes, the Eagles' freshmen
and junior varsity squads played a couple of marathon matches on Saturday.
The ninth graders lost to Clint, 15-8, 16-18, 15-8, while the JV defeated
the Lions, 15-13, 9-15, 15-4.
Bears make Mustangs pay for mistakes
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
After seeing the wrong things happen at the wrong time to themselves
six days earlier, the Balmorhea Bears turned things around on Friday
night and made the Sands Mustangs pay for their first half mistakes
against the Bears.
Balmorhea, which suffered a couple of key turnovers in the first half
of their 48-24 loss to Trent on Sept. 29, took advantage of a pair of first
half fumbles by Sands to score two touchdowns, and used a third fumble midway
through the third quarter to score again and grab a 38-6 lead, on the way
to a 46-33 home field victory over Sands, in the final pre-district game
for both teams.
The Mustangs and Bears both came into the game with 2-2 records and both
were minus a couple of key players going into Friday's game.
"We were kind of worried only having 12 players that we were going to
wind up being worn down a little. But we were able to get the lead and it
worked out in the long run," said Bears' coach Ennis Erickson, whose team
lost players to both injuries and grades going into their match-up against
Sands, the team favored to win the District 7-A title.
Both teams ended up going to the air more than normal, though for Sands,
the passing game was absent for a while after their opening drive. "They
did a good job on us defensively, but we also missed a lot of blocking assignments,"
said Sands coach Clint Looney, whose team was stopped twice on short-yardage
fourth down runs in the first half to go along with the three fumbles, all
in the Mustangs' end of the field.
Erickson said after going the entire second half against Trent in the
spread offense with success passing the ball, "We planned to throw it a little
bit more than in the past," but not from the spread formation.
"Everybody's gotten into a pattern where we're going to run in a tight
formation, so we came out and passed," he said. "Plus we only had three healthy
backs and Isaiah (Rodriguez) was having flu-like symptoms this week, so we
really only had 2½ healthy ones. We figured if we went down the field
passing that would take a little bit of wear off our running backs."
The Mustangs took a 6-0 lead less than two minutes into the game on a
17-yard over-the-shoulder touchdown catch by Dusty Floyd on a Jeremy Renteria
pass. Renteria was 3-for-5 for 52 yards on the drive, but wouldn't complete
another pass until he hit Nate Looney for a 31-yard TD late in the third
period.
In-between, Balmorhea's Jerry Mendoza was 11-for-17 passing with a pair
of touchdown throws, and would add a third TD toss after Looney's 31-yard
score. Mendoza's first scoring pass came on a 4th-and-1 pass to
Jourmain Matta from 2-yards out, which tied the game at 6-6. The Bears then
stopped Sands on downs and went up 14-6 on a 19-yard run by Rodriguez after
taking over the ball at midfield.
Then the mistakes started for the Mustangs. Gilbert Ybarra fumbled the
ball two plays after the ensuing kickoff, with Matta recovering for the Bears.
A holidng call wiped out Rodriguez' second TD run a few moments later, but
he would score anyway on the first play of the second period, off a 12-yard
pass from Mendoza.
Sands was then stopped on downs again after driving to the Balmorhea 20.
This time, the Mustangs were able to hold the Bears after another Rodriguez
touchdown was wiped out by a holding call, but two plays after that Ibarra
was hit and fumbled again, with Ivan Rodriguez falling on the ball at the
Sands' 14. Balmorhea's Robbie Mendoza scored from six yards out a few plays
later, and Jerry Mendoza added the two-point kick for a 30-6 lead.
Sands' Chance Nichols would intercept Jerry Mendoza on the first play
of the second half, but Sands gave the ball right back, as Renteria was picked
off by Mendoza on a deep pass to Floyd. Sands then stopped Balmorhea on downs
but lost their third fumble of the game two plays later as Ivan Rodriugez
recovered a Joe Luis Gonzales miscue at the 25. Adriel Roman scored from
a yard out five plays after that, and the Bears widened their lead to 32
points.
