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Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Sub-varsity offenses struggle in Thursday losses to Loboes
The Pecos Eagles’ freshmen and junior varsity football teams could manage just one touchdown apiece on Thursday, in road losses in Monahans to the Loboes, while both of Pecos’ touchdowns in the junior high games came in the first half of the first of four contests at Eagle Stadium, where Monahans picked up wins in three of Thursday’s four games.
The seventh grade gold team defeated the Loboes by a 12-6 score in their season opener, while the seventh grade purple team saw their record fall to 1-1 with a 20-0 loss to Monahans. In the eighth grade games, the Loboes scored a 16-0 win in the gold team’s game, and took advantage of seven Pecos turnovers in the purple game to post a 32-0 victory.
In Monahans, the Eagles’ JV lost to the Loboes by a 29-6 final score, while the JV dropped a 34-7 decision to Monahans.
The seventh grade gold team got both their touchdowns in the first half, on a pass from Jeffrey Trujillo to Sylvestre Ramirez, and a 12-yard run by Luis Villapando. Because all four games had to be played at Eagle Stadium due to construction at the Crockett Middle School field, the gold games were played with a running clock, with Monahans getting their only touchdown as time expired in the fourth quarter.
In the purple game, Monahans took a 14-0 lead at the half, then added one score in the final period.
The eighth grade gold team dropped to 0-2 with their loss, as Monahans scored twice in the second half, on a 52-yard run and a 53-yard pass play. In the purple game, four of Monahans’ five touchdowns came following turnovers, including three scores off turnovers in a three-minute span of the second period.
Pecos’ only touchdown, on a run off a busted lateral play by Devante Jenkins, was called back by an inadvertent whistle. The loss dropped the purple team to 1-1 on the season.
In the freshmen game, the Eagles’ only score came late, on a touchdown run by Israel Espudo. “We really didn’t get anything going against them,” said coach Eric Garcia, as the ninth graders went to 2-3 on the season.
The JV lost for the first time in four games, as Monahans jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead. Pecos’ only touchdown was on a pass from Domenic Bejarano to Cesar Lascano.
All of the sub-varsity teams will be off this Thursday, before taking on the Snyder Tigers on Saturday. The freshmen and JV will host Snyder in games at 12 noon and 2 p.m., while the seventh and eighth graders go to Snyder for gold and purple games, also at noon and 2 p.m.
Eagles get four Top 10 finishes at Wink meet
The Pecos Eagle girls picked up Top 5 individual finishes in both the high school and junior high divisions, while Pecos’ boys had one Top 10 finish on Saturday, at the Wink Invitational Cross-Country meet.
Krystal Carrasco edged out teammate Kayla Natividad by three-tenths of a second for fifth place in the girls’ two-mile run at the Winkler County Golf Course, while Gus Mendoza edged teammate Edward Rodriguez for 10th place by just under a second in the boys’ three-mile run, which was the last of the four races Saturday morning.
“We were missing quite a few people,” said Eagles’ coach Rudy Jurado. “As far as the girls go, we were missing all of our volleyball girls, and five girls in all, and on the boys’ side we were missing four. But the times for the ones we had were all pretty good.”
Carrasco ran a 14:25.27 while Natividad, who led the race during the first mile, finished with a 14:25.57 time. Sabryna Moya was the other runner for Pecos’ varsity, finishing with a 15:11 time, and Tori Garcia was the lone runner for the Eagles on the junior varsity level, where she finished third.
“We’ve got some help for Kayla this year with Krystal Carrasco coming on strong,” Jurado said. “I think the core of our team is getting stronger. We’ve just got to get the people who are in dual sports to come out and practice with us.”
On the boys’ side, Mendoza earned the No. 10 spot with a 17:23.84 time, while Rodriguez was 11th with a 17:24.77 time. The Eagles’ other two varsity runners were also bunched together, as Dario Morales placed 42nd with a 19:26.61 time and Alonzo Contreras was 43rd, with a time of 19:26.87.
The boys also had one runner in the JV division, Carlos Valenzuela, who placed fifth there, with a 20:20.85 time. The JV runners competed with the varsity runners in both the boys and girls divisions.
On the junior high level, the girls got a fifth place finish from Katrina Maldonado, who finished her two-mile run with a 15:43 time. Gabby Levario was the Eagles’ other runner, and she ended up 26th, with a 17:47 time.
