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SPORTS


Dec. 10, 1996

Eagles hunt offense, second victory

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PECOS, Dec. 10 -- The Pecos Eagles will try to find the formula that got
them a win in the first round of the West Texas Shootout last Thursday
in Crane, when they take on the Alpine Bucks on the road tonight, at
7:30 p.m.

The 1-5 Eagles will face the Bucks, who went 0-3 at Brownfield over the
weekend, beginning with the freshman contest at 4:30 p.m., followed by
the junior varsity matchup at 6 p.m.

Pecos won their opener by a 55-27 score over Fort Stockton, then
dropped a 61-39 decision to Crane and fell 52-22 to Monahans, the team
they'll face Thursday evening in the first round of the Loboes'
Sandhills Tournament.

"Once again that third quarter killed us," Eagles' coach Patty Hall
said after their tournament losses. Pecos scored 13 points in the third
period of their win over the Prowlers, and just 11 combined in their
last three losses. Through their first six games, no Eagle has scored
more than 13 points in any single game.

Alpine, meanwhile, struggled on offense in their weekend games at
Brownfield, dropping their opener to the host Cubs, then falling to
Snyder on Friday and on Saturday to El Paso Burges, by a 41-34 final
score. Celia Garcia's eight points led the Bucks in scoring.

Tonight's game was an on-again, off-again, on-again affair. Hall said
Alpine rescheduled the game after canceling out just prior to the start
of the season. Last year, the Bucks canceled their scheduled game
against the Eagles in Pecos due to the flu.

Pecos' boys have tonight off after losing at home to Monahans in their
last game, a week ago. The 4-4 Eagles will host their own West of the
Pecos Shootout starting on Thursday, but drew a first round bye and
won't see action until Friday evening.

Brice sidelined for year; Deion's back improves

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IRVING, Texas, Dec. 10 (AP) -- The Dallas Cowboys are only hoping to
finish the season before they lose all their players.

On Monday, they lost another one for the year.

Coach Barry Switzer said backup cornerback Alundis Brice is out for the
season because of a knee injury suffered in Sunday's 10-6 victory over
the Arizona Cardinals.

Brice, who started at right cornerback because of Deion Sanders' back
spasms, was hit by Larry Centers after an interception.

Dallas had to use rookie Wendell Davis, a sixth-round draft pick from
Oklahoma, although he hadn't practiced with the starting unit all week.
Davis held his own until Sanders, who had taken medication for his
spasms, could get into the game.

``I'm feeling OK now and should be ready for Sunday,'' Sanders said.

The Cowboys, who are now 9-5 and own the lead in the NFC East for the
first time this season, lost defensive tackle Leon Lett last week
because of a drug suspension.

``Wendell will be our No. 3 cornerback,'' Switzer said. ``He played
without fear out there. He pressed their guys and didn't even know their
names. He was impressive. We're comfortable with him as our No. 3 man.
Now, he will get all the practice time Alundis was getting. ''

The Cowboys can clinch a playoff spot by defeating New England in Texas
Stadium on Sunday. They started out 1-3 and no team has ever dug out of
such a hole to win a Super Bowl. The Cowboys' final game is on Dec. 22
in Washington against the Redskins, who fell to 8-6 with a 34-10 loss to
Tampa Bay.

Dallas also will be without special teams star Bill Bates against the
Patriots. Switzer said Bates will miss a week while nursing a knee
injury.

``Michael Irvin has had neck spasms, too, but we believe he'll be ready
to go,'' Switzer said.

Switzer once again praised his defense, which held the Cardinals without
a touchdown.

``We've played great defense all year, but our offense just isn't going
to go out and score a lot of points,'' Switzer said. ``We're not a big
playoff offensive team. Our goal each game is to score 24 points.''

Dallas has scored 264 points in 14 games, an average of just over 18
points per contest.

``We set a high standard here and we haven't played up to that
standard,'' said quarterback Troy Aikman. ``It's a little frustrating.
We've been banged up and had some people missing but we just have to
play through it. ''

(Copyright 1996 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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State and Regional Sports Pages--San Angelo Standard-Times


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