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Sept. 6, 1996
PECOS, Sept. 6, 1996 - Pecos Eagles' head football coach Mike Belew will
be screening the game video of tonight's 1996 season opener against
Lamesa on Monday night, during the Pecos Eagle booster club's meeting,
at 7 p.m. in the Pecos High School cafeteria.
The booster club, which has been meeting monthly during the summer,
plans to hold weekly meetings to watch the football videos during the 10
weeks of regular season play.
The JV got its first win since September, 1994, using a trio of
touchdown passes by quarterback Oscar Luna to defeat Lamesa, 28-12.
However, for most of the sophomore-laden squad, it was their second win
in as many years over the Golden Tornadoes, whom they beat as freshman
last year, 44-14.
This year's group of ninth graders began their season in Lamesa Thursday
night by rallying for a 24-20 victory over the Tors.
Luna got the scoring started quickly for the JV on defense, intercepting
an option pitch and returning it 30 yards for a score just 50 seconds
into the game. Louis Valencia added the extra point for a 7-0 lead, but
12 seconds later Lamesa was on the board, returning the ensuing kickoff
77 yards for a touchdown.
The Tors' try for two failed, and Pecos came back late in the first
period to take a 14-6 lead, on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Luna to
Rudy Nunez. The Eagles would run the same play twice more for scores, as
Luna hit Lucio Flores for a 31 yard score just before halftime, and
hooked up with him again from 42 yards out in the final period.
The Tors got their second score on a 65 yard drive to open the second
half, but didn't threaten the rest of the game.
Lamesa got their first score in the freshman game the same way their JV
did, but returning the first kickoff they fielded. But in this case, it
was the Eagles who responded to the opening score quickly.
"The first play Roy (Marta) ran 70 yards for his touchdown, and we were
able to tie it at 8-8," coach Alan Wyles said. Marta also had a
two-point conversion during the game, while Fabien Tarango scored twice
and Jomar Gallego added a pair of two-point runs for the Eagles' margin
of victory.
"Their quarterback was tough running the option. But we made some
adjustments in the second half that made a big difference," Wyles said.
Pecos' junior high teams still have another two weeks before kicking off
their 1996 seasons against Monahans, while tonight at 8 p.m., the
Eagles' varsity opens its season with a game at Lamesa.
Pecos never lost to Lamesa while both were members of the same district
in the 1980s, but have dropped three of their four meetings with the
Tors, including both road contests, since the series resumed in 1992.
The Eagles are one of three District 4-4A teams opening their season
against former district rivals. Big Spring kicks off 1996 at Monahans,
while Andrews travels to Snyder. In the other games, returning district
member Sweetwater opens 1996 in Brownwood, San Angelo Lake View goes to
Kerrville Tivy, and Fort Stockton hosts Santa Teresa, N.M.
Big Spring (3-7 in 1995, 2-3 in District 4-4A) at Monahans (4-6, 2-3):
The Loboes have gotten off to terrible starts the past two seasons.
They've also started both years against Sweetwater. No fools they, the
Loboes have replaced the Mustangs as opening night opponent with the
Steers, who may, or may not, be a little easier.
Sweetwater's Kerry Carr ran through Monahans a year ago on the way to a
2,200 yard season. Big Spring's Antwoyne Edwards has the potential for a
big night tonight, but the Loboes have looked strong on defense in
preseason, and return three all-district players in lineman Garrett
Williams, linebacker Tyler Lee and defensive back Brandon Stephens. Big
Spring, meanwhile, has been up-and-down in their scrimmages, which
mirrors the way the Steers have usually looked in the early part of most
recent seasons.
Andrews (5-7, 3-2) at Snyder (6-5):
A matchup of two playoff teams that were up-and-down themselves last
season. Andrews was down early, going 1-4 and losing their opener to
Snyder on a late goal line stand, while Snyder was up late despite a
real downer, beating out Lubbock Estacado for second in District 6-4A
despite giving Lamesa their first district win in two seasons.
While last year's game was a defensive battle, this year should see some
more offense. Andrews lost all but one of their defensive starters,
while returning most of their running backs, including sophomore
all-district pick Shaud Williams. Snyder's top rusher, L.S. McCain, is
also back, after running for over 700 yards last season.
Sweetwater (11-1) at Brownwood (1-8-1): Outside of a 6-4 mark in his
first season at Sweetwater, Brownwood coach W.t. Stapler has always seen
his teams struggle in the first year of his program. He went 2-7-1 in
1987 at Andrews and 3-7 in 1994 at Carlsbad, surviving a heart attack
there, before coming to Brownwood last year. He still showed success
against his old district, since the Lions' tie came against eventual
4-4A champ Lake View.
Sweetwater coach Tom Ritchey suffered a heart attack during last year's
scrimmage against Brownwood, so at last that matchup is even. Other than
that, the seventh-ranked Mustangs should have the advantage against
their former coach, though Jason Blueford has yet to be tested as a
running back, while the Lions' Audie Mitchell gained over 900 yards last
season despite the team's dismal year.
San Angelo Lake View (9-2-1, 5-0) at Kerrville Tivy: The Antlers were
way up and the Chiefs way down when they faced each other in the early
1980s, then seemed to reverse fortunes overnight in 1994. Last year's
game was decided by a couple of bombs from quarterback Sterlin Gilbert
to wide receiver Morris Smith, and tonight's game should be a pretty
even matchup, with both teams picked second in their districts.
San Angelo appears to again by stronger on defense than offense - the
Chiefs have allowed less than 240 yards per game on defense just once in
the past decade - while Tivy's strong spot on defense appears to be at
defensive back and linebacker. Both groups will be tested by Gilbert and
his offense tonight.
Santa Teresa, N.M. (1-0 in 1996) at Fort Stockton (1-9, 1-4): So you
don't have to get out your road map, Santa Teresa is the western-most
border crossing site in the El Paso area, located next to Sunland Park.
The team itself is called the Desert Warriors, and they got their season
started a week early along with all the other New Mexico schools,
defeating new District 3-4A member San Elizario, 32-12.
Fort Stockton was also in the El Paso area last week, beating up on San
Eli's district rival Canutillo in a scrimmage game. While neither of
those Eagle squads figures to be in the 3-4A playoff race this season,
Canutillo is a lot closer to matching the level of other 4A schools than
San Elizario, which went 0-10 in Class 3A a year ago. Fullback Jacob
Vasquez had four touchdowns by himself in the Panthers' scrimmage last
Friday, and will probably add a few more that count before tonight is
over.
State and Regional Sports Pages--San Angelo Standard-Times
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Copyright 1996 by Pecos Enterprise
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