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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Monday, September 11, 2000
Panthers down Eagles in OT, 26-20
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
FORT STOCKTON, Sept. 9, 2000 — In a game of mistakes, the team that made
the last ones figured to lose, and unfortunately for the Pecos Eagles,
those mistakes belonged to them.
After suffering through a disastrous final 5 1/2 minutes of
the first half, the Eagles battled back from a 20-7 deficit to tie the game on
Jason Carrillo's one-yard touchdown run with no time remaining in
regulation. But with a chance to win the game, Pecos botched the extra point
effort, and then in the overtime period, allowed Fort Stockton to score
on their first series, while putting themselves in a hole on
their offensive series with their seventh penalty of the night, as the
Panthers came away with a 26-20 victory.
"We killed ourselves with our mistakes and our 15-yard
penalties," said coach Gary Grubbs. "We had
a turnover they turned into a touchdown and our kids realize
they can't do those things and win."
"It really hurts to lose a game that's that close, but I assure you
we'll bounce back next week," he said.
Pecos barely got off their last play in regulation, as Richard
Rodriguez was stopped at the 1-yard-line on a quarterback sneak with 26
seconds left, and the pile at the goal line was picked apart so slowly by the
officials the clock was down to one second when Rodriguez was able to spike
the ball, giving the Eagles time to set up Carrillo's second touchdown of
the night, over left tackle.
But with a chance to win, the extra point snap was high and holder
Peter Juarez was stopped short trying to bootleg into the end zone. Given
new life, the Panthers needed just five plays to score from 25 yards out
in overtime, the key one a 12-yard pass from quarterback Blake
Yarborough to tight end Orlando Yanez that threaded the needle between
two Pecos defenders. Yarborough then ran for six yards on the next play
and two runs by Ben Barron then got the ball into the end zone.
Fort Stockton missed their extra point kick, but before they could
even snap the ball, the Eagles were flagged for an illegal motion call. A keeper
by Rodriguez, who came on to replace Alex Garcia in the first period,
lost two yards, and three passes then were incomplete, the last a
option throw by Juarez to Ricky Plummer that was knocked away by
Ralph Rodriguez in the end zone.
The game included 10 fumbles and nine 15-yard penalties, seven of
them by the Eagles, though one mysteriously disappeared after
Fort Stockton's second touchdown. Pecos was flagged for five
personal foul penalties in the first half, three for unsportsmanlike
conduct. Combined with two fumbles in a span of 45 seconds, they helped
the Panthers score 20 points in just under five minutes, after Pecos took a
7-0 lead early in the second period.
"One thing about our kids, there's no quit in them," said Grubbs.
"We're going to have a great season because of the attitude the kids have."
Rodriguez took over at quarterback after Garcia suffered
a dislocated right shoulder late in the first period, when he was fallen on
by Fort Stockton's David Jepson while trying to get off a desperation pass
at the Panthers' 11-yard-line. Rodriguez had his ups and downs on the
night, with a key first down run and 26-yard pass to Ricky Plummer on the
game-tying touchdown drive, but a couple of bad pitches off the option, one
of which led to the Panthers' first score of the game, when Javier
Mendoza picked up the ball and ran 38 yards for the touchdown.
"I thought Richard came in and did a good job. When you're
playing defensive back and have to come in an play quarterback, that's a
sudden adjustment," Grubbs said.
Rodriguez scored Pecos' first touchdown on a 1-yard
quarterback sneak early in the second period,
after a 62-yard punt return by Jason Gonzales and a 21-yard run by
Omar Luna got the ball down to the goal line. Matthew Levario added the
extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Overall on the night, the Eagles out-gained the Panthers, 246-176 in
total yards, and had just two turnovers to the Panthers' four. But they
managed to get just seven points off those turnovers, as big plays on
offense were often offset by the Panthers' key plays on defense, including the
play that injured Garcia, which was ruled as a five-yard sack. Levario then
came up just short on his 29-yard field goal attempt.
