Strong Second Half Sends Seagraves Past Plowboys, 29-21

Clemente Aguayo (6) wants the ball as Brayden Beal (3) looks for an open receiver. (Football photos by Tamara Alexander)

A popular football adage states that it’s hard to beat the same team twice in the same year. Hamlin found that out last year the second time they played the Plowboys. After defeating Roscoe earlier in the season, 35-21, they lost to them in the playoffs, 35-14. Unfortunately, the Plowboys learned the same hard lesson Friday afternoon in Midland when they faced the Seagraves Eagles for the second time. After beating the Eagles 39-23 in district competition, they fell to them on Friday as the Eagles came from behind in the second half to win a close one, 29-21.

In the contest, the first half was definitely more positive for the Plowboys than the second. The game began with neither side scoring until Brayden Beal capped off a Plowboy drive with a 4-yard TD run in mid-quarter. Juan Garcia kicked the extra point and the Plowboys were up 7-0. Seagraves got its first score toward the end of the quarter when its star running back, Aries Williams, broke free on a 54-yard touchdown run. The Plowboys blocked the extra-point kick, however, and still led at the end of the quarter, 7-6.

The Plowboys extended their lead in the second quarter with Beal scoring on a 9-yard run followed by a Garcia kick to make the score 14-6. Then just before the half Francisco Garcia scored on a 10-yard run. Juan Garcia again kicked the extra point, and at the intermission the Plowboys had a commanding lead, 21-6.

The second half began inauspiciously for Roscoe when on the first play from scrimmage Seagraves’ Williams ran 45 yards for another long touchdown to close the gap to 21-12. Then on the Roscoe’s first drive after the kickoff, the Eagles covered a Plowboy fumble, and shortly thereafter scored again, this time on a seven-yard run. The extra point made the score 21-19. In just a few plays the Plowboys had gone from a comfortable lead to being essentially tied, and the momentum had shifted. The Plowboys held Seagraves out of the end zone on their next drive, but their kicker made a 27-yard field goal, and Seagraves went ahead for the first time, 22-21. It was a lead they would never relinquish.

In the fourth quarter Williams put the icing on the cake with his third long touchdown run of the afternoon, this one for 67 yards. The extra-point kick put the Eagles ahead by eight points, 29-21. The Plowboys weren’t finished, though. They drove one last time into Seagraves territory, but on a fourth and 11, Beal was sacked, and the Eagles ran out the clock for the victory.

Scoring by quarters:

Seagraves          6            0        16        7 – 29
Plowboys           7          14          0        0 – 21

Roscoe outgained the Eagles for the entire game with 348 total yards to Seagraves’ 326. Most of Roscoe’s yardage came through the air, with Beal completing 28 of 40 passes for 272 yards with 1 interception and Jose Ortega completing 1 of 1 for 21 yards. Ortega was also Beal’s favorite target with 8 catches for 79 yards; Cade Garrett had 5 for 64 yards, Jayden Gonzales 6 for 50, Francisco Garcia 2 for 42, Clemente Aguayo 5 for 22, Beal 1 for 21, and Damian Aguayo 2 for 15.

Despite their success with the pass, the Plowboys had a hard time running the ball, even though that’s how they scored all three of their touchdowns. Francisco Garcia was able to get only 57 yards from 29 carries, and Beal got only 49 yards on 24 carries. Ortega had 12 yards on 2 carries.

And the Plowboys had three turnovers, two of which proved costly. The first, a pass interception, killed a Plowboy drive early in the game, and the second, the fumble on the Plowboys first drive of the second half, put the Eagles deep in Roscoe territory and allowed them to open the second half with two quick scores and gain the momentum. Seagraves had no turnovers in the game.

Now Seagraves (10-3) goes on to face Wellington (12-1) Friday in Amarillo in the State Quarterfinals, and Roscoe (8-5) goes home. It’s a disappointing outcome, but the only team in a playoff situation that doesn’t leave disappointed is the one that wins it all. So, in all fairness, we shouldn’t let that initial disappointment detract from the milestones the Plowboys reached this year.

By advancing to the regional semi-finals for the second year in a row, the Plowboys are becoming known as one of the Big Country’s 2A teams to be reckoned with. Their repeated success also points to the soundness of the program established and maintained by Coach Freeman and his assistants.

It’s hard to believe now that it’s just been a few short years since the Plowboys lost 13 games in a row. This year’s seniors can always look back with pride on their high school football years, and Roscoe fans and exes can look forward to more exciting Plowboy football in the future.

A brief video clip of game highlights from Lubbock TV stations KAMC-TV and KLBK-TV is available here.

--o--

PLOWGIRLS WIN EASILY OVER LADY GORILLAS, 45-18, HIGHLAND TOURNEY THIS WEEKEND

The Plowgirls won another one last night when they downed Trent in the Special Events Center, 45-18.

Here are the scores by quarters:

Plowgirls          10        24        30        45
Trent                   5        10        14        18

Individual scoring: Veronica Cuellar 9. Bonnie Wilkinson 9, Jaleigh Morales 8, Jovana Peña 8, Jaci Alexander 6, Bergan Trevino, Lynzie Atkinson 1.

Both Plowgirls and Plowboys will participate in the Highland tournament that runs from Thursday through Saturday. Then next Tuesday evening, they will play Lueders-Avoca in Lueders.

--o--

ROSCOE IN YEARS GONE BY: THE RACE TRACK AND THE NOLAN COUNTY FAIR
(from the January 9, 2013, Roscoe Hard Times)

A modern chariot racer. (photo from Internet)

We Roscoe folks are rightfully proud of our three major civic events of the year: the Spring Fling in April, the Independence Day Celebration in July, and the West Texas Wind Festival in October.  All are well attended and have steadily grown to become not just local but regional in scope.

With the city’s lean years in the eighties and nineties, one might assume that these recent annual events are unprecedented for Roscoe, but there was a time when our fair city put on a major annual celebration—the Nolan County Fair—which in the early days was held in Roscoe, or more specifically, just east of Roscoe at what was then known as the Fairgrounds, located just across Broadway from the American Legion post, where a cotton field now stands.

The focal point of the Fairgrounds—and its greatest drawing card—was the race track, reputed to be one of the finest around. Recently, I examined the 1915 Nolan County Fair’s program, which had been sitting unnoticed on a shelf in the museum for years. Its contents are fascinating and reveal much about the life of the town one hundred years ago.

As one would expect, there were several contests typical of county fairs: ladies’ crafts with separate competitions for embroidery, crocheting, and tatting; best cooked and baked dishes, flowers and pot plants, art, garden produce, even a pretty baby contest. Cash prizes were in the $3 range for first prizes with second and third prizes correspondingly less, but these were not inconsiderable amounts at a time when when laborers worked for 15¢-20¢ an hour.

Not all the prizes were money, however. The award for the best jar of homemade sour pickles, for example, was a bucket of Seal Brand Coffee from Dodds’ Grocery along with ten tickets to the Gem Theater, Roscoe’s silent moving-picture house. The best loaf of salt-rising bread got ten gallons of oil and five gallons of gasoline from J. E. Russell’s garage, and so on.

There was also an extensive stock show with $10 prizes going to the best draft stallion, gaited stallion, and all-purpose stallion, $8 to the best jack and $5 to the best jennet, and $7.50 to the best span of mules along with numerous other categories. Cattle categories (Jersey bull, cow, heifer; Durham bull, cow, heifer, etc.) had $5 first prizes and $2.50 second prizes as did the hogs (red boar, sow; Poland China boar, sow; etc.).

In addition, the organizers engaged a big carnival from outside that employed 150 people and had equipment that took seven railcars to transport. Midway on the Roscoe fairgrounds must have been quite a sight.

