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By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Oct. 21 -- Having a breakaway running threat -- even if he's your
only threat -- helps an offense a lot, as one look at Friday's Pecos
Eagles-Andrews Mustangs game showed.
Mustangs Shaud Williams carried the ball early and often in the first
three quarters of Friday's game, and he racked up 248 yards on 26
carries, while scoring three first half touchdowns, as Andrews kept
Pecos winless in District 4-4A play with a 30-7 victory at Eagle Stadium.
The Eagles actually did a better job on defense this week than in their
previous game at Big Spring. But after cutting Andrews' lead in the
second period to 12-7 and getting the ball back, Pecos' offense could do
nothing after a penalty and had to punt the ball away, leading to
Williams' third score and a 20-7 halftime lead.
"He's a good back, but we gave him too many opportunities," Eagles' head
coach Mike Belew said. "Offensively, we had some opportunities, but we
didn't take advantage of them. We stopped ourselves with too many
penalties and unforced mistakes."
Williams, who ran for 275 yards against Lubbock Estacado, went over
1,000 yards for the season with Friday's effort. He began hurting Pecos
from the opening kickoff, returning it to midfield, then picked up 14
yards on his second carry. He got five on a 4th-and-2 at the 22, and
moments later cut through the middle of the line for the final seven
yards to the end zone.
Meanwhile, Pecos' leading rusher, Richard Gutierrez, saw only limited
action on offense after hurting his back a week ago at Big Spring. Jason
Aguilar did most of the running Friday and picked up 12 yards on his
first two carries, but was then dropped for a 2-yard loss by Jeorge
Ramos, leading to a Gutierrez punt.
He backed Andrews up to their own 11, but it took the Mustangs just 11
plays to cover the 89 yards for their second score. A 28-yard run by
Williams got Andrews out of their own end, and on the first play of the
second period, he took a 4th-and-3 pitch and went around left end 25
yards to the end zone.
Pecos stopped Andrews' two-point try after Wayland Mayfield missed the
first extra point attempt, and the Eagles then went on their best drive
in three weeks, an 11 play, 64 yard drive that cut the lead to five.
Aguilar got the Eagles their initial first down with a trio of short
gains, and quarterback Jason Abila got the Eagles out of a 1st-and-15
hole with a 21 yard run. Another 10 yard run by Aguilar got the ball
down to the 17, and after a first down run to the seven by Mark Abila,
Jason Abila rolled right on a misdirection play and hit a wide-open
Chris Matta for the score.
The touchdown picked the defense up, as they broke up an attempted
screen by David Kessler on 3rd-and-6 at the Andrews 39, forcing a punt.
But after taking over at the own 26, the Eagles were immediately hit
with an illegal motion call, and this time, the 1st-and-15 hole was too
much to overcome.
Three Abila passes fell incomplete, and Williams returned Gutierrez'
punt 24 yards, to the Pecos 42, then broke through the right side for
another 25 yards on the next play. A motion call set Andrews back to a
1st-and-15, but Williams gained 10 right after that, then added a pair
of 4-yard runs to reach the end zone, and a two-point run to boost the
Mustangs' lead to 13 with 1:11 left in the half.
The Eagles had one more chance to score before the half, thanks to a
roughing the punter call, but Jason Abila's pass was picked off by
Stormy Jackson as time ran down. It was Andrews' 10th interception of
the season (Matta's TD was only the second passing touchdown the
Mustangs allowed), and they would violently get No. 11 in the fourth
quarter, as Brandon Long grabbed an Abila pass at the Andrews 8 as he,
Chris Terry and Pecos' Nufie Florez all collided.
By that time, the Mustangs had scored their final touchdown, on a 1-yard
sneak by Kessler after his only completion of the night, a 4-yarder to
Nathan Pena. Williams had 149 of his team's 178 yards in offense at the
half, and while Andrews' other runners ended up with 150 yards, most of
that came after the game was already decided. Danny Wheeler gained 81
yards, 76 of that in the final period, including a first down run on
Andrews' last scoring drive that ended with a 30-yard Mayfield field
goal, and a 29-yard run to the Pecos 1 on the next-to-last play of the
game.
