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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide for Reeves County, Trans-Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

Sports

Wednesday, March 18, 1998

Bears get two district MVP awards


PECOS, Mar. 18 -- The Balmorhea Bears placed all five of
their starters on the All-District 29-A boys basketball
team, after going thorough district play unbeaten for the
third straight season.

Balmorhea's girls, meanwhile, finished third in the final
29-A standings, but like the boys, had one senior earn Most
Valuable Player honors and had two others named to the first
or second team squads.

Balmorhea's Zane Rhyne was named the boys MVP this season,
in which the Bears advanced to the Region I-A quarterfinals
before being eliminated by Eden. He was joined on the first
team by Arturo Miranda and Kevin Castillo, while the Bears'
other starter, Travis Woodruff, was a second team selection.

On the girls' side, Cherry Garcia shared MVP honors with
Laura Porras of Grandfalls, which shared third place with
the Bears. Brenda Dutchover was also a first tea selection
for Balmorhea and Amanda Lozano was named to the second team.

The 6-foot-5 Rhyne was the key player in starting
Balmorhea's fast-break offense, and he, along with Miranda,
Castillo and Mendoza, all averaged between 10 and 20 points
per game in the Bears' 24-3 season. Woodruff shared his
starting role at times with guard Manny Mendoza, who
received honorable mention from the district coaches, and
had key roles in Balmorhea's playoff wins before being lost
for the season in a hunting accident.

Woodruff and Miranda are juniors, while Mendoza and another
of the Bears' honorable mention picks, Kevin Rodriguez, are
sophomores. Balmorhea senior Gerald Redwine was the team's
third honorable mention selection.

Zack Huertas, a Buena Vista senior and Johnny Samudio, a
freshman from Marathon, were the other first team picks.
Another Buena Vista senior, Andrew Hodgkins, and three
players from district runner-up Grandfalls -- freshman James
Stocks and juniors Sean Francisco and Jason Carter -- joined
Woodruff on the second team.

Garcia was Balmorhea's top scorer this season, in earning
the co-MVP selection, while Dutchover was the top 3-point
shooter while also operating at point guard. Both she and
Lozano are juniors, while a third junior, Amy Garcia, joined
senior Nelda Mondragon and freshman Terry Hernandez in
earning honorable mention berths.

First place Buena Vista had four sophomores named to the
all-district squad. Deanna Graham and Meg Choate were
first-team picks, and Julie Soto and Crystal Stickler joined
senior Lucy Campa on the second team.

Second place Marathon put junior Tony Aguilar on the first
team and junior Stephanie Aguilar and senior Renee DeLeon
were second team picks. Along with Porras, Grandfalls put
junior Stacy Miller and senior Melissa Moses on the first
team while two other seniors, Donna Olivas and Christina
Huertas, were second team selections.

Eagles improve despite losing 4-4A opener


PECOS, Mar. 18 -- The Pecos Eagles' softball team managed to
take the lead for at least a few minutes Tuesday afternoon,
at the outset of their first-ever District 4-4A softball
game. But the Fort Stockton Prowlers took it away in their
first at-bat, then pulled away in the fourth and fifth
innings, scoring eight times to post a 14-3 victory in the
district opener for both teams.

The Eagles' initial 4-4A game was a step up from their
non-district game at home against Fort Stockton two weeks
ago, when Pecos was one-hit in a 22-1 defeat. "We hit the
ball real well. Katrina (Quiroz) was 3-for-3 with a double
that scored two runs," said Eagles' coach Tammy Walls. "She
also played catcher for me and did great. Nobody had a
stolen base."

Walls said Erica Orona and Valerie Gonzales also had a pair
of hits, while Quiroz' double off Jessica Carrillo gave the
Eagles an early 2-0 lead. But the Prowlers came back and
scored three runs in their half of the first, then added
three more in the second inning for a 6-2 lead.

The Eagles cut that to 6-3 in the third, then kept the
Prowlers scoreless in the bottom of the inning. But Pecos
couldn't add to their total in the fourth, and Fort Stockton
came back with five runs off starter Annette Marquez, then
ended the game in the fifth under the 10-run rule by scoring
three more times off reliever Alexa Marquez.

"We were in the ballgame until we started making errors.
There were five balls hit to center field and we had four
errors, and that was critical for us," Walls said.

Along with getting the win, Fort Stockton also got an
over-the-fence home run from Carrillo, who also had a triple
in the Prowlers' 15-hit attack.

"I think everybody was nervous for our first district game,
but it was still a lot better than last week in Kermit (a
10-0 loss). If they didn't get a solid hit, at least they
were all making contact this time," Walls said.

