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A.D. Ibarra
-Eagle Pass
In the ninth installment of our weekly feature, The Eagle Pass News Gram highlights two players from each of our Fightin' High School Football Squads, the New-look Eagle Pass Eagles who ended their season versus Del Rio this week and The Silver & Black Attack CC Winn Mavericks who just played their seventh district ball game vs Somerset on Thursday.
First up for the Eagles is starting WR/RB/K Jose Riojas Dees.
First of all Jose, congratulations on your big game against Alexander last week. I've got a battery of questions for you, are you ready?
Yes, Sir.
I'll begin by asking who your influences are?
Our fans. They're always there to support us and they always keep pumping us up no matter what happens. In the pros, it's Cole Beasley of the Dallas Cowboys, because no matter what size you are, there are no limits to what you can accomplish.
What are your goals this season?
To help my team win, and one day to go to college and hopefully play college football.
Who's your favorite NFL team?
The Dallas Cowboys.
College team?
The UTSA Roadrunners.
What's your favorite play?
My favorite play is Blade 25 GT. I get Iram Gaytan blocking for me. He opens it up for me to gain extra yardage. He's massive. He really puts a lot of effort into every play. He's beast!
Give me your career highlight.
In the second half of our game vs Alexander, my coaches told me to play as if it was my senior year. I was blocking well. I was going against senior line backers and I did my job.
What are your plans after Graduation?
I want to live in San Antonio and hope to become an engineer.
Major?
Engineering.
Give me some advice to give to a seventh grader starting football.
Always try your best. Work hard. Have fun. Learn the game.
Finally, tell our readers what it feels like to come out of the tunnel.
It feels good. You see the lights, the people and the fans screaming and yelling for you. It makes me feel like I'm playing college football.
Next up is Maverick Outside Linebacker Ramiro Valdez.
Congratulations on an exceptional season, Ramiro. Proud of you. I've got some questions for you are you ready?
Yes, Sir.
Who are your influences?
My parents have always been my biggest influences.
What are your goals this season?
Hopefully reach the playoffs. Individually to just be the best player that I can possibly be.
Who's your favorite NFL team?
The Dallas Cowboys.
College?
The Oregon Ducks.
What's your favorite play and why?
Smoke and Silver because I have the liberty to blitz the quarterback.
What is your career highlight?
I had a career game against Laredo Cigarroa. That is the best game I played in my football career.
What are your plans after graduation?
Attend college.
Major?
I want to major in education.
What advice would you give a seventh grader playing football for the first time?
Play with your heart, go all out and have fun.
Finally, tell our readers what it feels like to come out of the tunnel.
The tension is rising, the team is together as one in unison. Knowing that all the attention is on you makes it worth while. It is the best feeling in the world..
A.D. Ibarra
-Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium
The CC Winn Mavericks were looking to take a step never taken by the school and take one away from the visiting Somerset Bulldogs in order to catapult themselves into the State Playoffs this season, but QB Nick Escobedo and his Bulldogs, undefeated in 29-AAAAA play this season, had other plans.Escobedo handed off to Elijah Rollins early in the game for the first Somerset score and a 29 yard pitch and catch to Martin Ramos made the score 14-0 in favor of the visiting Blue & White.
The Mavericks picked up a fumble deep in their own territory but a failed reverse to Lalo Martinez who pitched it to Reyes Lopez gave a safety to the Bulldogs as the ball bounced into the endzone. 16-0 Somerset.
It was all Somerset in the first half as RB Phillip Aguilera capped the scoring off for the Bulldogs to make the halftime score 23-0.
After an amazing performance by the award-winning Thundering Maverick Marching Band who put their 7th Place Area performance on for the hometown crowd, the Mavericks made some adjustments and came out firing on all cylinders with Lopez punishing Bulldog defenders down the field before finding his way into the endzone at the end of the third quarter.
Lalo Martinez also had a couple of significant runs and Julio Ruiz had a significant gain on a pitch and catch to get the Mav offense within striking distance for a two yard Martinez plunge into the end zone to get the Mavericks within one score after the two point conversion to Big Joe Rodriguez to make the score Somerset 23, Winn 15.
