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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
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Sports

Tuesday, November 17, 1998

Eagles place 14 on all-district team


PECOS, Nov. 17 -- Pecos Eagles' senior Mark Abila was named
Most Valuable Player on defense in District 2-4A for the
1998 season, while 13 other Eagles received first- or
second-team honors on the all-district football squad.

The team was selected by the district's six coaches last
Wednesday in Van Horn and released on Friday, following the
elimination of Pecos, Canutillo and Clint from the Class 4A
playoffs.

Pecos earned its first post-season berth in 23 years with a
4-1 district mark, and were 6-4 in regular season play
before being eliminated by El Paso Burges, 27-13, in the
bi-district round of the playoffs.

Abila was one of two Eagles earning all-district honors for
the second time, joining cornerback Oscar Luna. Both were
first team defensive picks, as were linebacker Joe Robert
Lara, defensive linemen John Gutierrez and Alozno Valencia
and free safety Jason Payne. All are seniors, except for
Lara and Payne, who are juniors.

Two other Eagles, junior lineman Jacob Weidner and senior
defensive back Joseph Torres, were named to the second team.

Abila and Gutierrez were also first team picks on offense,
at running back and guard, and were joined by seniors Manuel
Contreras at tight end, Fernando Rios at center, Orlando
Orona at tackle and Louis Valencia as punter. Joining them
on the second team were two underclassmen, junior running
back Len Carson and sophomore guard Trent Riley.

Luna and Payne also earned honorable mention on offense, at
quarterback and wide receiver, as did Valencia at punter and
linebackers Robert Gonzales, a senior, and Daniel Terrazas,
a sophomore.

Abila was the leading tackler in the secondary for Pecos,
and had three interceptions and one fumble recovery. It was
his second all-district selection, after earning second team
honors as a sophomore. Luna was a first team pick last
season, but didn't play much on defense this season until
the Eagles began using a three defensive back set against
their pass-oriented district rivals. Payne tied for the
district lead in interceptions with five, three coming in
Pecos' 2-4A opener against Fabens.

Valencia played most of the season on a bad knee suffered in
the Eagles' opening scrimmage against Monahans, while
Gutierrez was the only lineman selected first team on both
offense and defense in the district this season.

Pecos ended up leading the district in rushing with just
over 2,300 yards, which helped earn Gutierrez, Rios and
Orona their first team offensive spots. Contreras led Pecos
in receiving with 15 catches for 235 yards and four
touchdowns, while Abila was third in the district in rushing
with 645 yards and nine touchdowns.

The Eagles dominated the first team defensive list, with
Fabens next with four selections -- Rick Erskine and Bobby
Chavez on the defensive line, Mario Gomez at linebacker and
Fernie Martinez at cornerback. District co-champ Canutillo
was represented by defensive lineman Zane Gentzler and
linebacker Ricky Ortega; San Elizario put linebacker Eddie
Figueroa and safety Mike Perez on the team and Mountain View
put defensive lineman Albert Calderon on the first team
squad.

Clint, which had no first-team picks on offense, saw junior
quarterback D.J. Check earn MVP honors on offense, after
finishing second in the state in passing with 2,674 yards
passing and 27 touchdowns. He was joined by junior Jeremy
Arnold, second in the state in receiving yards with 1,158
on 50 catches, 13 for touchdowns.

Gomez, Figueroa and Gentzler joined Abila and Gutierrez as a
two-way first team pick -- Figueroa earning honors on
offense at running back, Gomez at wide receiver and Gentzler
as a kicker. They were joined by Fabens' Mike Morales, the
district's only 1,000 yard rusher this season, while
Canutillo also had wide receiver Ignacio Jurado and guard
Carl Frietz on the first team and Mountain View put five
players on the first team squad -- quarterback Adolfo Villa,
tackles Javier Rodriguez and Cesar Escobar, guard Jaime

