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SPORTS

Nov. 20, 1997

Loboes hamstring Rangers

By a sports correspondent of the News

ODESSA - The playoffs are a time of magic where one play
means the difference between practicing Monday or tuning in
your equipment and starting off-season work outs. The Loboes
made sure they would be sweating Monday afternoon handing
the Rangers a 19-0 defeat at Ratliff Stadium Saturday
afternoon, Nov. 15.

It was the second consecutive season the District 3-3A
champions from Monahans had taken the bi-district title in
the first round of the state high school football playoffs.
This crown came courtesy of defense, defense, defense.

Against District 4-3A runner-up, Midland Greenwood, the Lobo
defense changed the entire momentum of the game in the first
quarter by recovering a Ranger fumble in the end zone. That
came after the Rangers had driven the field and looked as if
they would score. Another fumble recovery on the ensuing
kick off lead to a Lobo touchdown.

In the fourth quarter the Lobo defense ended Greenwood's
final two drives with two sacks, two deflected passes, an
interception and a fumble recovery that led to seven points..

"It felt pretty good," said Roy Porras who scored the fourth
quarter touchdown off the fumble recovery. "They don't let
me run on offense so I have to do it on defense. We are a
fourth quarter team and we can't give up just because we are
winning."

"This game was a defensive struggle," said senior Chris
Allen. "If you get a shut out in the playoffs, you are doing
a pretty good job. Coach had been preaching defense all
week. Offense wins games but defense wins championships."

Monahans faces Seminole Saturday, Nov. 22, at 7:30 p.m. at
Ratliff Stadium in Odessa in the next round of the playoffs.
Seminole is fresh off a win over Friona, who ended the
Loboes playoff run last year, 44-37 in over time.

Monahans also gets a chance to meet Seminole running back
Toby Shain who rushed for 422 yard on the ground last week
in the brawl with Friona..

"It's a challenge to play that kind of running back," says
Lobo Coach Larry Hanna of Shain. "I am sure after studying
the film, they (the defense) will rise to the challenge."

The Loboes opened the scoring for the Greenwood game in the
second quarter after a Ranger fumble in to the end zone gave
Monahans the ball on the 20-yard-line.

Robin Hanna finished an 80 yard drive with a three yard
touchdown run with 11:09 left to play in the half.

Then, the Green found themselves in scoring possession after
a Ranger fumble on the ensuing kick off left the ball on the
Greenwood 20-yard-line. Hanna again found the end zone on a
13 yard run to send the Loboes into the locker room with a
12-0 lead at the half.

The only scoring in the second half belonged to the Big
Green defense. On a fourth and 24 play, the Lobo defense
caused a fumble. Porras picked it up and ran into the end
zone to increase the Lobo lead to 19-0 after Joel Najar
kicked the extra point.

Seminole blocks path to state

The Mean Green Lobo from Monahans has successfully defended
two of its titles from last season - the District 3-3A and
bi-district crowns.

Beating Alpine won the district trophy. The victory over
Greenwood took them to bi-district. Both were championships
the Lobo won in 1996. Now Monahans steps beyond last
season's playoff territory into the area round at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 22, at Odessa's Ratliff Stadium..

Seminole's 10-1 Indians stand in the way.

Their only 1997 loss came to eventual 2-3A district champion
Denver City, 13-9, in week four of the regular season. But
the Indians were without their leading rusher Toby Shain.

Last week in the 44-37 OT victory over Friona, Shain carried
the ball 32 times for 422 yards for five touchdowns
including the overtime score that set up the showdown with
Monahans.

Seminole's offense relies on Shain, the "boy wonder" running
back. Of Seminole's 390 points, Shain has 218 with 36
touchdowns. Behind Shain in scoring for Seminole is place
kicker Daniel Espino with 52 points.

Indian Quarterback Cole Kildow follows Shain as his team's
leading rusher.

On defense, the Indians are lead by "H" Condarco with 88
tackles and 37 assists. Defensive back Kaleb Clay has three
interceptions. Last week against the Friona Chieftains, the
Indians rolled up 508 yards rushing while allowing the
Chieftains 330. Seminole was 2-7-0 passing for 22 yards.

Common opponents? Seminole beat Alpine 34-32 and Midland
Greenwood 14-6. Monahans stopped Greenwood 19-0; Alpine,
35-16.