The on-sides kick fell into the hands of a Bulldog up man, but the Maverick Defense stopped the ensuing drive only to three and out. The Mavericks attempted a fake punt which put the Bulldogs in striking distance and the Maverick Defense still held them to a late field goal, but it was too little, too late for the the resurgent Mavs and the final score was Somerset 26, the CC Winn Mavericks 15.
Congratulations to the 2015-16 OLOR Flag Football Team for finishing their season in 2nd Place Citywide in Division II
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) --
The world champion Kansas City Royals basked in the adulation of hundreds of thousands of ecstatic fans in a parade and rally Tuesday that nearly shut down downtown for hours.
After driving a 2.3-mile route in a caravan, team owner David Glass, manager Ned Yost and several of the Royals returned the love by telling fans they could not have captured the World Series without their support and calling the turnout for Tuesday's celebration "unbelievable" and "amazing."
City officials estimated Tuesday that 500,000 people attended the events.
"This is a day like none of us have seen before and we appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts," Yost said. "What (the team) wanted most was to come to this city to win a championship for you guys. We celebrate it with you today."
Left fielder Alex Gordon, who has been with the team since 2007, recalled years of losing seasons for the Royals. "To see this unfold to this is unbelievable. We're the World Series champs and you are the best fans in the world," he told the crowd.
Gordon, who is not expected to exercise an option on his contract for next season, gave no hint about his possible future with the team.
Johnny Gomes, a midseason acquisition from the Atlanta Braves who didn't make the playoff roster but was credited with bringing positive energy to the clubhouse, was the most animated of the players, forcing the reluctant relieving corps to take a bow and introducing several players. He also asked for a moment of silence in honor of Edinson Volquez's father, Chris Young's father and Mike Moustakas' mother, all of whom died this year.
"It's unbelievable what those guys did," Gomes said, emphatically.
Volquez drew loud applause when he vowed that the Royals would be back on the same stage next season after winning another world championship.
Fans began arriving hours before the festivities and were packed in so tightly that many could not move. Yet the mood remained mostly jovial, with people waving flags, hats and signs, thrilled for their team's first World Series win since 1985.
Hall of Famer George Brett told the crowd this year's team was better than the one he played on in 1985.
"These guys are the best team ever, in my opinion, and I'm sure in yours too," he said.
Several area school districts called off classes for the day and Rachel Bryant, of Kansas City, took advantage and brought her 7-year-old son, Jayden, to the parade.
"It's been 30 years since the last championship. Who knows if it will be another 30 years? It might be a one-time experience for him. I hope not; I hope we're back here next year," she said.
Steve Templeton, of suburban Lee's Summit, said the championship brought the city together.
"The Royals were a doormat for so long and look at it now, it's just a sea of blue," he said. "It's fun because they are bringing everybody together, every nationality, every kind of person is here together because we love the team."
Downtown was so crowded that some fans who came for the festivities left before they began, realizing they wouldn't be able to see or hear anything.
"It's a shame because we're so proud of the team," said Mary Winston of suburban Overland Park, Kansas, who brought her five children three hours before the rally and left before it began. "But with five children we would have had to be here at 5 a.m. to get a seat."
The Kansas City Transit Authority said those trying to take public transportation to the events endured waits of one- to three-hours. Spokeswoman Cindy Baker said the crowds were "definitely more than we expected," with a conservative estimate of about 100,000 people being shuttled before the rally, with more after it began. Police spokesman Tye Grant said traffic was so heavy that some drivers parked along the interstate and walked.
NEW YORK (AP) --
Clemson, LSU, Ohio State and Alabama are the top four teams in the first College Football Playoff selection committee rankings of the season.
Notre Dame was fifth and Baylor was sixth on Tuesday night.
Clemson, LSU and Ohio State are among 11 unbeaten teams in FBS, nearly quadruple the number there was last season when the committee started ranking teams. Alabama and Notre Dame each have one loss.
