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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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!

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