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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Friday, January 21, 2000
San Eli's quickness to test Pecos
PECOS, Jan. 21, 2000 -- The Pecos Eagle boys will face a team more their
size, but with a lot of quickness tonight, while Pecos' girls will also
be facing a team they match-up against better size-wise than most, when
they travel to San Elizario to face that group of Eagles at 7 and 8:30
p.m.
Both Eagle teams head to San Eli with 0-17 records, after four point
losses to the Clint Lions on Tuesday.
A blown call on a double-bonus free throw allowed Clint's Polly Wagner
to score the winning basket on what should have been a dead ball situation,
as the Lions kept Pecos winless with a 49-45 victory. On the boys' side,
Pecos wiped out an 11-point Clint lead in the final period, only to see
the Lions outscore them 9-4 in the final three minutes of play to win by
a 52-48 margin.
"I can understand people being disappointed with our record, but they
shouldn't be disappointed with our team. They played their guts out," said
coach Tino Acosta.
While Pecos is 0-2 in district, San Elizario comes in with a 1-1 mark
and are 14-8 overall. Many of the same players who led them to their first
ever disitrcit football title in November _ including quarterback Mike
Perez _ are playing key roles for the Eagles, who have used their quickness
to offset a lack of size, something Pecos is all-too familiar with.
Pecos' girls are hoping their luck changes tonight against San Elizario,
which has been the surprise of District 2-4A through the first two weeks
of the season. They upset Clint last Friday, 38-32, and are tied for first
place with a 3-1 record.
The Eagles, meanwhile, are 0-4 after a five-overtime loss at Fabens
a week ago, and Tuesday's four point loss at home to Clint. "We're going
to work hard and practice again, then go down there and work hard to win
one in San Eli," said coach Brian Williams, whose team has shot better
in their last two games than they have over the first 15 games of the season.
Tonight's game marks the halfway point of district play for Pecos' girls,
while the boys will have two more games before they get to the midpoint
of their 2-4A schedule. Play will open tonight with the freshmen games
at 5 p.m., with the boys' JV game set for 7 p.m.
Rams' defense seeks some respect
By BARRY WILNER
AP Football Writer
ST. LOUIS, Jan. 21, 2000 - The St. Louis Rams have a defense, too.
Maybe it doesn't measure up to the team's overpowering offense. Or even
to Tampa Bay's rugged defensive unit, led by NFL Defensive Player of the
Year Warren Sapp.
It does, however, deserve some credit, even if it tends to get ignored.
"With an offense like ours, it's understandable if people forget about
our defense," middle linebacker London Fletcher said as his team prepared
for Sunday's NFC championship game with the Buccaneers. "Hey, offense draws
everyone's attention, especially one that scores the way our offense scores.
"But we've got some playmakers on our defense, and we've done our share
of good things."
-Such as score seven times on interceptions returns, led by outside
linebacker Mike Jones and end Grant Wistrom with two apiece.
-Such as get a league-high 17 sacks from All-Pro end Kevin Carter. In
all, the Rams had 57 sacks, most in the conference and tied with Jacksonville
for the NFL lead.
-Such as rank first against the run, yielding only 74.3 yards a game.
No runner got 100 yards on the ground against them.
It will be the chore of Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott to break that
streak.
If they can't get something going on the ground, the Bucs could be in trouble
with a rookie quarterback in Shaun King and a so-so group of receivers.
Tampa Bay's offense has been good at making even mediocre defenses such
as Washington's look intimidating. The `Skins shut out the Bucs deep into
the third quarter last weekend before Tampa rallied, sparked by All-Pro
safety John Lynch's interception.
This is no mediocre average defense the Bucs will face, however. Like
the St. Louis offense, it is aggressive and fast.
"They make plays," Dunn said, "and when you make mistakes they take
advantage of it."
Added Bucs coach Tony Dungy, considered a defensive mastermind:
"The thing people do not talk that much about is they have been playing
great defense and their special teams and defense are creating field position.
This is a well-rounded team."
The Bucs have three All-Pros on their defense in Sapp, Lynch and outside
linebacker Derrick Brooks. Carter is the only one for the Rams, but they
have several topnotch defenders.
Fletcher, the Rams' leading tackler, is extremely active and gets to
the sidelines quickly. Jones is a ball hawk. Todd Lyght has had a strong
season at cornerback. D'Marco Farr is a run-stopper at tackle who also
can penetrate the passing pocket. Wistrom, who faces backup tackle Pete
Piersen, has come on all season and was the Rams' best defensive lineman
against the Vikings in last Sunday's victory.
"A lot of people talk about Tampa Bay and all its Pro Bowl players and
that is a great defense," Lyght said. "We feel we are an elite defense,
too."
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 2000 by Pecos Enterprise
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