The boys had five runners at the junior high level, with the best finish a 15th place from Anthony Natividad, who had a 14:39 time over two miles. He was followed by Abel Mendoza, 23rd with a 15:12 time; Ramon Matta, 31st, with a 15:34 time; Andre Roman, 48th with a 16:55 time, and Chris Rodriguez, 59th with a time of 17:44.
Wink’s girls and Crane’s boys won the boys and girls varsity team titles. Fort Stockton was the only other District 4-3A team entered at Wink, while Monahans and Greenwood were the other Class 3A teams competing in the meet.
The Wink Invitational will be the closest one the Eagles have to Pecos this season. They’ve already traveled to San Angelo and will have their District 4-3A meet on Nov. 1 in El Paso, a week before Region I-3A competition at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock. That’s where the Eagles will be going this coming Saturday, when they compete in the Lubbock Invitational.
Eagle netters defeat Owls in fall opener
The Pecos Eagles tennis team will play their 2008-09 home opener on Tuesday afternoon against the Fort Stockton Panthers, after opening their season last Tuesday with a win in Monahans over the Reagan County Owls.
The Eagles defeated Reagan County by a 27-6 score, and will take on Fort Stockton starting at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at the Pecos High School tennis courts.
Reagan County picked up most of their wins in the top seeds on the boys’ side, while Pecos’ girls won all but one of their singles and doubles matches on the day.
“We have quite a few good young players in the top seeds on the boys’ side, and some of them this was their first match,” said Eagles’ coach Bernadette Ornelas.
She said among the varsity level matches, Pecos had an 8-5 advantage on the boys’ side and a 12-1 advantage for the girls.
Tuesday’s matches are the only ones at home for Pecos during their fall schedule. They’ll have trips in October to play Odessa High, Midland Trinity and Fort Stockton, and will return to Monahans on Oct. 21 to face Big Lake again in their final match of the fall season.
Boys Singles
Derick Barron lost to Anthony Subia, 8-0; Geronimo Ornelas lost to Noel Contreras, 8-2; Elias Alvarado defeated Frank Montaivo, 8-5; Eddie Pando lost to Fernando Rey, 8-1; P.J. Castillo defeated Xavier Vasquez, 8-4; Teg Lozano defeated Matt Gufijar, 8-1; Avery Valeriano defeated Ryan Foster, 8-2; Juan Carlos Munoz defeated Frank Montaivo, 7-6; Mateo Tarango defeated Steven Garcia, 6-2; Allen Medina defeated Garcia, 8-0.
Girls Singles
Meagan Fuentez defeated Yajaira Ramirez, 8-3; Dakota Long defeated Cassandra Ortiz, 8-3; Doni Marquez lost to Hanna Lynn, 9-8 (7-0); Baiseilla Sotelo defeated Anabelle Marquez, 8-4; Jessic Munoz dfeated Cierra Hernandez, 8-2; Mareen Maneje defeated Iris Hernandez, 8-5; Andrea Rodriguez defeated Katelin Mayger, 8-4; Amanda Renteria defeated Brenda Castillo, 8-2.
Boys Doubles
Barron and Alvarado lost to Contreras and Subia, 8-1; Ornelas and Pando defeated F. Montaivo and Rey, 8-6; Castillo and Lozano defeated Vasquez and Garcia, 8-2; Valeriano and Medina defeated Foster and Gufijar, 8-0; Tarango and Munoz defeated Foster and Gufijar, 8-4; Barron and Ornelas lost to Contreras and Zubia, 8-4.
Girls Doubles
Fuentez and Long defeated Ramirez and Ortiz, 8-0; Marquez and Munoz defeated Lynn and Marquez, 8-1; Sotelo and Maneje defeated Hernandez and Hernandez, 8-2; Rodriguez and Munoz defeated Sanchez and Hernandez, 8-1; Renteria and Lopez defeated Rostro and Rodrigues, 8-0; Munoz and Licon defeated Lawler and Blaine, 8-0; Lopez and Renteria defeated Lawler and Marquez, 8-0.
Loboes’ big second quarter too much for Eagles, 42-13
The best way the Pecos Eagles were able to keep the Monahans Loboes’ offense down Friday night was to keep the Loboes on the sidelines. Which the Eagles were able to do for most of the first and third quarters of their game at Eagle Stadium.
But the Eagles weren’t able to keep the Loboes off the field in the second quarter, and combined with one big play by Monahans’ defense turned a 7-7 tie after one quarter into a 28-7 halftime lead, on the way to a 42-13 victory that kept Pecos winless on the season.
