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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Friday, May 7, 1999
Eagles place eight on all-district team
PECOS, May 7 -- Eight of nine starters for the Pecos Eagle
girls softball team were named to the All-District 2-4A
squad, in voting Wednesday by district coaches in Van Horn.
Sophomore pitcher Alexa Marquez was named the district's
Most Valuable Player, after the Eagles won the 2-4A title
with a 9-1 record. Marquez was 12-5 on the year and had all
10 decisions during district. Coach Tammy Walls said Marquez
had 52 strikeouts and had a 1.33 earned run average, while
batting .622 at the plate.
"They didn't want to select and all-district player at all,
but I couldn't see how they couldn't pick Alexa," said
Walls, who had hoped to place more players on the first team
squad.
As things turned out, four of the seven other Pecos players
were named to the first-team all-district squad, while the
other three received second-team honors.
Junior Katrina Quiroz was selected as first-team shortstop,
sophomore Ashley Salcido was chosen at second base and
freshmen catcher Rebecca Wein and center fielder Kathy
Maldonado were also first team selections.
Named to the second team for the Eagles were two other
freshmen, in outfielder Mireya Medrano and first baseman
Jessica Rodriguez, while sophomore Valerie Gonzales was the
other second team pick, at third base.
District runner-up Clint also placed eight players on the
first and second team squads. The Lions, who finished with
an 8-2 mark, were represented by pitcher Eric Morales, first
baseman Michelle Tullins and third baseman Michelle Franco
on the first team, while second baseman Marissa Arnold,
shortstop Denise Duran, catcher Amanda Bravo and outfielder
Claudia Bravo were second team selections.
The other first team picks in the outfield were Ruth
Semital of Fabens and Monica Navarette of El Paso Mountain
View, while the other second team picks were Fabens' Mary
Helen Ceballos at catcher, Mountain View's Jennifer
Mascarois at first base, and Fabens' Naomi Roman and
Canutillo's Maria Hurtado in the outfield.
The team was selected on Wednesday, after Pecos was
eliminated by Pampa and Clint lost to Dumas in the area
round of the Class 4A playoffs. Pampa beat El Paso Parkland
earlier this week to advance to the Region I-4A semifinals
while Dumas lost to El Paso Ysleta in quarterfinal play.
Parkland opened the playoffs with a win over San Elizario
the third place team in the 2-4A standings.
The All-District 2-4A baseball team was also chosen on
Wednesday, but will not be announced until the district's
three playoff teams -- Pecos, Clint and Fabens -- complete
post-season play.
PHS seniors get awards at banquet
PECOS, May 7 -- Five Pecos Eagle seniors were honored with
the top awards Thursday night, at the annual Pecos High
School All-Sports Banquet, held at Bessie Haynes Elementary.
Senior quarterback Oscar Luna received the Doc Lunday
Football Sportsmanship Award, while Lucio Flores the Craig
Woods Award for football and track, and Alonzo Valencia was
given the Joe Bob Kelton Award, for football and academic
achievement.
For the girls, Liz Parent received the Joe Shoemaker Award
for overall participation in sports during her four years at
Pecos High School, and Shaye Lara received the Norma Matta
Fighting Heart Award for volleyball.
The list of all-district awards was longer this year than at
any time in the past several years, as the Eagles won or
shared team titles in football, volleyball, tennis, golf,
softball and baseball after moving from District 4-4A to
District 2-4A this past season.
"There have been a lot of negative comments saying we should
have won in this district, but nothing is given you, you
have to earn it," Williams told the audience. "We went out
there and worked for this success, and it should make the
community proud of them."
Guest speaker Dr. Chet Sample of Sul Ross State University
noted Pecos' trend-setting in basketball back in the 1950s,
when the Eagles integrated the University Interscholastic
League's state tournament with Bubba Ephriam in 1957, and
told the students they needed to give their best effort all
the time in order to success later in life.
"The things you do today will affect your life for a long
time," said Sample, who cited his experience in basketball
at Wayland College as helping him to later earn his
doctorate degree in kineseology.
Eagles look at own, opponents' pitchers
PECOS, May 7 -- Pecos Eagles coach Bubba Williams and his
assistants plan to take a look at all four of their pitchers
tonight, when the Eagles host the Alpine Bucks, and then
take a look at the pitchers for the Dumas Demons and
Plainview Bulldogs on Saturday, as they await their area
round playoff opponent.
Pecos and Alpine will meet at 7:30 p.m. tonight, in the
first of two playoff practice games between the teams.
They'll play the second at 7 p.m. on Monday at Kokernot
Field, prior to the start of post-season play for both teams.
"We're going to go two, two and two," Williams said
Thursday. "We'll pitch Josh (Casillas) for two innings, then
look at Chacho (Oscar Rodriguez) for two and Louis
(Valencia) for two, and try and get Pifi (Montoya) one
inning."
For Casillas, who figures to start the Eagles' playoff
opener next Friday, it will be his first work in nearly two
weeks, since shutting out Clint, 2-0,
to clinch the District 2-4A title and first round bye for
Pecos. Rodriguez last pitched on April 27 in a 4-1 win over
Alpine, while Valencia and Montoya have each started just
one game since district began, with Valencia beating El Paso
Mountain View, 14-4 on April 20 and Montoya shutting out San
Elizario, 11-0 last Saturday.