Both teams are now 3-4 on the season, while Andrews goes to 1-1 in
district and hosts Lake View on Friday, while the 0-2 Eagles go on the
road to face fifth-ranked Sweetwater, 48-6 winners at Fort Stockton on
Friday.
at Pecos
Andrews 6 14 7 3 - 30
Pecos 0 7 0 0 - |7
First Quarter
And. -- Williams 7 run (kick failed), 4:32.
Second Quarter
And. -- Williams 25 run (pass failed), 0:07.
Pec. -- Matta 6 pass from J. Abila (Gutierrez kick), 5:45
And. -- Williams 4 run (Williams run), 10:49.
Third Quarter
And. -- Kessler 1 run (Mayfield kick), 8:48.
Fourth Quarter
And. -- FG Mayfield 30, 4:06.
And Pec
First Downs 20 9
Rushes-Yds. 56-407 29-105
Passing Yds 4 44
Passes 1-4-0 4-15-2
Punts-Avg 1-40 4-32.8
Fumbles-lost 5-2 2-1
Penalties-Yds. 8-65 5-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Andrews, Williams 26-248, Wheeler 10-81, Yandell 9-42, Pena
8-31, Lucas 1-5, Kessler 2-0. Pecos, J. Aguilar 18-56, J. Abila 5-30, M.
Abila 5-16, Reyes 1-3.
PASSING -- Andrews Kessler 1-4-0-4. Pecos, J. Abila 4-15-2-44.
RECEIVING -- Andrews, Pena 1-4. Pecos, Flores 1-32, M. Martinez 1-7,
Matta 1-6, Gutierrez 1-(-1).
MISSED FIELD GOALS -- None.
By MAC McKINNON
Enterprise Editor
PECOS, Oct. 21 -- There was a football game played in Balmorhea Friday
night that had everything a true-blue football fan would want to see.
It was a fight for survival for a playoff berth in District 8-A, with
the loser not having much hope of getting to the playoffs. It was two
games in one with the first half belonging to Balmorhea Bears and the
second half won by the Dell City Cougars.
There was great defense, lots of scoring, which is typical for 6-man
football, hard hitting, great running and passing and receiving that
would have been envied by many a professional team.
There were amusing moments including one of the smaller Bears trying to
sack Dell City quarterback Abel Valles, who was relatively big and
strong. The quarterback wouldn't go down although the Bear player
wouldn't turn loose. The determination of the Bear defender won out
after what seemed like a long struggle. It was a moment worthy of
America's Funniest Home Videos.
In the end, thanks to a Zane Rhyne pass interception at the goal line in
the waning seconds, the Bears survived, 75-70, in a classic struggle.
Balmorhea took the opening kickoff and marched from their own 29 to
start the scoring. Roger Lopez went the final 16 yards and Arturo
Miranda adding the PAT to give the Bears an 8-0 lead with 8:46 left in
the first quarter.
Dell City was stopped at the Bear 18 on their opening drive, and
Balmorhea took over from that point and drove down to score, hitting pay
dirt quickly on a 57-yard pass from Miranda to Rhyne. Miranda added the
PAT, upping the lead to 16-0 with 6:09 left in the opening period. These
were two of the few extra points that the Bears hit during the game, a
shortcoming that could have cost them the game.
Dell City came right back, and showed they were not going to be easily
put away, as Valles, with his quick feet and strong and accurate arm,
hit Johnny Slaughter for 51 yards. Blake Gentry added the PAT to close
the score to 16-8 with 5:45 left in the first quarter.
It seemed that the first quarter was going to last forever as the teams
marched up and down the field. Lopez took the ball 56 yards on the first
play after the Dell City kick-off for a touchdown. The PAT was blocked
but Balmorhea led 22-8 with 5:34 to go in the opening stanza.