Memphis was the highest ranked team from a Group of Five conference at No. 13.
Last year the top four teams in the first playoff rankings were Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Mississippi. Only the Seminoles reached the playoff. Ohio State, the eventual national champion, was 16th in the first rankings.
Takeaways from the first playoff rankings.
LOVIN' 'BAMA
The committee really warmed up to the Crimson Tide.
Alabama lost to Mississippi in September and then Florida pounded Ole Miss in Gainesville. But the Tide landed in playoff position, while Florida was 10th and Ole Miss was 18th.
"Alabama from our point of view had a stronger schedule in the games they have won," said selection committee chairman Jeff Long, the athletic director at Arkansas. "They have three wins against teams with better than .500 records. They're close even though they may be separated by a number of ranking spots."
If you think Alabama is positioned to simply win out and get in the playoff, think again.
Ole Miss is still in control of the SEC West race, so Alabama will need the Rebels to lose just to reach the SEC championship game. At 11-1 with no conference championship, Alabama is likely to get jumped by teams that do win conference titles, including whichever team wins the SEC.
The committee is told to emphasize conference championships, especially when teams have similar resumes.
Remember the committee showed last year it does not lock teams into positions. Florida State dropped while not losing and TCU was third going into the last weekend of the season and finished sixth, despite blowing out Iowa State.
WAITING ON THE BIG 12
The Big 12 has four teams (Baylor, No. 8 TCU, No. 14 Oklahoma State and No. 15 Oklahoma) in the top 15 and they all play each other in November.
Long said it was difficult to judge the strength of those teams because their big games are still to come. The good news for the Power Five conference that got left out of last season's final four is all of those teams are in good shape to get in the playoff if they win out.
The bad news is one loss by the Big 12 champion might be too much to get into the playoff.
Baylor, again, played a terribly weak nonconference schedule, and Oklahoma State did the same. TCU's best nonconference opponent was Minnesota, which is struggling.
If you're looking for this season's Ohio State, which went from 16th in the first poll to making the playoff, Oklahoma is a good pick.
If the Sooners can sweep TCU, Baylor and Oklahoma State down the stretch, they would have a strong late statement.
MEMPHIS MOVES
Memphis has a shot to get into the playoff. It's still a long shot, but it is not totally unrealistic, especially considering the respect the committee gave to other American Athletic Conference teams.
What do the Tigers need, other than a perfect record and an American Athletic Conference championship?
-Ole Miss winning the SEC would help a lot. Memphis' victory against the Rebels resonated with the committee.
"The victory over Ole Miss and Ole Miss's subsequent victory over Alabama really helped move Memphis into that consideration," Long said. "They have two other wins against teams with better than .500 records, so that stood out at us at this time."
-Temple and Houston not getting upset. The Owls came in 22nd in the committee rankings and the unbeaten Cougars were 25th. Memphis plays both in November and could get Temple again in the American championship game.
If the Owls and Cougars can avoid bad losses, they will give the Tigers the chance for three quality wins.
PAC-12 WORRIES?
The Pac-12 is going to need some help getting a team in the playoff.
No. 11 Stanford (7-1) and No. 12 Utah (7-1) were the committee's highest ranked Pac-12 teams. Both are well positioned to surge, but they might have too much traffic in front of them to get into the top four.
Best-case scenario for the Pac-12: A Stanford-Utah conference title game produces a 12-1 champion and either the Big 12 contenders knock each other off and create a one-loss champion or the SEC champion ends up with two losses.
EYEING THE IRISH
The committee really liked Notre Dame's two-point loss at Clemson, and it will keep the Irish in the playoff hunt as long as they keep winning.
Notre Dame plays Stanford in the regular-season finale, which could give it a leg up on the Pac-12. The Irish have already beaten Southern California. Could an 11-1 Notre Dame trump an 11-1 Big 12 champion? That might be the Notre Dame's path to the playoff.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) —
Royals fans packed downtown Kansas City on Tuesday as the team's first World Series trophy in 30 years and the players who won it wound through crowded streets.