Rodriguez had the first fumble recovery for the Eagles, falling on
a bad pitch from Yarborough at the Panthers' 34-yard line. But the
Eagles could manage just three yards on four downs. The second recovery
came just after Pecos' first touchdown, when Yarborough was hit on
a scramble and fumbled, with Daniel Terrazas falling on the ball at
the Pecos 41.
Rodriguez picked up 15 yards on a quarterback keeper, but then
the wheels fell off for the Eagles. They were hit with their first
15-yard penalty, setting them back into their own territory, and two plays
later Mendoza picked up the loose ball and ran it into the end zone.
Fort Stockton missed their extra point try, but up 7-6, Pecos
fumbled the ball away again two plays after the kickoff, giving it up at their
own 45. They then picked up another personal foul on the next play,
moving the ball to the 30.
Barron then got loose for one of the few times on the night, going
25 yards down to the Pecos 6. He would score from two yards out two
plays later, giving the Panthers a 12-7 lead with 2:15 left in the half.
Pecos' third unsportsmanlike penalty arrived on the first
offensive play of their next series, and pushed them back to their own 16. That
forced Terrazas to punt from deep in Pecos territory and two plays
later, Yarborough hit Shane Sheehan across the middle for 38 yards to
the Pecos four. Out of time outs and with 22 seconds left, the Panthers
went with a quarterback keeper, and Yarborough broke two tackles at
the line and walked into the end zone.
Fort Stockton then botched their extra point try, but holder John
Paugh was able to run the ball to the left pylon, where at first it was ruled
he did not make the end zone before the call was changed to what turned
out to be a critical two-point conversion 17 seconds before halftime.
"I don't know what the deal was there, but I know the back judge
was the one who changed the call. The side judge was right in front and
he said he didn't get in," Grubbs said.
Pecos regrouped at halftime and held Fort Stockton to just 45
yards offense in the third and fourth periods, but had problems of
their own sustaining a drive until critical mistakes by the Panthers help
them get back into the game.
The one Fort Stockton turnover the Eagles did score on came in
the third period, when Carrillo went in from five-yards out after Tye
Edwards recovered a Yarborough fumble at the Panthers' 24-yard-line. This time,
it was an unsportsmanlike penalty on Fort Stockton that kept things
going, when Rodriguez was speared at the end of a 10-yard run on a
3rd-and-14 play.
The Eagles couldn't take advantage of Yarborough's
next fumble moments later, gaining just seven yards after Frankie Alvarez
fell on the ball at the 36. Pecos would turn the ball over on downs once more
in Panther territory early in the final period, and with five minutes left
got one last chance at their own 20.
Luna broke a 17-yard run before the Eagles were stopped cold on
three running plays. They faced a 4th-and-8 at their own 39 when they pulled
off a fake punt play for Levario, who ran up the middle for 32 yards after
taking the short snap.
A 16-yard run by Rodriguez got the ball to the 15 with 1:35 left
in regulation, but Edwards couldn't hang onto a pass over the
middle, Terrazas was then dropped for a two-yard loss by Joseph Lauderdale
and Rodriguez was sacked on third down for a 10-yard loss by Mendoza
and Orlando Yanez.
That made it 4th-and-22 and a pressured Rodriguez was barely
able to get off a toss to Terrazas at the line of scrimmage that should have
ended the game. But Jeff Hickman bumped Terrazas just before the ball
arrived, giving Pecos a first down at the 27 with 40 seconds to play.
Rodriguez then found Ricky Plummer on a deep fade pattern to the 1, setting up
the final 37 seconds that ended with Carrillo's touchdown.
The loss dropped Pecos to 1-1 on the season going into their 2000
home opener on Friday night against Alpine. Fort Stockton won
their season opening game, and have now won three of their past four
meetings with Pecos, all on the Panthers' home field.
