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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Monday, February 15, 1999
Low turnout threatens Gloves' future
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Feb. 15 -- Maybe it was Oscar De La Hoya. Maybe it
was the other events going on Friday and Saturday. But the
turnout for this weekend's West of the Pecos Golden Gloves
Tournament disappointed organizer Fred Martin and left the
future of the tournament in doubt.
"If we're going to keep this thing then we're going to have
to have help from more people," Martin said, after this
year's attendance was well below that of the past two years
at the Reeves County Civic Center. "Lubbock has already
asked me if we're going to give it up, because they want it."
The pay-per-view telecast on Saturday of De La Hoya's fight
against Ike Quartey may have cut down some on Saturday's
turnout, although the final bout of the night ended 45
minutes before the De La Hoya bout began.
"You had the De La Hoya fight, and there was also a big
wedding tonight, but what about last night?" asked Martin.
"It's up to the people of Pecos. If they want to keep it we
will, if not we can just let it go."
Pecos Chamber of Commerce and Pecos Lions Club members were
among those who helped out with the tournament, but Martin
said those who do help are usually the same ones each year.
"The few people involved all the time is not enough. We need
to make it a community project."
Martin brought the tournament to the Civic Center five years
ago after officials in Odessa were unable to continue
hosting the area tournament, which it had done for 50 years.
Martin said if Pecos is to keep the tournament, work not
only needs to be done by more people but also earlier than
this time around.
"We need to start on Monday working on next year. You can't
start at the last minute and expect it to work. That's what
happened to Odessa and that's what's happening here."
As far as the fights themselves went, Pecos Warbirds' boxers
went 1-for-4 in Saturday's finals after winning the only
fight involving a Pecos boxer on Friday.
Peter Juarez took control of his bout in through the second
round and scored a decision over Jose Balderas of the Twin
City Tigers, while Michael Vasquez, Antonio Reyes and Joel
Martinez saw their bouts stopped by the referee against
fighters from Odessa, Snyder and Andrews.
Fighting at 122 pounds in the 14-16 year old division,
Juarez got in a jab to the nose of Balderas about 30 seconds
into the second round and controlled the tempo of the fight
the rest of the way, except for a flurry by Balderas coming
out to start the final round.
"Peter fought a good fight, but he just got a little tired
at times. He couldn't throw punches like he normally does,"
said manager Roy Juarez.
Michael Vasquez fought Snyder's Anthony Vasquez, who had won
a national title in the Junior Olympic 112-pound, 14-15 age
division, and stayed with him until early in the second
round, when Juarez said a shot to the ribs caused the
Warbirds' fighter to let down his defense.
"What was wrong with Michael he was dropping his hands.
Every time he dropped his hands, he got hit," Juarez said.
The fight was stopped by the referee at the end of the
second round.
"He said he was ready to fight and he wasn't afraid even
though the guy's a national champion, but he just let down
his hands," Juarez said.
While Juarez and Vasquez have fought in past Golden Gloves,
this was the first year for Reyes and Martinez.
Reyes won a decision over Andrews' Charlie Valles, Jr. of
Andrews on Friday fighting at 85 pounds in the 10-11
bracket, before being stopped in the second round Johnny
Marmolejo of the Twin City Tigers on Saturday night. Later,
Martinez was stopped in the first round by Andrews' Richard
Revelez, fighting at 115 pounds in the 12-13 age division.
"Joel and Tony need a little bit more work. This was the
first time in there and they really didn't know what to do,
but I'll get them in better shape," Juarez said.
Snyder's Joseph Martinez earned best fighter honors for the
Junior Olympic Division, for his victory in the 14-16
division over Dimas Hernandez of the Lubbock Warriors. The
two fought at 132 pounds, and were followed by one of three
Open Division finals bouts on the night, a close win by
Lamesa's Joseph Minjarez over Patrisio Lopez of the Twin
City Tigers.
Minjarez, also fighting at 132 pounds, won top fighter
honors in the Open Divisions, while the Twin City Tigers and
Lubbock Warriors won the team trophies for the Junior
Olympic and Open divisions.
Martin did thank those who helped out with setting up and
operating the event, including R.L. Tellez, who supervised
setting up the ring inside the Civic Center, but he added
"Whoever used it (the building) before we did left it like a
pig sty, especially on the new side."
Eagle boys get 7th at regional swim meet
PECOS, Feb. 15 -- The Class 5A competition was again just a
little too much for the Pecos Eagles' swim team to deal with
over the weekend, at the Region I Swimming and Diving
Championships in Lubbock.
Pecos' girls were shut out in the final points standings
while the boys placed seventh, behind six 5A schools, and
junior Kevin Bates finished two spots out of earning a berth
at the state finals in Austin in two weeks.
Bates placed fourth in the 50 freestyle despite breaking the
22 second barrier for the first time. His 21.85 time left
him as second alternate for the state finals, coach Terri
Morse said. "The one that finished just ahead of him (San
Angelo Central's Billy Patterson) was also in the race there
was just 1/100th of a second between him and Kevin," she
said.
