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SPORTS

Monday, November 4, 1996

Chiefs shoot down Eagles' offense

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By JON FULBRIGHT

Staff Writer


PECOS, Nov. 4 -- Even when they were winning games from some woeful Lake
View teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s, San Angelo was never a
good place for the Pecos Eagles' offense to perform.

Friday night, against a far better Lake View squad, proved to be no
exception.
The Eagles put themselves into an early hole on offense, and not even a
goal line stand late in the first period was enough to shift the
momentum around, as the Chiefs raced out to a 19-0 halftime lead and a
32-0 third period advantage on the way to a 32-14 victory.

"I'm perplexed about our inconsistencies," said Eagles' coach Mike Belew
about his team's continuing failure to execute on offense. "I can
understand when you go against a good team and they make the plays
against you, but when you don't snap the ball and you get a penalty
called... "

Belew was referring to a third period illegal motion call against Pecos,
one of a number of penalties against both teams Friday night. However,
with more weapons to work with, San Angelo's penalties -- including one
which took away a second period touchdown -- were easier to overcome.

The Eagles, meanwhile, dug themselves a quick 7-0 hole on an
interception return for a touchdown by Kendall Jones. He picked off an
underthrown pass by quarterback Oscar Luna at the Pecos 38 and went all
the way back for a score just 2:44 into the game.

Luna had tried to throw to Jason Abila, who had switched from
quarterback to wide receiver for the play. but neither he nor Luna could
complete a pass to an Eagle wide receiver until the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, San Angelo's Sterlin Gilbert completed passes to five
different receivers in the first half, then hit Morris Smith for a
15-yard touchdown pass in the third period. It was a part of a 100-yard
passing night for Gilbert, who is on the way to his third District 4-4A
passing title.

The senior had a couple of completions on San Angelo's first series,
including a 13-yarder to Jones that set the Chiefs' up with a
1st-and-goal at the Pecos 3.

A dive off right tackle by Chris Burges moved the ball inside the 1, but
Pecos then stopped Jones, Burges and Gilbert at the line of scrimmage on
the next three downs.

Jose Contreras nailed Gilbert on the final attempt, an option keeper on
4th-and-goal, which should have given the Eagles a lift. But San
Angelo's defense is far better than in recent years, and they stopped
Pecos on three tries, and almost got their second interception for a
score when Abila's third down pass was deflected sideways to Todd Gray
four yards deep in the end zone.

Gray dropped the ball, costing Lake View six, but they got two anyway
when the ensuing punt snap sailed over Richard Gutierrez' head and
almost out onto 42nd Street for a safety, and a 9-0 San Angelo lead.

San Angelo drove deep into Pecos territory again after the free kick,
but the Eagles' defense was able to stop Lake View inside the 10, as
Jason Aguilar sacked Gilbert for a seven yard loss and Mark Abila got
Jones for a one-yard loss on the next play.

Lake View had to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Gilbert, and were
forced to punt on their next series, after an illegal block took away a
29-yard touchdown pass from Gilbert to Smith. But after both series, the
Eagles' offense was shut down, and the Chiefs finally broke through on
their next series to go up 19-0.

A 19-yard screen pass from Gilbert to Burges, and an 18-yard run by
Jones allowed the Chiefs to overcome two holding calls on the drive, and
Burges then got around the right end for the final 12-yards to the end
zone with 2:09 left in the half.

The Chiefs would then score on two of their first three possessions of
the second half to put things away.

Gilbert was able to scramble around before finding Smith for a 15-yard
touchdown pass just over three minutes into the third period. Lake
View's next drive came up inches short at the Pecos 22, but after
Sterling Cole returned Gutierrez' punt to the Pecos 45, Burges burst
through a pile of Eagles for a 30 yard gain. Gilbert hit Cole for 13
yards two plays later, and then the ball went back to Burges, who got
into the end zone from a yard out with 2:03 left in the period.

Burges almost lost the ball on a 1-yard gain just before his TD, and did
lose it as the final period opened. Chiefs' coach Kyle Gandy put his
reserves in on defense on the next series, and they lasted all of three
plays, after a 12-yard run by Mark Abila and runs of 15- and 16-yards by
Aguilar.

