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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Monday, February 1, 1999
Eagles unsurprisingly 1st, 2nd at district
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Feb. 1 -- The District 4 Swimming and Diving
Championships produced no big surprises on Friday and
Saturday at the Pecos High School Natatorium -- good news
for Pecos' boys, who won their eighth district title in 10
years as expected, but not as good for Pecos' girls, who
were hoping to surprise Monahans and retain their district
crown.
The Loboes won their second title in three years and denied
the Eagles their eighth title in nine seasons with a 97-87
win on Saturday at the PHS pool. Meanwhile, Pecos' boys set
three new district records in running away with their
division's title, by a 125-73 margin over last year's
champion, Big Spring.
"We had a good day. I can't think of anybody who didn't swim
their personal best time," said Eagles' coach Terri Morse,
who shared district coaching honors for the meet with
Monahans' Doug Ward. "The girls came up a little short, but
it wasn't for a lack of trying. We didn't have as much depth
as they did, but we'll get them next year."
Junior Kevin Bates broke the district records in winning
both the 50 and 100 yard freestyle races. He set the new 50
yard record first on Saturday in preliminaries, then cut a
half-second off that to win with a 22.07 time. In the 100,
Bates broke his own mark of 50.34 seconds set last year,
winning with a 49.59 second time.
He was also a member of the Eagles' 200 freestyle relay
team, which set the third record Saturday. Bates, Matt Ivy,
Louis Nieto and Cortney Freeman broke the mark the Eagles
set a year ago of 1:35.24 by going 1:34.98 for the victory.
"I thought we had an awesome meet," Morse said. "We got four
in the finals in the boys 50 and 100 (freestyle), and I
didn't expect that at all, and we had four in the finals in
the breaststroke, and I didn't expect that."
Grant Holland, Jason Lopez, Craig Wein and Randall Reynolds
finished third through sixth in the 100 yard breaststroke,
while Bates was joined in the 50 free finals by Freeman,
Lucio Florez and Luis Nieto, who were third, fourth and
sixth, while Freeman, Florez and Scott Pounds were third,
fifth and sixth in the 100 freestyle.
Bates, Holland. Freeman and Tye Edwards started the meet off
with a victory in the 200 medley relay, the boys' other win
on Saturday. Ivy, Holland Edwards and Patrick McChensey
picked up silver medals for second place finishes, Edwards
in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, Ivy in the 200
freestyle, Holland in the 200 individual medley, and
McChesney in the 500 freestyle. Ivy was also third in the
100 fly and McChesney was fourth in the 200 free. Ivy,
Edwards, Holland and Timothy Harrison ended the meet with a
second place finish in the 400 freestyle relay.
Pecos' other medal came from Pounds on Friday, as he placed
third in the one meter diving competition. Harrison was
fourth and Lopez sixth in the 200 medley, while Harrison and
Nieto were fourth and fifth in the 100 backstroke and
Reynolds was fifth in the 500 free for the boys' other
points.
Monahans beat out Pecos for the girls' title by sweeping
Saturday's three relay events, setting a new record in the
200 medley relay, earning 42 points in those events to 30
for the Eagles, who were second all three times. Monahans'
depth allowed them to cut 16 seconds off their time in the
400 freestyle relay to beat out Pecos by two seconds, with a
4:03.85 time.
Senior Liz Parent got Pecos' two of Pecos' three victories
on the day, winning the 100 yard butterfly with a 1:07.46
time, then coming back a few minutes later to take the 500
freestyle, with a 5:54.48 time. Teammate Briar Prewit was
second in that event, with a 6:10.69 time, after winning the
200 freestyle, with a 2:14.61 time earlier in the meet.
Parent, Sarah Flores, and Rebecca and JoAnn Wein were on the
200 medley team that finished second, while Prewit, Parent,
Flores and Jennifer Martinez were on the 400 freestyle relay
and Prewit Martinez and both Weins made up the 200 freestyle
squad.
Flores had just come off a second place finish in the 100
breaststroke when she swam the 400 relay, while Rebecca Wein
was fifth in that race. Flores earlier placed second in the
50 freestyle, while Martinez took third in the 100 and 200
frees, JoAnn and Rebecca Wein were third and fourth in the
200 medley, and JoAnn Wein was third in the 100 backstroke.
