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Last season, it was the Grandfalls-Royalty Cowboys all the way riding
out of the sunset in District 8-A Six Man to an undefeated sweep that
earned the Cowboys the championship Balmorhea was supposed to win.
No one told the Posse they were supposed to lose in 1996 and they
stopped the Balmorhea Bears 39-26 in a barn-burning shootout in
Grandfalls.
Before last season was over, all the 8-A Six Man teams were asking
about the Cowboys, "Who are those guys?"
Apparently, they still don't know. The preseason consensus choice for
the district championship once again was Balmorhea.
This came from sportswriters and coaches although:
• Grandfalls returned essentially the same team that won it all and rode
deep into the play-offs in 1996.
• The Cowboys have, maybe four legitimate All-State candidates (running
back Roy Vasquez, center Jason Carter, running back Alfonso Marquez and
running back/wide out Danny Santiago)
• The Cowboys are 4-0, with their fourth victory coming two weeks ago in
Paint Rock when they slapped previously undefeated and unscored on
Buckholts 64-46.
• The Huntress Report, the San Antonio-based bible of Texas Six Man
Football, ranks Grandfalls-Royalty seventh in the state; Balmorhea, 21.
• An open date last week allows the Grandfalls Cowboys an extra week to
consider Shootout II, this one in Balmorhea.
Shootout II starts at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3, in Balmorhea.
Grandfalls Superintendent Charles Carter expects a large crowd in the
scenic mountain village to watch the fireworks.
So does Head Cowboy Coach Dewaine Lee, who suggested that the crowd for
the district opening game for Grandfalls might exceed the Grandfalls
population of 583 persons.
Lee's concerns though are not crowds. His concerns focus on the
Balmorhea Bears, who already have one District 8-A Six Man victory on
their record.
That came last week when Balmorhea stopped the Marathon Mustangs 66-38.
It was the Bears Homecoming Game.
Two Bear stars - Quarterback Zane Rhyne and back Debiasie Mendoza -
didn't even play, nursing injuries. But Balmorhea Coach Ennis Erickson
expects both of them to be ready for Grandfalls.
Lee cautions his players and the Grandfalls fans about feeling the
winner of Shootout II is going to be the district champion. It simply is
too early in the season, Lee says, and there are too many good
competitive teams in the district, especially Sanderson. Huntress ranks
Sanderson thirtieth. Shootout II will be an important game and it is a
must victory for both Cowboy and Bear but there is a lot more district
football to be played, Lee notes, after Friday Night's Cowboy-Bear tangle.
Lobo Coach Larry Hanna reports three key players are listed as day to
day with minor injuries. One, Brandon Stephens, will be out for two to
three weeks, the coach projects.
Randy Salazar, Roy Porras and Gabriel Ontiveros are listed as day to
day, suffering minor injuries in the loss to Fort Stockton.
Stephens will be out for two to three weeks with a separated right
shoulder. The quarterback/defensive back was hurt while tackling Fort Stockton running back Scott Fish in the second quarter.
Unfortunately, only one team wins.
The Loboes lost last Friday, Sept. 26, to the Panthers 24-7 at Lobo
Stadium. Four interceptions led to three Panther touchdowns. Fort
Stockton moves to 4-0. Monahans is 2-2 with an open date this week after
the Homecoming Stumble.
There was Lobo hope and the hope rests in the defense.
After the furious first quarter when Fort Stockton seemed on its way to
meeting its season average of 30 points in the first half of each game
they play, Lobo defenders held the Panthers 16 points below their
average . In addition, the defense turned away the Panthers three times
within the Lobo 20 yard line.
Fort Stockton burst to a 14 point lead early in the game which was
enough to keep the Green at bay and give the visitors a 24-7 win.
"We came out knowing we would win," said Senior running back Robin
Hanna, "We didn't think they would be that good. We just have to learn
from this."
Monahans fought hard..
"We played our hearts out but we had lots of mistakes," said senior full
back Lucas Jaquez. "We had kept our heads in the game, we just didn't
score when we had the chance."
The Panther defense showed blitz all night long which posed some
problems for the Lobo offense, especially with starting quarterback
Brandon Stephens forced out of the game with a separated shoulder.
"We had been watching film and they (Fort Stockton) did a lot of moving
around and blitzing," said quarterback Rocky Rivera. "Coach had told me
all week that I was one play away from starting so I needed to be ready
to play."
Although the loss dropped the Loboes to 2-2 for the season they remain
confident moving into district play next week.
"I feel good about district," said Jaquez. "We are playing tough teams
who will probably make the playoffs."