But back to the races—at the beginning of the racing section of the program, the Nolan County Fair Association addresses horsemen with the following enticement to participate:

“We have a splendid track, and it will be in the finest condition for this event.  Plenty of sheds, stalls, and other conveniences have been provided, and every courtesy possible will be extended to those making entries.”

Racing took place on all three days of the fair with the largest prizes on the first and third days. The top purse was $150 for the 2:20 pace or trot on the first day and $125 on the third day. The half-mile race had a $100 purse on both the first and third days. Purses were divided 50%, 30%, 20% for first, second, and third places.

The first and third days also had a quarter-mile saddle horse race ($25 purse), and a chariot race ($25).  I can’t help but wonder what the chariot race was like. I would love to have seen one.  

There were also separate races for motorcycles ($10), bicycles ($5), mules ($5), and burros ($5).  Boys ages 7-10 could compete in the turkey roping where the prize was the turkey, and boys ages 10-13 had a pig roping where the prize was the pig. There was also a goat roping contest ($10).

In short, the Nolan County Fair must have been quite an event for Roscoe, its citizens, and the county at large. It is a shame that, as far as I know, no photos of it are still in existence.

The Roscoe Historical Museum would love to have any photos of the race track, fairgrounds, or any aspect of the Nolan County Fair when it was in Roscoe. If you or anyone you know has any, please notify me so that I could make a copy or copies for the museum.

The entire program for the 1915 Nolan County Fair is available for viewing online by clicking here. Note: As a .pdf file, it requires Adobe Reader for viewing.

--o--

WEATHER REPORT: COOLER WEATHER

A strong southwest wind Monday afternoon was punishing the school's flags.

Although there wasn’t a another freeze in the past week to kill the remaining live cotton and other plants that made it past the first one, the weather in general has definitely been cooler than it was in the earlier part of the month. The high topped seventy only once, last Thursday, when it reached 71°F. A cold front moved in on Friday, and the high reached only 58°, and Saturday was the same. Sunday and Monday had highs in the sixties, but both days were windy enough to make the temperatures feel colder than they were. Sustained high winds reached 29mph both days with gusts up to 37mph. Yesterday was better with a high of 63° and somewhat diminished winds, but they were still strong enough to keep a cool nip in the air.

Today’s high will be only 57°, but skies will be sunny today and tomorrow. However, the forecast for Friday and Saturday is for cloudy skies and rain, 90% on Friday and 100% on Saturday, with cooler temperatures. Tomorrow’s projected high of 64° will drop on Friday to 56° and on Saturday to 47°. On Sunday it will be back up to 53°. Lows should be around 40° through the weekend—with a hard freeze predicted for midweek next week.

We’re moving into December, and the weather is beginning to show it.

--o--

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is upon us once again, and people all over the country will be getting together with family and friends to celebrate this uniquely American holiday. No matter what our race, religion, or political persuasion, we all use the day to pause, count our blessings, and give thanks for the many good things we enjoy.

As always, the central event of the day is Thanksgiving Dinner, which involves turkey and dressing, along with the other familiar Thanksgiving dishes--giblet gravy, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and others that are generally eaten only on this special day.

The holiday has also evolved over time and usually now includes playing games or watching television with friends and family. For many, the holiday will begin at 9:00am with the 89th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. Later, for the men and boys at any rate, what’s Thanksgiving without a good helping of football along with the Thanksgiving feast?

At 11:30, Detroit and Minnesota will kick off the day as a warm-up to the main event, Washington vs. Dallas, which starts at 3:30pm. The resurgent Redskins, who looked sharp on Sunday, will face the Cowboys in an important game that will go a long way in determining the divisional title. And the Cowboys this year have been a joy to watch with their rookie stars and extended winning streak.

At the end of the day, we will all hopefully have had our fill of food and football and be happy to have once again touched base with dear friends and relatives. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

--o--

PLOWBOYS OUTSCORE CROSBYTON IN WILD OFFENSIVE SHOOTOUT, 79-42

Jose Ortega is off to the races on this 40-yard pass play from Brayden Beal. (Football photos by Tamara Alexander.)

The Plowboys made history in Post last Thursday night. They probably didn’t think of it that way since they were just glad they won the game and were advancing in the playoffs, but in over a century of football at Roscoe, there has never been another game in which so many points were scored—and especially not in a playoff game (although in 1930 the Plowboys beat Rotan 102-0). But even though 79-43 looks like a basketball score, or maybe a fast moving six-man game, it was actually the final score in the Plowboy victory over Crosbyton. And it was a wild scoring affair from the opening kickoff.

Crosbyton’s talented running back Tim Childers racked up four touchdowns in the first quarter alone, scoring on runs of 75, 69, 75, and 2 yards. Meanwhile, the Plowboys were having some success on offense themselves. After Crosbyton jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead on two long Childers runs, quarterback Brayden Beal scored on an 85-yard run to put the Plowboys on the scoreboard but still trailing 14-7. The Chiefs responded with another long Childers run to make the score 21-7, but Beal hit Jose Ortega on a 40-yard pass play to narrow the score to 21-14. And all this happened before the first quarter had reached its midpoint. Crosbyton scored again on a 2-yard Childers run to go up 29-14 and increase their lead to 15 points. No one knew it at the time, but that would turn out to be the high point of the evening for the Chiefs.

On the next play, Ortega took the kickoff and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown. During the play, Childers was shaken up and had to leave the game. So, the first quarter ended with the Chiefs holding a 29-21 lead but without their star running back.

The second quarter was all Plowboys. Beal completed a 35-yard scoring pass to Clemente Aguayo and with a 2-point conversion tied the score at 29. The Plowboys then scored twice more shortly before halftime. Francisco Garcia scored his first of four TDs on a 21-yard run to put the Plowboys ahead for the first time 35-29. Following the kickoff, the Chiefs went three and out and punted to Ortega, who returned it 42 yards for his third touchdown of the evening. It also put the Plowboys up by two scores. They led at halftime 43-29.

Childers returned to play the second half, but the Plowboys had made adjustments and held him to one TD in the third quarter, a 71-yard run. It made little difference, though, as Francisco Garcia scored three more times on runs of 31, 24, and 45 yards. The quarter ended with the Plowboys ahead 65-36, and by then the game was essentially over. The Plowboys made two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter—one by Beal on a 28-yard run and the other by Brandon Lavalais on a 31-yard run. Crosbyton also made one to make the final score a record setting 79-42.

The Plowboys’ offensive stats for the evening are mind boggling—11 touchdowns, 7 extra-point kicks, and 3 two-point conversions; also 42 total offensive plays from scrimmage for 620 yards, which, when rounded off, amounts to an average of 15 yards per play.

Francisco Garcia led Plowboy rushers with 17 carries for 247 yards and 4 TDs; Brayden Beal had 8 carries for 95 yards and 2 TDs, Brandon Lavalais 1 carry for 31 yards and 1 TD, Clemente Aguayo with 1 for 35, Junior Martinez 2 for 10, Jose Ortega 2 for 6, and Nick Limones 1 for -2.

Beal had 10 pass completions on 16 attempts with 0 interceptions and 2 TDs. Ortega was the top receiver with 3 catches for 108 yards and 1 TD. Cade Garrett caught 2 for 41 yards, Aguayo 1 for 35 and a TD, Austin Willman 1 for 17, Jayden Gonzales 2 for 11, and Garcia 1 for 6.

The other 2 TDs were scored by Ortega, one an 85-yard kickoff return and the other a 42-yard punt return.

The Plowboys are now 8-4 on the year. They will face Seagraves (9-3) in Midland on Friday at 2pm. For the third week in a row, they are designated the visiting team.
_____________________

Sportswriter Evan Ren covered the Roscoe-Crosbyton game. His article, which was published in the Abilene Reporter-News on Friday, November 18, is available online here.

