2015-16 Review
20015-2016 Basketball Updates:
El Paso area teams always seem to do well in the various state playoff tournaments. Not much was expected from the Andress High School boys’ team after last year’s Final 4 appearance which saw most of that team graduated. The Eagle struggled most of the season trying to find themselves.
They finished with a 16-15 overall record but came together as district play started. Andress finished with an 11-5 district record and the James Forbes and his team proceeded to make it all the way to the Regional Semi-Finals.
The Burges High School boys were highly ranked in 5A all season and finished with a 28-3 record before falling in the Regional Semi-Finals. The Anthony High School boys may have been the best story in the El Paso area. Anthony made it all the way to the Regional 2A Finals before being beat by Canadian in a very controversial game.
The girls were not to be upstaged. Franklin had a very strong team in 6A. The Lady Cougars finished the season with a 27-4 record and were ranked 31st in the state. Franklin made it to the Regional Quarter Finals before losing to Amarillo 53-43. Burges was the top girls’ team in 5A. The Lady Mustangs were highly ranked during most of the season taking a 4th place ranking into the 5A playoffs. Burges finished the season with a 28-4 record and ranked 15th in the final state rankings after falling in the Regional Semi-Finals 63-56 to Wichita Falls Rider. The Mustangs had a 49-34 lead in the 3rd period but were out-scored 29-7 in the deciding 4th quarter which saw two Burges players, Becca Cardenas and Mia Lopez, foul out.
One El Paso area team did win a state basketball title. The El Paso Christian Home School Panthers won the SWCAA 2016 Basketball State Championship. The Panther’s website states that the school has won 4 state title in a row. I would like to verify but information about some of these athletic associations is very hard to confirm. I know most people don’t take these titles too seriously because of the competition that is faced but the athletes, their coaches, their parents, and the school can be very proud of the achievement. A state championship is quite an accomplishment at any level of competition.
The following is a summary of the 2015-2016 basketball season:
6A Boys: Americas, Eastwood, El Dorado, and Coronado were the top 4 teams in District 1-6A and represented the El Paso area in the playoffs. Americas beat Monterey 66-63 in a bi-district game before falling to Arlington Martin 50-48 in the Area round. Eastwood, El Dorado, and Coronado all dropped their bi district contests. Eastwood lost to Amarillo 48-46, El Dorado lost to Lubbock Coronado 78-52, and Coronado was defeated by Tascosa 70-49.
5A Boys: Burges, Bowie, Andress, and Canutillo were the top 4 finishers in District 1-5A while Del Valle, Eastlake, Bel Air, and Hanks were the playoff contenders out of District 2-5A. Bi-district action saw Bel Air beat Bowie 54-53, Andress defeated Eastlake 68-60, Del Valle topped Canutillo 57-54, and Burges defeated Hanks 50-41. Andress and Burges would continue their winning ways in the Area round while Bel Air and Del Valle would see their seasons come to a close. Burges beat Canyon easily 72-46, Andress defeated Palo Duro 66-61, Bel Air was narrowly defeated by Plainview 58-53, and Del Valle lost to Hereford 57-47. Both Andress and Burges would win their Regional Quarter Final games. Burges beat Hereford 49-46 and Andress defeated Plainview 73-64. Unfortunately, both Andress and Burges would see their seasons end in the Regional Semi Finals. Andress fell to Wichita Falls Rider 72-61 and Burges lost to Fort Worth Dunbar 62-53. Burges finished the year with a 28-3 record and a 25th final state ranking. The Mustangs were 14-2 in district play and were 22-0 before losing to Jefferson and Bowie.
4A Boys: San Elizario, Fabens, Mountain View, and Clint represented the El Paso area in the 4A playoffs. Clint lost to Seminole 73-46, Fabens was defeated by Greenwood 71-67, and Mountain View fell to Monahans 69-18 in their bi district games. San Elizario won their bi district game beating Andrews 63-53 before losing to LaMesa 90-73 in the Area round of the state playoffs.
3A Boys: Tornillo lost to Denver City 32-31 in a bi district game.