The Panthers began their first drive of the evening on their own 32 yard
line. Fort Stockton ran the ball 12 times on their way to four first
downs and a six yard touch down by senior running back Jacob Vasquez.
Kicker Carlos Vasquez's extra point try was good to give the Panthers a
7-0 edge over the Loboes with 7:09 left on the clock.
The Loboes opened their offensive series on their own 28 yard line. On
the second play of the drive a Brandon Stephens pass was intercepted by
Fort Stockton deep back Andy Gonzalez who returned the pass to the Lobo
46 yard line.
The Panthers quickly got in the end zone again with a 44 yard touchdown
run by senior running Scott Fish.
The Vasquez kick was good to put the Panthers ahead 14-0 with 6:05 left
to play in the first quarter.
The Loboes put a drive together on their next possession moving the ball
38 yards down the field to the Fort Stockton 30 yard line. However, the
drive was halted by an interception by Panther deep back Jonathan Rojas.
The Monahans defense rose to the occasion and held the Panthers to a
three-and-out field goal attempt which went wide right to give the ball
back to the Loboes with 00:55 left in the first quarter.
The Monahans possession lead to a punt leaving Fort Stockton on their
own 38 yard line with 11:15 remaining in the half.
The Panthers marched down field to a first-and-ten at the Mean Green 19
yard line. Once again the Big Green defense bowed up and shut down the
Panthers on a fourth and one to take over on their own ten yard line.
The Loboes answered with a drive of their own as they worked against the
Fort Stockton defense and the play clock.
Although the Green moved the ball 49 yards and picked up four first
downs they were unable to get in the end zone before the half ended.
Monahans received the kickoff to open the second half of play. On the
third play of their opening drive the Panthers once again came down with
a Lobo pass.
The Big-Bad-Green defense continued it's domination over the Panther
offensive line and turned a go-head touchdown to a field goal which
bounced the score up to 17-0.
The Panthers would get the ball back on their 35 yard line after a Lobo
punt. The Panthers slowly worked their way down field off the running
efforts of Fish and Vasquez.
Hopes of a Panther touchdown were put to rest by an interception by Lobo
quarterback and deep back Rocky Rivera.
The interception set the Loboes up on their 37 yard line with 3:09 left
to play in the quarter.
Monahans struck fast as they scored off the second play of the drive on
a 50 yard touch down run by senior Mark Thompson. The Joel Najar kick
split the uprights and put the Green back in the game, cutting the lead
to 17-7.
The rest of the fourth quarter went back and forth. The Loboes began to
knock on the end zone door with 4:45 left to play in the game. The
drive, however, was again halted by a Panther interception.
With less than a minute left to play, the Panthers sealed their win with
a 23 yard touchdown run by Vasquez.
As the last seconds ticked off the clock it was the Fort Stockton
Panthers 24; the Monahans Loboes, 7.
After an open week the Loboes will be set to began District 3-3A play on Oct. 10 in Mountain View at 7:30 p.m.
The last game of that Tuesday night, Sept. 30, Joseph Bearens of Odessa
won the first set 5-7, in the second set Joe Hawkins of Monahans won
6-4. Moving into the tie breaker the team mates of each player cheered
them on in between volleys, during the volley all was quite in the
stands. Each player was performing well on the court. The score was
marching up steadily for both players.
Coach Justin Quest was marching up and down the sidewalk. The score for
the tie breaker was 10-9 and that is the fist time Joe had been in the
lead while serving. Joe got his first serve in and Joseph hit it long
for the winner.
The next Monahans tennis match is Oct. 7 at Midland Lee, starting at 4
pm.