The Big Country Homepage also included some video of the Plowboy victory in a news clip of area playoff victories. It can be accessed here.

--o--

PLOWBOYS (8-4) FACE SEAGRAVES (9-3) IN MIDLAND FRIDAY AFTERNOON

The Plowboys play their next playoff game, the Regional Semi-Final, with a familiar foe, the Seagraves Eagles. The game will be played in Midland’s Grande Communications Stadium on Friday with the kickoff set for at 2:00pm.

The district Roscoe was in this year, 4-2A-II, has shown its strength with all three of its playoff-qualifying teams—Hamlin, Roscoe, and Seagraves—with two playoff victories each and all still in the running. That will have to change Friday, though, as Seagraves and Roscoe play each other for the second time this year. The Plowboys won the first game 39-23, but that game was played at home, and this one will be played on a neutral field in Midland. Plowboy fans will also remember last year when Hamlin beat Roscoe during the regular season 35-21 but then lost to them 35-14 in the playoffs. In short, the Plowboys will once again need to bring their A-game to beat the Eagles a second time.

Seagraves has played well in its first two playoff games, both close ones. Their bi-district contest was with Bovina, who was 9-1 at the time, and the game was a high-scoring affair with Seagraves pulling out a 52-49 victory. Then last week, Seagraves defeated Memphis, then 10-1, in an overtime thriller 21-20. The game at the end of regulation was tied 14-14, after a defensive struggle in which both Seagraves touchdowns resulted from returns. One was a 77-yard TD punt return in the first quarter and the other a 51-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter that put the ball on the Memphis 2, from where the Eagles scored on the next play. Memphis got the ball first in overtime and made a TD but failed on a 2-point attempt. Then Seagraves drove the ball into the end zone and kicked the extra point to win the game and advance to the regional semifinal round with the Plowboys. 

______________________

An account of the Seagraves-Memphis game can be read here.

--o--

KXOX TO CARRY GAME WITH LIVE BROADCAST FRIDAY

The Roscoe-Seagraves game will be broadcast live on Sweetwater radio station KXOX, available at 1240 AM and 96.7 FM.

--o--

HONK RALLY FOR PLOWBOYS FRIDAY MORNING AT 9:00

Plowboy fans who can get free for a few minutes Friday morning are encouraged to let the Plowboys know you're behind them as their bus leaves the RCHS school grounds on its way to Midland, where the Plowboys will play Seagraves in the Region I semifinals.

The bus route begins on 7th Street at RCHS between the Special Events Center and the entrance to the Cafetorium. It will proceed down 7th to Main Street and then turn right and go to the access road to I-20 West and then on to Midland.

--o--

PLOWGIRLS BEAT ROBY, HIGHLAND; LOSE TO IRA, WINTERS

Veronica Cuellar shoots a jumper against Roby. (Basketball photos by Tamara Alexander)

The Plowgirls played three games last week, the first a regularly scheduled one last Tuesday in which they beat Roby in Roby, 79-69. Then from Thursday through Saturday they played three more in a round-robin tournament they hosted at the gymnasium in the RCHS Special Events Center. There they lost two, one to Ira 68-37 and one to Winters 43-35. The other game was a victory over Highland 47-32.

Ira won the tournament by defeating Winters in the final, 58-27.

Here are the scoring by quarters and the individual scores for the Plowgirl games:

Plowgirls 79 – Roby 69

Plowgirls          27        42        61        79
Roby                  17        32        42        69

Individual scoring: Jaleigh Morales 23, Veronica Cuellar 15, Bonnie Wilkinson 11, Baylor Trevino 8, Jaci Alexander 4.

Plowgirls 47 – Highland 32

Individual scoring: Morales 17, Cuellar 11, B. Wilkinson 8, Alexander 5, Bergan Trevino 4.

Plowgirls 2016-17: Jovana Peña, Lyndi Wilkinson, Jaleigh Morales, Jaci Alexander, Veronica Cuellar, Baylor Trevino, Bonnie Wilkinson, Lynzie Atkison, Bergan Trevino, and Karina Cisneros.

--o--

WEATHER REPORT: FIRST FREEZE

The sad state of my garden after the freeze hit it.

Fall’s first freeze came as a bit of a surprise as the forecast in preceding days didn’t have the temperature falling that low, and, when it did come on Saturday morning, it fell only to 31°F and stayed that way only a short while before warming up in the morning sunshine. But it was enough. The freeze had hit and all over the area had laid waste to fields and gardens—including mine. The tomato, pepper, and okra plants were all dead, and so was the basil. On the other hand, several other plants survived and are still going strong. In my garden, this includes the chile pequin bush, Swiss chard, arugula, oregano, rosemary, lemon grass, and parsley. We’ll need some harsher weather than that to kill them.

In general, the weather this past week was typical for this time of year. The high was last Wednesday’s 80° with other daily highs ranging from yesterday’s and Monday’s 75° down to Saturday’s 57°. Other daily highs were in the sixties and low seventies. The low of course was Saturday morning’s 31°, sandwiched between Friday and Sunday mornings’ 39°. The warmest low was Thursday morning’s 59°.

The forecast for the coming week is for similar weather. Today will be cooler than yesterday with a high of only 64° and a light north breeze. Thanksgiving Day, i.e., tomorrow, should be mostly sunny with a morning low of 43° and an afternoon high of 70° with a light wind from the north and little to no chance of precipitation—i.e., a nice day. That will change on Friday, though, when the forecast is for mostly cloudy skies and a 40% chance of rain in the afternoon and early evening—and that is also the forecast for Midland, so if you’re going to the Plowboy-Seagraves football game, you may want to take an umbrella or raincoat just to be on the safe side. Saturday will also be mostly cloudy with a high of 64° and a low of 54°, but on Sunday the clouds will dissipate and the first part of next week will have clear skies and mild temperatures with highs of around 60° and lows in the mid-thirties to low forties.

--o--

† JERRIE W. REED

Services for Jerrie W. Reed were held at 2:00pm on Saturday, November 19, at the First Baptist Church in Roscoe with Reverend David Draper officiating. Interment followed at Roscoe Cemetery. Jerrie passed away on Tuesday, November 15, at Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital in Sweetwater.

Jerrie was born September 16, 1936, in Sweetwater and lived in the area all of his life. He attended school in Pyron and Roscoe and married Betty Elliott, March 14, 1957, in Roscoe. He retired from TXU as a Power Plant Operational Mechanic and was currently employed by Renzenberger Railroad Transport. He served in the Texas National Guard and for fifteen years in the Roscoe Volunteer Fire Department. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Roscoe.

He is survived by his wife Betty Reed of Roscoe, son Kevin Reed and wife Lisa of San Angelo, daughter Regina Reed Scott and husband Shawn of Roscoe, sister June Schwarz of Loraine, Texas, five grandchildren and one great granddaughter.

He was preceded in death by his parents Floyd Estle and Ora Inez (Denmon) Reed and a brother-in-law, Raymond Schwarz.

Pallbearers were Bill Stein, Miles Neal, Max Tomlin, Larry Schwarz, Michael Brown and Bruce McGlothlin. Honorary pallbearers were his grandchildren: Austin Burt, Kaitlinn Burt, Austin Reed, Ethan Scott, Ashtyn Reed, and Mason Scott.

--o--

Plowboys Stop Sudan in Bi-District Playoff 39-26, Crosbyton Next

Nick Limones (12) returns a Sudan kickoff while Jose Ortega (2) and Johnathon Cuellar (65) block. (Football photos by Tamara Alexander.)

The Plowboys outscored the Sudan Hornets in every quarter last Thursday night to come away with a 39-26 victory in a bi-district playoff game played in Post. They scored a touchdown on their first drive and went up 6-0 after a failed extra point, and Sudan then tied it 6-6. The Plowboys then jumped out to a 13-6 lead on their next score and stayed ahead for the rest of the game. The halftime score was 27-13.