Trainer Joel Birch said Garcia would go to the hospital for tests
on his shoulder Saturday, and he is likely out at least until the Eagles'
District 2-4A opener on Oct. 13 against Clint. "Now we'll have to look at depth
in our secondary," said Grubbs, who also lost Garcia from his
starting safety position. "We may have to move some kids around or move
some up from the JV."
In other District 2-4A games, Fabens improved to 2-0 with a
46-20 win at Deming, N.M., while Canutillo fell to 1-1 with a 40-17 loss to El
Paso High. San Elizario blanked Santa Teresa, N.M., 38-0, and Clint
won their season opener against Anthony, by a 46-28 final score.
at Fort Stockton
Pecos 0 7 7 6 0 -20
Fort Stockton 0 20 0 0 6 -26
Second Quarter
Pec. - Rodriguez 1 run (Levario kick), 3:18.
Ft.S - Mendoza 34 fumble return (kick failed), 6:59.
Ft.S - Barron 2 run (run failed), 9:45.
Ft.S - Yarborough 4 run (Paugh run), 11:43. Third Quarter
Pec. - Carrillo 5 run (Levario kick), 7:24.
Fourth Quarter
Pec. - Carrillo 1 run (run failed), 12:00.
Overtime
Ft.S - Barron 2 run (kick failed).
Pec FtS
First Downs 11 9
Rushes-Yds 45-220 38-109
Passing Yds 26 67
Passes 2-13-0 4-9-0
Punts-Yds 4-31.4 5-31.2
Fumbles-lost 5-2 5-4
Penalties-Yds 7-95 7-48 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Pecos, Luna 9-78, Terrazas 10-68, Levario 1-32, Rodriguez
11-24, Carrillo 9-15, Herrera 1-2, Juarez 1-2, Garcia 3-(-1). Fort Stockton,
Barron 25-94, Yarborough 10-31, Sheehan 3-(-16).
Passing - Pecos, Rodriguez 2-10-0-26, Garcia 0-1-0-0, Levario 0-1-0-0, Juarez 0-1-0-0. Fort Stockton, Yarborough 4-9-0-67
Receiving - Pecos, Plummer 1-26, Terrazas 1-0. Fort Stockton, Sheehan 3-55, Yanez 1-12.
Missed Field Goals: Pecos, Levario 29 (short).
Pecos rallies to sweep Greenwood
PECOS, Sept. 11, 2000 -- The Pecos Eagles' volleyball team picked up where
they left off last Tuesday, when they hosted the Greenwood Rangerettes
on Saturday morning, which was not what they wanted to do. But the Eagles
dropped that plan in time to rally from a big first game deficit to defeat
Greenwood, and then swept past the Rangerettes in Game 2 to earn their
15th win in 20 matches this season.
Pecos fell behind Greenwood 5-0, tied the score at 5-all, and they
trailed by 10-5 and 14-9 scores before coming back for a 17-15 win in the opener.
The 8-1 run to close out the game was followed by a 9-1 streak to start
the second game, which Pecos ended up winning by a 15-5 final score.
"We finally did wake up in the second game, but we were still
dragging a little bit," said coach Veronica Valenzuela, who was in charge of
the varsity again on Saturday while head coach Becky Granado had a
doctor's appointment for a shoulder injury she suffered in early August. "They
don't like to show emotion out there, but I think they looked better than they
did Tuesday, though."
The Eagles breezed through their Tuesday match with Dell City
and then through Game 1 against Van Horn, a team they had swept
twice this season, before falling apart and losing their final two games of
their match with the Class 2A Eagles. Pecos had problems getting
their spikes inbounds in those games, and suffered through similar problems
at the start of Saturday's match against Greenwood.
Four of the Rangerettes' first five points came on bad spikes by
Pecos before the Eagles' finally got on the scoreboard. They would tie the
game at 5-5, but then starting having problems on the back line,
allowing Greenwood four points off a pair of ace serves and two bad relays, as
the Rangerettes went back out to a five-point lead.
They got to game point on a net violation by Michelle Saenz when
the Eagles were able to break serve and finally get things going.
