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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
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Sports


Thursday, September 10, 1998

Bucks come running at Eagles


By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Sept. 10 -- After seeing an opposing quarterback run
past them for three touchdowns in their season opener, the
Pecos Eagles will be faced with another opposing QB who
likes to run more than pass Friday night, when they play
their 1998 home football opener against the Alpine Bucks.

The Eagles and Bucks meet at 7:30 p.m., with Pecos looking
for its first win of the season, after a 20-14 loss last
Thursday to Denver City, while the Bucks try for their
second win, after routing Van Horn in their opener, 48-20.

Justin Yarborough didn't have as many yards as Denver
City's Luis Villegas did against Pecos last week, but he
also ran for three scores, including a 35-yarder to open
things up in the first period, as Alpine ended up gaining
all 333 of their yards on the ground.

"They line up in the (wish)bone and say `here we are, here
we come'," said Eagles' coach Dan Swaim, whose team had
trouble in the second half with Denver City's ground attack.
The Eagles held the Mustangs to just 105 total yards in the
first half and held a 14-6 lead, only to see Denver City
rack up 187 more yards on the ground in the final two
periods.

"It's going to be a challenge. We know they're going to run
the football and run the option, so we've got to be able to
stop them," Swaim said.

Yarborough was used only as a receiver last year, in Pecos'
20-12 victory in Alpine, but moved over to quarterback after
a late-season injury to senior Jason Garcia. Bucks' coach
Ronnie Stooksberry said Yarborough comes into this season
better prepared to handle the starting role.

"He's got a few games under his belt, he's a little older
and he is grown some. He's been working out in the weight
room all summer and is a little stronger than he was,"
Stooksberry said.

"He's not as good an option quarterback as Garcia, but he's
probably as good an athlete," Swaim said. "They don't miss
much having him at quarterback."

Garcia provided the bulk of Alpine's offense last season
against Pecos, running for 85 of Alpine's 125 yards. This
season, Stooksberry said the Bucks are more balanced
offensively operating out of the option.

"We had some others that had good games Friday night. Cody
Carpenter ran for 103 yards and Joseph Valenzuela had 135,"
he said. "We've got a little more versatility in our
backfield than we've had for the last 3-4 years."

"They're pretty big and fast in the backfield. The guys
they have are returning from last year, and the experience
helps," Swaim said. Running back Cougar McBride also had a
good night, with two short TD runs.

Alpine gained 110 yards against Pecos last season, over
half of that in the final minute after the Eagles had
clinched the victory. Against Van Horn, Yarborough was
0-for-5 passing, and Stooksberry said, "He's still a little
rusty ... Usually we don't pass very well until late in the
season."

"They did try to throw some against Van Horn. They showed
some one-back (sets) and they will try to throw the ball off
the option," said Swaim.

Defensively, Stooksberry was concerned with the 247 rushing
yards his team allowed Van Horn last week. "Van Horn got the
biggest part of it in the first half, and that was the
biggest thing that disappointed me. I thought we'd have a
better defense than we had because we have so many players
back, but Van Horn had some good linemen and they just
whipped our tails."

"Van Horn did move the ball in the first half, but when
they came out in the second half, you could tell they
(Alpine) were hurting them," Swaim said.

"Their defense play real aggressive," he added, saying
McBride, playing at linebacker, leads the Bucks' defensive
unit.

Last season, the Eagles ran for nearly 300 yards against
the Bucks, and threw for 100 more. But 13 penalties for 125
yards kept Pecos stalled for much of the first 2½ quarters,
though the Eagles were able to come up with a clinching TD
in the fourth quarter. Tailback Mark Abila gained 62 yards
in the game, while fullback Lucio Florez had 14 yards in
limited action and tight end Manuel Contreras caught two
passes for 53 yards, both going for touchdowns, including
the fourth quarter score.

Contreras was one of several Eagles bruised up some in last
week's game. The biggest loss was linebacker Robert
Gonzales, who is out with a severe ankle sprain. Swaim said
Daniel Terrazas will continue in Gonzales' spot, while
another sophomore, Trent Riley, moved into the strong side
linebacker's position.

McGwire tires after celebration


By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI, Sept. 10 -- A ground out to third, a line out
to left.

With two bleary-eyed swings, Mark McGwire added to his
reputation, if not his record home run total.

Aware that a stadium-record crowd showed up just to see
him, baseball's new home run king decided to start at first
base Wednesday night even though he was working on no sleep
and his final burst of adrenalin.

``There was a lot of air leaving his balloon at the
beginning of the game,'' St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La
Russa said. ``It was hitting him.''

Although he did little in the Cincinnati Reds' 6-3 victory,
he provided the crowd of 51,969 with two photo opportunities
and a chance to show their appreciation.

``I hope they understood the situation,'' a drained McGwire
said afterwards.

By their reaction, they showed they did.

When McGwire came to bat in the first inning, he was having
trouble focusing. The Cardinals got in around 4:30 a.m. --
the celebration of his 62nd homer on Tuesday night went long
at Busch Stadium -- and McGwire couldn't fall asleep.

He was tempted to take the day off, but decided to play
because of the fans.

``He was aware there was a big crowd and he felt he had a
responsibility to do something,'' La Russa said.

``When you've got 50,000 fans out there, you've got to make
some sort of showing,'' McGwire said.

Flashbulbs went off as McGwire approached the plate and got
a loud ovation from the largest weekday crowd in stadium
history, excluding season openers. It hadn't been like this
since Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's career hit record in 1985.

McGwire backed away, waved his hand, then started towards
the plate again. The ovation built, Reds pitcher Pete
Harnisch tipped his cap and McGwire raised his batting
helmet.



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