Abilene High 23, Lubbock Monterey 7

By JEFF WALKER

Staff Writer

LUBBOCK -- It was the loudest wake-up call the Abilene High football team could have gotten.

Junior running back Sneezy Beltran provided the snooze button and the Eagles escaped Lowery Field with a 23-7 victory over Lubbock Monterey Friday night.

The alarm went off for AHS with 11:24 to play in the ballgame when a muffed punt resulted in a touchdown for the Plainsmen, pulling Monterey within two points at 9-7.

But Beltran returned the insuing kickoff 30 yards, gained the other 59 on seven carries, and capped the drive off with an 11-yard touchdown run to give AHS a 16-7 lead.

"I had hoped that would happen," Abilene High head coach Steve Warren said. "That shows a lot of character on our part, to overcome adversity like that. That's a good sign for us."

Monterey head coach James Morton said the Beltran touchdown was the turning point in the ballgame.

"That took something out of us, but that's a compliment to their ballclub," he said. "We felt we had an opportunity there to win the game and that definitely took the wind out of our sails."

The game was plagued by turnovers by both teams. Monterey fumbled the ball eight times -- lost six -- and threw two interceptions.

The Eagles didn't protect the ball much better, coughing it up four times -- losing three -- and throwing one interception.

"I told the team that when you're good, you can slop around like we did and still find a way to win," Warren said. "I'm proud of our kids, we won this game with defense and special teams."

For the second consecutive week, the defense carried the Eagles to victory.

This week, though, they got a little help from Ramiro Rodriguez.

While the offense sputtered against Lubbock Monterey, the defense held the Plainsmen to 130 total yards.

Cornerback Eddie Hyer had a spectacular game for the Eagles. The junior, who recorded one interception in last week's win over Amarillo Tascosa, collected another pick this week and added two fumble recoveries.

Hyer was also on the receiving end of a 51-yard pass from Frankie Munoz that put the game away with 6:03 to play in the fourth.

"He's always around the ball," Warren said. "He's got a knack for seeing what the offense does. They may complete a pass on him every once in a while, but he's going to come back and break up the next one or pick it off."

Turnovers produced the only points of the first half for the Eagles.

After both teams went scoreless in the first quarter, Hyer recovered a fumble on the Monterey 14-yard line with 9:04 to play in the first half.

The Eagles appeared to score the first touchdown of the game on a 12-yard run by Sneezy Beltran, but an illegal block penalty brought the score back and the drive sputtered at the 14.

Ramiro Rodriguez kicked his first of two field goals in the quarter, this one from 31 yards away, to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.

Monterey fumbled on its next possession, and this time, Jake Barnes was the right man in the right place.

"It wasn't the option that hurt us, it was more like execution and protecting the ball," Monterey head coach James Morton said. "You work on that stuff since seventh grade and you keep working on it but if you keep doing it, you're going to have trouble."

The Eagles couldn't get in the end zone after Barnes' recovery, and Rodriguez's 24-yard boot put AHS ahead, 6-0.

The Plainsmen didn't protect the football any better in the second half.

One play into the third quarter, defensive tackle Michael Walker got his hands on the ball, but once again, the Eagles couldn't convert the fumble into a touchdown.

Rodriguez added a 40-yard blast to give AHS a 9-0 lead.

"He's got a great leg," Warren said. "He put us up 9-0 and if you can't get into the end zone, I can't think of a better guy to have than him. He's a great kicker."

Jeff Walker can be reached at 676-6711 or at sports@abinews.com.

Abilene High 0 6 3 14--23

Lubbock Monterey 0 0 0 7--7

SCORING SUMMARY

A -- Ramiro Rodriguez 31 FG

A -- Rodriguez 24 FG

A -- Rodriguez 40 FG

LM -- Roger Ruiz recovers fumble in end zone (Marvin McCurry kick)

A -- Sneezy Beltran 11 run (Rodriguez kick)

A -- Eddie Hyer 51 pass from Munoz (Rodriguez kick)

Abilene Monterey

First downs 11 10 Rushes-yards 44-190 32-94

Passing yards 94 33

Comp-Att-Int 6-9-1 3-12-2

Punts 4-29.5 3-47.7.

Fumbles-lost 4-3 8-6

Penalties-yards 7-55 4-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Abilene, Beltran 30-136, Munoz 7-49, Walker 2-8, Richardson 1-5, Hammond 4-(-8); Monterey, Grant 9-42, Quigley 5-22, Hamilton 6-19, Ruiz 2-16, Williams 4-3, Cantu 6-0, Evans 1-(-5)

PASSING -- Abilene, Munoz 6-9-94; Monterey, Cantu 3-12-33

RECEIVING -- Abilene, De Leon 2-21, Walker 2-15, Hyer 1-51, Bryson 1-7; Monterey, Reeves 2-24, Hamilton 1-9