All of the qualifiers for the finals earned berths in the
Region I Swimming and Diving Championships set for Feb.
12-13 at the Texas Tech Aquatic Center in Lubbock.
It's the last time the Eagles will compete against area
Class 5A schools at regionals, with the sub-5A regionals and
state finals set to begin next year. "I haven't had a chance
to see what the other districts are doing, but our teams
should do pretty well is we can cut our times again," Morse
said.
Eagles done in by second period errors
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
CANUTILLO, Feb. 1 -- The Pecos Eagle girls got off to a good
start in Friday night's basketball game against Canutillo,
something they normally haven't done this year. And they
kept Canutillo's Ale Pineda under control, something they
didn't do in the teams' first meeting.
But the Eagles still couldn't get rid of their turnover
problem, and while they kept one Canutillo post player in
check, they allowed the other, Alex Vasquez, to score 18
points in the host Eagles' 51-34 victory Friday night.
"We did well in spurts," Eagles' coach Brian Williams said.
"We did well in the first quarter, but in the second quarter
we turned the ball over 12 times, that's how they got their
lead."
Starting with a steal and basket by Katrina Quiroz, the
Eagles led most of the opening period. Shaye Lara had six
points in the quarter, and another lay-up by Quiroz to close
the period gave Pecos a 12-9 lead. But that's where the
Eagles stayed for the next 3½ minutes, as Canutillo took the
lead for good at 13-12 on Vasquez' first basket of the night.
The 6-foot-2 post had a seven inch height advantage on the
Eagles other posts while Pineda -- who scored 28 points in
Canutillo's earlier 50-37 win over Pecos -- didn't score a
point after Williams put sophomore Philonicus Fobbs on her,
and fouled out with just six points on the night.
"She shut her out, but we let the other big girl beat us
this time," Williams said. "Philonicus can play like that on
defense, she's just got to do it all the time next year."
A jumper by Ashley Salcido broke Canutillo's second quarter
streak and a 3-pointer by the just-returned Maricela
Arenivas cut the lead to 20-17 before Vasquez came up with
two lay-ups, the second a three-point play, and Celeste
Bowden added a short jumper for a 27-17 halftime lead.
Vasquez would score 11 more points in the third period, as
Canutillo widened their lead to 20, at 42-22, that lead
would grow to as much as 26 on April May's lay-up with 3:45
remaining, a play on which Monique Levario was whistled for
a technical foul for elbowing My after being shoved away
from the ball. Brenda Cazares missed the free throws, and
the Eagles did shut out Canutillo the rest of the way.
Lara and Arenivas both had six points to lead Pecos, which
fell to 1-6 in district and 4-20 on the season. Canutillo
improved to 4-2 and all but clinched a second or third place
playoff berth, with three games to go.
Williams gave his sophomores just over half the playing time
in the final two periods, and outside of the first period
effort by the starters, there wasn't much difference Friday
between the two units' play.
"The sophomores held their own and showed some signs of
life," Williams said. "We're out of it (the playoff race),
and I told them I was still going to play the seniors, but
for a more limited time, because I've got to get a chance to
see the other girls for next year."
The Eagles come home to face Fabens on Tuesday, a team they
lost to by five points back on Jan. 15. With the Wildcats
and San Elizario as Pecos' final two home games, Williams
said, "Our goal right now is to beat last year's team's
record of two district wins. That would be an improvement,
and I'm looking for any positive things right now."
The Eagles lost a couple of closer games on the sub-varsity
level. The JV dropped a 39-33 decision, while the freshmen
were edged by Canutillo, 37-35.
PECOS (34)
Lara 3 0-0 6; Marquez 0 0-0 0; Garcia 2 0-0 4; Molinar 1 0-1
2; Quiroz 2 0-0 4; Salcido 2 0-0 4; Levario 0 4-6 4; Hathorn
0 0-2 0; Fobbs 1 2-4 2; Arenivas 2 1-3 6. Totals 13 7-16 34.