El Paso Franklin's Charles Henkel won the race, with a 21.55
time, while Ryan Rogers of Lubbock High was second and
earned an at-large spot with a 21-73 time.
Bates later placed fifth in the 100 yard freestyle with a
49.07 time, in a race won by El Paso Eastwood's Andy Munoz
in 47.94 seconds. The Eagles' other points came from Bates,
Grant Holland, Ty Edwards and Courtney Freeman in the 200
medley relay, where the Eagles placed fourth, from Bates,
Freeman, Matt Ivy and Luis Niteto in the 200 freestyle
relay, which ended up sixth, and from Edwards, who was
eighth in the 100 yard backstroke.
Edwards was able to break the one minute mark in the finals
of the backstroke. The 200 medley team finished with a
1:44.61 time and the 200 freestyle squad had a 1:34.32 time.
Pecos' 400 free relay team just missed making the finals,
with a ninth place finish, while Edwards placed 10th in the
100 yard butterfly.
"Lots of people cut times, they just didn't get into the
finals, but we had a lot of kids who were seeded far enough
down I didn't expect them to get into the finals," Morse
said.
On the girls' side, she said, "We didn't get anyone into the
finals for the first time in a while. It was a real fast
meet on the girls' side."
The best finishes on the day for Pecos on Friday was a 10th
place finish by Liz Parent in the 500 yard freestyle, five
seconds out of a berth in the finals. Parent was also 12th
in the 100 yard butterfly, as was the Eagles' 200 yard
medley relay team and the 400 freestyle relay squad.
Pecos' 13 points on the boys' side was just ahead of
District 4 rival Big Spring, which had 10. Andrews and
Sherman, with five and four points, were the only other
sub-5A schools to score at Lubbock, as Eastwood won the meet
with 72 points, followed by Lubbock High with 49.
On the girls' side Midland High won with 84 points to 53½
for El Paso Franklin. The only non-5As to score were
Amarillo Tascosa with 15 points, Denton with 14 and District
4 champion Monahans, with nine.
All that changes next year, when sub-5A schools will get
their own regional and state meets for the first time. Morse
said she hadn't had time as of yet to figure out how Pecos
would have done under that set-up this year, but said the
current Region I includes 24 teams in Class 4A and below who
will compete in the new meet next February.
"I'm not sure how they're going to set it up. We may get a
few more Fort Worth teams in our region next year," said
Morse, who'll get most of her team back for next year's meet.
`Line call' costs Pecos shot at win in El Paso
PECOS, Feb. 15 -- The game was literally on the line for
the Pecos Eagles Friday night in El Paso, as a referees'
ruling kept Pecos from forcing overtime against the Mountain
View Lobos.
Fernando Navarette's side jumper as time wound down in the
fourth quarter was rules to have come from inside the
3-point line, and that allowed Mountain View to hang on for
a 46-45 win and clinch the final playoff spot out of
District 2-4A.
Pecos held a 12-10 lead after one period, and were down by
just one, 23-22 at the half. Mountain View widened that to
six after three periods and appeared to have things in
control until the final seconds of play.
"We were down by six and ran a screen and pop out and Frank
(Perea) hit a 3," Eagles' coach Mike Sadler said. Pecos then
fouled Mountain View's Gilbert Garcia, who missed the front
end of his 1-and-1, setting up Navarette's final score.
"He shot a 3 at the end and they called it a 2," Sadler
said. "They (El Paso officials) call a college type of game
and are very, very picky on 3s. You almost have to be two
inches behind the line."
Still, he said it was a tough call to judge. "It's hard to
see on the video, because it's shot from the back. I've seen
two versions and on neither can you tell."
Despite the lost point, Navarette still led all scorers on
Friday with 22, while Garcia topped Mountain View with 11.
However, the Lobos had five other players with between seven
and nine points, while Mark Marquez was the only other Pecos
player to have more than one basket on Friday, finishing
with nine.
"I thought it was a great effort by Fernando. He played one
of his better games and everybody contributed. If we could
just get some more scoring we would have been in good shape,
because our defense is usually pretty good," Sadler said.
"It's just a shame we had to come out on the short end of
the stick."
Mountain View's win lifted their district record to 6-3 and
assured them of a first-round playoff game, while the Eagles
fell to 2-7 and will close out their 1998-99 season on
Tuesday by hosting Canutillo. The varsity game has been
moved up to a 6 p.m. start, with the JV and freshmen games
set for 4:30 p.m. in the old and new gyms.
PECOS (45)
Weidner 0 0-0 0; Herrera 0 0-0 0; Perea 2 0-0 5; S. Garcia 0
0-0 0; A. Garcia 0 0-0 0; Navarette 10 0-0 22; H. Garcia 2
0-0 5; Natividad 1 0-0 2; Marquez 4 1-2 9. Totals 20 1-2 45.
EP MOUNTAIN VIEW (46)
Esparza 2 2-2 7; Garcia 5 0-1 11; Jurado 0 0-0 0; Lane 0 0-0
0; Mendez 3 0-0 7; Mendoza 4 0-0 8; Malory 4 0-0 9; Puga 1
0-0 2; Vasquez 1 0-0 2; Totals 20 2-3 46.
