Plowboys Prepare for 2019 Football Season

Plowboys practice on Monday afternoon.

It’s that time of year again. Since Monday, the 2019 Roscoe Plowboys have been engaged in two-a-day practices as a prelude to the upcoming football season. As always, hopes are high at this time of year, and players are optimistic and looking forward to moments of gridiron glory.

However, unlike other schools in the district, which won’t begin classes until next week or later, at Roscoe school begins tomorrow, which means the team will be unable to have morning sessions like other schools because players will be in class. Instead, they will have to cut their practice times and hold them after school in the hot afternoons.

This disadvantage for the football team results from the school’s need to coordinate its schedule with Western Texas College in Snyder because of the high school’s classes for college credit.

The Plowboys are breaking in a new quarterback since their projected starter, Barrett Beal, moved away with his family this summer. Next man up at the position is Junior Martinez, a former wide receiver, who is a good all-around athlete and team leader. But quarterback is not the only position to see new players in starting roles this year. Gunner Helm will be a running back, and there will be new linemen and other new players on both offense, defense, and kicking. The team is not large in overall size, but Head Coach Jake Freeman feels they will make up for it with their speed.

Also coaching for the Plowboys this year are Coach Freeman’s assistants: Ryan Dillon, Tanner Mann, Joe Rackley, and Shawn Speck.

Plowboys Face Tough Schedule

There’s no two ways about it. The 2019 Plowboys have their work cut out for them with the schedule they have this season:

Date                 Opponent                   Location                      Time
Aug.  17            Ozona**                     San Angelo                10:00am
Aug. 22            Forsan**                    Forsan                         5:00pm 
Aug. 30            Hawley                       Roscoe                         7:30pm 
Sept.  6             Stamford                   Stamford                     7:30pm
Sept. 13            Miles                          Miles                            7:30pm
Sept. 20            Chico                         Cisco                            7:00pm
Sept. 27            Open
Oct.    4            Christoval (H)          Roscoe                         7:30pm
Oct.  11             Hamlin*                    Hamlin                        7:00pm
Oct.  18            Albany*                     Albany                         7:00pm
Oct.  25            Haskell*                    Roscoe                         7:00pm
Nov.  1              Open
Nov.  8             Cross Plains*            Roscoe                         7:00pm
 
     ** = Scrimmage               (H) = Homecoming                 * = District Game

The Plowboys play no home scrimmages and only four regular-season games at home this year, and after the Hawley game on August 30 will not play again at home until the Homecoming game on October 4.

According to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, two of the teams in Roscoe’s district are in the preseason Top Ten in Texas for Class 2A, division II:

                      1. Mart
                      2. Falls City
                     3. Hamlin
                      4. Stratford
                      5. Grapeland
                     6. Albany
                      7. Wellington
                      8. Burton
                      9. Gruver
                    10. Muenster
                    20. Christoval

Hamlin is ranked number 3 and Albany number 6. Also, three of the non-district opponents are almost as tough. Christoval, Roscoe’s Homecoming rival, is ranked number 20 in state and picked to win District 8-2A-II. Non-district foes Hawley and Stamford are Class 2A, division I, a step above Roscoe’s division II. In their division, Hawley is ranked number 11 in state and Stamford 20.

Here is Texas Football’s prediction for the outcome of District 7-2A-II:

                      1. Hamlin
                      2. Albany
                      3. Haskell
                      4. Cross Plains
                      5. Roscoe
                      6. Baird

But Baird is no longer a member of the district. A big part of Roscoe’s scheduling problems this year comes from schools dropping out of eleven-man football because of declining enrollments. The Plowboys had originally planned to play Munday as one of their non-district games, and Baird was scheduled as the next-to-last district game, but both have switched to six-man.

Munday dropped eleven-man before Baird, and Coach Freeman was able to schedule a game with Chico* in Cisco on September 20. But Baird dropped out of the district at the last minute, leaving the Plowboys and other district 7-2A-II teams with only nine regular-season games.