Here is the scoring by quarters:

Plowboys          13        14        12        0
Sudan                  6          7        13        0

Francisco Garcia led the Plowboy rushing with 129 yards in 26 carries, while Brayden Beal made 103 yards in 13 carries. Beal also had a big night passing, completing 13 of 18 attempts for 180 yards and 2 TDs. Jose Ortega led the receivers with 6 catches for 90 yards, Jayden Gonzales had 4 receptions for 73 yards, Clemente Aguayo had 2 for 13, and Cade Garrett, 1 for 4.

On defense, three Plowboys had interceptions: Ortega, Aguayo, and Nick Limones. Kicker Juan Garcia was 3 for 6 with extra-point kicks.

The Plowboys’ next opponent is Crosbyton from District 2-2A-II. The Chiefs are 6-5 for the year and won their bi-district game with Vega last week by a score of 34-32. Common opponents were Tahoka, who beat the Chiefs in the season opener 55-18, while the Plowboys beat them easily 52-6, and Sudan, which both teams beat, Crosbyton by a score of 39-19 and the Plowboys 39-26. The word on Crosbyton is that they have a fast running back (who didn’t play against Tahoka) and a big line.

The game will once again be played in Post on a Thursday, i.e., tomorrow, November 17, with Roscoe once again the designated visitors.

Kickoff is at 7:00pm.

--o--

PLOWGIRLS DEFEAT ROTAN IN HOME OPENER, 62-33

The Plowgirls got on the winning track in their home opener Friday with a 62-33 win over Rotan. The score by quarters was like this:

Plowgirls          16        30        53        62
Rotan                  4        15        23        33

Veronica Cuellar led the Plowgirl scoring with 18 points; Bonnie Wilkinson made 13, Jaleigh Morales 8, Lynzie Atkinson 7, Bergan Trevino 2, Lyndi Wilkinson 2, Karina Cisneros 2, Jaci Alexander 2, and Jovana Peña 1.

The Plowgirls are now 1-1 on the year and play Roby in Roby next.

--o--

ROSCOE HARD TIMES EARLY AND SHORT THIS WEEK

Once again I’ve run into a scheduling conflict with getting the Hard Times out at its regular time, which is usually sometime between 10 and 11 o’clock on Wednesday mornings. I’ve been trying to get an appointment with a doctor in Dallas for about three weeks now, and yesterday I was told I could get one this week but only if it were Wednesday morning at 10:00. So, I told them yes and will get up bright and early in the morning to make my trip to Big D. (And speaking of Big D, how ‘bout them Cowboys!)

Unfortunately, what this all means is that I may miss getting or writing up some news that I would normally include this week, such as the Plowgirls’ game with Roby tonight (I’m writing this on Tuesday). I usually also get some news on Tuesday evening or early Wednesday morning. If that happens, I’ll try to pass it along to you next week.

To make up for the shortness of this week’s posting, I am re-posting an article on Roscoe in years gone by that first appeared on January 19, 2011, before many current readers had discovered the Roscoe Hard Times.

I hope everything is back in its normal routine next week.

--o--

DOWN MEMORY LANE: ROSCOE'S DOMINO PARLORS

A hot game of dominoes at Boxcar Slim's domino parlor in 1979.  Left to right are Boxcar Slim, Charlie Gray, Mr. McHenry, and Chubby Johnson.

Life is always changing, and for all the new things that come into our lives, there is always something else that is leaving, never to return.  So many things that were once common are now nothing more than distant memories, and in a generation or so, they will become so completely forgotten that it will be as though they never existed.  And one of those long gone aspects of life in Roscoe is the domino parlor.

Domino parlors were the exclusive domain of men, and, although there were no signs in them anywhere that said “No Women Allowed,” everyone—men, women, and children—understood perfectly well that they weren’t.  Women were often even reluctant to come to the door to get their husbands, instead sending the kids to go in and fetch their fathers.  In all the countless hours I spent in domino parlors, I can’t ever remember a single women coming into one anytime for any reason.  At most, they might stand at the door and wait for their husband to get up and come out to find out what they wanted.

Even so, it’s not that men did anything particularly unusual or masculine in them, because they didn’t.  It was just that whatever went on in them was done entirely without the interference, influence, or participation of females, and because of that, there was a kind of male relaxation possible there not achievable anywhere else in town, unless maybe it was somewhere like Chubby & Mac’s filling station when there were no women around.

In the domino parlors, you could cuss, fart, smoke cigarettes and flip the ashes in the floor, chew tobacco and spit in the spittoons (or, in some cases, empty three-pound Folger’s coffee cans), and say things and tell jokes that the normal run of upstanding Roscoe woman would have considered improper if not scandalous.  But such things didn’t bother the men in the domino parlors.  In fact, if anything, they enjoyed them because it meant that they were in a zone where the rules they had to follow at home, in church, and other more civilized venues didn’t apply.  In fact, I expect one of the big reasons that domino parlors were looked upon with such favor by the men was that they were a refuge from the expectations found around the churches and more respectable establishments of the community.

The domino parlors in Roscoe were always in those old, high-ceilinged buildings with wooden plank floors.  There would be a number of square wooden tables in the place with wood or cane-bottom chairs and brass spittoons or coffee cans on the floor next to them for convenient spitting.  On the tables were sets of dominoes and those little abacus-looking counters, little round beads on rows of wires that were used for keeping score.

The game played was always the one known as “matching ends,” where you scored by getting the dots on the ends to add up to multiples of five, and by counting up your opponents’ remaining points if you “dominoed,” or were the first one to finish playing all your dominoes.  Each little bead on the counter was worth five points, and there were five rows with ten beads to a row, that is to say, 250 total points for a game.  You had to have four men to play a proper game because you always played partners with the person sitting across from you.

If you and your partner won the game, not only did you get bragging rights, at least temporarily, but you also got to play for free.  The losers had to pay the establishment a nickel apiece for the privilege of playing the game.  That wasn’t so bad, though, because it meant you could play for a couple of hours or more for a quarter, and, if you were hot, you might even get out without paying a cent.

Of course, beating the old men was not an easy thing to do.  There is a real science to playing dominoes, and the old men had decades of experience to draw on.  The good ones could tell what you had in your hand after just a couple of rounds and, if they had a halfway decent hand, could block you from playing your last two or three dominoes.   You also had to be careful how you played because they would expect you to know what it meant if they played a certain domino in response to one the opponent played.

But men didn’t go to the domino parlor just to play dominoes.  They also went there to find out what was going on around town, who’d bought a new tractor, who’d been arrested, who’d been getting drunk, and so on.  Women always had the reputation of being gossips in the beauty shops, but, if the truth were known, they probably weren’t gossiping any more than their husbands were in the domino parlors.

When someone mentions domino parlors, the first one that always pops into my mind is the one Boxcar Slim used to run.  It was on the north side of Broadway, across the street from the Steak House and Russell Haney’s Tailor Shop and a couple of doors to the west of the Pool Hall.  In an earlier time, it had been Check Farmer’s Barber Shop, but by the early sixties, it was Boxcar Slim’s domino parlor.  Slim lived there.  In the back behind a cloth curtain there was a single bed not much bigger than a cot, and I don’t guess he ever took a shower, probably just washing his face and hands in the little lavatory that was in the restroom.  Old men, usually retirees, would start showing up for games in the mornings, and the games would go on for the rest of the day.

But the best place in town to play dominoes was not at Boxcar Slim’s, but at the Pool Hall.  The Roscoe Pool Hall, the one run by John Smyrl and later by Orville Faught with the assistance of his sons Billy and Buryl, had the unique benefit of being a pool hall and a domino parlor all in one.  On one side of the establishment there was a row of pool tables running all the way from the front to the back, about eight in all, with the two in the front being full-sized snooker tables.  And on the other side were a half-dozen or more domino tables.  So, when you went in the front door, there were pool tables to your right and domino tables to your left.