CANUTILLO (51)
Ce. Bowden 1 0-2 2; Borjas 0 0-0 0; May 1 0-2 2; Ce. Bowden
2 4-6 8; Gonzales 1 3-4 5; Cazares 2 2-4 6; Marta 0 1-2 1;
Blanco 1 0-0 2; Pineda 2 3-4 7; Vasquez 7 4-5 18. Totals 17
17-29 51.
Pecos 12 5 5 12 --34
Canutillo 9 18 15 9 --51
Three-point goals: Pecos 1 (Arenivas). Technical foul:
Pecos, Levario. Fouled out: Canutillo, Pineda. Total fouls:
Pecos 21, Canutillo 14.
Pecos' boys have bad time in Canutillo
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
CANUTILLO, Feb. 1 -- The time change may have gotten to the
Pecos Eagles Friday night.
About 9:15 p.m. Friday, the time the Eagles would normally
be concluding a game at the Pecos High School gym, they were
in a close battle with the Canutillo Eagles. But since the
game was being played on Canutillo's home court and in
Mountain Time, it still had an hour to go, and by the time
10 p.m. rolled around the close game had turned into a rout,
as Canutillo outscored Pecos 33-17 over the final 2½
quarters and ended up with a 54-37 victory.
Eagles' coach Mike Sadler said Pecos' sluggishness began
even before the team headed out on their 220-mile trip along
snowy Interstate 10 to Canutillo. "I can't tell you what
went wrong, but I could tell when we got on the bus it
wasn't going to be a real good night," he said. "Our free
shooting wasn't very good, our lay-ups weren't very good and
our outside shooting wasn't very good."
Aside from dealing with an un-mopped floor that had Eagle
players dealing with slippery shoes, the Eagles just seemed
to run out of gas after the first 12 minutes of play, in
which they rallied back from a quick 8-0 deficit.
Fernando Navarette led the comeback with nine points, five
in a run that cut Canutillo's 14-6 lead to 14-13 at the
start of the second period. The teams traded baskets over
the next few minutes, but after Chris Grant hit his second
3-point shot of the night to give the host Eagles a 24-20
lead, the Eagles stopped moving on offense, and stopped
working inside for offensive rebounds.
Pecos rarely got more than one shot at a time on each trip
downcourt, while Canutillo got three and even four shots at
the basket, especially at the start of the second half, when
Sadler yanked his starters.
Pecos' reserves had just as many problems, and the Eagles
were a step slow when switching to a man-to-man defense.
Pecos was unable to come up with any steals that would get
the back into the game, and the lack of aggressiveness
showed in the foul totals -- the Eagles committed just two
fouls over the game's first 27 minutes, before being
whistled for six as time ran down and they tried to send
Canutillo to the line to get the ball back.
Navarette ended up with 20 of the 37 points for Pecos, which
again played without guard Oscar Luna. Canutillo, which was
minus forward Ignacio Jurado, got 12 from Grant and 10 from
Noe Cuevas, as they tied Pecos for fourth in the District
2-4A standings at 2-3, midway through the district schedule.
The Eagles are still only a game out of third place and the
final Class 4A playoff spot, but Sadler said the playoffs
are unlikely for Pecos if they have any more games like
Friday.
"If they don't suck it up they (Fabens) are going to sneak
up on us," Sadler said about Tuesday's game against the
Wildcats. "We have to decide. We can either be champions or
also-rans. We can either be contenders or pretenders."
Canutillo jumped out to early leads in winning Friday's
sub-varsity games, taking the junior varsity contest, 60-38,
and the freshman game, 56-33.
PECOS (37)
Weidner 0 0-0 0; Herrera 1 0-0 2; Perea 3 0-1 7; S. Garcia 0
0-1 0; A. Garcia 0 0-0 0; Navarette 8 3-4 20; H. Garcia 0
2-2 2; Matta 0 0-0 0; Natividad 0 0-0 0; Marquez 2 2-6 6.
Totals 14 7-13 37.