Cold defense puts Cowboys on top

By Richard Acosta
News Sports Writer

LENORAH - The one word that best summarizes Grandfalls'
bi-district game last Friday night, Nov. 14, is cold.
Sub-zero wind chill and freezing rain was so bad the flags
around the stadium had to be taken down because ice forming
on the flags caused the poles to crack. In fact the only
thing colder than the weather was the Cowboy defense, so
stone cold it held the Grady Wildcats to 135 yard of offense
on their way to a 42-20 win.

"They had a little over 100 yards rushing on offense," said
Head Coach Dewaine Lee. "In that kind of weather it is hard
to get any offense going."

The Grandfalls running backs defied the cold weather,
bouncing off tackles and making big plays.

"The field was frozen so we had a lot of five to eight yard
gains, but if you don't tackle well against our guys those
five to eight yard gains turn to touchdowns."

Roy Vasquez left the game with what was thought to be a
broken finger which turned out to be a bruise. Vasquez
scored two touchdowns giving him 31 on the season. In
Vasquez absence, Danny Santiago stepped up and had a solid
performance.

On defense Alfonso Marquez had two interceptions which gave
him eight on the year and Jimmy Ramirez had 22 tackles.

Grandfalls drew first blood with a 29 yard touchdown run
late in the first quarter by Vasquez. The PAT pass was no
good leaving the score at 6-0 with 3:21 remaining in the
first quarter.

The Cowboy defense held Grady to a three-and-out and forced
the 'Cats to punt. Grandfalls quickly struck again with a
Vasquez 52 yard touchdown run on the fourth play of the
drive. Jeff Corean's kick increased the Cowboys lead to 14-0
with :17 left in the first period of play.

Grandfalls took over the ball on the Grady 38 yard line
after a failed fourth down conversions. On the Cowboys first
play the a ten yard run was canceled by a penalty. However,
on the next play Alfonso Marquez found the end zone on a 38
yard run to open the gap between the teams to 20-0 with 7:55
remaining in the first half of play.

The Wildcats found some offense last in the first half of
play, scoring on a 3 yard run by sophomore running back
Frankie Garza with :26 left in the half.

The Wildcat PAT pass was no good ending the second quarter
of play with the Cowboys on top 20-6.

The fourth quarter found Grady trying to find offense
against the swarming Grandfalls defense. The Cowboys offense
took over after a fourth down conversion attempt by the
'Cats ended with a 14 yard sack. The Cowboys scored on a 10
yard run by Santiago. Corean's PAT kick was good to increase
the Cowboys lead to 34-6 with 6:59 left to play.

On the kick off, Grady's Jed Hinojosa fielded the kick in
the end zone and took it the distance 80 yard for a Wildcat
touchdown. Hinojosa's PAT was good to cut the Grandfalls
lead to 34-14 with 6:59 left to play.

On the ensuing kick off, the Cowboys showed some
razzle-dazzle with Ronnie Vasquez returning the Grady kick
50 yards for a Cowboy touchdown. Corena's kick was good
making the score 42-14 with 6:24 left to play.

Late in the fourth Grady was able to find the end zone one
last time to increase their side of the score board to
42-20. The Grady touchdown was too little too late as the
Grandfalls Cowboys win and continue through the playoffs
facing 11-0 Borden County Saturday Nov. 22 in Garden City at
2 p.m.

Grandfalls 14 6 6 16 - 42
Grady 0 6 0 14 - 20

First Quarter
Grandfalls - Roy Vasquez, 21 run (pass failed). 3:21
Grandfalls - Vasquez, 51 run (Jeff Corean kick good), :17.

Second Quarter
Grandfalls - Alfonso Marquez 38 run (pass failed), 7:55.
Grady - Frankie Garza run (pass failed), 7:55.

Third Quarter
Grandfalls - Danny Santiago 11 run (kick blocked), 9:16.

Fourth Quarter
Grandfalls - Santiago 11 run (Corean kick good), 6:50.
Grady - Garza 80 kick off return (Jed Hinojosa kick good),
6:39.
Grandfalls - Marquez 55 kick off return (Corean kick good),
6:24.
Grady - Hinojosa 3 run (Hinojosa kick blocked), 4:25.
Grandfalls Grady
First Downs.......... 10 6
Rushing............. 41-300 37-133
Pass.....................18 2
Total....................318 135
Passes................. 3-7-0 1-14-2
Fumbles-Lost........ 5-0 1-1
Punts....................7-64 0-00
Punts-Avg............ 0.00 2-24.0

Women swimmers place sixth

PECOS - In a swim meet delayed four hours by ice-covered
roads, the Monahans High School Lobo women swimmers placed
sixth among the dozen teams that managed to make it to the
Pecos meet, reports Lobo Swim Coach Doug Ward.