Pecos 12 10 11 12 --45
EP Mountain View 10 13 16 7 --46
Three-point goals: Pecos 4 (Navarette 2, H. Garcia, Perea),
EP Mountain View 4 (Esparza, Garcia, Mendoza, Malary).
Fouled out: None. Total fouls: Pecos 9, EP Mountain View 8.
Old problem hurts Pecos in scrimmage
PECOS, Feb. 15 -- The Pecos Eagles and Fort Stockton
Panthers picked up where they left off last season, which is
something neither Eagles' coach Bubba Williams or Panthers'
coach Russell McGuiart can be too happy about.
The Eagles and Panthers closed 1998 with an error-filled 8-7
victory by Pecos at Eagle Field. Friday night the teams
scrimmaged and again, errors were critical to most of the
late scoring oportunities in what ended as a 9-9 tie.
"The first inning they hit the ball good off Louis Valencia,
but we've got to make the plays behind him when they hit
it," Williams said. "We made some errors behind Josh
(Casillas) and we made some errors behind Chacho (Oscar
Rodriguez), and we've got to make the plays behind them."
A dropped infield pop-up and a missed fly ball with two outs
off Casillas and Rodriguez allowed Fort Stockton to score
their final three runs, giving them at one point an 9-8
lead. Pecos came back and tied the game in the bottom of the
seventh and could have won, as the Panthers balked and
walked in runs. But both times, Williams sent the runner
back to third to give his hitters game practice, though
neither time were the Eagles able to come through.
Still, it was the fielding more than the hitting that
concerned Williams.
"Mark (Abila) hit the ball good, Toomi (Orlando Orona) and
Sergio hit the ball, but we've got to make the plays. We
can't give up seven unearned runs or get a runner on third
base with none out and get two strikeouts. I saw a lot of
that last year and it's not going to happen again."
Valencia went three innings in his first outing of
pre-season and did a better job after getting hit hard in
the first inning. Casillas didn't allow an eanred run for
the second time in five days, having done the same last
Monday against Kermit, while Rodriguez allowed only the two
unearned runs in the seventh inning.
Friday's scrimmage was the second of three for Pecos, which
will have all its players available for the first time this
Saturday, when they scrimmage Midland High in a 5 p.m.
start. Pecos' regular season opens Feb. 26 with a home
doubleheader against Monahans.
Gordon bumps up to Daytona win
By DICK BRINSTER
AP Sports Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 15 -- Jeff Gordon enjoyed every
bump Dale Earnhardt gave him -- especially the last one.
It came after The Kid won his second Daytona 500 in a
breathtaking shootout with the man he called ``The Master.''
``He drove into the side of me and just waved,'' Gordon
said. ``He was saying, `This car is going to Daytona USA,
and I'm going to put my mark on it.'''
In a ceremony today, Gordon's winning Chevrolet will go on
display for the next year in the motorsports exhibit next to
Daytona International Speedway. Earnhardt's 1998 car was
there for the last year, and without Gordon it could have
been two in a row.
But the 27-year-old driver made a bold pass with 10 laps
remaining Sunday in The Great American Race, then held off
the man he succeeded as stock car racing's best.
A crowd of 185,000 saw one of the best finishes in the
41-year history of the race: Earnhardt's black No. 3 car vs.
Gordon's rainbow-colored No. 24.
``They got their money's worth,'' Earnhardt said.
What Gordon got was $2.1 million, including a $1 million
sponsor bonus that made it the largest payoff in auto racing
history.
But green wasn't the color he was thinking about as he beat
Earnhardt to win the Winston Cup season-opener for the
second time in three years.
``That's not the kind of black you want to see,'' Gordon
said of the image of Earnhardt in his rearview mirror.
``Keeping him behind me is one of the toughest things.''
But Gordon did just that as he began his run at a
record-tying third straight series title.
Gordon kept easing off the throttle, forcing Earnhardt to
break his momentum, then got on the accelerator again and
pulled away slightly. He permitted Earnhardt to close up to
the point where he couldn't attempt a longer run that would
give him the momentum necessary to pass.
Then came the final lap, one that would decide whether the
seven-time series champion could duplicate the winning pass
he made two days earlier to beat Mark Martin in an IROC
all-star race.
With a record 33 victories on the track, the 47-year-old
Earnhardt knows more about winning passes than anyone. But
this time, it was not to be.
As the cars exited the fourth turn, Earnhardt made his
move. He faked going to the outside, then tried the short
route on the inside.
Gordon went to the bottom, so far down that Earnhardt was
almost forced to veer left onto pit road. He had to back
off, however, to avoid sliding across the grass that
separates pit road from the last 200 yards of asphalt that
Gordon rode to his 43rd career victory.
And it was actually Earnhardt who helped him get it. He
bumped Gordon several times from behind as the two worked
their way to the front of the pack toward the end of the
race.
As a result, Gordon ended up in first -- and never gave up
the lead.
``They came on the radio and said, `Dale said he'd like to
work with you to get up to the front,''' Gordon explained.
``I was fine with that.''
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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