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Friday, January 12, 2001
Cactus Bowl Notebook
HOPING FOR LARGE CROWD: Despite dreary weather on Wednesday, Cactus Bowl officials are hoping for a large turnout for the all-star game, the first of its kind to be held at Javelina Stadium. "I hope we do," said Ron Harms, the former Texas A&M-Kingsville football coach and athletics director who now serves as the president and general administrator of the Cactus Bowl. "We've certainly done all we can do. Everybody knows it's happening." The forecast is good for Friday, with cloudy skies and game-time temperature expected to be in the 60s. The playing surface at the 10,000-seat Javelina Stadium has been covered since Tuesday, with the East and West squads working out on the grass field to the east of the stadium, normally where fans park. This also will be the first time the Division II all-star game will be played outdoors and not on an artificial surface. The first seven games were played at the Fargodome in Fargo, N.D., when the game was known as the Snow Bowl.
VOWELL BACK IN KINGSVILLE: Eddie Vowell, the former East Texas State/Texas A&M-Commerce coach, is back on the sidelines as the West's head coach. He got the job when former Texas Tech assistant Rick Dykes was named the offensive coordinator at Arizona. Bowl rules stipulate that members of the coaching staff cannot currently be coaching in the collegiate ranks. Vowell, a longtime rival of former Harms, isn't out of the coaching profession, however. He is an assistant coach of the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena League. "I live in Commerce seven months and play golf every day, and I coach Arena ball for five months," Vowell said. "It's the best job I've ever had."
WEST DOMINANCE: The East team has won only once in the seven meetings, a 10-7 win in 1996. The games have been closely contested - the '98 game went to overtime before the West won, 15-12. The lone blowout came in the West's 43-3 win in 1997. The West won last year, 24-22.
JAVELINAS ON TEAM: With this year's selection of DT Kerry Linnear, deep snapper Dickie Russell and S J.R. Turner, 12 Texas A&M-Kingsville players will have played in the Snow Bowl/Cactus Bowl. The other Javelina alumni include CB Keith Pittman and NT Moke Simon (1994); C Kevin Dogins and CB Richard Jones ('96); FS Tyrone Marshall and OT Todd Perkins ('97); LB Chris Hensley ('98); CB Cedric Johnson ('99); and OL Nick O'Brien (2000).
LSC REPRESENTATION: Besides Linnear, Russell and Turner, 10 other Lone Star Conference players are on the West roster. That list includes Tarleton State's Chris Chambers; Dominic Rhodes of Midwestern State; Cecil Deckard and Shevron Glover of Southwestern Oklahoma; DeWayne Miles and Ray Taupule of West Texas A&M; Angelo State's Stacy Pierson; Southeastern Oklahoma's Joe Jones; Texas A&M-Commerce's Paul Simmons; and Nelson Smith of Eastern New Mexico.
OFFICIALS: The officials for the ballgame won't be strangers to Javelina Stadium. The crew is from the San Antonio chapter of the Southwest Officials Association, which has officiated A&M-Kingsville games as part of the Lone Star Conference pool. The crew consists of: referee Reggie Anderson; umpire Joel Bellinger; line judge Brock Pittman; head linesman Bill Fecci; field judge Jim Carroll; sideline judge Wesley Booth; and back judge Bob Watson.
TV ANNOUNCERS: Greg Lucas will be the play-by-play announcer and Gary Reasons will handle the color commentary for Fox Sports Southwest's live broadcast of the game. Jim Knox will be the sideline reporter. Air time is 7 p.m.
AUDIBLES: Players from 25 different states will play in the game, led by Texas with nine. ... One Canadian player is on the West roster. North Dakota DT Scott Schultz hails from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. ... Bands from three South Texas high schools - Kingsville, Laredo Martin and Robstown - are scheduled to perform at the game. ... Two finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Division II equivalent of the Heisman, will play. Nebraska-Kearney QB Justin Coleman, the Harlon Hill runner-up, and Slippery Rock QB Randy McKavish were the finalists for the award won by Valdosta State junior QB Dusty Bonner. Coleman ranked fifth in Division II passing efficiency. ... Two members of Division II national champion Delta State will play for the East - QB Jeff Smith and CB Pat Walker.
Compiled by staff writer George Vondracek
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