The Eagles face the Bucks once already in regular season,
dropping a 6-5 decision at the Monahans Sandhills Tournament
in early March. Casillas ran into control problems and was
replaced by Valencia, who was hurt by his defense in the
fifth inning, when Alpine scored four unearned runs and won
on a Cougar McBride two-run homer.
Buster Winn earned the victory and Adam Llanez picked up the
save with two innings of scoreless relief.
Pecos comes into the game with an 18-5-1 record and having
won their last 11 straight games, including their 10-0 mark
in district. Alpine, meanwhile, won the District 3-3A title
with a 9-1 record and are ranked seventh in the latest Class
3A poll. The Bucks are 20-2 on the season, losing to Kermit
in district play and dropping a pre-district 6-3 decision to
Clint.
In-between today's game and Monday's contest, the Eagle
coaches will be scouting the Plainview-Dumas bi-district
series, which begins this afternoon in Dumas and concludes
Saturday at Plainview. The winner will take on Pecos next
week in the area round.
Williams said if the Demons win, the best-of-three series
will probably be played in Lubbock. He said Plainview would
also be a best-of-three series, but those games would most
likely be in Roswell, N.M. -- about a 150 miles drive for
Pecos and a 170-mile trip for Plainview.
Tuieni had new job set before death
By JAIME ARON
AP Sports Writer
IRVING, Texas, May 7 -- Mark Tuinei was headed home to
Hawaii, hoping to teach youngsters the same skills that
helped him become a three-time Super Bowl champion with the
Dallas Cowboys.
A meeting with Kale Ane, the football coach at Punahou
School in Honolulu, was scheduled for today. Ane was going
to offer Tuinei a job as an assistant coach and Tuinei told
friends he was going to take it.
But early Thursday, tragedy struck. A friend found Tuinei
unconscious in a car at his home and immediately called for
help. By the time paramedics arrived, it was too late. The
39-year-old Tuinei was dead.
The Collin County medical examiner said the cause of death
won't be known until Monday or Tuesday at the earliest, once
an autopsy and toxicology tests are finalized.
There was no word about memorial or funeral services.
Friends and former teammates remembered ``Tui'' (TWO-ee) as
a fun-loving man who cared deeply about others. They also
admired his toughness and how he overcame adversity to
become a two-time Pro Bowler.
``He was such a great friend, a great teammate and a
wonderful person,'' quarterback Troy Aikman said. ``He was
one of the most-liked guys who has ever played in a Cowboys
uniform. He was one of those guys everybody loved.''
Growing up in the town of Nanakuli, the 6-foot-5, 320-pound
Tuinei threw his fists more often than blocks. He tried for
a fresh start by going to UCLA, but two years and several
fights later he transferred to Hawaii.
Suspended one year and injured the next, Tuinei wasn't
drafted by the NFL. The best he could get was an invitation
to Cowboys training camp in 1983, along with 84 other
hopefuls.
Tuinei, who played defensive line in those days, defied the
odds and made the team, even seeing action in 10 games.
Coaches later decided his future was on offense, and by 1987
he became a starter.
Tuinei eventually settled in at left tackle, the most vital
spot on the line because it protects the quarterback's blind
side. Beginning in 1989, that quarterback was Aikman. A year
later, Tuinei's duties included opening holes for running
back Emmitt Smith.
With Tuinei anchoring the line in front of Aikman and Smith,
the Cowboys won Super Bowls in 1993, '94 and '96. Tuinei
missed only nine games from 1989-96.
Injuries eventually caught up to Tuinei, slowing him in 1997
and causing the team to release him in April 1998. He wanted
to come back one more year to set the team record for
longevity, but his body wouldn't allow it.
Tuinei appeared ready to turn his life in a new direction by
going home.
``He was hoping to return to go back to school at the
(University of Hawaii) and it looked like a good mix,'' said
Ane, who in past years worked several clinics in Hawaii with
Tuinei.
Bill Bates, Tuinei's teammate all 15 years in Dallas,
marking the second-longest tandem in NFL history, said
Tuinei would've been a great coach.
``He had great pride with me in saying he was a coach, too,
now,'' said Bates, who became a Cowboys assistant last
season. ``I think he's definitely going to be up in heaven
coaching.''
Bates was one of several former teammates who said Tuinei
was like a brother to them.
``He was one guy who lived life to the fullest,'' Bates
said. ``I've never met a person who spoke negatively of Mark
Tuinei. We're all going to miss him so, so very much.'
Daryl Johnston said he saw Tuinei smiling again on
television Thursday afternoon.
``That's the way we want to remember Mark,'' he said.
``That's how he'll always be to me -- a teammate, a friend
... someone who helped me through times when I needed
somebody to look to, someone who showed me the right way to
do things and what it took to be successful in life.''
Rich Miano, who played at Hawaii with Tuinei before an NFL
career with the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and
Atlanta Falcons, said Tuinei had begun teaching others those
same lessons.
``He really cared about young people,'' said Miano, who ran
a week-long clinic with Tuinei in American Samoa. ``He just
wanted to give back.''
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 news@pecos.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 1999 by Pecos Enterprise
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