It’s hard to imagine with Roscoe the way it is today, but I can remember times in the fifties, especially on Saturdays in the fall when the town was full of Mexican braceros who’d come to Roscoe to pull cotton, that there wouldn’t be an empty pool table in the place, and, on the other side, there would be several tables full of men playing dominoes while others sat and watched, often sitting backwards in their cane-bottom chairs with their legs straddling the back of the chair.

As bizarre as it may sound, there was something warm and cozy about being in the pool hall on a cold winter’s night with people like Walter and Lawrence Sims, Billy and Buryl Faught (who also ran a shoe-shine operation on the side), Dewey “Catfish” Chapman, Lewis Snyder, Chubby Johnson, Charlie Gray, Snuffy Jones, and other old men who used to hang out there.  It’s sometimes hard for me to realize that I’m as old now as they were then, and there are times when I’d appreciate the privilege of going back and playing a game or two of dominoes with them like we used to do.

--o--

WEATHER REPORT: COOL, CLOUDY WEATHER TURNS WARM AND SUNNY

There was not a cloud in the sky at yesterday's sunset.

The cool weather we’d been experiencing from the week before lasted through Saturday with highs in the upper fifties or low sixties and lows in the upper forties or low fifties. 

Then on Sunday the skies cleared, the sun came out, and the afternoon temperature rose to 71°F. Monday was similar with the high reaching 74°, and yesterday was even warmer with a high of 80°. And the days have been gorgeous. You can’t ask for prettier weather than what we’ve had since Sunday.

And the next couple of days should be more of the same except for the gradually increasing breezes from the south-southwest. Today they should be around 17mph and tomorrow 25mph. Then on Friday, a cold front moves in and winds will shift to the north-northeast and blow at about 21mph, which will considerably increase the wind chill. The temperature will drop to 37° or so Friday morning, the lowest it's been so far this fall. And the high on Friday is only a forecast 59°. Saturday will be similar with a low of 40° and a high of only 57°, although it may not feel as cold as the winds  diminish.

Warmer weather returns on Sunday, and highs next week should all be in the sixties with lows in the mid to upper forties. Right now the meteorologists are giving us a 50% chance of showers next Tuesday, but there is little to no chance of precipitation otherwise.

--o--

Two New Businesses Open Along I-20 in South Roscoe

With little advance notice, two businesses quietly opened along I-20 this past week, both in buildings that had been closed and dormant for some time. We wish them both success as they will provide local citizens with more choice in dining and, in the case of one, in the purchase of diesel and gasoline.

TEX-MEX RESTAURANT OPENS ON I-20 AND FM 608 IN FORMER RETTA MAE’S BUILDING

The Tex-Mex Restaurant.

In the past couple of days, if you’ve driven out past Stripes and made the left turn just beyond I-20 on your way to Sweetwater, you may have noticed all the cars at what used to be Retta Mae’s and wondered what in the world was going on over there. Wonder no more. There’s a new restaurant there. It’s called the Tex-Mex Restaurant, and it opened Monday. The owner and manager is Marco Alba from Pecos.

Tex-Mex serves both Mexican and American food. The breakfast menu includes breakfast burritos as well as sausages or bacon, eggs and hash browns. Dinner items include Mexican plates with the usual choices: enchiladas, chile verde, flautas, fajitas, quesadillas, taco plates, and dinner burritos, while American items include among others steak dinners, chicken fried steak, burgers, and fish plates. Salads and appetizers such as nachos are also available. Prices are reasonable. Mexican dinners are in the $9-$12 range, and the steak dinners run from $14-$19 depending on the cut and size of steak. Items may be eaten in the restaurant or ordered “to go.”

The hours of operation are from 6am to 8pm Tuesdays through Sundays. The new owners are still settling in and don’t yet have their credit and debit card connections set up, so you’ll need to take cash or checks with you if you want to eat there, at least for the time being. This will change soon, though.

If you need more information or have questions, contact Tex-Mex during business hours at 432-203-0318.

235 TRAVEL STOP OPENS ON I-20 EAST SERVICE ROAD IN WEST ROSCOE

The 235 Travel Stop.

Since Friday, the newly renovated 235 Travel Stop (so called because it is just off Exit 235) has been open for business. Formerly the old Truck ‘n’ Travel Truck Stop, it is located on the south side of I-20 just across from the STEM Center. Its owner and manager is Zul Menin, originally from Bombay, India, and more recently from Sugar Land, Texas.

The business is open 24 hours a day, and its restaurant is open from 6am to 10pm. There is a daily buffet, with a choice of meats and vegetables for $8.99, as well as a menu with the kinds of foods usually available at roadside restaurants—burgers, sandwiches, chicken fried steaks, steak and chicken fingers, hamburger steaks, salads, etc. Prices are reasonable. The buffet is $8.99, entrees are $7.95, and full breakfasts range from $5 to $8.

In addition, the business has a convenience store with snacks and travel items. Beer for consumption off premises is also available.

For more information, contact the 235 Travel Stop at 325-284-3071.

--o--

HAMLIN SHUTS DOWN PLOWBOYS 21-0, WINS DISTRICT TITLE; PLOWBOYS FACE SUDAN IN BI-DISTRICT PLAYOFF TOMORROW

Francisco Garcia is tackled at the Hamlin 2-yard line in first quarter action. This is as close as the Plowboys would get to scoring against the Pied Pipers.

The Plowboys vaunted offense, which was scoring an average 39 points per game and had the team on a five-game winning streak, met its match Friday night as Hamlin kept it out of the end zone all evening and came away with the 4-2A-II district championship with a 21-0 victory. With a 4-1 district record, the Plowboys end the regular season as the district runner-up but can redeem themselves tomorrow night when they face Sudan in a bi-district playoff game in Post.

The Plowboys definitely did not have their best game of the season against Hamlin. Two disastrous Plowboy fumbles early in the first quarter set the tone for the game and put the Pipers up 14-0 almost before everyone in the crowd had taken their seats in the stands. The game began with both sides jittery and unable to move the ball, but on the Plowboys’ second drive, a Beal fumble set Hamlin up on the Roscoe 19, and it took the Pipers only two plays to score on a 6-yard run and go up 7-0. On the ensuing drive after the kickoff, a second Beal fumble once again gave Hamlin the ball, this time at midfield. A couple of plays later, they completed a 41-yard pass play for their second TD of the evening, and the extra point made the score 14-0.

Then for the rest of the first half and all the way up to the end of the third quarter, neither side could score as the Plowboy defense tightened and held Hamlin out of the end zone for the rest of the game. The Hamlin touchdown at the end of the third quarter came when Clemente Aguayo caught a pass and was struggling for extra yardage. A Hamlin player wrested the ball away from him and then raced 43 yards down the sideline for the final score of the evening. The play gave Hamlin a 21-0 lead and effectively put the game out of reach for the Plowboys.

It’s not that the Plowboys didn’t have their chances to score too, though. A look at the game stats shows that they finished with more first downs (18 to 17) and more total yardage (265 to 264). The Pied Pipers also had three turnovers—two fumbles and one interception. The difference was that every time the Plowboys threatened, the Hamlin defense tightened up and shut the Plowboys down.

On a different night with the breaks going the other way, the Plowboys might have come away with the victory. But on Friday, the Pied Pipers were the clear winners. They had the big plays, and their offensive and defensive lines outplayed the Plowboys when they had to.

Here is the scoring by quarters:

Hamlin             14        0          7          0 – 21
Roscoe               0        0          0          0 –   0

On offense, Francisco Garcia had only 62 yards in 29 carries, Brayden Beal only 30 in 12 carries, and Jose Ortega 32 in 2 carries. Beal completed only 17 of 40 passes, and Ortega was 0 for 1.