With Baird gone, the Plowboys are now predicted to wind up at the bottom of the district. This is not the first time the Plowboys have been picked to finish last, but predictions are, after all, only predictions, and the only other time it’s happened to Coach Freeman was in 2014, when the Plowboys wound up second in district and lost a hard-fought bi-district battle to Wink on a cold night in Big Spring.

* Chico is a town of 1000 between Fort Worth and Wichita Falls. It is 14 miles northwest of Decatur and 192 miles northeast of Roscoe. Cisco, where the game will be played, is about midway between Chico and Roscoe. The Dragons are Class 2A, division I, in the same district as Seymour and Olney.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP FOCUSES ON EDU-NATION P-20 SYSTEM MODEL

Workshop in the School Cafetorium on Monday morning.

New and returning faculty spent Monday at a professional development workshop devoted to explaining, exploring, and reinforcing aspects of Roscoe’s Collegiate Edu-Nation P-20 System Model. Besides local administrators and faculty, speakers included Professors Glenn Shinn and Gary Briers of Texas A&M and Dr. Reo Prueitt of Educate Texas in Dallas.

After introductions and statements of purpose, objectives, and expected outcomes, faculty members broke up into groups that studied and summarized chapters in the recently published Edu-Nation Handbook. The chapters explore the various ramifications of the new system model for everyone and everything involved with the transformation from traditional methods of education to the new system model and its impact on student achievement and opportunities as well as to their communities.

Participants ate working lunches and continued into the afternoon. Once all the handbook’s chapters had been discussed and summarized, conclusions and next steps were discussed. The workshop concluded at 4:00pm.

Yesterday, the same administrators, speakers, and professors were in Hamlin conducting a similar workshop introducing the Edu-Nation P-20 System Model to that school's administrators and faculty—and today they are doing the same in Throckmorton as both districts are implementing the new system into their schools this year.

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NEAL McCOY RETURNS TO LUMBERYARD FRIDAY

Neal McCoy

Friday night, Neal McCoy will be back at the Lumberyard, where he put on a great show last year to a large and enthusiastic audience.

He was born and raised in Jacksonville, Texas, the son of a Texan dad who met his Filipina mom while serving in the army. His first song to reach the top 40 was “Where Forever Begins” in 1992, followed by “No Doubt About It” and “Wink” in 1993, both of which made number 1. He produced one gold and two platinum albums in the nineties and had several more top ten hits.

Since then he has produced other hit singles including “The Shake,” “Billy’s Got His Beer Goggles On,” “Hillbilly Rap,” “They’re Playing Our Song,” and “Take a Knee, My Ass.”

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

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JOIN NEAL McCOY IN SAYING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE LIVE IN ROSCOE THIS  FRIDAY MORNING AT 11am

Neal McCoy does the Pledge of Allegiance live on his Facebook page every day, and Friday at 11:00am, he will do it in front of the Lumberyard, where he will perform Friday night.

Everyone who wants to is invited to join him there in saying the Pledge, which hundreds of people watch on Facebook every day. Since the shooting in El Paso a few days ago, the focus of the country is on west Texas, and McCoy thought it would be a good idea to say the Pledge from here.

So you are welcome to join him on Friday. Just show up in front of the Lumberyard about 10:50am to participate in this project. Several school students and others will be there.

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BEEF CATTLE CONFERENCE AT STEM CENTER TUESDAY

A beef cattle conference for Nolan and Fisher Counties will be held in the RCISD STEM Center next Tuesday evening, August 13, beginning at 5:30pm. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is organizing and hosting the event.

The conference will begin with a meal, followed by the following speakers and topics:

“Top Legal Issues Facing Ranchers,” Stephanie Bradley Fryer, Stephanie Bradley Law Firm, Anson.

“Market Considerations: What is a Good Price for My Calves?” Donna Hughes, Daniels Trading Company, Abilene.

“Bull Fertility and Management,” Dr. Bruce Carpenter, AgriLife Beef Cattle Specialist, Fort Stockton.

“Understanding EPD’s: Live Animal Evaluation,” Carpenter and Roddy Alexander, Alexander Ag, Roscoe.

Talks will be followed by question and answer sessions. All those interested are encouraged to attend. To register, call Zachary Wilcox, Nolan County AgriLife Extension agent, at 325-236-6912 or Nick Dickson, Fisher County AgriLife Extension agent, at 325-766-3529.