In the competition, Candice Teague continued to file
fractions off her school record in the 100 backstroke by
swimming to first place with a 1:04.28.

The Pecos swim meet Saturday, Nov. 15, originally was
scheduled to begin at 10:15 a.m. West Texas's first Blue
Norther of the season left icy roads and delayed the meet's
start until 2 p.m. because competitors were coming from Big
Spring, Abilene and Lubbock.

Pecos won the women's division. Big Spring took the men's.

Ward reports the Lobo men swimmers finished ninth, ahead of
Seminole, Lubbock Monterrey and Midland Lee.

"High spots for the Loboes were Maxine Martin's third place
finish in the 200 IM (individual medley) at 2:36.000 as well
as Brandon Sutter's third place in the 100 backstroke with a
1:04.04," says Ward.

Other Lobo swimmers contributing to the Monahans scoring
were:

Women's Division

Medley Relay - 4. Monahans "A" (Teague, Lindsay Fredericks,
Marina Martin, Jonda Moore) 2:07.96.
200 Free - 4. Teague 2:18.23 6. Moore 2:26.89.
200 IM - 3. Martin 2:36
50 Free - 11. Audrey Cox 31.37.
100 Fly - 6. Martin 1:15.56. 12. Moore, 1:20.73.
100 Free - 4. Fredericks 9. Karen Robertson.
500 Free - 12. Rebekah Robinson 7:22.6.
200 Free Relay - 4. (Moore, Martin, Fredericks, Teague)
1:55.78 12. (Amy Bowman, Cox, Robertson) 2:09.78.
100 Back - 1. Teague 1:04.28 12. Jamie Butters 1:27.33.
100 Breast - 6. Fredericks 1:19.57 7. Cox 1:26.91.
400 Free Relay - 11. Monahans "A" (Waggoner, Butters,
Bowman, Robinson) 5:07.99.

Men's Division

200 Free - 4. Chris Cain 2:10.87
50 Free - 10. Josh Oliver 27.57
100 Free - 5. Brandon Sutter 56.18 9. Josh Oliver 58.94.
200 Free - 5. Monahans "A" (Cain, Oliver, Sutter, Carlee
Heuman) 1:45.87.
100 Back - 3. Sutter 1:04.04 8. Clayton Cunningham 1:11.52.
100 Breast - 7. Cain 1:11.62.

Curry looks for good season

Many felt this season would be a rebuilding season for
Monahans High School men's basketball -that is, everybody
but the Loboes.

"We are looking to have another good season," said legendary
Lobo coach John Curry, who has amassed a phenomenal lifetime
record of 464-354. "We're looking to be competitive."

The Loboes return only one player from last year's playoff
team, senior Cody Avary, who was also on the 1995-96 playoff
team. Despite returning just one letterman, the Loboes have
experience and athletic ability in their court. However,
the Loboes won't be playing at full strength until after the
football season is over, as many of those Loboes double as
basketball players.

"If they're not back before Christmas," Curry says of the
football players, "That would be just fine."

Until their return, the Loboes are relying on their younger
talent to lead the team. They will be headed by senior Cody
Avary. Other seniors contributing to the Lobo team at this
point are Corey Hawkins, Mark Murray, aand Cody Stockton.
The Loboes also have a contingent of underclassmen to
pick-up them up - Juniors Jason Merrick, David Williams, and
Micah Tuxhorn, as well as help from Sophomores Brian Morris
and Chris Adams.

According to Coach Curry, the Loboes have great talent for
this season.

Curry lists his top newcomers as Jason Merrick, and varsity
football players Brandon Stephens, Rocky Rivera, Juan
Moreno, and Nathan Swarb.

"Each of these players contributed greatly on JV last
year," says Curry, "and I expect that they shall continue to
contribute this season."

"This team has a lot going for it," Curry continues,

"We are going to make anyone who stakes a claim on our
district championship earn it.

"They're certainly not going to come in and take it without
a fight. This team also has behind them the first
back-to-back playoff seasons in school history.

"We intend to build on that and go a step farther."

Lobo varsity basketball has the talent, the drive, and
dedication to become a championship team. Throw in one of
the best coaches in state basketball history, and the Loboes
just may have all it takes.