“I thought our effort was a lot better this week,” said Eagles’ coach Chris Henson, following his team’s 42-9 loss at Denver City. Pecos was held to under 100 yards rushing in that game, but managed 233 yards on Friday night, though the Loboes were still able to run for 265 yards, to go along with just under 100 yards passing.
Monahans needed only one play on offense following the opening kickoff to take the lead, as Tyson Childress found a hole on the right side of the line and broke through for an 83-yard touchdown run just 20 seconds into the game.
But the Eagles were able to answer that with an 83-yard drive of their own that lasted just under 3 1/2 minutes and was capped by a 60-yard touchdown run by Timo Reyes, part of a 191-yard rushing night by the senior.
“We had a few good drives and Timo ran the ball well,” Henson said. “I also thought our offensive line did a good job picking up every scheme they were throwing at us, because they were moving a lot of people around. Joseph Rodriguez at tight end, and Levi Cobos and Bryan Navarette did a excellent job tonight.”
The drive was kept alive by an offsides call against Monahans on a 3rd-and-10 play, one of four times quarterback Paul Zubeldia was able to draw the Loboes’ defense line offsides. Joseph Ontiveros then ran up the middle for seven yards on 3rd-and-5, and after a sack of Zubeldia for a two-yard loss, Reyes was able to run for five and seven yards on the next two plays, and on a 1st-and-10 from the 10 broke free through the right side of the Eagles’ line and was able to outrun the Loboes’ secondary to the end zone.
Reyes was the fourth different fullback this season for Pecos, and moved to the spot after Arturo Munoz, who replaced injured starter Hector Ramirez, suffered his own injury during practice last Monday. “As well as Timo ran at fullback, we may have to look at repositioning some people,” said Henson, who added the Eagles were able to make it through Friday’s game with no other serious injuries.
Pecos followed their touchdown with their best defensive stand of the night, as a safety blitz by Jonathan Dominguez set up a 15-yard sack of quarterback Quincy Titus by linebackers Ontiveros and Chris Martinez. But Titus would get off a 57-yard punt, and despite two first down runs by Reyes and another offsides penalty for a first down, Pecos was stopped near midfield on their next drive and were forced to punt.
Taking over at their own 28 late in the first period, Monahans went on a 10-play drive that ended with Childress’ second TD of the game, on a 3-yard run with just under three minutes gone in the second quarter. Monahans had to convert two 3rd-and-1s on the drive, while Childress would run for 12 yards and Titus would have a 19-yard run on the drive, the latter setting up Childress’ score.
The Loboes then stopped Pecos inside their own 15 on the ensuing kickoff, and on a 2nd-and-12 play Zubeldia floated a screen pass over the line to Reyes. But defensive lineman Garrett King was able to grab Reyes as he started to run and caused a fumble, which was picked up by Michael Samples and returned 12 yards to the end zone, upping Monahans’ lead to 20-6.
The Eagles’ next series also started inside the 20 and was set back by a penalty, before Reyes was stopped on a 3rd-and-6 run, forcing a punt by Junior Carrasco. Monahans took over at the Pecos 47, and after seeing a 37-yard run by Childress wiped out by a holding call, Titus was able to connect with Sean Britton for 18 yards on a 2nd-and-15 play. Then, facing a 3rd-and-12, Titus went deep down the right side to Britton, who got behind Pecos’ secondary for a diving 33-yard touchdown catch with 59 seconds left in the half.
Down by three scores, the Eagles came out in the second half and went 71 yards in 1 plays to cut the lead to 28-13. The drive included Pecos’ only first down pass of the night, a 21-yarder from Zubeldia to Jeremy Martinez on 3rd-and 8, which was followed by a 24-yard run by Reyes on a 3rd-and-9 play. Reyes would gain 16 more yards two plays later, setting Pecos up inside the 10, and after another offsides call against the Loboes, three straight runs by Reyes would cap off the drive, with a one-yard score.
“We decided to stay with our game plan, even when we fell behind,” Henson said. “We were trying to work the clock and not throw the ball too much.”
The drive took up just over six minutes of the period, but Monahans then came out and went on a four-minute drive that resulted in Titus’ second TD pass of the night, this one to tight end Trevor Owens from five yards out. It was the only pass of the drive for Monahans, which got back-to-back runs of 23- and 22-yards by Britton and Childress, and two first down runs by Stephen Neel.
Monahans would get the ball back before the quarter was over, and needed just 46 seconds to score their final TD of the night, on the first play of the final period.
Runs of 20 yards by Titus and 21 yards by Childress closed out the period, before Titus found Owens open behind the Eagles defense on the right side for a 30-yard pass.