Waving flags, hats and signs, the crowd erupted in cheers as pickup trucks carrying CEO David Glass and his players, several of them holding their children in their laps, rolled past. One fan held up a placard reading, "Thanks Comeback Kids," a nod to the Royals' record-setting eight postseason comeback wins.
"It's the first time I've ever been able to see something like this," said Steve Spencer, 48, of Kansas City. "The team was so bad for so long. And now the fact that we've got maybe a half a million people out here is beyond anything I've ever seen in my lifetime. It's crazy."
The victory parade began at the downtown Power & Light District and was winding 2.3 miles before ending with a rally at Union Station. The Royals won their first World Series crown since 1985 on Sunday with a 7-2 win in 12 innings in Game 5 against the New York Mets.
Steve Templeton, of suburban Lee's Summit, said the championship had brought the city together.
"The Royals were a doormat for so long and look at it now, it's just a sea of blue," he said as he stood in front Union Station, where thousands of people wearing blue gathered. "It's fun because they are bringing everybody together, every nationality, every kind of person is here together because we love the team."
Before 2014, the Royals hadn't even played in the postseason since 1985. Last year, they lost to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.
In anticipation of Tuesday's celebration, several area school districts called off classes for the day.
Rachel Bryant, of Kansas City, brought her 7-year-old son, Jayden, to the parade.
"It's been 30 years since the last championship. Who knows if it will be another 30 years? It might be a one-time experience for him. I hope not; I hope we're back here next year."
Vickie Magana, of suburban Olathe, Kansas, said she had so much fun at the 1985 parade that she was determined not to miss this one. She said she was a fan through the lean years of the 1970s and the good years in the 1980s, then suffered through three decades of bad baseball.
"I was one of those fans out at the stadium when they were losing 100 games and no one else was there," she said. "It's such a great thing for this city. It brings such unity and such great publicity. Kansas City fans are so loyal."
IRVING, Texas (AP) —
Dez Bryant is listed as questionable against Seattle after the star Dallas receiver missed the past five games with a broken right foot.
Bryant was a limited participant in practice all week and said he's "trying to be smart about it." But he also said Friday that if the decision were his, "I would be playing."
The Cowboys (2-4) have lost four straight games without Bryant and quarterback Tony Romo, who broke his left collarbone a week after Bryant went down in the opener against the New York Giants. Romo will miss at least two more games after Sunday's visit from the Seahawks (3-4).
Bryant's five-game absence is the longest of his career. He says it "seems like a year."
The Eagle Pass Eagles were handed a difficult loss this Thursday as they faced the Alexander Bulldogs at the SAC in Laredo. The one-sided affair ended in a 58-24 victory for the Bulldogs.
Alexander was able to rack up 41 points before the end of the half behind the arm of Ezekiel Coss who threw for a total of 390 yards and 4 touchdowns and ran for one TD.
The bulldogs rushed for almost 200 yards thanks to Jonathan Lacroix’ 155 rushing yards but the brunt of the damage was done in the air as the the Eagle defense had little response for the Bulldog receivers.
The Eagles will try to recover and hopefully bounce back next Friday here at home as they face the Del Rio Rams in Eagle Pass High School’s Homecoming game.
At press time Del Rio had a 2-1 district record but would be facing United South Friday night. The Eagle Pass Eagles are 1-8 overall and 0-4 in district play.
A.D. Ibarra
-Eagle Pass
In the fourth installment of our weekly feature, The Eagle Pass News Gram highlights two players from each of our Fightin' High School Football Squads, the New-look Eagle Pass Eagles who will take on Laredo Alexander this week and The Silver & Black Attack CC Winn Mavericks who are preparing to play their sixth district ball game vs Laredo Nixon on Friday.
First up for the Mavericks is starting Center Juan Dees.
First of all Juan, congratulations on your big 'Winn' against Martin last week. I've got a battery of questions for you, are you ready?
Yes, Sir.
I'll begin by asking who your influences are?
My parents are my biggest influence for me to play is just to see them happy. In the pros it has to be Michael Oher (of The Blind Side fame, a motion picture starring Sandra Bullock that tells the story, the trials and tribulations of this University of Mississippi star who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens) because you can overcome any obstacle that is thrown your way and he is the living, breathing example.