Monahans takes on Fort. Stockton Friday (Nov. 21) at 7:30
here in Monahans at the complex, and follows with Midland
Christian here Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 7:30.

Winning record sets goal

The 1996-97 Monahans High School women's basketball team set
a precedent for all teams to follow.

The girls began with a new attitude and previously unseen
poise in leading the Loboes to the playoffs for the first
time in school history last season.

When those shoes were graduated, every Lobo girls basketball
team must strive to fill them. Perhaps the team with the
toughest task in achieving those goals is this year's 97-98
team.

Not to say they can't-as this team is more than capable of
achieving their goals, which include a return to the
playoffs. However, they receive an unusual amount of
pressure in following last season's historic team.

The Loboes main problem appears to be experience. The
Loboes return only three lettermen and no starters from last
year's bi-district championship team. Says girls basketball
coach Mike Swigert, "Our success depends on how fast we grow
up."

With an overall lack of varsity experience, the Loboes must
turn to their seniors for leadership. Those seniors include:

Amanda Swigert (#11, 5'7"),
Suntrece Covington (#20, 5'5"),
Sonya Williams (#24, 5'9"),
Kacey Huckabee (#44, 5'8"),
Amanda Sanchez (#52, 6'0").

The Loboes also have a contingent of underclassmen ready to
step-up and contribute this season;

Kari Almanza (#12, 5'0", Jr),
Heather Guebara (#14,5'4" Soph.),
Lori Enriquez (#30, 5'6" Jr.),
Jeanette Franco (#32, 5'6" Jr.),
Tracie Jasso (#33, 5'5" Jr),
Amber Rogers (#42, 5'7" Jr.),
Dedra Wessels (#54, 5'9" Jr.).

Despite their lack of experience, the Loboes are optimistic
about this season.

"We have a lot of newcomers," says senior Kacey Huckabee.
"It'll all pay off once we really start working as a team."

"We don't trust each other out on the court yet," says
senior Amanda Swigert, "We're improving and we'll go far."

The Loboes have their eyes set on going back to the
playoffs, and filling the shoes of last year's team.

District 3-3A must be ready because, as the Loboes say,
"The Pack is back-and we're on the prowl."

Soaring Eagles edge Lobos

Pecos Eagles soared in a storm of three-pointers and edged
Monahans 58-52 in a basketball season opening barnburner
for both squads on Tuesday night, Nov. 18, on the Lobo floor.

Senior Lobo Cody Avary lit up the nets for 24 points and was
a major force on both offense and defense.

But, oh, those Eagle three pointers, eight in all, 24 points
from long range, which gave Pecos a 20-12 edge in the third
quarter which a Monahans rally could not overcome.

"They started hitting the threes in the third quarter and
continued in the fourth quarter," says Green Coach John
Curry. "That was the difference in the game. We didn't make
any. Their ability to hit the trey and our inability to do
that was a deciding thing."

Curry says he and his Big Green learned from the game, which
except for that third-quarter, three-point barrage,
virtually was even.

For example, Curry says Avary's performance confirmed what
he expected from the senior.

"Cody Avary is the lone returning letterman," says Curry.
"He was our top scorer and rebounder. He was a major factor
offensively and defensively."

But there was more than Avary who showed well in that tough
season opener, a loss surely, but a loss from which a team
can learn to win.

"It was a good game. We found there are some kids that can
play at the varsity level and compete," continues Curry.

Among them were Cody Stockton- "He's up from JV. He did a
really good job."

The coach also cites David Merrick, David Williams, Micah
Tuxhorn.

Williams contributed eight points to the Green cause in the
season opener and showed every promise of more to come as he
gains experience in the opening games of the just born
1997-98 high school basketball season.

"We had a couple of sophomores who showed well, Brian Morris
and Chris Adams," says Curry.

In the Junior Varsity game, Monahans beat Pecos 35-32 in a
harbinger of the close varsity contest.

Pecos 6 13 20 19 - 58
Monahans 8 13 12 19 - 52

Lobo Statistics
Cody Stockton 1, 3-4 for 5; David Williams 4, 0-1 for 8;
Micah Tuxhorn 2, 3-4 for 7; Brian Morris 1, 0-0 for 2; David
Merrick 1, 0-0 for 2; Chris Adams 2, 2-4 for 4; Cody Avary
12, 0-4 for 24.
Three pointers: Monahans 0, Pecos 8

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