Caller-Times Tuesday, December 13, 2016 1C

SportsCORPUS CHRISTI CALLER-TIMES

The last straw: Rams fire head coach Fisher after devastating loss. Page 6C

Calallen andRefugio will headnorth to Arlingtonthis week lookingfor the statechampionship. Fora look at the gamesgo to Page 4C.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP PRIMER

FINALE: EYES ON THE PRIZE

LEFT: Refugio RB YsidroMascorro | Photo by:Courtney Sacco RIGHT:Calallen RB Alec Brown |Photo by: Gabe Hernandez

Odem quarterback Michael Everettwas named the Class 3A OffensivePlayer of the Year on the AssociatedPress Sports Editors Class 3A All-Stateteam, which was announced Monday.

Everett was one of the CoastalBend’s top signal callers, throwing for3,406 yards and 47 touchdowns duringthe regular season. Everett finished hiscareer with 4,362 yards and 58 touch-downs. He also had 484 yards rushingand seven touchdowns.

Everett finished his career with12,631 passing yards, which ranks himthird in Texas, 159 touchdowns and 822completions.

Everett was joined on the first teamby two other Coastal Bend players,both on defense.

Banquete senior linebacker IsaiasGonzalez earned a spot on the firstteam after 128 tackles and 26 tacklesfor loss, along with eight quarterbacksacks. He was joined on the first teamdefense by San Diego’s Abel Casas,who had eight interceptions this sea-son.

Santa Gertrudis Academy’s Jer-maine Coleman was named honorablemention on the offensive line, andGeorge West’s Dennis George receivedhonorable mention on the defensiveline.

APSE 3A ALL-STATE TEAMS

Everett earns APSE3A offensive award STAFF REPORTSCALLER-TIMES

See HONORS, Page 3C

Bianca Valderrama has a difficulttime identifying what position sheplays on the basketball court.

“I don’t really know how to explainit,” said Neosho County (Kansas) Com-munity College’s 5-foot-8 sophomore.“I can shoot from outside, handle theball, post up if I need to. I don’t knowwhat I am, honestly.”

Position or no position, one thingthe stats make clear is that Valderra-ma, a former high school standout at

HOMETOWN HEROES

Valderramagets lookfrom scouts COY SLAVIKSPECIAL TO THE CALLER-TIMES

NEOSHO COUNTRY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Bianca Valderrama is an all-around player forNeosho County Community College inKansas.See HEROES, Page 3C

FRISCO, Texas - By the time rookiequarterback Dak Prescott and the Dal-las Cowboys take the field for anotherSunday night game, they’ll be facing aserious challenge either for the NFCEast lead or the conference’s No. 1

seed.Lose at home to Tampa Bay, and

that franchise-record 11-game win-ning streak will be little more than adistant memory. That’s how quicklythe script changed on a rough night forPrescott at the New York Giants, andanother loss to the only team that hasbeaten Dallas this season.

The Giants hold the tiebreakerthanks to their sweep of the Cowboys(11-2) and can get within a game in thedivision if they beat Detroit and Dallasloses to the Buccaneers (8-5). If the Li-

ons win, they’ll be a game back forthe best record in the NFC with avisit to the Cowboys coming next.

COWBOYS

BILL KOSTROUN/AP

Giants defensive ends Olivier Vernon, right, and Romeo Okwara, top, tackle Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott during the second half Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.

BROUGHT BACK TO EARTH Cowboys need a victory, or 11-gamestreak will become a distant memorySCHUYLER DIXONASSOCIATED PRESS

See COWBOYS, Page 3C

“I think the message is simple. It’s December, we’re

11-2, and we’ve got ourselves in a good position.”