Renteria was able to find Nate Looney behind the Bears' defense a less
than a minute later to get Sands back on the board, and Looney would break
through for a 51 yard TD run as the third period ended, after Mendoza's TD
pass to Arturo Rodriguez and two-point kick made it 46-14.
Sands would fumble the ball once more deep in their own territory, just
after stopping another Balmorhea threat with their own fumble recovery as
the fourth period began. But the Bears then fumbled again, with Catlin Barraza
recovering at the Mustangs' 11, and Sands then marched 69 yards for their
fourth TD of the game, an 11-yard pass from Renteria to Ibarra with 3:10
to play.
The Mustangs would then force Balmorhea to punt and scored their last
TD at the one minute mark, on a 2-yard pass from Renteria to Floyd, cutting
the lead to 13. But the Bears were able to recover the ensuing onsides kick
and run out the clock.
"This is a really big win for us, because this is the first time in a
while we've beaten a team that was supposed to beat us," said Erickson, whose
team is at home again this Friday to face Dell City, in both the District
8-A six man opener and the 2001 homecoming game for Balmorhea.
at Balmorhea
Sands 6 0 15 12 —33
Balmorhea 14 16 16 0 — 46
First Quarter
San. - Floyd 17 pass from Renteria (kick failed), 1:35.
Bal. - Matta 2 pass from J. Mendoza (run failed), 4:35.
Bal. _ Is. Rodriguez 19 run (J. Mendoza kick), 6:55.
Second Quarter
Bal. _ Is. Rodriguez 12 pass from J. Mendoza (J. Mendoza kick), 0:06.
Bal. _ R. Mendoza 6 run (J. Mendoza kick), 7:36.
Third Quarter
Bal. _ Roman 1 run (J. Mendoza kick), 5:08.
San. - Looney 31 pass from Renteria (Floyd kick), 5:55.
Bal. _ A. Rodriguez 9 pass from J. Mendoza (J. Mendoza kick), 9:37.
San. _ Looney 51 run (Casas pass from Floyd), 9:55.
Fourth Quarter
San. _ Ibarra 11 pass from Renteria (kick failed), 6:50.
San. - Floyd 5 pass from Renteria (kick failed), 9:00.
San Bal
First Downs 9 11
Rushes-Yds 33-187 38-201
Passing Yds 134 150
Passes 11-15-1 14-21-2
Punts-Yds 1-30 1-17
Fumbles-lost 4-4 4-2
Penalties-Yds 1-10 2-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - Sands, Looney 12-108, Ibarra 16-58, Gonzales 5-21. Balmorhea,
Is. Rodriguez 14-106, R. Mendoza 13-72, Roman 8-25, J. Mendoza 3-(-2).
PASSING _ Sands, Renteria 11-15-1-134. Balmorhea, J. Mendoza 14-20-1-150,
Is. Rodriguez 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING _ Sands, Floyd 4-50, Woods 4-35, Looney 1-31, Ibarra
1-11, Casas 1-5. Balmorhea, Humphries 5-58, Matta 5-25; A. Rodriguez 2-36,
Roman 1-19, Is. Rodriguez 1-12.
MISSED FIELD GOALS _ None.
Pecos swimmers split with Montwood in opener
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
Depth, which was an asset to the Pecos Eagle boys swimming team in
recent years, turned into a liability on Saturday, in the team's season
opener against El Paso Montwood, while depth on the girls side was an
asset for the Eagles, as they won their meet with the Rams while the boys
were beaten by Montwood at the Pecos High School swimming.
The boys won six of the 11 races against Montwood, but were out-pointed
by the Rams, 94-76. The girls, meanwhile, took four firsts in their 11 events
but still managed to outscore the Rams by a 98-72 margin.