Things got tougher after that, but the Eagles were still able to got on
the scoreboard, helped by a fourth down facemask of Mark Abila at the
San Angelo 10 yard line. Aguilar went over one play later for his first
touchdown of the season, and Gutierrez added the extra point to make it
32-7.

San Angelo then went to backup runner Larry Hill on their next series,
and after a couple of good gains he was nailed at the Pecos 20 and
fumbled 14 yards backwards, with Contreras recovering at the 34.

Jason Abila then hooked up with Nufie Flores on a 35-yard gain, and
after an 11-yard run by Mark Abila, the two hooked up again on an
11-yard scoring pass across the middle with 1:54 to play.

"We finally got going on offense at the end and showed some sparks of
life. Hopefully that will carry over to next week," Belew said, when the
Eagles close out regular season play by hosting the Fort Stockton
Panthers.

The Eagles will be hoping to avoid their first winless season in
district play since 1957 when they face the Panthers. Friday's loss
dropped Pecos to 0-4 in District 4-4A play, 3-6 overall. San Angelo,
meanwhile, raised its record to 4-0 and 8-1 and will face Sweetwater for
the district title this Friday.

Fort Stockton was worn down by Andrews' Shaud Williams, who ran for 448
yards in the Mustangs' 43-27 victory. It left the Panthers with a 1-3
mark in district play, 4-5 overall.

Bears' Mendoza makes state,

teammates earn grid playoffs

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PECOS, Nov. 4 -- Balmorhea Bears freshman Manuel Mendoza made the
playoffs, along with the rest of his football teammates, without lifting
a finger Friday night, but it took a three-mile run in Lubbock on
Saturday to get him to the state cross country meet later this week.

Mendoza placed seventh in the Region I-A cross country field on
Saturday at Mae Simmons Park, earning him a berth in this Saturday's
Class A state finals in Georgetown.

Mendoza, who won the District 8-A title two weeks ago, ran the
three-mile course in 17:47 to qualify among the Top 10 finishers for the
Class A state meet. Teammate Arturo Miranda finished 16th overall, with
an 18:25 time, while the race was won by Ricky Serrato of Munday, with a
16:46 time.

Mendoza will run at the state meet on Saturday, the day after the Bears
wrap up their regular season football schedule by hosting the Buena
Vista Longhorns. Balmorhea was idle on Friday night, but clinched the
second place District 8-A six man playoff berth, thanks to Grandfalls'
28-26 win over Sanderson, and Dell City's 48-20 win over Buena Vista.

Balmorhea, 4-1 in district earned the second playoff spot thanks to
their 75-70 victory over Dell City, 3-2, while Grandfalls' win over
Sanderson clinched the district title for the Cowboys, who own the
tie-breaker over Balmorhea thanks to their 39-26 win over the Bears.

Eagles-Tornadoes playoff set for Tuesday in Crane

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PECOS, Nov. 4 -- The Pecos Eagles' area round volleyball playoff match
against the Lamesa Golden Tornadoes will be played at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
in the Crane High School gymnasium.

Pecos and Lamesa had hoped to schedule their playoff for Odessa, but
none of the courts there were available. The teams played at Odessa
Permian the last two times they met in post-season play, in 1986 and
1987.

The Eagles advanced to the area round with a 15-9, 15-11 upset victory
over El Paso Burges in Van Horn last Thursday. It raised Pecos' season
record to 14-16, though their road mark is 9-6 on the year. Lamesa drew
a first round bye under the new Class 4A playoff format, after winning
the District 2-4A title. The Tors come into Tuesday's match with a 24-7
record, after a 15-7, 15-7 practice match loss on Saturday to Seminole.

The winner of Tuesday's contest will face the winner of the Dumas-San
Angelo Lake View playoff match, set for Tuesday night at Lubbock
Coronado. The Maidens won the District 4-4A title, while district
runner-up Andrews moved on to a Tuesday night match against 1-4A champ
Hereford after a 14-16, 16-14, 15-13 victory over El Paso Riverside in
Alpine on Saturday.
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State and Regional Sports Pages--San Angelo Standard-Times


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Copyright 1996 by Pecos Enterprise
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