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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Thursday, October 24, 2002
Eagles, Loboes playoff hopes hinge on Friday win
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
Playoff hopes are on the line for both the Pecos Eagles and Monahans
Loboes Friday night, when the teams play their first district match-up in
six years, at 7:30 p.m. in Monahans.
The Eagles have had a week off to try and fix the problems they've suffered
through on both offense and defense in their last five games, but are actually
ahead of the Loboes in the District 4-3A standings, thanks to their 2-0 forfeit
win last week over Presidio. It put Pecos at 1-1 in district and 2-5 on the
season.
Monahans, meanwhile, is 0-2 and 3-4 following their 7-6 loss in overtime
at Fort Stockton a week ago. The difference in the game was a missed extra
point attempt in overtime, the second time this season a blown extra point
has sent the Loboes down to defeat.
"We had blocking problems. We let two guys go through the middle without
blocking them," said Loboes' coach Larry Hanna. "We also missed an extra
point against Seminole and missed a short field goal," in the Loboes 7-6
loss to the Indians on Sept. 6.
Pecos also lost their last game in Fort Stockton on a botched extra point
at the finish, but that was two years ago. Two weeks ago the Eagles managed
to score two touchdowns late in the first half through the air against Kermit
after falling behind 15-0, but were then held to negative yardage until the
closing minutes of the second half and lost to the Yellowjackets, 31-15.
"We've worked on some basic things we do," said Eagles' coach Fred Carter.
"I guess we got away from doing some of the things we do well, and the emphasis
has been on both sides."
Last season, both teams missed extra points, but it was a converted extra
point by the Eagles that proved the difference, as Pecos then stopped a Monahans
two-point conversion try and a late scoring threat to defeat the Loboes,
13-12, for the Eagles' first win over Monahans in the past 17 games, covering
a period of 19 years.
It's been 22 years since Pecos won at Monahans, back in 1980 by the Loboes'
current least-favorite score, 7-6. In their last trip into Monahans, the
Loboes scored off an 87-yard touchdown pass on their first offensive play,
on the way to a 34-8 victory.
Offensive outbursts like that have been few for Monahans this season,
though the defense has played well through most of the Loboes' first six
games. "The offense has struggled. We haven't been able to make the plays
to keep drives alive," said Hanna. "Our defense has played solid, especially
our pass defense, which has given up only about 200 yards."
Monahans did give up one long touchdown pass in their 28-0 loss at Greenwood
two weeks ago, as well as a pair of long scoring runs. Against Fort Stockton,
the Loboes held the Panthers to 231 yards and stopped three scoring chances
by the Panthers in regulation, but could manage just 181 yards on their own.
"They line up quite a bit off the ball," Carter said of the Loboes' defenders.
"They're not really coming after you, they're generally a reading defense.
They have a number of good players _ there wasn't anybody who was a standout,
but they have good players on both sides of the ball."
"Ronnie Robledo has had a superb year so far at defensive tackle. He's
played excellent ball," said Hanna. He added that middle linebacker Ben Swanson,
end Keith Balderama and defensive back Joey Aguilar also have played well
this season.
Offensively, the Loboes improved after two opening losses when Aguilar
replaced Noah Miles at quarterback. He led Monahans to wins over Alpine,
Lubbock Cooper and Lamesa, but has been held in check by Greenwood and Fort
Stockton the past two weeks.
"He's a running threat," said Hanna. He's got a little speed and touches
the ball every play, so he can make things happen."
"They want to get the ball into his hands," said Carter, while defensive
coach Ronnie Molina said the Loboes like to use four different players at
running back.
"They use No. 82 (Grayson Hiers) when they want a big bruiser, No. 32
(Johnny Rodriguez) is their fullback and No. 30 (Adrian Dominguez) is their
speed kid," he said. Rodriguez ran for 82 yards last week while in their
last win, Dominguez ran for 88 yards against Lamesa.
While the Eagles have the better district record, the Loboes have the
better closing schedule. They face Kermit next week and then will get their
forfeit win over Presidio on Nov. 8. Pecos hosts Fort Stockton next week
then closes their regular season at Greenwood, which is looking to go 8-0
on Friday with a win over the Panthers.
To avoid facing a must-win game against the Rangers, the Eagles need to
win over both the Loboes and Panthers to have a shot at the playoffs. "We're
capable of beating both teams," said Carter, who said that Pecos' starting
lineup for Friday would be the same as in the Kermit game.
JV, junior high teams face Monahans today
The Pecos Eagles' junior high football teams will get their second and
third looks at the Monahans Loboes this season, while Pecos' junior varsity
will face the Loboes for the first time in 2002 tonight, as the JV hosts
the Loboes while the seventh and eighth graders travel to Monahans.
The JV will face the Loboes at 6 p.m. at Eagle Stadium, while the junior
highs play in Monahans at 4 and 5:30 p.m.
The JV won their second straight game last Thursday and improved to 5-2
on the season with a 37-6 win at Presidio. Five different players scored
for the Eagles after the Blue Devils ran the game's opening kickoff back
for a touchdown.
The eighth grade purple team won their first game of the season in six
tries last Saturday, using a touchdown pass in the final 10 seconds to defeat
Presidio, 16-8. Last month, the eighth graders were beaten by the Loboes,
28-0.
The eighth grade gold team is 2-3 on the season, after a 6-0 win at Kermit
two weeks ago. Two of Pecos' losses have been to Monahans, by 14-0 and 34-6
scores.
Pecos' seventh grade purple team played a scoreless tie with Monahans
last month, and are 2-3-1 on the season after beating Presidio a week ago,
36-0. The gold team lost two weeks ago at Kermit, 6-0, and are 3-1-1 on the
season, including an 8-6 win and 0-0 tie against Monahans in September.
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 2002 by Pecos Enterprise
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