The Cougars came right back, moving from their own 12 and score on a
six-yard run by Javier Parra. Gentry added the PAT and Dell City closed
the gap to 22-16 with 3:15 left in the period.
Lopez then repeated his earlier performance, this time from 47 yard out
on the first play after Dell City's kickoff. This time, the PAT by
Miranda was good, making the score 30-16 with 3:06 left.
The Cougars' next possession ended on an interception by Travis Woodruff
for the Bears at the Cougar 39. Balmorhea went in from there, with
Vincent Calderon getting the touchdown on a 19-yard run. Miranda's PAT
upped the Bear advantage to 38-16 with 1:42 left in the opening quarter.
The Bears' next possession ended on a fumble, but they stopped two
Cougar possessions before taking over on the Dell City 28 and gong in to
score. Miranda went the final 12 yards, and while his PAT was no good,
the Bears now had a 44-16 advantage with 5:18 left in the half.
Dell City was quick to counter with Parra going 66 yards on the first
play after the Bear kickoff. Gentry added the extra points, making the
score 44-24 with 4:39 left in the first half.
Balmorhea took their next possession and drove downfield with Miranda
again scoring from 12 yards out. The kick again failed, leaving the
score at 50-24 lead with 2:49 to go in the second quarter.
The Bears had another chance to score before the half ended as Miranda
intercepted a Cougar pass but the Bears fumbled on the next play and the
half ended.
Down by 26, Dell City opened the second half by driving from their own
14 to score on a 25-yard pass from Valles to Gentry, who added the PAT
to make it 50-32 with 9:10 left in the third. However, Balmorhea
answered right back with at 42-yard TD run by Calderon. The PAT was no
good but the Bears held a 56-32 advantage with 8:37 left in the third
quarter.
The Bears regained possession after stopping Dell City and notched their
ninth touchdown, with Lopez going the final yard. The try for PAT was no
good, but the Bears still had a 62-32 advantage with 4:52 left in the
third stanza.
Dell City moved downfield on their next possession, with Valles passing
to Adrian Cadena for the score and Gentry adding the extra points,
making it 62-40 with 2:43 left in the third quarter. They then tried one
of their many onside kicks, but none were successful. After this one,
the Bears had the ball on their own 34 and moved downfield to score with
Debiasie Mendoza going the final 6-yards. The try for PAT was no good
and now the Bears had a 68-40 lead in the waning seconds of the third
period.
The Cougars drove quickly to score as the final period opened, with the
TD coming on a 14 yards pass from Valles to Parra. Gentry's PAT made it
68-48 with 9:22 remaining, but the Bears answered right back, moving
downfield to score on a 1-yard run by Miranda. The snap was high on the
extra point try, but the holder, Woodruff, hit a desperation pass to
Scott Clark for one-point, upping the Balmorhea advantage to 75-48.
There was 8:43 long minutes left in the game.
That's when Dell City's comeback really began. They scored on a 4-yard
pass from Valles to Conrado Armijo with Gentry's kick making it 75-56.
The Cougars then stopped the Bears and scored on Parra's 1-yard run, and
Gentry's PAT made it 75-64 with 3:53 left.
Again, Dell City stopped Balmorhea and scored, on 35-yard pass from
Valles to Parra. The PAT was no good, but the score was 75-70 and the
Balmorhea crowd was excited. Bear Coach Mike Barrandey had never been so
animated. The Bears had never in recent memory scored so many points and
could lose the game.
Taking over with 1:44 left, the Bears tried to move downfield to score
and kill the clock but a stubborn and determined Cougar defense would
have nothing to do with that. The Bears were stopped on the Dell City 33
with 27 seconds to play. That was enough time for Valles, who finished
with 505 yards passing, but two plays later Rhyne iced the victory,
intercepting Valles' pass at the goal line with only seconds to go.