JASON WITTEN COWBOYS TIGHT END

Caller-Times Tuesday, December 13, 2016 3C

CLASS 3A ALL-STATE TEAMFIRST-TEAM OFFENSELinemen— MATTHEW ARCE, Littlefield, Jr. — 98 percent grade, 76 pancakes— JORDAN HIGGINS, Lexington, Jr. — 53 pancakes, no sacks al-lowed, blocked for 2,000-yard rusher— CADE KRIEG, Wall, Sr. — 98 percent grade, 23 knockdowns, 34 cutblocks— WAYMON LAY, Big Sandy Harmony, Sr. -- 95 percent grade, 33pancakes on team that averaged 460 rush yds/gm— TIM RILEY, Crockett, Sr. -- 98 percent grade, 51 pancakes, 63 knock-downs, allowed 1 sackReceivers/ends— JASON FLOREZ, Muleshoe, Sr. — 76-1,409, 21 TDs— SICORY SMITH, Cameron Yoe, Sr. — 51-1,007, 16 TDs; 2 KO returnsfor TDsQuarterback— MICHAEL EVERETT, Odem, Sr. — 250-369-3,406, 47 TDs pass-ing; 5 TDs rushingRunning backs— NIC DILLON, Lexington, Sr. — 170-2,001, 34 TDs— TYLER GRAY, Brock, Sr. — 159-1,697, 26 TDs— TREY STERLING, Sunnyvale, Sr. — 180-1,781, 28 TDsKicker— BRYCE NYE, Brock, Sr. -- 69-72 PATs, 6-6 FGs, long of 37, 29 touch-backs, 87 pointsOffensive Player of the Year: Michael Everett, Odem, Sr.FIRST-TEAM DEFENSELinemen— TYLER CULLEY, Lone Oak, Soph. — 93 tackles, 25 TFL, 12 sacks— TAYLOR SMITH, Jefferson, Jr. — 127 tackles, 7 sacks, 18 TFL, 4 FF, 3FR, 4 PBUs, 3 blocked kicks— ELIJAH TREST, White Oak, Jr. — 90 tackles, 11 sacks, 23 TFL, 6 FF— ZACK VAUGHN, Brady, Sr. — 127 tackles, 80 solo, 47 assist, 23 TFL,9 sacks, 2 FF, 2 FRLinebackers— ZACH COLLINS, Beckville, Sr. — 144 tackles, 4 INTs, 9 TFL, 7 sacks, 3FF, 4 FR— ISAIAS GONZALEZ, Banquete, Sr. —128 solo tackles, 26 TFL,8 sacks, 9 FF, 4 PBUs— HYLKE TALSMA, Mount Vernon, Sr. — 127 tackles, 35 TFL, 4 sacks,3 FR, 2 INTsDefensive backs— ABEL CASAS, San Diego, Jr. —31 solo tackles, 8 INTs, 14 PBUs— BRAIDEN CLOPTON, Gunter, Soph. — 29 tackles, 8 INTs, 2 INTreturns for TDs, 9 PBUs— BRANDON COOK, White Oak, Sr. — 123 tackles, 4 TFL, 3 FF, 3 INTs,2 INT returns for TDs, 3 PBUs, 2 punt returns for TDs— KONRAD EICHELMAN, Big Sandy Harmony, Jr. — 105 tackles, 2INTs, 2 FR, 7 FF, 12 PBUs, 4 TFLPunter— TANNER COULLIETTE, Coldspring-Oakhurst, Sr. — 42.7 avg.Defensive Player of the Year: Zach Collins, Beckville, Sr.SECOND-TEAM OFFENSELinemen— Tanner Bradford, Clyde, Sr.; Rhett Buckley, Childress, Sr.; Casey Phil-lips, Franklin, Jr.; Cameron Richmond, New London West Rusk, Sr.;Brady Watson, Mount Vernon, Sr.

