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Sports

Tuesday, December 22, 1998

Late scoring gets Eagles win over Broncos


PECOS, Dec. 22 -- The Pecos Eagles go into the Christmas
season on a winning note, thanks to a hot fourth quarter
Monday night that carried them to a 44-40 victory in Sonora
over the Sonora Broncos.

The Eagles used a scoring advantage both at the foul line
and from 3-point range to get back within a game of the .500
mark entering their eight day holiday break. After shooting
just eight free throws in their 74-47 loss on Saturday at
Odessa High, Pecos went to the foul line 27 times on Monday,
and while they struggled there, they still managed to hit 14
foul shots compared to just 5-for-7 for the host Broncos.

The Eagles also hit four 3-pointers in the game, the same
as in Saturday's loss. But Sonora managed just one lone
basket from 3-point range, compared with the 11 Odessa High
nailed against Pecos on Saturday.

The Eagles jumped out to a 16-11 lead after one period, but
could managed just 10 points over the next two quarters, as
Sonora took a one-point halftime lead and were up 30-26
after three periods before the Eagles' comeback.

Oscar Luna had two of the four from outside, and finished
with a game-high 17 points, while Fernando Navarette added
10.

The win lifted Pecos to 7-8 on the season going into the
Christmas break. Pecos' next game will be against one of the
teams they lost to earlier this season, Presidio, when the
Eagles host the Blue Devils in an afternoon contest a week
from today. Pecos then will face Sonora at home in their
first game of 1999, on Jan. 2.

Sonora did come away with a win in Tuesday's junior varsity
game, by a 41-40 final score.

Pecos' girls closed out their 1998 basketball schedule this
past Friday, with a win in Fort Stockton over the Prowlers.
The 3-10 Eagles will resume their schedule next Monday, with
an afternoon game against the Iraan Braves at the Reagan
County Tournament.

Eagles' coach Brian Williams said the tournament was moved
up from it's originally scheduled Tuesday start to Monday,
and will run through next Wednesday, Dec. 30, instead of
concluding New Year's Eve night.

PECOS (44)
Perea 1 0-0 3; Luna 6 3-5 17; Navarette 3 3-4 10; H. Garcia
1 2-4 4; Matta 0 1-2 1; Marquez 2 3-8 7; Orona 0 2-2 2;
Herrera 0 0-0 0; A. Garcia 0 0-0 0; Rodriguez 0 0-0 0.
Totals 13 14-25 44.

SONORA (40)
Renfro 1 0-0 2; Ramos 2 0-0 4; Luna 6 0-0 13; Perez 2 2-2 6;
Gonzales 1 0-0 2; Crain 2 0-0 4; Dempsey 1 2-2 4; Mayer 2
1-1 5; Fields 0 0-0 0; Cramer 0 0-0 0; Castro 0 0-0 0.
Totals 17 5-7 40.

Pecos 16 4 6 18 --44
Sonora 11 10 9 10 --40
Three-point goals: Pecos 4 (Luna 2, Navarette, Perea),
Sonora 1 (Luna).

Broncos kicked again by Marino, Dolphins


By STEVEN WINE
AP Sports Writer
MIAMI, Dec. 22 -- The Denver Broncos were on a path to
perfection 10 days ago, and now they're stumbling toward the
playoffs.

Dan Marino outgunned John Elway, passing for 355 yards and
four touchdowns, and the Miami Dolphins won 31-21 Monday
night, sending the once-invincible Broncos back to Denver
with a losing streak.

The Dolphins (10-5) earned the final AFC playoff berth as a
wild-card entry. They'll clinch a home game in the first
round if they win Sunday at Atlanta, or if New England loses
to the New York Jets.

The Broncos (13-2) are assured of the home-field advantage
throughout the AFC playoffs, and until recently they
appeared unbeatable. But in their second consecutive loss,
the secondary looked porous, Terrell Davis looked ordinary
and Elway looked his age.

``I don't want to hear that we don't have anything to play
for,'' tight end Shannon Sharpe said. ``We have to get
better before we sail into the playoffs. Right now, we don't
look like we ought to be in the playoffs.

``We thought we could just skate out and win ballgames, and
now it's catching up with us.''

For Denver fans, the late-season skid is eerily similar to
1996, when the Broncos rested key players the final two
weeks, then lost at home to Jacksonville in their first
playoff game.

The stars played Monday night; they just didn't play well.
The team with nine Pro Bowl players lost to the team with
one.

Davis was held to a season-low 29 yards in 16 carries,
leaving him 170 yards shy of 2,000. Elway went 13-for-36 for
151 yards and was 6-for-20 in the second half for 61 yards
with two interceptions. Marino riddled the secondary, and
Pro Bowl kicker Jason Elam even missed a field-goal attempt.

``This was a very long night,'' Elway said. ``The fire needs
to burn a little brighter in our bellies. This was a good
wakeup call.''

Marino dominated in his first matchup against Elway since
1985, completing 23 of 38 passes.

``Dan was fired up the whole week about the situation,''
teammate Terrell Buckley said.

Marino rallied Miami from an early 10-0 deficit. He
connected with Lamar Thomas on touchdowns of 9, 56 and 17
yards, then added an 8-yard scoring pass to Oronde Gadsden
for a 28-13 lead.

Thomas celebrated each touchdown by running to the first row
of the stands and handing the balls to his uncle, aunt and
grandmother, who was attending her first NFL game.

``It feels great,'' said Thomas, who made six catches for
136 yards. ``We came out tonight and played our hearts
out.''

``When you play a team like Denver, you've got to score
every opportunity you get, because they have a lot of
firepower,'' Marino said. ``We knew everybody had to play
well for us to win, because they're the best team in the
league.''

Lately the Broncos don't even look like the best team in the
AFC. After reaching 11-0, they were unimpressive in a win
over San Diego, then needed a fourth-quarter comeback to
beat Kansas City, and then lost to the Giants in New York.

Against Miami, the Broncos were outgained 391 yards to 219.
Denver scored on a fumble, then caught breaks when two
apparent fumbles by Elway were ruled incomplete passes --
and they still lost.

``We don't want to go into the playoffs like this,'' Sharpe
said. ``We are 10 or 14 points better than that football
team. We need to shore this ship up before we go into the
playoffs. In a loss, it gives you a chance to be real
critical.''

The Broncos will try to shake their slump Sunday at home
against Seattle. Then they'll have two weeks to prepare for
their first playoff game.

``Any time you play poorly, you go back and look at
yourself,'' coach Mike Shanahan said. ``Hopefully you get
the momentum back and play like we did earlier in the
year.''



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Pecos Enterprise
Ned Cantwell, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.

324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net

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Copyright 1998 by Pecos Enterprise