The loss left Pecos with a 1-7 record while Fort Stockton
improved to 7-8 on the season. The Eagles' next game will be
their home opener, on Friday against Sweetwater, which
dropped their district opener on Tuesday against Andrews by
a 26-0 final score.

Pecos boys 8th at Angelo, JV girls win


PECOS, Mar. 18 -- The Pecos Eagle boys golf team had a good
time during the first of their two visits this season to
Riverside Golf Course in San Angelo, as they shot their low
round of the season while placing eighth in this past
weekend's San Angelo Boys Golf Classic.

Pecos' girls, meanwhile, didn't have enough varsity players
to compete for the title at last weekend's Andrews
Invitational, but the junior varsity Eagles squad took first
place on Monday in a one-day tournament in Alpine.

Riverside is where the final round of the District 4-4A
tournament will be held next month, and after shooting a 341
on Friday at Bentwood Country Club, the Eagles cut their
score by 25 strokes Saturday, shooting a 316 to finish at
657 overall. The eighth place finish in the 16-team Blue
Division was three shots ahead of district rival Fort
Stockton (342-318-660), though still behind first place
Andrews (309-294-603), San Angelo Lake View (318-299-617)
and Big Spring (329-312-641).

"That's the first time we've broke 320 in quite a while,"
said coach Kim Anderson. "All of them played really well."

Casey Love tied for seventh in the medalist race, shooting a
79-75-154. Lee Lyles also broke 80 on Saturday, shooting a
90-78-168 for the tournament, while Jason Salcido had Pecos'
second-best score overall, an 85-81-166. Chris Ryan shot an
87-82-169 and Dallas Jarrett had a 99-89-188 for the Eagles'
other scores.

With the final round at Riverside on April 14 and the first
round of the 54-hole tournament in Pecos on March 28, the
Eagles do have a shot at being in the race for a regional
berth, something they haven't been able to attain since
1985. "If we can play well, it would be a fairy tale finish
to get second and go to regionals," Anderson said.

Pecos' girls won the Maroon Division the previous weekend in
Midland, but sent just three players to Andrews, one less
than needed to earn a team score. "The others were out of
town for Spring Break, or they were showing livestock," said
coach Tina Hendrick.

Of the three who did make the trip, Alva Alvarez shot an
87-85-172, Sarah Armstrong had an 83-92-175 ad Cindy Mauldin
shot a 108-102-210 over 36 holes at the Andrews County Golf
Course.

Mauldin was one of the five girls Hendrick took to Alpine on
Monday, where Pecos' 425 score gave them first place by a 75
stroke margin over Marfa in the five-team field. The host
Bucks shot a 502, Fort Davis shot a 505 and Big Bend
(Terlingua) had a 549 score.

Mauldin was the only Pecos player to break 100 on the day,
shooting a 96. Ceneca Sanders was next for Pecos with a 108,
and was followed by Candace Roach at 110, Brandi Bradley at
111 and Lyndall Elkins at 129.

Clyde gliding into Cougars' coaching job


HOUSTON, Mar. 18 (AP) -- Clyde Drexler is poised to take the
next step, back to where he started.

Drexler, who joined Hakeem Olajuwon to star on two of the
University of Houston's Final Four teams of the 1980s, will
retire from the NBA after this season to coach his alma
mater, sources told The Associated Press on Tuesday night.

``Coaching is like a natural progression for a player,''
Drexler said after his 15 points and nine assists in a 96-91
victory over Milwaukee.

``It's like an actor wants to direct after your career is
over. I hate to be presumptuous, but I think I know the game
pretty well.''

Drexler, a likely Hall of Famer, will receive a four-year
contract worth $1.2 million. Also, Reid Gettys, David Rose
and George Walker will become assistant coaches. All are
former Houston players under long-time coach Guy Lewis.

``I've been a student of the game and I went from playing
under one legend in college (Lewis) straight to another
legend (Jack Ramsay) with the Portland Trail Blazers,''
Drexler said.

``I would think I'd have all the essentials you need to be a
coach after that.''

And, if his former coaches should fail him, Drexler can
always rely on his current coach, Rudy Tomjanovich.

``I wish him a lot of luck and also, I told him if he ever
wants to make a late-night phone call, do it. I'll be up
too.''

Tomjanovich might be losing one of his best players, but he
likes the story line.

``This is kind of like a story-book situation,'' Tomjanovich
said. ``It's a guy who had a great career at the University
of Houston, then he had a great pro career and he comes back
and wins the championship and then he takes over at his alma
mater.

``If you had a movie script like that, they'd say no one
would believe it.''

Sources close to the Cougars, who spoke on the condition
they not be identified, confirmed Drexler is the school's
next coach, replacing the fired Alvin Brooks.

Drexler seemed to enjoy the intrigue.