Game Summary Win
Boys Singles Monahans/Permain Score
Daniel Fuentes vs. Keary Baillio P 4-6, 7-6, 7-3
Justin Yates vs. Michael Adams P 6-0, 6-0
Paul Villareal vs. Casey Baillio P 7-5, 6-2
Drew Skinner vs. Gage Hicks P 7-5, 6-3
Robert Wilbur vs. Jonathan Piper P 6-4, 6-1
Nick Ledingham vs. Joey Baldwin P 7-5, 7-6, 7-4
Joe Hawkins vs. Joseph Bearens M 5-7, 6-4,
11-9
Ben Hawkins vs. Brandon Blain P 6-4, 6-2
Aashish Chopra vs. Brandon Bredemeyer M 6-3, 7-5
Boys Doubles
Fuentes/Yates vs. K. Baillio/Adams P 6-1, 6-3
Skinner/Villareal vs. C. Baillio/Hicks P 6-2, 6-0
Ledingham/Wilbur vs. Piper/Baldwin P 6-4, 6-1
Hawkins/Hawkins vs. Bearens/Blain P 6-4, 6-3
Girls Singles
Joanna Cupp vs. Tisha Concoran P 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Lecia Baker vs. Anna McMinn P 6-0, 6-2
Christina Wilbur vs. Melissa
Mann P 6-4, 6-2
Megan Shawn vs. Alicia Green P 6-4, 6-0
Sandra Molinar vs. Nelissa Whitten M 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
Melinda Covesky vs. Amanda King P 7-5, 6-3
Maria Villezcas vs. Kim Velasquez M 6-1, 6-0
Crystal Passmore vs. LaShae Tindol M 6-4, 6-4
Casey Gatski vs. Kim Oliveras P 6-4, 7-6, 7-3
Ashley Neace vs. Cathy Ruiz M 6-2, 6-3
Girls Doubles
Cupp/Baker vs. Concoran/McMinn M 6-2, 6-1
Wilbur/Molinar vs. Whitten/Green M 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Shawn/Covensky vs. Mann/King M 6-4, 1-6, 6-0
Villezcas/Gatski vs. Velasquez/Tindal M 6-0, 6-1Passmore/Neace vs. Oliveras/Ruiz P 6-4, 6-1
Monahans lost 14-3.
While the score looks one-sided, Tennis Coach Justin Quest notes
competition was strong on the court.
An example, Daniel Fuentes put up strong competition especially in his
second set, losing in a tie breaker to Chris Martiuez
Kyle Climmer won his second set but was not able to hold on to the
third set with the strong game offered by Mitch Findley. It took Boone
Hill three hard fought sets to defeat Jeremy Reyes.
In the girls singles Joanna Cupp won her match against Joanna Thompson,
the number one seed for Andrews. The other wins for the Loboes were
Megan Shawn and Sandra Molinar in girls singles.
Boys Singles
Daniel Fuentes vs. Chris Martiuez L 6-3, 7-6
Justin Yates vs. Will Foster L 6-2, 6-0
Paul Villareal vs. Vin Fisher L 6-3, 7-6
Kyle Climmer vs. Mitch Findley L 1-6, 6-4, 3-6
Drew Skinner vs. Andrew Farrar L 6-1, 6-1
Jeremy Reyes vs. Boone Hill L 6-2, 0-6, 7-5
Boys Doubles
Fuentes/Reyes vs. Findley/Farrar L 6-1, 6-2
Yates/Villareal vs. Foster/Marinez L 6-3, 6-3
Clemmer/Skinner vs. Fisher/Hill L 6-3, 6-3
Girls Singles
Joanna Cupp vs. Joanna Thompson W
Cecia Bler vs. Chreoti Overbelk L 6-0, 6-2
Christina Wilbur vs Georgia Stein L 6-2, 7-5
Megan Shawn vs. Sarai Granados W 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
Sandra Molinar vs.Melissa Wood W 6-4, 6-1
Melinda Covensky vs. Blair Long L 3-6, 6-4
Girls Doubles
Cupp/Baker vs. Thompson/Overbelk L
Wilbur/Shawn vs. Garados/Stein L 6-2, 6-2Molinar/Covensky vs. Wood/Long L 6-1, 6-2
Says Cross: "Mr. Baeza is a second degree black belt instructor,
certified by the International Taekwon-Do Federation and has received
instructor training from Grandmaster Choi Hong Hi.
"Baeza was awarded his second degree by Master C.E. Serriff on Sept. 20.
Serriff is the world's highest ranking non-Asian, president of the
United States Taekwon-Do Federation and an eighth degree black belt."
Cross and Angela Ortega of the Cross Studio were present to assist
during the testing for Baeza and the father and daughter team, Kelly and
Kattie Davis, both of whom earned their black belt, first degree. Baeza
has been training with Cross for the past five years.
"He is very interested in development of young people's confidence and
moral fiber," says Cross of Baeza.
"Baeza has served two years as a volunteer youth sponsor at the First
United Methodist Church in Pecos.
"Baeza works at the Reeves County Detention Center and has seen, first
hand, how things can end up for our young people without proper guidance.
"He hopes his involvement with youth, as well as with young adults, will help them focus on becoming caring, productive citizens."
Copyright 1997 by Ward Newspapers, Inc.
Steve Patterson, Publisher
107 W. Second St., Monahans TX 79756
Phone 915-943-4313, FAX 915-943-4314
e-mail news@bitstreet.com