Marquez and center Eddie Corral.
First Team
Offense
MVP -- D.J. Check, quarterback, Jr., Clint.
Centers -- Fernando Rios, Sr., Pecos; Eddie Corral, Sr., EP
Mountain View.
Tackle -- Javier Rodriguez, Sr., EP Mountain View; Orlando
Orona, Sr., Pecos; Eesar Escovar, Sr., EP Mountain View.
Guards -- John Gutierrez, Sr., Pecos; Carl Frietz, Sr.,
Canutillo; Jaime Marquez, Sr., EP Mountain View.
Quarterback -- Adolfo Villa, Sr., EP Mountain View.
Tight End -- Manuel Contreras, St., Pecos.
Wide Receiver -- Ignacio Jurado, Sr., Canutillo; Jeremy
Arnold, Jr., Clint; Mario Gomez, Sr., Fabens.
Running Backs -- Mark Abila, Sr, Pecos; Mike Morales, Sr.,
Fabens; Eddie Figueroa, Sr., San Elizario.
Punter -- Louis Valencia, Sr., Pecos.
Kicker -- Zane Gentzler, Sr., Canutillo.
Defense
MVP -- Mark Abila, safety, Sr., Pecos.
Interior Line -- Rick Erskine, Sr, Fabens; Zane Gentzler,
Sr., Canutillo; Albert Calderon, Jr., EP Mountain View;
John Gutierrez, Sr., Pecos.
Defensive Ends -- Alonzo Valencia, Sr., Pecos; Bobby Chavez,
Jr., Fabens.
Linebackers -- Joe Robert Lara, Jr., Pecos; Mario Gomez,
Sr, Fabens; Eddie Figueroa, Sr., San Elizario.
Cornerbacks -- Oscar Luna, Sr, Pecos; Fernie Martinez, Sr.,
Fabens.
Safties -- Jason Payne, Jr., Pecos; Mike Perez, Jr., San
Elizario.
Second Team
Offense
Center -- Isaac Cordova, Jr., San Elizario; Juan Torres,
Sr., Canutillo.
Tackles -- Mike Pease, Jr., Clint; David Ramos, Sr,
Canutillo; Edgar Coralejo, Sr., EP Mountain View.
Guards -- Roger Salas, Sr., EP Mountain View; Trent Riley,
Soph., Pecos.
Quarterback -- Jesus Navarette, Jr., Canutillo.
Wide Receiver -- Albert Jaurieta, Jr., EP Mountain View;
Mike Alcala, Sr., EP Mountain View; David Elias, Sr., Clint.
Tight End -- Patrick Tullins, Jr., Clint.
Running Back -- Len Carson, Jr., Pecos; Danny Rodriguez,
Sr., Canutillo; Frank Carrejo, Sr., EP Mountain View.
Punter -- Ignacio Jurado, Sr., Canutillo.
Kicker -- Josh Herandnez, Jr., Fabens.
Defense
Interior Line -- Mando Moreno, Sr, Clint; Poncho Lopez, Sr.,
Canutillo; Jacob Weidner, Jr., Pecos; Lorenzo Pena, Sr.,
Clint.
Defensive Ends -- Hector Corral, Sr., EP Mountain View;
Danny Moreno, Jr., Canutillo; Jose Luis Chavez, Jr., San
Elizario.
Linebacker -- Ray Ortega, Sr., Canutillo; Eric Contreras,
Soph., EP Mountain View; Victor Gonzales, Jr., EP Mountain
View; Alonzo DeLeon, Sr, Clint.
Cornerbacks -- Joseph Torres, Sr, Pecos; Israel DelaRosa,
Jr., Canutillo.
Safties -- Ignacio Jurado, Sr., Canutillo; Abel Salazar,
Jr, Fabens.

Eagles short of posts as hoop play begins

By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Nov. 17 -- The 1998-99 basketball season opens
tonight with a lot of questions for both the Pecos Eagles
boys and girls basketball teams, as they prepare to face the
Monahans Loboes and Odessa High Bronchos.

Pecos' girls will host Odessa High beginning at 6 p.m. with
both freshman and junior varsity games, followed by the
varsity matchup at 7:30 p.m. The boys will be in Monahans
for their games with the Loboes, at 4:30, 6 and 7:30 p.m.

The boys come into tonight's game having just gotten several
players out of football and without having played a
preseason scrimmage. The girls got in a scrimmage Saturday
morning at Odessa Permian, but coach Brian Williams wasn't
sure how much he could learn from those practice games, also
due in part to football.

"It's hard to say. Some of them were tired because they had
just gotten back from the game (Friday's playoff at El Paso
Burges). Offensively we were real slow. We weren't quick at
all," Williams said.

"I know they were tired. They said they didn't get back home
until 4:30, so basically, I won't have a true picture until
tomorrow, which is not a good way to go into the season."

The Eagles lost leading scorers Lorie Marquez and Penny
Armstrong from last year's team, which finished 12-15 and
2-8 in District 2-4A play. Williams does get back his No. 3
scorer in Shaye Lara, and she'll be one of three seniors
starting tonight, along with Monique Levario and Linsey
Hathorn.

Junior guard Katrina Quiroz will be another starter, but
after that Williams said the fifth spot is open. "That other
spot is going to change a lot during games," he said. "I'll
probably stay with my starters as long as I can, unless they
just get too tired and have to get a breather."

"I'm going to be praying for a little patience. We're going
to be real young this year," the Eagles' coach said. "On
Saturday it seemed like our basketball knowledge wasn't
there. There were a couple of times we were wide open and
wouldn't shoot and we had a tough time dribbling the ball.

"Our execution on offense is going to take time. All we can
do is to look up right now and try to keep improving," said
Williams, who may only have two post players -- Hathorn and
Levario -- available tonight against the Bronchos.

Sadler also will be short on post players in Monahans
tonight. He lost his leading scorer from a year ago, Omar
Hinojos, and coach Mike Sadler said his other returning
post, Fernando Navarette, will be out until after
Thanksgiving due to grades.

"We've got seven guys back on the varsity and really 1 1-2
starters, since Oscar (Luna) and Hector (Garcia) started at
times," Sadler said. "Fern started all the time and was
all-district first team defense."

Pecos finished 13-17 and went winless in District 4-4A last
season, something they'll try to improve on when they begin
play in their new District 2-4A come January.

"We'll definitely have more quickness. All along I've been
saying we're young team that needs more experience," Sadler
said. "We should be real quick and we should be able to
shoot better from the outside.

"Frank Perea can shoot it from the outside and play strong
inside, and Jeremy (Herrera) hit a big 3 last year against
Monahans to propel us to a win," said the Eagles' coach.

Perea and Herrera will join Luna and Garcia as starters,
with senior Mark Marquez filling the other starting spot
tonight. "I think Mark is going to surprise some people,"
Sadler said. "I'm hoping he'll score real well. He did a
good job scoring inside during the summer league," playing
against players from the Midland-Odessa area.



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Pecos Enterprise
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