``Very soon, I expect an announcement, we just want to
maintain the rich tradition that Guy V. started and get the
university back to the level of competition it needs to be
at,'' Drexler said.

Drexler's mother, Eunice Drexler, watched her son play
against the Bucks, but declined to confirm the move.
However, she said ``I'm going to miss him out here, but I'm
going to support his decision.''

Asked if she'd support her son at Hofheinz Pavilion (the
Cougars' home court) she said: ``You bet I will.''

Cougars spokeswoman Donna Turner said as of Tuesday evening
a news conference had not been scheduled, but, ``When we are
ready to announce something, we will shout it out. We are
not ready yet.''

Lewis, who led the Cougars during their glory years,
declined to confirm he will act as a consultant to his
former players.

``I don't know what a consultant does, but I'll do anything
I can to help the program,'' Lewis said. ``I'll tell you one
thing, I'm not going to be the coach.''

Drexler played three seasons for the Cougars during the Phi
Slama Jama era, along with Olajuwon. Drexler played on the
Cougars' Final Four teams of 1982 and 1983. They made it
again in 1984 with Olajuwon after Drexler left for the
Portland Trail Blazers.

Olajuwon and the Rockets won NBA titles in 1994 and 1995,
with Drexler being traded to the second championship team.

After Lewis retired in 1986, coach Pat Foster was able to
keep the Cougars winning, including the 1992 Southwest
Conference title.

But the team was 54-83 in five seasons under Brooks,
including 9-19 this season. Attendance and student
enthusiasm also flagged during Brooks' tenure.

A Phi Slama Jama reunion led by Drexler could be just what
the school needs to rekindle the program.

Prior to the Rockets-Bucks game, Charles Barkley said he
backed whatever Drexler decided.

``If that's what he wants to do, I wish him the best,''
Barkley said. ``He has a chance to go back and help out his
alma mater. Obviously, they haven't been winning too much
lately.''

Forward Matt Bullard wondered if Drexler would be prepared
for the grind of college coaching.

``I don't think the X's and O's will be a problem, but the
recruiting will be the hard part,'' Bullard said.

Drexler entered his 15th season with 20,908 career points
and was fifth in NBA history with 2,081 steals. He was
selected in 1996 as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA
history.

In addition to playing for the Rockets' 1995 championship
team, Drexler reached the NBA Finals with the Trail Blazers
in 1990 and 1992.

Drexler also is a 10-time All-Star, including four starts,
and played for the original U.S. Olympic Dream Team in 1992.

Olajuwon thinks his friend will be a good coach.

``First, he knows the game,'' Olajuwon said. ``He will be
able to motivate the players, too. He will demand their best
qualities. I think it will take a player like Drexler as the
coach to bring everyone back into the program.''

In Phoenix, where former Drexler teammate Danny Ainge made a
similar move to coaching, Ainge had some fun with the news.

``If he can show up on time, he'll do great,'' Ainge said,
looking more solemn than he was. ``He relates really well
with people. The one thing about Clyde is he's late every
day. He was late for practice every day.''

They played together at Portland.

Suns forward Cliff Robinson, another former Drexler teammate
at Portland, yelled the news to a teammate and said later he
still regards Drexler as one of the league's premier
players.

``I know how much of a competitor Clyde is,'' Robinson said.
``He's still capable of getting the job done. At the same
time, he's had a long and prosperous career. He's won
championships. He's done a lot in the league.

``I don't know what else he has to accomplish (as a player).
Someone with the knowledge of the game that he does, you
would expect him to continue on with some type of coaching
job afterwards.''

Softball deadline approaching


PECOS, Mar. 18 -- The deadline to enter the Pecos Men's
Softball Association's Third Annual Open Softball Tournament
is a week from today.

The tournament will take place on March 28-29 at Maxey Park,
and the deadline to enter is March 25. Entry fee is $100 per
team, and the tournament will be held under ASA rules,
except that no home run limit will be in effect.

For further information, call either Keith Windham or Lupe
Herrera at 447-9652 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., or call
445-4413 and leave a message.

Pecos LL try-outs next week


PECOS, Mar. 18 -- The Pecos Little League is continuing to
sign up boys and girls ages 8-12 to play baseball this
season, with the annual tryout day set for Saturday, March
28, at Chano Prieto Field on West Walthall Street.

League president Tony Aguilar said Little League
registration forms are available at the local elementary
schools, as well as at Gibson's True Value Hardware on West
Walthall Street, Big A Auto Parts on South Cedar Street, and
at the Reeves County Sheriff's Office. Completed forms can
be returned to Gibson's, Big A or to the sheriff's office.



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Pecos Enterprise
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324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
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e-mail news@pecos.net

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Copyright 1998 by Pecos Enterprise