On defense, Ortega and Austin Willman both had 5 tackles and 2 assists, Cade Garrett 4 tackles and 1 assist, and Jose Garcia 4 tackles.

The Plowboys' bi-district playoff game is with the Sudan Hornets in Post tomorrow evening. Sudan is from District 3-2A-II. They have a 6-4 record overall (the Abilene Reporter-News lists it as being 2-8, but that is wrong) and were 3-2 in district play. Roscoe is designated as the visiting team.

Kickoff is at 7:30pm.

--o--

PLOWBOY HEAD COACH JAKE FREEMAN IS INTERVIEWED IN ABILENE REPORTER-NEWS

Abilene Reporter-News sports reporter Evan Ren interviewed Plowboy head coach Jake Freeman in a nice  article that was posted on November 6 and appeared in the Reporter-News print edition on Monday, November 7. You can access it here.

--o--

WINK TO PLAY CROSS PLAINS AT PLOWBOY FIELD FRIDAY EVENING

If you live somewhere around Plowboy Field, don’t be concerned Friday evening if you see the lights on and hear bands playing or announcers speaking into the PA system. You aren’t missing a Plowboy game. Their game against Sudan is on Thursday at Post.

What you’ll be hearing is the game between Wink and Cross Plains, who have selected Roscoe as a suitable midpoint and venue for their playoff contest.

--o--

CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13

Shoppers check out the wares at a previous Chrstmas Open House.

Christmas Open House, the popular Sunday afternoon shopping event that launches local merchants and shoppers into the holiday season, is back. Between 1:00 and 6:00pm, it will include most of Roscoe’s downtown businesses: Vickie’s Gifts, Wildflower Boutique, Roscoe Thrift Store, the Rockin’ S Cantina, McVey’s Nursery, Main Street Antiques, Peppy’s, and the Lumberyard. Vendors will also be selling items in the Community Center.

The event features shopping, refreshments, and a drawing for a grand prize worth over $500 made up of items from each of the businesses. Shoppers will receive cards at any participating business and complete them by getting them stamped there and at all the others. They will then submit them at the Lumberyard on 7 Cypress Street for the drawing to be held there at 6:00pm.

The Rockin’ S Cantina, a liquor store and gift shop, will set up its gift selections temporarily at 801 Broadway (the old Smacker’s Café on the corner of Broadway and Main) because liquor stores can’t be open on Sunday.

The Roscoe Express shuttle will operate all afternoon carrying visitors from one business to the next at no charge.

--o--

CITY COUNCIL HOLDS PUBLIC HEARING, APPROVES BID FOR SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT, CONDUCTS OTHER BUSINESS

City Manager Cody Thompson updates the City Council on City projects.

At its monthly meeting in City Hall last night, the Roscoe City Council held a public hearing, approved a bid for sewer line replacement, heard updates on City works, approved submitting an application for a Texas Community Development Block Grant and fulfilling requirements pertaining to that submission.  It also set dates for two of the three City Festivals in 2017.

The public hearing was held to assess community needs before submitting an application for a Texas Community Development Block Grant to the Texas Department of Agriculture. The City wants to use the grant to help fund and finish the ongoing City sewer line replacement. In that regard, the Council also approved the bid recommended by EHT engineers of Abilene, namely, to Whitney Underground Utilities, Inc., of Valley Mills. Whitney was the lowest qualified bidder with a contract price of $581,787.50. The Council’s awarding of the bid, however, is contingent upon approval by the funding agency.

The Council also discussed and approved a Citizen’s Participation Plan and Grievance Procedures for the City of Roscoe as required by federal law and the Texas Community Development Block Grant Program. It also appointed a committee of four--City Manager Cody Thompson, City Secretary Donna Parker, and Council Members Billy Joe Jay and Edwin Duncan--to review the Block Grant Application.

City Manager Cody Thompson informed the Council of the City’s ongoing sewer flow problems with lines between Bois d’Arc and Main Streets. Work on the lines in question is scheduled to begin within the next thirty days and continue for about a year.

City workers will also be cleaning up the cemetery in anticipation of Veteran’s Day on Friday, a day in which City Hall will be closed. City Hall will also be closed on Thursday, November 24, and Friday, November 25, in observance of Thanksgiving. However, Knox workers will be picking up trash on the day after Thanksgiving as regularly scheduled.

The Council then set the 2017 dates for two of the three City festivals. The Independence Day Celebration will be on Saturday, July 1, and the West Texas Wind Festival will be on Saturday, October 21.

--o--

PLOWGIRLS BEGIN BASKETBALL SEASON WITH CLOSE LOSS TO ROBERT LEE

The 2016-17 basketball season is underway for the Plowgirls, and their opening game in Robert Lee was a nailbiter that went down to the wire. Unfortunately, the Plowgirls lost the game by one point, 75-74. The game was close all the way. Here is the scoring by quarters:

Robert Lee        25        43        57        75
Plowgirls           20        43        57        74

For the Plowgirls, Veronica Cuellar led the scoring with 27 points. Bonnie Wilkinson had 13, Baylor Trevino 9, Jaci Alexander 9, Lynzie Atkinson 5, Karina Cisneros 4, Lyndi Wilkinson 4, and Jovana Pena 4.

The Plowgirls’ next game will be their home opener with Rotan on Friday. The JV game starts at 5:00 and the Varsity game at about 6:15.

--o--

PRECINCT 6 AND NOLAN COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS

Voting was brisk at the Community Center yesterday.

Here are the election results for Precinct 6 (Roscoe's precinct) and the totals for Nolan County for the President and Vice President, U. S. Representative District 19, and State Representative District 71. All the local candidates for office ran unopposed.

President and Vice President              Precinct 6        Nolan County
Donald Trump & Mike Pence (R)          490                      3551
Hillary Clinton & Tim Kaine (D)           109                      1029
Gary Johnson & William Weld (L)          16                        142
Jill Stein & Ajamu Baraka (G)                   2                          22

U. S. Representative, District 19
Jodey Arrington (R)                               500                       3720
Troy Bonar (L)                                         49                         363
Mark Lawson (G)                                     14                         184

State Representative, District 71
Stan Lambert (R)                                    503                       3614
Pierce LoPachin (D)                                 95                         941

--o--

ROSCOE COMMUNITY CENTER NEWS

There was a full house at the Community Center on Sunday.

Thanksgiving Dinner

The annual Thanksgiving Dinner was a huge success!  We want to thank everyone who came out to support us by attending, volunteering, or donating. We served over 220 plates this year. Our hope for next year is to serve even more.

We would like to give a special thanks to the following businesses, without whose generous donations this meal would not have been possible: The Roscoe State Bank, Roscoe Volunteer Fire Department, Roscoe Lions Club, First Baptist Church, Salem Lutheran Church, Blackland Smokehouse, Crop Production Services, Central Rolling Plains Co-op, Wildflower, Vaquero Analytical, West Texas Rock Resources, Main Street Antiques, Muncy’s Place, Brookshires and many others.

We thank you for your continued support of the Community Center!

243 Ruger Gun Raffle

For the months of October and November, we have been conducting a raffle of a 243 Ruger rifle and scope to help raise funds for some much needed renovations to the Community Center. We are happy to announce we raised over $2800.00!

Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets.

The Winner is Josh McCauley from Dalhart, TX…. Congrats, Josh!!

Christmas Open House

The Roscoe Community Center will participate in Roscoe’s Christmas Open House this Sunday, November 13, 1pm-5pm. We will have vendor booths set up to help you get your Christmas shopping started.

Be sure to register for the door prize and enjoy refreshments while you shop. Be sure and come see us at the Community Center!