Both teams have lost to Grandfalls-Royalty so a win was imperative in
order to have a chance at the playoffs. Balmorhea's win kept them tied
for second place with Sanderson, whom they face in Sanderson this
Friday, with the winner likely earning the district's second playoff
berth.
But losing the opening game against the Big Spring Steers was enough of
a wake-up call for the Eagles, who came back to win Games 2 and 3 and
now are within a half-game of their first playoff appearance in four
years.
Big Spring turned a 3-2 deficit in the opening game into a 14-6 victory,
before Pecos' Lori Marquez took over in Game 2, scoring eight points in
a 12-0 opening run, on the way to a 15-2 victory.
The Steers got a little bit more out of their main hitter, Tosha
Wilbert, in Game 3, but after she led a comeback that cut a 12-4 lead to
13-11, the Eagles were able to pull it out, breaking serve and scoring
on a Marquez block of Wilbert, then ending it, 15-11, on a spike by the
junior.
"We're just learning how to win," Eagles' coach Nora Geron said of her
team's slow start. "We don't know how to win. We don't have anybody on
the court who has ever been to the playoffs."
The Eagles also are trying to learn to win at home. They came into
Saturday's match with a 4-9 record on their own court, and appeared
headed for their 10th loss after the opening game.
Pecos took a 2-0 lead on a Marquez spike and a bad spike by Wilbert. But
after going up 3-2 on a Gail Taylor kill, the Eagles saw the Steers rack
up 11 straight points.
Krissi McWherter put the Steers up 4-3 on a spike off Taylor, and she
and Dee Hill had two more kills each in the run. Bad hits by McWherter
and Hill and a block of McWherter by Taylor got Pecos to within eight,
but Hill then ended it with a cross-court spike.
Things turned around completely in Game 2, as Denise Camarena served out
11 consecutive points to open things up. Marquez had six spikes and one
dink shot for points during the run, Ivy Thorp also added a kill and
Marquez finished off the 12-0 streak with a block on McWherter.
Taylor would later get a block of Wilbert for a point, though she came
back at the start of Game 3 to score on a block of Marquez. In that
game, the score was tied at 3-all when the Eagles went on a 9-1 run,
which began with some Big Spring errors before the Eagles got their
offense going. Marquez had three straight kills for points, Sherrie
Mosby added another spike, and Camarena had an ace serve and even scored
off a back line hit to give the Eagles a 12-4 lead.
But then it was Pecos' turn to make mistakes, as a series of bad hits
cut the margin to 12-8. The Eagles broke serve after a time out and
Marquez scored off a spike, but Wilbert then answered with her block of
Marquez and her own kill, and McWherter scored on an ace to cut the lead
to two.
That prompted another time-out call by Geron, and this time, the Eagles
were able to not only break serve, but finish things off on Marquez'
block of Wilbert and her match-ending kill.
"Lori was up after that first game, and I hope she stays like that from
here on out, because it makes a different," Geron said. "We were not
ready to play in that first game, but in the second Lori came around and
we did a good job of picking up their dinks (on defense), which we
didn't do in the first game."
Pecos' win, coupled with San Angelo Lake View's victory at Fort
Stockton, put both the Maidens and Andrews Mustangs into the playoffs,
and gave the Eagles a 5-4 district record, 13-15 overall, and a 1½ game
lead over Big Spring and Fort Stockton for the final district playoff
berth. Fort Stockton hosts Andrews and Big Spring goes to Lake View on
Tuesday while the Eagles are idle, and wins by both the Maidens and
Mustangs would clinch a post-season berth for the Eagles.
If not, the Eagles cam still clinch third place on their own next
Saturday, when they close out regular season play by hosting Lake View.
That will also be the final match of the season for Pecos' junior
varsity, which did not play Saturday due to regional band competition.
Saturday's match started at 12 noon due to the band event, and the
Eagles' freshman match also was canceled due to the early start. The
ninth graders' season ended last Tuesday at Fort Stockton.
State and Regional Sports Pages--San Angelo Standard-Times
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