Receivers/ends— Cameron Copley, Canadian, Sr.; Tyshun Mitchell, Omaha Pewitt, Sr.Quarterback— Kaden Cordell, Sonora, Jr.Running backs— Jason Faulkner, Comfort, Sr.; Chris Martinez, Eastland, Sr.; CalebTwyford, Farmersville, Sr.Kicker— Cayden Cobb, Whitesboro, Sr.SECOND-TEAM DEFENSELinemen— Skylar Collier, Brock, Jr.; Henry Enoch, Yoakum, Sr.; Robert Muniz,Hallettsville, Sr.; Austin Vallejo, Elysian Fields, Sr.Linebackers— Eddie Luna, Cameron Yoe, Sr.; Dazmen Wright, Luling, Sr.; ZaneYoung, Brock, Sr.Defensive backs— Dustin Chopelas, Alpine, Sr.; Tyshun Mitchell, Omaha Pewitt, Sr.;Ja'kevian Rose, Linden-Kildare, Jr.; Walker T. Sine, Sonora, Soph.Punter— Preston Johnson, Whitesboro, Sr.HONORABLE MENTION OFFENSELINEMEN: Jade Ashalintubbi, Elysian Fields; Clayton Cavanaugh,Troy; Larry Coker, Malakoff; Jermaine Coleman, Kingsville Acad-emy; Jeremy Dawson, Big Sandy Harmony; J.D. Esquivel, Big LakeReagan County; Mac Harrah, Brock; Dominik Hasley, Muleshoe; MalikJohnson, Elysian Fields; Payton Lowrie, Malakoff; Lane Morgan, Frank-lin; Wyatt Neuman, Eden; Neilon Reitz, Goliad; Tyler Richardson, Ca-nadian; Silas Robinson, Yoakum; Bryndon Robles, Sonora; Rudy Sala-zar, George West; Cayden Steffey, Coleman; Aikeem Titus, Leonard;Toby Trevino, Goliad; Jovani Zavalla, Omaha Pewitt.RECEIVERS/ENDS: Brandon Berry, Clyde; Brandon Cook, White Oak;Cash Crane, Leon; Cash Goodhart, Sunnyvale; Tyler Russell, Malakoff;Michael Solis, Sonora.QUARTERBACKS: Zack Andress, Cameron Yoe; Beto Diaz, Muleshoe;Trent Easley, Grand Saline; Heath Hood, White Oak; Caleb McDill, Sun-nyvale; Judd Miller, Malakoff.RUNNING BACKS: Mark Caballero, Idalou; Marcus Cooper, Rice Con-solidated; Earnest Crownover, Grandview; Michael Edmonson, BigSandy Harmony; Davion Ford, Rockdale; Thomas Halfmann, Wall; Jar-rett Jackson, Sonora; Levi Jones, Van Alstyne; Don Taylor, Coldspring-Oakhurst; DJ Williams, Elkhart.KICKER: Jacob Walters, Elkhart.HONORABLE MENTION DEFENSELINEMEN: Walt Arnold, Coleman; Weston Bauer, Brady; Chris Castle,Woodville; Dalton Cunningham, Leon; Dagen Dunham, Muleshoe;Cody Gary, Jacksboro; Mikey Golden, Brock; Dennis Jones, GeorgeWest; Larry Krushall, Boling; Danyal Littleton, Malakoff; Alijuan Rice,Jefferson; Carlos Rodriguez, Gunter; Garrett Sanford, Wall; MichaelSims, East Bernard; Jesse Valdez, Cameron; Liam Yourgalite, Sonora.LINEBACKERS: Ahmad Brown, Crockett; Chase Boyd, Winona; ChaseBusch, Malakoff; Tanner Cable, Nocona; Cutter Callan, Florence; DylanDavid, Rockdale; Will Fannin, Franklin; Mario Flores, Muleshoe; JustinGibson, Cooper; Riley Harris, Coleman; Holton Hufstedler, Canadian;Cameron Johnson, Pattonville Prairiland; Cody Lehmann, East Ber-nard; Isaiah Lira, Sonora; Jerrid Long, Merkel; Ethan Owens, Yoakum;Damion Rogers, Lone Oak; Jack Patton, Malakoff; Isaac Salinas, Ma-this; Dillon Swaim, Bowie; Caleb Tucker, Childress; Brandon Wilkins,Cameron Yoe; Zakk Young, Brock.DEFENSIVE BACKS: Scooter Adams, Hallettsville; Avery Archibald,Franklin; QT Barker, Malakoff; Kandon Bennett, Henrietta; ColtonBrewer, Bangs; JaQuayln Crawford, Rockdale; Lucky Daniels, Crockett;Ryan Garrison, Lexington; Bryce Hammonds, Coleman; Levi May,Cameron Yoe; Dee Mitchell, Jefferson; Jordan Moore, Yoakum; CadeOrsak, Edna; Tyler Russell, Malakoff; Trey Schmidt, East Bernard; TreySterling, Sunnyvale; Ryan Walling, Wall.