Philly Fobbs scored off a pair of blocks and two spikes to cut the
lead to 14-13, and the Eagles then took a 15-14 lead on a bad spike by
Lindsey Lansford and a bad relay by Alicia Scott. Greewood would tie the
game after a bad serve by the Eagles, off a kill by Emma Alka, but the
Eagles would then regain service and win off an ace by Fobbs and a bad
dink attempt by Shanna Zachary.
Fobbs would have a couple more spikes and one block during
the Eagles' 9-1 run to start Game 2, and were helped by problems
the Rangerettes had setting up their own shots. Greenwood had one small
run of their own, narrowing the gap to 9-5 on a Alka spike, but then lost
serve and gave Pecos two more points on unforced errors.
A spike by Alexa Marquez made it 12-5, and after two more
Greenwood mistakes, the Eagles finished things off with a block of Amy Barber
by Saenz and D'Andra Ortega.
Pecos has run a slightly different lineup in their last few games,
with Sanez seeing more time as Granado sought to get a taller blocker on
the front line. Valenzuela said that may have caused some of the early problems.
"We had a little trouble with our switching. But we've been
working on that in practice, so I don't know what the deal was," she said.
"We started playing a little bit smarter and were less confused at the end,
and when we get more comfortable with it, we should do better."
The Eagles will be at home again on Tuesday, facing Presidio and
Fort Stockton as part of a four-way match that will also include
Monahans. Pecos' junior varsity team was off on Saturday after being ousted from
the Crane Tournament, while the freshman beat Greenwood in
three games, 11-15, 15-11, 15-7.
Netters place fourth in El Paso tourney
PECOS, Sept. 12, 2000 -- The seedings were pretty accurate for the Americas
High School Tennis Tournament in El Paso this past weekend. The Pecos Eagles
went in seeded fourth, and ended up there when it was all over, following
win over El Paso Hanks and a loss to the top seeded Americas squad on Friday
and a loss to No. 3 seed El Paso Bel Air on Saturday.
The Eagles downed Hanks by a 10-4 score then were blanked
by Americas, 10-0 before falling to Bel Air by a 10-7 margin.
"There were four split set matches (out of six) we lost in the third
set," said coach Bernadette Ornelas, who was happy with her team's
better finish this year, even if they didn't surpass their
pre-tournament seeding.
"I'm seeing a lot of improvement. We're not getting beaten 15-3 like
we were last year," she said. "We got next-to-last out of seven teams
here a year ago, this time we were fourth out of 12 teams."
The Eagles played six singles and three doubles matches on the
boys and girls sides, along with a mixed doubles match, though they
didn't complete all of them in singles play. "Once a team reaches 10 total
games, they're declared the winner and the match is over," Ornelas said.
The boys got through all of their singles matches against
Hanks, splitting them 3-3 after sweeping the Knights in doubles play. The girls
won two of their three doubles matches and ended things with victories
by Rebecca Wein and Natalia Ornelas in singles play.
Against Americas, the closes matches were a 6-3, 10-8 loss
by Brenda Fuentes to Amanda Bastidas, and a 6-3, 6-4 loss in doubles
by Ornelas and Kristina Dominguez to Alonda Rodriguez and Joxanna Coria.
In the loss to Bel Air in the third place match, the boys won two
of their matches, with Stephen Lamb taking Cesar Esconedo, 0-6, 6-4,
7-6, and teaming with Orlando Mendoza to down Esconedo and
Augustin Barajo, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. On the girls'
side, Wein defeated Michelle Payan, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 and teamed with Fuentes
to beat Payan and Bernice Beltran, 6-2, 6-2, while Ornelas and
Dominguez defeated Janice Garcia and Aileen Rodriguez, 6-1, 6-2, and
Elizabeth Carreon downed Yvonne Gonzales, 8-6.
Ornelas said the boys had to play their final two matches without No.
2 seed Bobby Sotelo due to injury. "We had to move some people up
against Americas, and he wasn't able to come back and play (singles)
against Bel Air," she said.