The Eagles would get a couple of good runs in the final period from Reyes and Lucas Chavez, but saw their first drive end with a punt and would lose the ball on downs at the Loboes’ 24 in the closing seconds of the game.
Childress also was over the 100-yard mark in rushing with 145 yards for the Loboes, who improved to 2-1 on the season. The Eagles will close out their pre-district schedule this Friday with their first visit in 20 years to Snyder, for a 7:30 p.m. game against the Tigers, who won their third straight game this past Friday following a season-opening loss to Big Spring.
The Eagles’ District 4-3A rivals all lost their games on Friday as well, dropping the overall record for 4-3A to 4-20 through the first four weeks of the 2008 season. Seminole defeated Fort Stockton by a 48-27 final score; Alpine handed Clint its first loss after three straight wins to open the season, 37-9; Fabens was beaten by El Paso Cathedral, 42-35; Lordsburg downed Anthony, 35-21, and Van Horn shut out Tornillo, 47-0.
Pecos sweeps Tornillo, stays tied for first
The Pecos Eagles’ volleyball team remained tied for first in the District 4-3A standings on Saturday with a win over a team they had beaten in the playoffs the past two seasons, as Pecos scored a three-game sweep at home over the Tornillo Coyotes.
The Eagles improved to 3-0 in district and won their eighth straight match overall with a 25-14, 25-19, 25-11 win over Tornillo at the Pecos High School gym. Both teams return many of their key players from the past two seasons, when the Eagles defeated the Coyotes in bi-district playoff matches at Van Horn, but while those wins also were sweeps, things were a lot easier for Pecos this time around.
“It seemed like we were a lot more focused and not quite so complacent,” said Eagles’ coach Ruth McWilliams, whose team struggled some in the early going of their first home district match, two weeks earlier against Clint. “I think they realized the other team wants to win, too, regardless of whether or not we play well.
“Gabby Garcia got up on the ball and dug it out, and normally when you’re not focused, you don’t react as fast. But she dug out a ball that was going to drop, and that was a good play.”
McWilliams’ daughter Leia is one of the few starters on either side not back from last year’s playoff match, and she helped get things going for the Eagles in the opener, with two kills and two dinks over Tornillo’s front-line blockers, as Pecos took an early 5-2 lead.
Tornillo briefly lost its top blocker in Maryann Valenzuela, when she hurt her ankle early in Game 1. Valenzuela would return later in the game, but after falling behind by a 10-3 score the Coyotes wouldn’t get closer than six points the rest of the way. Ally Salcido, Garcia and Jasmine Rayos would add kills later in the match, and the Eagles would close out the game on a spike by Brittany Palomino.
In Game 2 McWilliams rotated her reserves into the game, and the new lineup had some problems after jumping out to a 7-1 lead. Tornillo would rally to cut that lead to one, at 10-9, but a bad serve by Lucy Calsada was followed by spikes by Rayos and Brittany Quintana, a Rayos block on Jissel Reyes and a dink to close out an extended volley by Destiny Simmons.
“One thing that’s good about playing a team that’s struggling some is you give some of the girls on the bench who haven’t had the same number of minutes some chances to play, and you never know down the line due to injury or grades when you may need them to come in an contribute,” McWilliams said.
Tornillo would get the deficit back to four late in the game before Pecos closed things out, but with the starters back in for the Eagles in Game 3, the Coyotes would grab a quick 3-0 lead on some unforced Pecos errors before things turned around following a time-out.
Rayos would have three kills and McWilliams one in a 5-0 run that put Pecos in the lead to stay, and started a 19-3 run for the Eagles. Salcido and Garcia would add kills during the streak, and Garcia and McWilliams would also have ace serves during the latter part of the final game.
The win improved Pecos’ record to 19-12 on the season. Saturday’s match was only the third at home for Pecos this year, and they’ll be back on the road for three more matches this week, on Tuesday in Alpine against the Bucks and Sierra Blanca Vaqueros, and this Saturday in Fabens against the Wildcats, who also improved their district record to 3-0 win a win this past Saturday over Anthony.
McWilliams said the Eagles will face Sierra Blanca first on Tuesday, starting at 5 p.m., followed by their match against Alpine at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles will also have junior varsity and freshmen matches on Saturday against the Bucks and Vaqueros.
Pecos went three games on Saturday before winning their freshman match over Tornillo, 25-14, 17-25, 25-11, while the Eagles’ JV swept the Coyotes, 25-18, 25-19.
Pecos Enterprise
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