Rentals

We still have spaces available for your Christmas and New Year Parties. Call Misty Reynolds at 325-338-1005 for reservations.

--o--

TRUMP WINS ROSCOE ELEMENTARY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Students select their candidate of choice.

Roscoe Elementary first through fifth graders had their own Presidential election yesterday and elected Donald Trump before the nation did. The students went through the entire voting process from providing an ID, which they made themselves, to receiving an “I Voted” sticker. Here are the final results:

            Donald Trump              171       73%
            Hillary Clinton               38       16%
            Other                                27       11%
                                    Total       236

--o--

WEATHER REPORT: COLD AND WET

4th and Cypress Streets (a.k.a. Smith Lake) on Sunday afternoon.

Compared with the sunny skies and 80°+ afternoon temperatures we enjoyed all through October, this past week has been marked by cool, wet, and cloudy days. Even though the early morning lows never dropped below 53°, the weather seemed much colder in contrast with what came before it. And there’s been plenty of rain, enough that farmers still can’t get into their fields.

It began last Wednesday with the passing through of a front that dropped 1.82” in my rain gauge here in Roscoe, but more than that in surrounding areas, especially north of Roscoe. Along with the rain was plenty of thunder and lightning. On Sunday we got .82” here in town, but other areas got more. Total for the two rains exceeded 5” in parts of Fisher County, although south of town generally got less than Roscoe did. On Monday it was once again cool and cloudy with drizzle or mist in the air all day, and Tuesday was a replay of Monday. Precipitation totals for those days were .08” on Monday and .06” yesterday. Total for the week was 2.82” with the great majority of it light and slow-falling. The high temperature for the week was 75° on Monday afternoon when the sky cleared for a while and the sun broke through. Otherwise skies were cloudy and afternoon highs were between 65° and 61°.

The forecast is for more of the same through Saturday, with the sun possibly breaking through on Friday. The only significant rainfall is likely to come on Saturday evening when there’s a 40% chance of precipitation. Sunday will mark a change with mostly sunny skies and a high of 70°, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday should follow suit with clear skies and highs in the low to mid-seventies. Lows will be in the low to mid-fifties.

--o--

† BILLY WAYNE FRAZIER

Graveside services at Roscoe Cemetery were held at 11:00am yesterday for Billy Wayne Frazier, 89, who passed away on Saturday, November 5, at Malakoff, Texas. He was a former resident of Roscoe.

Mr. Frazier was born on August 18, 1927, in Merkel. In 1946 he graduated from Merkel High School, where he was an all-around athlete participating in football and basketball, and being inducted into the Merkel Football Hall of Fame in 1976. On May 14, 1950, he married Lafae Butler in Roscoe. Billy was a member of the First Baptist Church in Roscoe and loved fishing, horses, and competing in roping contests every chance he had. He was a long time employee of Nolan County and retired after 34 years of service.

Survivors include his wife, Lafae Frazier of Malakoff; daughters, Deborah Lindstrom and husband, Charlie, of Malakoff, and Tonya Arpe and husband, Billy, of Roscoe; grandchildren, Jennifer Scott and husband, Shane, of Georgetown, Cody Arpe and wife, Brittania, of Midland, Patrick Brown and wife, Katie, of LaRue, and Chad Arme and wife, Susana, of Missouri City; step-grandchildren, Linnea Marasky and husband, Chris, of Japan, and Jeff Lindstrom and wife, Erin, of Seattle; seven great-grandchildren and two step great-grandchildren; sister, Faye Huff of Amarillo; brother, David Frazier and wife, Shirley, of Gonzales; and numerous nephews and nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Vora Frazier; a granddaughter, Mandy Brown; a sister, Aileen Cook; and two brothers, Wallace Frazier and Elby Frazier.

Pallbearers were Cody Arpe, Patrick Brown, Chad Arpe, Shane Scott, Gaylond Frazier and Rode Ammons.

--o--

Plowboys Trounce Tahoka 52-6, Face Hamlin Here Friday for District Title

Plowboy linemen Roady Mann (54) and Johnathon Cuellar (65) open a hole for Francisco Garcia (33) against Tahoka. (Football photos by Tamara Alexander)

The Plowboys easily defeated the Bulldogs in Tahoka Friday night, 52-6, setting up a showdown with Hamlin at Plowboy Field this Friday for the 4-2A-II district championship. Both Roscoe and Hamlin have cruised through all their district games, and both are undefeated in district play with 4-0 records, so Friday’s game should be one you don't want to miss.

The game in Tahoka, on the other hand, was an easy victory for the Plowboys, who jumped out to an early first-quarter lead and then coasted the rest of the way to a convincing win. Jose Ortega capped off the Plowboys’ first scoring drive with a seven-yard touchdown run, and after a Juan Garcia extra-point kick, the Plowboys were up 7-0. Later in the quarter, Brayden Beal hit Cade Garrett with a 7-yard TD pass, Garcia’s kick was good, and Roscoe led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Beal had two more touchdown passes, both 11-yarders to Jayden Gonzales, and Francisco Garcia scored on an 80-yard run. All three extra-point kicks were good, and the Plowboys extended their lead to 35-0. Shortly before the end of the first half, Tahoka scored its only touchdown of the evening but missed the extra-point try, and at halftime the score was 35-6.

In the third quarter, the Plowboys picked up where they left off with two more touchdowns, one by Lavalais on a 2-yard run and the other on a 14-yard pass from Beal to Gonzales to extend the lead to 49-6. In the fourth quarter, Juan Garcia concluded the Plowboy scoring with a 29-yard field goal to make the final tally 52-6.

The scoring by quarters went like this:

Roscoe             14        21        14        3 – 52
Tahoka              0          6         0        0  –  6

For the evening the Plowboys amassed 26 first downs and 528 total yards, 352 of them rushing and 176 passing. Francisco Garcia led Plowboy rushers with 222 yards on 16 carries and 1 TD. Brayden Beal completed 15 of 24 passes for 154 yards, 4 TDs, and 0 interceptions. Jayden Gonzales led all receivers with 4 catches for 56 yards and 3 TDs, while Jose Ortega had 5 catches for 53 yards and 1 rushing TD. Juan Garcia kicked 7 extra points and 1 field goal without a miss for 10 points.

On defense, Johnathon Cueller had 11 tackles, 2 for losses, and one sack; Tait Fullwood had 9 tackles, Cade Garrett 7, Parker Payne 5 with 2 for losses and 2 sacks, Paul Pantoja 6 with one for a loss and 1 sack, and Nick Limones had an interception.

The Plowboys are now 6-3 on the year and 4-0 in district, while Tahoka is 4-5 and 1-3 in district.

The Hamlin game here at home Friday evening will resume a feud begun last year when Hamlin was in a different district from Roscoe but wound up playing the Plowboys twice. In their second game of the year, the Pied Pipers beat the Plowboys 35-21 in a non-district game. The two teams then faced one another again in the area playoff game, and this time the Plowboys evened the score by winning 35-14, advancing to the next level, and sending the Pied Pipers home for the year.

The two teams appear to be evenly matched again this year. Hamlin beat Seagraves 17-0 (17 points), while the Plowboys beat them 39-23 (16 points), but the game will be played here at Plowboy Field, which could work to Roscoe’s advantage. Hamlin’s Coach Russell Lucas will have his team primed, and Plowboy Head Coach Jake Freeman will also have the Plowboys ready to go. In short, the game should be a memorable one.

Kickoff is at 7:00pm.

--o--

LARGE CROWD ATTENDS STEM ADVISORY MEETING AT STEM CENTER

Supt. Kim Alexander speaks to audience about Roscoe's STEM initiative.