"I thought some of our times were pretty good, and better than what I
expected," said Eagles' coach Terri Morse. "I knew depth-wise it was going
to be tough on the boys because Montwood had more swimmers. Then again, if
we had done a little better in some of the close events it might have been
a little bit different."
"I thought our freshmen girls did a good job. It was their first meet
and they were a little nervous, but they handled it well," Morse said. "It
was a learning experience and it's going to get better for them."
Both Eagle teams won two of their three relays. The girls captured the
200 medley relay by .25 second over Montwood, and were second in the other
two races. Teddie Salcido, Catherine Minjarez, Rachelle Eisenberg and Betsy
Lujan won with a 2:07.50 time, while in the 400 freestyle relay, Eisenberg,
Lujan, Kelsey Holt and Jessica Minjarez won by 19 seconds, with a 4:16.94
time over the Eagles' `B' relay team of Rebecca and Amie Reynolds, Susan
Moore and Sara Wein.
Eisenberg also took first place in the 100 yard breaststroke, with a 1:18.45
time, and Catherine Minjarez won the 100 yard butterfly with a 1:11.32 time
for the Eagles' other first place finishes.
She, Lujan, Salcido and Holt were second by just under one second in the
200 freestyle relay, with a 1:53.70 time, while the `B' relay team of Rebecca
Reynolds, Amie Reynolds, Chyloe Martin and Jessica Minjarez were third and
the `C' relay of Lauren Wein, Camilla Alvarado, Ashley Horsburgh and Ashley
Carrasco was fifth.
Lauren Wein Martin, Horsburgh and Carrasco were edged by .61 seconds by
Montwood for third in the 400 freestyle, finishing with a 4:55.72 time, while
Wein, Martin, Carrasco and Rebecca Reynolds were third in the `B' medley
relay.
Aside from their first place finishes, Catherine Minjarez was second in
the 200 individual medley and Eisenberg placed third in the 200 freestyle.
Other individual results for the girls were Jessica Minjarez second and Sara
Wein fourth in the 200 freestyle; Salcido third and Carrasco sixth in the
200 medley; Holt second, Amie Reynolds third and Cassady Bradley sixth in
the 50 free; Moore second and Alvarado sixth in the 100 free; Lujan second,
Holt third and Horsburgh fifth in the 100 freestyle; Jessica Minjarez second,
Amie Reynolds third and Sara Wein fourth in the 500 free; Salcido second,
Lauren Wein third and Moore fourth in the 100 backstroke and Rebecca Reynolds
second and Martin fifth in the 100 breaststroke.
The boys only had enough swimmers for one relay in each event. Gary Garcia,
Will Ogelsby, K.W. Winkles and May Key won the 200 medley relay by just under
4½ seconds, with a 1:48.99 time, while Garcia, Ogelsby, Patrick McChesney
and Daniel Quintana won the 400 freestyle relay by just .06 seconds over
Montwood, with a 3:42.68 time. In the 200 free relay, Pecos' team of Winkles,
Quintana, Key and Trey Edwards lost by .06 seconds to the Rams' `A' team,
finishing with a 1:41.02 time.
Individual winners included Oglesby in the 200 medley with a 2:12.17 time
and the 100 butterfly with a 57.56 time; Key in the 50 free with a 23.68
time and Winkles in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:09.19 time. He was also
third in the 200 medley while Key was second in the 100 freestyle.
Other finishers for the Eagles included Quintana second and Garcia fourth
in the 200 freestyle; Edwards, fifth in the 50 freestyle; McChesney, third
in the 100 fly; Chance Fincher, fifth in the 100 free; McChesney, second
and Quintana third in the 500 freestyle; Garcia second and Edwards fourth
in the 100 backstroke and Fincher fifth in the 100 breaststroke.
"The boys understand they're going to have to do better with their individual
events, because the numbers come into play," said Morse, whose team will
be at home again on Thursday for their second dual meet of the season, against
Monahans starting at 6 p.m.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail newsdesk@nwol.net
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Copyright 2001 by Pecos Enterprise
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