RACHEL DENNY CLOW/CALLER-TIMES

Odem quarterback Michael Everett keeps the ball and runs it for a first down in the thirdquarter at Owl Stadium on Oct. 28 in Odem, Texas.

HonorsContinued from Page 1C

“I think I’m anxious to see our teamget back in there,” tight end Jason Wit-ten said after a 10-7 loss to the Giants. “Iknow we are all jumping at the bit tobounce back, answer the bell, so tospeak. I think the message is simple. It’sDecember, we’re 11-2, and we’ve got our-selves in a good position.”

Prescott is coming off the worstgame of a mostly spectacular debut sea-son, and one of the NFL’s best offenseson third downs has suddenly turned intoone of the worst. The Cowboys are acombined 2 of 24 on third downs the pasttwo games after converting just once in15 tries at New York.

Dallas escaped with a 17-15 win de-spite the third-down struggles at Minne-sota, when Prescott threw for a season-low 139 yards.

The 23-year-old hasn’t hit the 200-yard mark in three games after gettingthere in each of the first 10.

The biggest concern is that Prescottdoubled his season total in interceptionswith two, including a forced throw intodouble coverage on a deep ball to DezBryant. Coach Jason Garrett’s answerdidn’t change overnight when the topicturned to 10-year starter Tony Romo,now the backup because of Prescott’sscintillating start.

“You can make it as simple or com-plex as you want to make it,” Garrettsaid Monday. “It’s pretty simple for us.Dak’s going to play quarterback as wego forward.”

While Prescott failed his first De-cember road test on a division rival’scold field, he gets two chances in his cli-mate-controlled stadium to keep theCowboys in control of their path tohome-field advantage throughout theplayoffs. Beat Tampa Bay and Detroit,and another potentially bone-chillingtrip, the regular-season finale at Phila-delphia, won’t matter.

“He’s a tough guy, he’s a pro,” fellowrookie Ezekiel Elliott, the NFL’s leadingrusher, said of Prescott. “He is going toget in that film room, take notes. He isgoing to listen to what coach tells him todo and take it the field next week and beprepared next Sunday.”

Bryant had just one catch in eachgame against the Giants, and a fumbleafter the one at the Meadowlands endedDallas’ last realistic chance to comeback. The 2014 All-Pro had a wistful lookafter his critical mistake, not the scowlhe showed so often on the sideline earli-er in his career.

“When things don’t work, we stillhave the same mindset,” Bryant said.“We just keep on pushing and keep onpushing. We don’t think too big, and wedon’t think too small. We just play ourgame.”

The Cowboys are playing with asmaller margin for error — for now.

Notes: Garrett said the Cowboysplanned to active RB Darren McFaddenfrom the non-football injury list thisweek. The coach wouldn’t say what rolehis leading rusher from last seasonwould have. … LB Jaylon Smith, the sec-ond-round pick taken after a seriousknee injury in a bowl game at NotreDame, will be placed on season-endinginjured reserve, Garrett said. On thenight he was drafted, it was consideredunlikely Smith would play during hisrookie season.

CowboysContinued from Page 1C

SETH WENIG/AP

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, left,hands the ball to Ezekiel Elliott on Sunday.

Incarnate Word Academy, is one of themost versatile players for the Pan-thers. She averages 6.6 points, 5.5 re-bounds, tops the team with nineblocks, and ranks fourth with 16 as-sists.

“She can do a lot of things for us,”NCCC head coach J.J. Davis said. “Shereally is aggressive and good at at-tacking the basket. She uses her bodyvery well and has extraordinarily longarms for someone 5-foot-8, whichmakes her a very good rebounder forsomeone her size.”

It was Valderrama’s size (or lack of)that landed her almost 800 miles wayfrom home on the NCCC campus inChanute, Kansas (pop. 9,161). She tried

out for several Texas JU-CO coaches, but didn’treceive a worthwhile of-fer until Davis camecalling.

“Texas schoolscouldn’t offer her thesame deal we could uphere,” Davis said. “Mostof the schools down

there thought she was just an under-sized power forward and we wanted tomake her into a small forward and lether play on the perimeter. It’s payingoff for us.”

Valderrama tore an anterior cruci-ate ligament (ACL) in one knee duringher junior year at IWA and spent muchof her senior season with the Angelstrying to regain trust in her knee andgetting back into shape.

