News|Opinion|
Main Menu|Archives Menu|Classified|Advertising|Monahans|
Monday, October 14, 1996
Big Spring went to the air at the outset to set up their first
touchdown, then rolled up 300 yards on the ground while getting a couple
of gift scores along the way from Pecos, which lost 50-0 in the District
4-4A opener for both teams.
"We didn't execute very well, and I'll take the blame for that," Eagles'
coach Mike Belew said following the loss. "We need to make sure our
execution level is better."
"You've got to give them credit. They're a good football team, but we
didn't execute the way we need to to win," he added.
The Steers set the tone early, stuffing the Eagles on the line and
leaving Pecos little room to run, while opening plenty of holes for
their own running backs, Antwoyne Edwards, Frankie Green and Toma McVae.
But first, they opened things up with a trio of passes.
Gabe Mendoza, making his first start at quarterback for Big Spring,
hooked up early with tight ends Tyler Murphy and C.J. Ashley. He to
Ashley for seven yards on Big Spring's first offensive play, then found
Murphy over the middle for a 30 yard gain to Pecos' 38. Another first
down pass to Murphy followed before Mendoza scrambled for a first down
on a 3rd-and-3 from the Eagles' 8.
Edwards went over on the next play with 7:24 to go in the opening
period, and seven minutes later, Edwards was in the end zone again, off
a nine-yard run to cap a 10-play, 63 yard drive. McVae burst through the
middle for 22 yards on the first play of the drive, and Mendoza was
still able to stumble for a first down after fumbling the snap on a
4th-and-1 at the Pecos 38.
Up 14-0 on two good drives as the opening period closed, the Steers
didn't need to go far to get their final 36 points of the night, with
the first score coming just 1:01 after Edwards' second TD.
The Eagles have gotten four bad snaps in their last three games, and as
the second period opened a snap sailed over Richard Gutierrez' head, and
he was tackled by Josh Fernan at the three. Brock Gee went over from a
yard out three plays later.
The next series for Pecos lasted just two plays, when Jason Abila and
Mark Abila missed on a handoff, with Todd McAdams recovering at the
Pecos 31. A holding call cost Green a 15-yard touchdown run, but Jacob
Rios then gained 11 yards on a draw and Green got his TD from five yards
out moments later.
The problems continued on the next series. Gutierrez was hurt on a first
down run and on the next play Jason Aguilar fumbled, with Gee recovering
near midfield. Big Spring drove inside the 10 before they lost the ball,
as Edwards lost the ball to Mark Abila.
But the Eagles were again stopped by the Steers and got another bad punt
snap, this one over Jason Abila's head, which he fell on in the end zone
for a safety and a 30-0 halftime lead.
"We had some bad luck with our punt snaps," said Belew, who used two
different deep snappers in the second period. "We're just going to have
to keep working on it to get better."
Neither team scored in the third quarter, though the Eagles did have
their only drive of the night. Jason Abila hooked up with Nufie Flores
for a 16-yard completion on a 3rd-and-14 at the 23, and Aguilar would
add a 21-yard dive on a 4th-and-4 a short time later. But the Eagles
couldn't convert a third time, as a throwback pass from Abila to Chris
Matta was sniffed out by Charles Rodriguez for a four yard loss on
4th-and-4 at the 26.
Like their second period scores, the Steers' final 20 points came in a
quick burst in the waning moments of the game.
Edwards got his third touchdown with 4:42 to play. It came off a 1-yard
run and give him 151 yards on his 30th and final carry of the night, and
made it 36-0.
Jason Abila was injured while playing defense on the series, and former
junior varsity quarterback was called into play for the Eagles after a
muffed kickoff left Pecos with a first down on their own 12. Two
penalties and three plays later Luna tried to throw another side pass to
Matta, but this one was picked off by Kade Bowerman, who needed only one
step to get into the end zone with 3:40 to play.
Big Spring's last score was by Green, who broke several missed tackles
on his way though the Pecos defense for a 30 yard score with 1:04
remaining.
Belew said Gutierrez should be all right after his muscle injury, while
adding Abila's sprained toe might be more serious. "Once he came out of
the game we started icing it down immediately," he said. "I hope he'll
be all right, because that would be a big loss if Jason can't play."
The loss leaves Pecos with a 3-3 record, while Big Spring, which had
lost four close games in their first five contests, improved to 2-4
going into their game Friday at San Angelo Lake View, 31-14 winners at
Fort Stockton.
The Eagles, meanwhile, will try to regroup at home this Friday against
Andrews. The Mustangs moved the ball on Sweetwater in their 4-4A opener,
but were shut out by the district's other group of Mustangs, 14-0.
at Big Spring
Pecos 0 0 0 0 - |0
Big Spring 14 16 0 20 - 50
First Quarter
BS - Edwards 1 run (Lawdermilk kick), 4:36.
BS - Edwards 9 run (Lawdermilk kick), 11:49.
Second Quarter
BS - Gee 1 run (Lawdermilk kick), 0:50.
BS - Green 4 run (Lawdermilk kick), 3:03.
BS - Safety J. Abila falls on punt snap in end zone, 9:06.
Fourth Quarter
BS - Edwards 1 run (kick blocked), 7:18.
BS - Bowerman 1 interception return (Lawdermilk kick), 8:20.
BS - Green 30 run (Lawdermilk kick), 10:56.