2A Boys: Anthony was probably the biggest surprise during the playoffs. The Wildcats finished the season with a 24-1 record, losing only to Canadian in a Final 8 matchup, and a 5th place ranking amongst 2A teams. Here is
Anthony’s playoff run:
Bi-District: Anthony defeated Seagraves 85-43
Area: Anthony defeated Stamford 80-62
Regional Quarter Finals: Anthony defeated Smyer 54-35
Regional Semi-Finals: Anthony defeated Stratford 57-51
Regional Finals: Anthony lost to Canadian 59-57: Canadian would eventually win the State Championship
The game against Canadian was a controversial game. Anthony was seemingly fouled at the end of regulation and should have been given a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime. The referees chose not to call a foul and Anthony was denied a chance to tie the game. No one knows if the Wildcats would have won the game in overtime and eventually the next game for the right to go to the final 4. It would have been nice if they had been afforded the opportunity. Anthony has most of their team back next year so maybe the Wildcats will bring home the championship in 2017.
6A Girls: Franklin, Coronado, El Dorado, and Montwood were the top teams in District 1-6A. Franklin was the only team to advance past the bi district stage with a 59-54 victory over Lubbock Coronado. Montwood was defeated by Amarillo 61-32, El Dorado lost to Tascosa 60-49, and Coronado fell to Frenship 56-53. Franklin had a very good basketball team finishing with a 27-4 record and a final 31st ranking in 6A girls’ basketball. The Lady Cougars would go on to defeat Weatherford 60-49 in the Area playoffs before losing to Amarillo 53-43 in the Regional Quarter Finals.
5A Girls: Burges, Andress, Chapin, and Jefferson represented District 1-5A in the state playoffs while Eastlake, Horizon, Parkland, and Bel Air were the District 2-5A contenders. Bi district action saw Burges defeat Bel Air 72-
36, Chapin beat Horizon 59-49, Andress topped Parkland 45-36, and Eastlake topped Jefferson 60-38. Burges would be the only 5A team to advance past the Area round with their 56-44 victory over Dumas. Andress was beaten by Palo Duro 61-55, Chapin lost to Canyon 73-28, and Eastlake was defeated by San Angelo Lake View 70-45. Burges would beat Lake View 61-32 in the Regional Quarter Finals before losing to Wichita Falls Rider 63-56 in the Regional Semi Finals. Burges had a commanding lead at half time against Rider leading 37-22 at the break. The Mustangs led 49-34 late in the third period before getting outscored by 22points in the 4th period. Burges finished the season with a 28-4 record with a 16-0 district record. Burges finished the season with a 15th place ranking in the 5A girls poll.
4A Girls: San Elizario, Fabens, Mountain View, and Clint were the 4A representatives in the state playoffs. Fabens beat Andrews 65-64 and Mountain View defeated Pecos 46-43 in bi district action. San Eli lost to Greenwood 86-27 and Clint was defeated by Seminole 74-33. Both Fabens and Mountain View would fall in the Area round. Fabens fell to Lubbock Estacado 60-38 while Mountain View was defeated by Levelland 64-26.
2A Girls: Tornillo lost to Roosevelt 59-34 in bi district action.
2015-2016 Baseball Update
Faith Christian Academy was one of the El Paso area’s best high school baseball teams during the 2016 season. The Lions finished the season with a 26-2 record and won its’ second straight TCAL State Baseball Championship. Faith Christian lost two games during the regular season to Americas 6-5 and Coronado 7-5. The Lions played a tough schedule that included wins against Montwood, Bel Air, and Franklin. Faith Christian completely dominated its’ competition at the state tournament. The Lions defeated Kings Academy 14-0 behind Rafael Rucobo’s 5 inning 2 hit pitching performance. Allen Academy would fall to the Lions the next day 5-2 behind the 7 inning complete game pitching performance of Pablo Gonzalez. Faith Christian defeated San Marcos Academy 7-0 in the title game and were paced by the 7 inning complete game, three hit pitching performance of Roberto Frayre. It was the second straight year that Faith Christian defeated San Marcos for the title. Pablo Gonzalez was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Daniel Irigoyen was named to the All-Tournament team.
The public schools didn’t fare as well as Faith Christian. All the state tournament playoff contenders from the El Paso area were eliminated by the Area round. The following is the breakdown of the various classification seasons:
6A: Americas, Coronado, Montwood, and Eastwood were the playoff representatives for the El Paso area in 6A baseball. Americas and Montwood were the only teams to advance to the Area round when the Trailblazers defeated Tascosa and the Ram beat Lubbock Coronado in bi-district play. Americas would fall to Fort Worth Paschal while Montwood was defeated by Midland Lee in the Area round of the playoffs.