What are your goals this season?
My goals are to make playoffs.
Who's your favorite NFL team?
The Dallas Cowboys.
College team?
Ole Miss.
What's your favorite play?
My favorite play is 23 Slip Right because I get to go upfield and get a good block on someone and we can get more yardage.
Give me your career highlight.
One time, I hit a guy so hard, our helmets got stuck. There we were, with our helmets fused together. It was not a pretty scene and I guess it could've been dangerous, but it was pretty cool. My highlights go with the success of our running backs and Lalo Martinez has had like five or six 100 yard games.
What are your plans after Graduation?
To go to college.
Major?
Computer Science.
Give me some advice to give to a seventh grader starting football.
Always give your best and have fun. Don't give up. It all comes to an end before you know it.
Finally, tell our readers what it feels like to come out of the tunnel.
It's overwhelming coming out of the tunnel and all of your emotions leave while you run out with your team.
Next up is Maverick Linebacker Eduardo Aranda.
Congratulations on a great touchdown against United, Ricky. Proud of you. I've got some questions for you are you ready?
Yes, Sir.
Who are your influences?
I consider my brother Daniel Felix. He's dedicated. He's always told me to work hard. He always stresses that nothing in life comes easy. In the pros, Tony Romo even under pressure he performs very well.
What are your goals this season?
To make the playoffs.
Who's your favorite NFL team?
The Dallas Cowboys.
College?
Alabama.
What's your favorite play and why?
14 GT. It always works and I can always trust my linemen to block for me.
What is your career highlight?
This past game (vs United) was my first TD of the season. It was 14 GT and I got really nervous because the hole opened up really big. I hit it full speed and when I realized that I was going to score, I wanted to do something with the ball and I bobbled it. My heart skipped a beat then i got REALLY nervous but I still scored, thank goodness.
What are your plans after graduation?
Go to college to become an orthopedic surgeon.
Major?
Biology, Pre-Med and Medical School.
What advice would you give a seventh grader playing football for the first time?
You need to prepare. Start preparing now because high school is a different monster.
Finally, tell our readers what it feels like to come out of the tunnel.
It's exhilarating! It's an adrenaline rush. The only thing you think about is the other team and going toe-to-toe with them on every play.
A.D. Ibarra
-Eagle Pass Municipal Golf Course
Coach Beto Hernandez informed The News Gram of his 2015-2016 Eagle Pass Eagle and Lady Eagle Golf Programs.
"We presently have 42 participants in the Eagle and Lady Eagle golf programs," said Hernandez, "We're trying our best to become better players. My biggest concern is that they will learn the game to its fullest."
The Eagles are led by senior Diego Carrillo. Carrillo tied for second as they went to the score card, he placed 3rd. Diego’s Friday score was 82 and an exceptional 70 one under par on Sunday.
"He is our captain and came in 2nd in his first tournament this year in Mission."
"We also have Abraham Diaz, Rodrigo De La Cabada (seniors), junior Ricardo De La Cabada and freshman Sebastian Gomez."
"They work very hard and practice very hard. They're out there every day," closed Hernandez on his boys team.
Junior Susy Zavala is his Lady Eagle Captain, "She's coming around very well, the difference is that they are out there every day."
The team is rounded out by junior Shawnee Betancourt, freshman Isabela Gonzalez, freshman Lydia Saucedo and freshman Carolina Villarreal.
"I want to make sure that they put enough effort and commitment to the program," closed Coach Hernandez who has been at the helm of the CC Winn Golf Program for decades, "We want them to enjoy the game for the rest of their high school careers and the future."
The team is constantly working on basic fundamentals. These are 42 enthusiastic and motivated boys and girls learning the great game of golf. The team which is under new Head Coach Beto Hernandez and assistant coach Annie Rodriguez, are is learning the basic fundamentals of this lifelong sport.
"The future looks bright for the team. Goals have been set for the upcoming tournaments."