“When she first got here, we couldplay her maybe 10 to 15 minutes agame,” Davis said. “Now, she is hittingbetween 20 and 25 minutes a game.That’s just a testament to how hard sheworks and how bad she wants it.”

“I had to lose about 20 to 25 poundsto get up and down the court better,”Valderrama said. “I had to learn how tobe a slasher and finish at the basket,learn perimeter defense. I feel like Iam continuing to get better.”

Valderrama tallied 14 points and 11rebounds on Dec. 3 against Pratt Com-munity College and posted 17 pointsand 10 boards on Dec. 7 versus Coffey-ville Community College. The double-double performances have caught theeyes scouts from four-year schools.

“She’s had 15 to 25 people from Divi-sion III to small Division II callingabout her,” Davis said. “She will playsomewhere else. It will just be her

choice as to what she wants to do.”Valderrama said she is pleased with

her steady improvement on the court,but credited Davis and NCCC with as-sisting her in other areas of growth thepast two years.

“I have learned a lot about life, notjust basketball,” Valderrama said.“Coach Davis has been like a fatherfigure to me. He has taught me a lotabout being a better person and how tobe a leader.”

Valderrama doesn’t know whereshe’ll be at or what position she willplay next season.

She is just happy to have the oppor-tunity.

“When I tore my ACL, I didn’t thinkI would be able to play college ball atall,” Valderrama said. “I am not toosure where I am going to go. Just beingable to get some looks is exciting.”

HeroesContinued from Page 1C

Valderrama

THE BIANCA VALDERRAMA FILE2015-16: Averaged 6.4 points, 4.3 reboundsper game as a freshman. ... Topped the teamwith 10 blocked shots.

High School: Named to the TAPPS 4Aall-state team as a senior at Incarnate WordAcademy after averaging 12 points and 6.8rebounds per game. ... Helped lead theAngels to the TAPPS Class 4A regional final.

Personal: Born Aug. 12, 1997. ... Daughter ofJoAna Valderrama and Vern Williams. ...Majoring in physical therapy.

INFOBOX

OTHERS TO WATCH

Following are other former Coastal Bendhigh school athletes who excelled lastweek at the collegiate level:

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Hardin-Simmons senior guard DashunDixon (Carroll): Scored 25 points off thebench on 9-of-14 shooting in a 106-101American Southwest Conference loss toUT-Tyler. Averaging 12.7 and 2.6 reboundsper game for the Cowboys (4-3, 2-1).

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Huston-Tillotson senior guard (Beeville):Scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds,dished out five assists and made three3-pointers in a 92-72 Red River AthleticConference win over St. Thomas. Averaging14.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest forthe Rams (4-1, 2-0).

UT-Tyler senior guard Khadijah Evans(Carroll): Tallied 12 points and five reboundsin a 70-55 American Southwest Conferencevictory over Hardin-Simmons. Averaging 6.6points and 5.9 rebounds per game for thePatriots (6-2, 1-2).

The trickle of Cuban baseball playersfiltering into the majors has grown intoa torrent, with their numbers increas-ing to an all-time high of 30 last season.

Yet despite their rising levels of suc-cess and skyrocketing salaries, Cubanplayers across generations share theheartache of leaving behind their coun-try, family and way of life, experiencinga longing for their homeland that sim-mers down but never quite gets extin-guished with the passage of time.

That’s one of the central themes ofCuba: Island of Baseball, a documen-tary produced by Major League Base-ball that debuts Tuesday night on theMLB Network.

Released nearly two years to the daywhen President Obama and Cubanpresident Raul Castro announced a nor-malizing of relations between the long-estranged nations, the film traces thetrajectory of Cuban players in exile.

From the likes of Luis Tiant and TonyOliva, who joined major league organi-zations before then-Cuban leader FidelCastro banned professional sports in1961, to modern-day defectors like Arol-dis Chapman and Jose Abreu, there’s acommon bond among players who leftthe island nation, in many cases never togo back.

“People in this country have an ideaof Cuba as being closed and the intrigueand mystery, and they don’t really un-derstand a lot of the back story of whatso many of these guys go through,” saidDanny Field, who combined forces withfellow producers Alfonso Pozzo and JedTuminaro.