CANUTILLO (54)
DeAnda 0 0-0 0; Nunez 1 0-0 2; Cuevas 5 0-0 10; Grant 6 0-0
14; Re. Gutierrez 1 0-0 2; Ruvalcava 2 0-0 5; Ri. Gutierrez
4 1-2 9; Villalobos 1 0-0 2; Ortega 0 0-0 0; Castanon 1 0-0
2. Totals 23 5-6 54.
Pecos 11 9 8 9 --37
Canutillo 14 14 13 13 --54
Three-point goals: Pecos 2 (Perea, Navarette), Canutillo 3
(Grant 2, Ruvelcava). Fouled out: None. Total fouls: Pecos
8, Canutillo 13.
Broncos turn Falcons' mistakes into title
By BARRY WILNER
AP Football Writer
MIAMI, Feb. 1 -- It was the perfect ending for John Elway.
Now, is it the end?
Elway's not saying. But if you judge by his performance in
Sunday's Super Bowl, hanging around might seem like a great
idea.
``I am just thrilled to death that we won,'' Elway said
after winning his second straight NFL title -- and the Super
Bowl MVP award, to boot -- in a 34-19 victory over the
Atlanta Falcons. ``I am thrilled to death to be a part of
this team, thrilled to death I can help them win.
``This is what we play for. To be able to do it two years
in a row is unbelievable.''
Which makes some people think it would be unbelievable for
Elway to walk away. After 16 seasons, at age 38, to say he's
had enough would be understandable. To leave a ``dynasty,''
as receiver Rod Smith dubbed the Broncos, could be too
challenging for even Elway.
``If he leaves, God bless him,'' said Smith, who caught an
80-yard touchdown pass and had five receptions for 152
yards. ``I'm all for it, if that's what he decides. But
hopefully he will be back, because we need him. We want to
make this a habit.''
Losing the Super Bowl was Denver's habit for too long. The
Broncos were 0-4 before they upset Green Bay last year. With
Sunday's romp, they became the first AFC team to win
consecutive league crowns since the Steelers won the 1979
and '80 Super Bowls.
No team has won three in a row. Nor has any quarterback.
Sound tempting, John?
``Definitely, this will go into the thinking and throw a
kink into the thinking on what I decide to do next year,''
Elway said. ``But I am going to enjoy this win, because that
is what I have been working for. That is what I came back
for.''
While Elway has erased all those painful losses with his
consecutive championships, Dan Reeves remains winless as a
head coach in the big game. He has been to an incredible
nine, but the only victories came as a player or assistant
coach in Dallas. That was before he took over the Broncos
and failed in the 1987, '88 and '90 games. And long before
he guided Atlanta's amazing turnaround from 3-13 two years
ago to the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance.
The Falcons' sloppy showing Sunday should not obliterate
their achievements this season. That is surely realized by
Reeves, who underwent quadruple bypass surgery in December,
but returned to lead the team to playoff wins over San
Francisco and Minnesota.
``They all hurt,'' he said. ``It's a huge disappointment.
You get to this game for one reason, to win. I told them two
weeks ago how difficult it was going to be and how bad you
are going to feel if you lose it.
``They have an awful lot of things to be proud of. We've
come an awful long ways.''
They forced themselves to have to go much too far against
much too good a team on Sunday. The Falcons, who led the
league with a plus-20 turnover differential, yielded three
interceptions, two by Darrien Gordon, and a fumble. They
also saw usually reliable Morten Andersen miss a 26-yard
field goal and Jamal Anderson, the powerhouse runner, fall
short on a fourth-and-1.
Safety Eugene Robinson, arrested Saturday on a charge of
soliciting an undercover police officer for sex, was beaten
on Smith's 80-yard bomb and had a rough night.
All of that is devastating against an attack like Denver's,
which got 102 yards rushing from league MVP Terrell Davis;
did not allow Elway to be sacked -- he barely was
threatened; and enjoyed a vintage performance from the
quarterback, who went 18-for-29 for 336 yards.
``I feel pretty great right now,'' Elway said. ``It was
unbelievable (to be the MVP). It's something that I had
never done before, and winning the award definitely hit my
heart.''
While Elway was at the heart of Denver's big production,
Davis didn't even get into the end zone. When the Broncos
get close to the goal line, they almost always hand him the
ball; he had 21 touchdowns rushing this season.
The 2,000-yard rusher watched as fullback Howard Griffith
scored on two 1-yard plunges.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, 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
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Copyright 1999 by Pecos Enterprise
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