5A: The playoff representatives from District 1-5A were Jefferson, El Paso High, Canutillo, and Bowie. Eastlake, Riverside, Hanks, and Horizon were the 2-5A playoff teams. Bi-district action saw Jefferson defeat Horizon, Hanks beat El Paso High, Riverside topped Canutillo, and Bowie was beaten by Eastlake. Unfortunately all the El Paso area representatives were defeated in the Area round. Hanks lost to Lubbock Cooper, Riverside was defeated by Canyon Randall, Canyon beat Eastlake, and Jefferson fell to Abilene Cooper.
4A: San Elizario, Clint, Fabens, and Mountain View were the area’s 4A representatives. All were eliminated in bi-district action. San Elizario lost to Andrews, Fort Stockton beat Clint, Monahans topped Fabens, and Mountain View was defeated by Greenwood.
2A: Anthony, Fort Hancock, Van Horn, and McCamey were the 2A representatives in the playoffs. Anthony and Fort Hancock fell to Forsan and Borden, respectively, in bi-district action. Van Horn beat Rotan and McCamey defeated Ira in bi-district play. Both would lose in the Area round. Van Horn fell to Stamford and McCamey lost to Albany.
2016 Softball Recap
El Paso area teams didn’t fare any better in softball than they did in baseball. Most of the playoff teams were eliminated by the Area round except for Canutillo which reached the Regional Quarter Finals. The following is a breakdown on the various classifications:
6A: Montwood, Eastwood, El Dorado, and Franklin were the El Paso area’s 6A playoff representatives. Eastwood was the only team to win a bi-district match up when the Troopers defeated Monterey. Eastwood would lose to Midland in the Area round. Other bi-district action saw Montwood lose to Frenship, El Dorado was defeated by Lubbock Coronado, and Franklin lost to Amarillo.
5A: The 1-5A playoff representatives were Chapin, Canutillo, Andress, and Burges. The 2-5A playoff teams were Eastlake, Parkland, Bel Air, and Hanks. Bi-district action saw Canutillo beat Bel Air, Parkland defeated Andress, Eastlake topped Burges, and Chapin beat Hanks. Area playoff action saw Canutillo beat Lubbock Cooper while Parkland lost to Canyon, Randall defeated Eastlake, and Chapin was beaten by Lubbock. Canutillo was defeated by Canyon in the Regional Quarter Finals.
4A: San Elizario, Clint, Fabens, and Mountain View were the area playoff representatives from the 4A classification. Unfortunately all four were defeated in the bi-district stage of the tournament. San Elizario lost to Andrews, Clint was defeated by Monahans, Seminole topped Fabens, and Mountain View was beaten by Fort Stockton.
2A: Anthony was the area’s playoff contender in 2A action. They would lose to Sundown in bi-district action.
2016 Soccer Updates:
Eastlake boys make the 5A Final 4
EPHS and Jefferson girls make the Final 16
The El Paso area has always had a strong representation in the UIL Soccer State Championship playoffs with Coronado, Del Valle, and San Elizario all winning state championships in the past. This year would be no exception. Boys’ soccer would see Socorro and El Dorado reach the 6A Regional Semi-Finals while Bel Air and Eastlake proved to be powerhouses in boys’ 5A soccer. The Highlanders would reach the Regional Sem-Finals while Eastlake would make it all the way to the Final 4. Eastlake is quickly becoming one of the El Paso area’s best athletic programs in all sports.
San Elizario, last year’s 4A state champion, was again very good but were upset by Wylie in the Area stage of the playoffs. The girls also shined in 2016. Franklin made it to the Regional Quarter-Finals before losing to Odessa Permian.
El Paso High and Jefferson High had almost identical district records and both reached the Regional Semi-Finals. EPHS would fall to Wichita Falls Rider and the Foxes fell to Grapevine. The San Elizario girls was the top 4A area team but fell to Wylie in the Area round of the playoffs. The following is a breakdown of the district representatives for the various state classifications:
6A Boys: Montwood, Eastwood, Socorro, and El Dorado were the El Paso area’s 6A playoff contenders. Bi-diistrict action saw Eastwood beat Tascosa 8-0, Socorro defeated Frenship 2-1, El Dorado and Amarillo were dead locked at 3-3 through two overtimes before the Aztecs won in a shootout 6-5, and Montwood topped Lubbock Coronado 3-1. Eastwood and Montwood would fall in the Area round while Socorro and El Dorado would continue their playoff runs. Eastwood lost to North Crowley 1-0 and Montwood was defeated by Sam Houston 3-0. Socorro beat Midland in a shootout after finishing regulation tied at 4-4. El Dorado defeated Fort Worth Paschal 1-0 to move on to the Regional Quarter Finals. Socorro and El Dorado were both victorious in the Regional Quarter Finals with the Bull Dogs beating North Crowley 1-0 and El Dorado defeating Sam Houston in a shootout 5-4 after finishing regulation tied at 1-1. The playoff runs of both schools would end at the Regional Semi-Final round of the playoffs. Socorro lost to eventual state champion Coppell 3-0 while El Dorado played Plano East to a 3-3 tie before falling in a shootout 2-0.