Last Monday evening the RCISD STEM Center was filled with professionals of all stripes—elementary, high school, community college, and university educators; legislators, attorneys, veterinarians, geneticists, ranchers, and school board members, as well as specialists from various other fields—to attend the first STEM Advisory Meeting for year five and receive updates on the development of RCISD’s P-20 (Pre-school through Ph.D.) System Model for Student Success.

RCISD Superintendent Kim Alexander provided an overview of the venture, its progress, and its goals, and selected teams of Roscoe students from third grade on up through high school did presentations of their STEM research projects, including one from the Plowbots, Roscoe’s robotics team, on its robot that plants and waters corn. 4-H Ambassador for the State of Texas and RCHS student Francisco Garcia spoke of his first year as a state ambassador on the national level and of his recent trip to Washington, DC.

Todd Stroud of Hoofstock Genetics of Ranger spoke of the emerging Invitro Fertilization Advance Genetics’ rapid growth projections for Texas and the U.S., and of his company’s work with the Roscoe STEM Center.

Roscoe 3rd graders present their research findings about ladybugs.

Greg Wortham, an attorney with New Amsterdam Global who is also serving as adjunct faculty for marketing and branding strategies for Collegiate Edu-Vet/Edu-Drone, provided attendees with an interesting vision for the scaling of this education/business partnership, one designed to provide the workforce with custom-groomed employees. Such partnerships will produce opportunities for paid student apprenticeships as part of the Tri-Agency recommendation to the Texas Legislature.

Gary Briers from Texas A&M University followed by leading a discussion with guest presenters serving as panelists and concluded by thanking participants for sharing their knowledge and providing much needed expertise in the development and replication of a strong 21st Century School Transformation Model.

The STEM Center will have its next advisory meeting on April 10, 2017, and organizers are planning another all-star lineup of presenters for when it does.

--o--

FRANCISCO GARCIA TEACHES DRONE SKILLS AT 4-H NATIONAL YOUTH SCIENCE DAY

4-H STEM Youth Ambassador Francisco Garcia helps four DC kids fly foam aircrafts and learn about aerodynamics at 4-H National Youth Science Day. (Photo from U.S. News & World Report article)

Most Plowboy football fans know Francisco Garcia as number 33, the hard running ball carrier who gets the tough yards up the middle and leads the team in rushing every week. But for all the kids who participated in the 4-H National Youth Science Day’s “Drone Discovery Challenge” earlier this month in Washington, DC, he was the 4-H Youth Leader who was teaching them about drones and drone flight.

Garcia, who was selected in February to represent Texas as its official 4-H STEM Youth Ambassador, was uniquely qualified to teach the kids the basics of drones because he is undergoing training in RCHS’s new drone program, a joint project with drone company Strat-Aero International of Houston, and will be a certified drone pilot when he successfully completes the course.

The national 4-H Club chose drones as the subject for this year’s National Youth Science Day for two reasons: 1) because of its “huge application to agriculture,” said National 4-H President and CEO Jennifer Sirangelo, and 2) because “we thought it was a great way to mix the agriculture, the excitement of science and real-world applications.” She added that this year’s event was the most popular in its nine-year history. Over 200 4-H kids came to Washington for the event, and more than 100,000 K-12 students across the country experimented with drone engineering and design, and high schoolers learned about computer coding for remote sensors and unmanned flight.

Congratulations to Francisco Garcia, who played a significant role at this national meeting, and to Roxanna Reyna-Islas, his mentor and the 4-H director at Roscoe Schools, who accompanied him on the trip.

Garcia speaks to CEOs who donated to 4-H National Youth Science Day.

The U.S. News & World Report published an article about the event, which you can read online by clicking here:  And The Washingtonian, a D.C. area city paper, also had one. It may be accessed here. Both have a picture of Francisco as part of their article.

Information on RCHS’s drone program, being initiated this fall at school and in the old Nitzsche Welding Shop on Broadway appeared in an article in the Roscoe Hard Times on March 9. You can read it by clicking here. 

--o--

THANKSGIVING DINNER AT THE COMMUNITY CENTER SUNDAY

Thanksgiving Dinner will be at the Community Center on Sunday.

This year’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner at the Roscoe Community Center will be this Sunday, November 6, from 11am to 2pm. Turkey, dressing, and ham and all the trimmings are on the menu. It’s a free event but donations are welcomed.

--o--

ROSCOE POLICE NEWS: TWO CAR WRECKS

The wreck at Main and the west service road to I-20.

Roscoe Police responded to two car crashes this past week. Both were minor with no one killed or hospitalized. The first, shown above, occurred at the intersection of Main Street and the I-20 west service road on Thursday afternoon at about 5pm. The driver of the Mustang, a person from Sweetwater, was issued a citation for disregard of a stop sign. The driver of the maroon Fusion is from Roscoe.

The wreck on US 84.

The second was a one-car crash on Friday afternoon at the Business US 84 exit off US 84 in north Roscoe. The driver was a Texas Tech student, who fell asleep at the wheel while driving to Keller, Texas, for the weekend.

The Roscoe Volunteer Fire Department responded to both accidents.

--o--

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6

Don’t forget to set your clocks back this Sunday at 2:00am as Daylight Savings Time ends. Then enjoy the longest day of the year, the only one with 25 hours. Don’t you wish we had more of them!

--o--

JASON BOLAND & THE STRAGGLERS AT LUMBERYARD SATURDAY NIGHT

Jason Boland & the Stragglers.

It’s another big weekend at the Lumberyard with Jason Boland & the Stragglers in town Saturday evening. As all “Red Dirt/Texas Country” fans know, Jason Boland and his band have been and still are one of most popular groups dominating the Texas music scene.

The group got its start in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 1998 and released its first album, Pearl Snaps, in 1999.  Since then, they have gone on to produce six more studio albums: Truckstop Diaries (2001), Somewhere in the Middle (2004), The Bourbon Legend (2006), Comal County Blue (2008), Rancho Alto (2011), Dark & Dirty Mile (2013), and Squelch (2015), along with two live albums: Live and Lit at Billy Bob’s Texas (2002) and High in the Rockies (2010).

Popular singles include “Proud Souls,”  “Comal County Blue,” “Tulsa Time,” “Rich, Young Dumb Nymphomaniac,” and “Pearl Snaps.”

For reservations or more information contact the Lumberyard at 325-766-2457.

--o--

WEATHER REPORT: ANOTHER NICE WEEK

Dawn on Sunday.

Some people might say last week’s weather was boring. After all, the temperatures were practically the same every day, skies were clear to partly cloudy with plenty of sunshine during the day and a clear view of the stars every night, and the southerly breezes were middling and generally light in the evenings and night. But ‘boring’ is a negative term, so ‘consistently pleasant’ might be a more positive way of describing it. The afternoon highs ranged from 84°F on Friday, Saturday, and Monday to yesterday’s 88°, and the lows from Thursday morning’s 60° to Friday morning’s 64°.

Apparently, however, that is all about to change. Today’s forecast is for the beginning of a cool spell that will be more apparent tomorrow than today. Storms are possible this evening and even more likely tonight and tomorrow morning when the front moves southeast and out of our area. Even so, forecasters for the next week are giving us a 50% chance today, 80% tomorrow, 40% Friday, 50% Saturday, 90% Sunday, 60% Monday, and 60% Tuesday. So, it looks like we are leaving the sunny weather with above average temperatures and heading into a cool, wet spell, which will be hard on farmers who still have cotton to be stripped.

Highs will be considerably lower than the ones we’ve been enjoying. Today’s is forecast to be 81° along with plenty of clouds, tomorrow’s only 69°, Friday’s 65°, Saturday’s 72°, Sunday’s 66°, and Monday’s 70°. Lows should also be cooler, ranging from tomorrow morning's 59° to Saturday’s 56°. Winds will be from NE to SE and blow about 10-15mph.

So, get some warmer clothes out. Change is on the way!

--o--