“So we wanted to tell some of thesestories of what it means to be a Cubanplayer in the big leagues. The stories re-peat themselves, and you see it whenLuis Tiant is talking about Yoan Monca-da. He relates, and there’s half a centurybetween those guys.”

Narrated by Cuban American BobbyCannavale, the documentary maintainsa safe distance from political themesand focuses instead on human stories:Abreu yearning to reunite with his son;Jon Jay searching for his grandparents’former house; Tiant hesitating to returnto the island amid concern about how hewill be received; several examples ofthe difficult transition to a new life in astrange land, where the off-field adjust-ments have often proved more chal-lenging than the baseball aspect.

Filming began during MLB’s good-will tour of Cuba in December 2015,which marked the first trip back to theirhome country for Abreu, Yasiel Puig,Alexei Ramirez and Brayan Pena.

Jay, a seven-year outfielder whosigned two weeks ago with the ChicagoCubs, was also part of the traveling par-ty to his ancestral homeland. Born andraised in Miami to Cuban parents, Jaymade time in a busy schedule of chil-dren’s clinics and appearances to locatehis grandparents’ neighborhood in Ma-tanzas, then spent two hours askingaround until finding where they used tolive.

“Walking around the streets, I feel athome,” Jay says in the film. “I feel likethis is somewhere where I definitelycould have seen myself growing up or

living, having that comfort level andthat peace in my heart knowing, ‘Wow,this is where my family comes from.“’

Three months after that trip, MLBreturned to Cuba at the same time Oba-ma became the first sitting U.S. presi-dent to visit since 1928.

The significance of the occasion iscaptured in scenes at Estadio Latinoa-mericano, where Obama and Raul Cas-tro sit side-by-side for an exhibitiongame between the Tampa Bay Rays andthe Cuban national team.

Tiant, having overcome his reserva-tions to return to his native land for justthe second time since 1961, gets compli-mented by Obama as he stops by andshakes hands with both leaders. Later inthe documentary, Tiant comments onbeing in the awkward position of ex-changing greetings with one of the menresponsible for his exile and that of hun-dreds of thousands of his countrymen.

“What are you going to do?” the four-time 20-game winner says. “Are you go-ing to take your hand away from him?Are you going to turn your back on him?Everybody in the world would see that.To me, that’s a disrespect. No matter ifyou like him or not, he’s the president ofthe country. You don’t want to do that toany president, I don’t care what youare.”

Cuba: Island of Baseball also paystribute to the trailblazing players whoinitially left everything behind to trytheir fortunes in the major leagues,among them Barbaro Garbey and ReneArocha.

Garbey, who had been suspended forgame-fixing in Cuba, arrived in the U.S.through the Mariel boatlift in 1980. Hesigned with the Detroit Tigers andplayed three years in the majors, includ-ing the 1984 World Series-winning sea-son.

Arocha was the first member of theCuban national team to defect, stayingin Miami during a layover in 1991 andseeking asylum. His career in the ma-jors lasted just three-plus seasons, butArocha is credited with opening thedoor for the wave of talent to follow,even though Garbey preceded him.

“The most fascinating story for mewas Barbaro Garbey,” said senior pro-ducer Pozzo, a Cuban American whogrew up in Honduras. “I didn’t know hisstory. I thought Arocha was the firstone, and here I am a baseball guy.

“I wasn’t sure if he would talk about(the suspension) when I was doing theinterview with him. I wasn’t sure how Iwas going to approach it when I satdown with him, and he was very openabout it from the beginning.”

Coming from a Communist regimethat fostered paranoia among its citi-zens, Cuban players are typically tight-lipped about their defections. Only oneof the subjects in the documentary —catcher Brayan Pena, most recentlywith the St. Louis Cardinals — offers de-tails about how he escaped.

But the producers have a history in-teracting with the Cuban baseball feder-ation and its players, several of whomthey have covered in the World BaseballClassic. That facilitated access to Anto-nio Castro, the federation vice presidentwho is quoted extensively, and helpedelicit touching narratives from the play-ers.

BASEBALL

MLB’s Cuban talent basefeatured in documentaryJORGE L. ORTIZUSA TODAY SPORTS