Pec BS
First Downs 5 22
Rushes-Yds. 34-54 52-300
Passing Yds 65 80
Passes 6-18-1 8-18-0
Punts-Avg 5-29 2-33.5
Fumbles-lost 3-2 2-1
Penalties-Yds. 5-30 4-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - Pecos, J. Aguilar 7-39, M. Abila 11-23, Granado 3-8, Strain
1-1, Gutierrez 8-(-2), J. Abila 4-(-15). Big Spring, Edwards 30-151,
Green 6-72, McVae 7-47, Rios 3-23, Mendoza 5-6, Gee 1-1.
PASSING - Pecos, J. Abila 6-13-0-65, Luna 0-5-0-1. Big Spring, Mendoza
8-18-0-80.
RECEIVING - Pecos, Flores 3-64, M. Abila 1-5, Matta 1-(-4). Big Spring,
Murphy 2-40, Mitchell 2-17, Ashley 2-6, McVae 1-10, Green 1-7.
MISSED FIELD GOALS - None.
PECOS, Oct. 14 -- The Balmorhea Bears bounced back from their first loss
of the season the previous week with a 46-0 victory Saturday night in
Sierra Blanca over the Vaqueros.
The Bears started a little slowly, but still managed 14 points in the
first period, before adding four more touchdowns in the second period to
end the game under the 45-point rule.
Deibaise Mendoza and Arturo Miranda each had a pair of touchdowns in the
game. Mendoza caught a 14-yard pass from Miranda three minutes into the
game, then added a 60-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the second
period, while Miranda had a 75-yard scoring run in the first quarter,
then ran in from 14 yards out with 55 seconds left in the half, allowing
the Bears to close things out before halftime.
"In the first quarter they moved the ball a fairly well," said assistant
coach Ennis Erickson. They got about 50 yards of their 100 in the game
and held it about three minutes, and the second time held the ball a
little bit, but after that, it was pretty quick,"
"Overall we did all right coming back (after the 39-26 loss at
Grandfalls)," Erickson said.
Zane Rhyne had a 14-yard TD run and Chris Cook scored from three yards
out for the Bears, while Miranda added three extra point kicks and Rhyne
had one, following Mendoza's long TD run.
The win improves the Bears to 5-1 on the season going into Friday's home
game against Dell City, which could decide the District 8-A six man
playoff situation for both teams. The Cougars are 1-1 in district after
losing at home in the final seconds to Grandfalls, 49-46. Grandfalls
remains undefeated in 8-A six man play, while the Bears' 2-1 mark ties
them for second with Sanderson and Buena Vista.
The Eagles downed the Longhorns on Friday by a 51-20 score. Balmorhea
goes to Sanderson on Oct. 25, then closes their season at home against
Buena Vista two weeks later.
at Sierra Blanca
Balmorhea 14 32 x x - 46
Sierra Blanca 0 0 x x - |0
First Quarter
Bal. - D. Mendoza 14 pass from Miranda (Miranda kick), 3:08.
Bal. - Miranda 75 run (Rhyne kick), 9:00.
Second Quarter
Bal. - Rhyne 14 run (Miranda kick), 1:34.
Bal. - Cook 3 run (kick failed), 4:04.
Bal. - Mendoza 60 fumble return (Miranda kick), 5:35.
Bal. - Miranda 14 run (Miranda kick), 9:05.
Bal SB
First Downs 9 5
Rushes-Yds. 10-151 20-66
Passing Yds 91 39
Passes 4-6-0 3-8-1
Punts-Avg 0-0 3-29
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-1
Penalties-Yds. 3-20 2-15
PECOS, Oct. 14 -- The Pecos Eagles not only held onto their chances of
earning a bi-district playoff berth Saturday afternoon, thanks to their
second win of the season over the Sweetwater Mustangs, but saw their
hopes improve, thanks to the Big Spring Steers.
The Steers kept their chances of earning a post-season berth alive with
a 16-14, 15-13 win over Fort Stockton. Combined with the Eagles' 15-7,
15-7 win at Sweetwater, it left the Eagles a half game in back of the
Prowlers in the race for the final playoff berth, going into Tuesday
night's match at Fort Stockton.
Pecos was able to bounce back from their poor effort last Tuesday
against Andrews to defeat Sweetwater, pulling away at mid-game both
times. The turned a 6-5 lead into a 14-5 advantage in Game 1, then
opened up a 14-6 lead in Game 2, after the Mustangs erased a 6-1 deficit
with five straight points.
"Gail (Taylor) came in and served, and we got Lori (Marquez) back on
the net and were able to score," Eagles' coach Nora Geron said of the
8-0 streak in Game 2, after Sweetwater rallied to tie. "Tuesday was just
a fluke. Saturday we looked a lot more organized."
Marquez finished with eight kills, while Sherrie Mosby had five and one
block and Ivy Thorp added four against the Mustangs, who again had only
six girls on their varsity squad.
"Sherrie's placing it and going around the blocks with her hits," Geron
said. "She's still putting some into the net when the sets aren't there,
but when the sets are there, she's putting it down."
The Eagles were also without a couple of players, in juniors Marisol
Arenivas and Shirhonda Bell, who were out with an ear infection and a
pulled muscle. "Hopefully, we'll have everyone back for Tuesday," Geron
said.
The win lifted Pecos' record to 3-4 in district, and 11-15 overall,
while Sweetwater is 1-6 and 6-14. The Mustangs did win Saturday's
freshman and junior varsity matches, taking the ninth grade contest in
three games, 15-13, 8-15, 15-3, and the JV by a 16-14, 8-15, 15-7 score.
Return to Menu
State and Regional Sports Pages--San Angelo Standard-Times
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. Neither these AP
Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for
personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for
any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the
transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages
arising from any of the foregoing.
Copyright 1996 by Pecos Enterprise
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@bitstreet.com
http://www.pecos.net/news