The Eagles are off this week, with their next match scheduled for
Sept. 19 at Monahans.
Americas Tournament
Pecos (10) vs. EP Hanks (4)
Boys Singles Trent Graham lost to Edward Sandoval, 6-0, 6-3;
Bobby Sotelo lost to Marcus Ceneceros, 7-5, 6-2; Jay
Dannelley lost to Daniel Bujando, 6-3, 6-0; Jerry Orona defeated
Eric Rayan, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4; Orlando Mendoza defeated
Enrique Lopez, 6-2, 6-1; Stephen Lamb defeated Alex Gonzales,
6-3, 6-2.
Girls Singles Rebecca Wein defeated Alexis Kaltenbach, 6-2, 6-1;
Natalia Ornelas defeated Amy Plummer, 6-3, 6-2.
Boys Doubles Graham and Sotelo defeated Ceneceros and Bujando,
6-4, 7-5; Dannelley and Orona defeated Sandoval and Rayan
by default; Mendoza and Lamb defeated Gonzales and
Lopez, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Girls Doubles Wein and Brenda Fuentes defeated Kaltenbach and
Ashley Sander, 7-5, 6-1; Ornelas and Kristina Dominguez
defeated Amy Crumber and Hernandez, 6-0, 6-0; Prescilla
Levario and Elizabeth Carreon lost to Andra Tam and Kelly
Lyma, 6-3, 7-5.
Pecos (0) vs. Americas (10)
Boys Singles Graham lost to Sergio Acosta, 6-0, 6-2; Dannelly lost
to Javier Saenz, 6-0, 6-0.
Girls Singles Wein lost to Shannon Bailey, 6-2, 6-0; Fuentes lost
to Amanda Bastidas, 6-3, 10-8; Levario lost to
Shanty Rodriguez, 6-0, 6-2; Carreon lost to Jenny Sida, 6-0, 6-0.
Boys Doubles Graham and Dannelley lost to Acosta and Saenz, 6-3,
6-0; Orona and Mendoza lost to Mark Martinez and Alan
Powell, 6-3, 7-6.
Girls Doubles Wein and Fuentes lost to Bailey and Bastidos, 6-1,
6-2; Ornelas and Dominguez lost to Alonda Rodriguez
and Jexanna Coria, 6-3, 6-4; Levario and Carreon lost
to Rodriguez and Sida, 6-0, 6-2.
Mixed Doubles Beatrice Villarreal and Michael Orona lost to Serna
and Javier Rodriguez, 6-3, 6-1.
Pecos (7) vs. Bel Air (10)
Boys Singles Graham lost to Danny Gonzales (no score
available); Dannelley lost to Roman Provencio, 6-3, 6-2; J. Orona
lost to Leo Camargo, 6-3, 7-5; Lamb defeated Cesar
Esconedo, 0-6, 6-4, 7-6; Mark Carrasco lost to Augustin Berajo
(no score available).
Girls Singles Wein defeated Maribel Payan, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2; Fuentes
lost to Bernice Beltran, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4; Ornelas lost to
Janice Garcia, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3; Dominguez lost to Aileen
Rodriguez, 8-6; Levario lost to Adriana Acosta, 6-3, 6-1;
Carreon defeated Yvonne Gonzales, 8-6.
Boys Doubles Graham and Sotelo lost to Provencio and Gonzales,
6-3, 6-3; Dannelley and J. Orona lost to John Mendoza
and Camargo, 6-3, 6-3; Mendoza and Lamb defeated
Esconedo and Berajo, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.
Girls Doubles Wein and Fuentes defeated Payan and Beltran, 6-2,
6-2; Ornelas and Dominguez defeated Garcia and
Rodriguez, 6-1, 6-2; Levario and Carreon lost to Acosta and
Gonzales, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Mixed Doubles Villarreal and Carrasco won 6-2, 6-3 (opponents
not available).
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
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Copyright 2000 by Pecos Enterprise
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