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WEATHER REPORT: THE DOG DAYS OF AUGUST

The flags at school hung limp yesterday afternoon.

We are now in what are often termed the dog days of August, a time in West Texas when there is little change in the weather—days and nights tend to be unrelentingly hot, winds light and southerly, and precipitation scarce to non-existent. It is a time of crickets chirping and of “locusts” (actually cicadas), whose distinctive purring or buzzing sound is an enduring reminder of the season.

This past week was a perfect example. High temperatures for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were 100°, 100°, and 101°. Saturday was 97°, and Sunday was a “chilly” 93° before Monday was back to 97° and yesterday 98°. Winds were mostly light, and there were times Monday and yesterday when there was no wind at all. Skies were mostly sunny, and lows except for Sunday’s 69° were in the mid-seventies. And, once again, there was no measurable precipitation. Despite the big cracks in the parched black land, the area’s dryland cotton has done a pretty good job of holding up so far, but it needs a good rain soon.

The forecast, however, is for more of the same. Every day from today to next Wednesday is predicted to top out at 101° or 102° with lows of either 77° or 78°. Skies will once again be mostly or completely sunny, winds will be light and southerly, and the chances for rain are 0% for every single day. We are truly caught up in the dog days of August. 

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† TONY PANTOJA

A mass service for Tony Pantoja, 60, of Kerrville, will be held at 10:00am on Saturday, August 10, at Notre Dame Catholic Church in Kerrville with Father Wagner of Notre Dame Catholic Church officiating. Rosary service will be at 7:00pm on Friday, August 9, at Wright Funeral Home. He passed away on Monday, August 5.

Tony was born in Loraine on April 13, 1959. He graduated from Highland High School in 1978. He worked as a general contractor in the Kerrville area and was a retired policeman of 20 years. He loved riding his motorcycle, listening to Tejano and country music and spending time with family and friends.

Tony is survived by his mother, Maria Pantoja; his three sons: Anthony, Nicholas, and Thomas Pantoja; his life companion, Celeste Silva, and her son, Brandon; his sisters: Martha Ensenia and Isabel Pantoja; and his brothers: James Pantoja, Ray Pantoja, Felix Pantoja, David Pantoja, and Reuben Pantoja; uncles: Juan Pantoja, Pedro Pantoja, Ponciano Pantoja; aunts: Manuela Pantoja, Victoria Washington, and Adela Franco; six grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his father, Alfonso Pantoja.

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† LAURA PAULINE RANNEFELD

 Graveside services for Laura Pauline (Wilson) Rannefeld, 91, were held at 10:00am, Monday, August 5, at Roscoe Cemetery followed by interment. Reverend Matt McGowan officiated, and arrangements were by McCoy Funeral Home of Sweetwater. She passed away Friday, August 2, at Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital in Sweetwater.

Pauline was born June 16, 1928, in Roscoe to the late Volus Grady and Mary Elmira (Ellie) Jones Wilson. She married Monroe Fred Rannefeld December 21, 1946, at Winters. She lived in Nolan County all her life and attended Roscoe Schools. A beautician since 1945, she owned and operated Pauline’s House of Beauty in Roscoe for many years, worked for the Roscoe Nursing Home as beautician, and was a member of First Salem Lutheran Church in Roscoe.

Pauline is survived by her brother; James Virgil Wilson and wife Leona of Dallas; son, Monroe Fred Rannefeld, Jr., of Roscoe; daughters, Connie Holder and husband Steve of Springfield, Missouri, and Cindy Watts and husband Speight of Sweetwater. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Laura Presley of Sweetwater, Crystal Rea and husband Randall of Sweetwater, Dwane Watts and wife Angela of Sweetwater, and Corey Holder and wife Maya of Seattle, Washington; nine great-grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Monroe F. Rannefeld, Sr.; brother, Dowe Grady Wilson; parents; and grandson Michael David LeCroy.

Pallbearers were Dwane Watts, Austin Moreland, Brandon Presley, Zach Schulze, Randall Rea and Brittany Lopez.

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