5A Boys: Jefferson, EPHS, Austin, and Canutillo were the 1-5A playoff representatives while Eastlake, Del Valle, Bel Air, and Hanks took the top 4 spots in 2-5A. Bi-district action saw Bel Air beat EPHS 4-3, Austin defeated Del Valle 1-0, Eastlake topped Canutillo 2-1, and Jefferson better Hanks 4-0. The 5A representatives continued their domination in the Area round with only Austin losing to Caprock 2-1. Bel Air defeated Randall 4-1, Eastlake beat Palo Duro 3-0, and Jefferson outlasted Lubbock 2-0. Bel Air beat Caprock 4-1 in the Regional Quarter Final while Eastlake ousted Jefferson 3-1 to continue their playoff run. Bel Air’s great season would end with a 3-0 loss to Wichita Falls Rider in the Regional Semi Finals but Eastlake continued its’ playoff run with a 4-1 victory over Grapevine. Eastlake great season would continue with a Regional Final’s victory over Rider 5-4. The Falcons were on to the Final 4. Eastlake is a young program but already has proved to be one of El Paso’s if not one of the best in the state of Texas. The Falcon’s entered the State Semi Finals with a 22-2-1 record while their opponent, Brownsville Porter has a sparkling 26-0-1 record. Eastlake would battle it out to the very end but fell to the eventual state champion Porter squad.
4A: San Elizario was the 4A state champion last year and high hopes of defending that title. The Eagles had a bye in the bye district and were upset by Wylie 1-0 in the Area round of the playoffs. It is very hard to win a state championship much less to try to defend one’s state title.
6A Girls’ Soccer: Franklin, El Dorado, Coronado and Socorro were the El Paso area’s 6A representatives in the girls’ state tournament. Bi-district action would see Franklin beat Tascosa 6-0, El Dorado top Amarillo 2-1, Socorro beat Monterey 3-0, while Coronado lost to Frenship 3-1. Franklin would be the only area team to win in the Area round. The Cougars defeated Arlington Lamar with a 4-3 shootout victory after being tied 1-1 in regulation. Arlington Martin defeated El Dorado 1-0 and Socorro fell to Odessa Permian 1-0. Franklin’s season would end the following week the Regional Quarter Finals. Shootouts had been kind to the Cougars the week before but not against Permian. The two teams would finish regulation tied at 1-1 before Permian won the match with a 4-3 shootout victory.
5A Girls’ Soccer: Jefferson, El Paso High, Chapin, and Canutillo would represent district 1-5A in the playoffs while Eastlake, Bel Air, Del Valle, and Hanks were the district 2-5A contenders. Bi-district action saw Jefferson beat Hanks 2-0, EPHS defeated Del Valle 5-0, Bel Air topped Chapin 2-1, and Canutillo ousted Eastlake 2-0. El Paso High and Jefferson had the best girls’ soccer teams in 5A and had almost identical season beating each other during the season. Both would continue their playoff runs with Area round victories with the Tigers beating Lubbock 4-3 and the Foxes defeating Abilene Cooper 2-0. Bel Air lost to Caprock 2-1 and Canutillo was defeated by Randall 2-1 in the Area round. The Tigers and Foxes would both be victorious the next week in the Regional Quarter Finals. El Paso High defeated Caprock 2-0 and Jefferson beat Randall in a 6-5 shootout after finishing regulation tied at 0-0. The great seasons of EPHS and Jefferson would come to an end in the Regional Semi Finals. The Tigers lost to Wichita Falls Rider 2-1 and Jefferson lost to Grapevine 3-0. El Paso High finished the season with a 23-2; 15-1 record and Jefferson finished with a 22-4; 16-1 record. Both schools reached the Final 16 stage of the 5A playoffs. The future looks bright for both teams as both squads have quite a few under classmen.
4A Girls’ Soccer: San Elizario was the area’s representative in the 4A playoffs. The Eagles had a bye in the Bi-district stage but would lose to Wylie 1-0 in the Area round.
