Fort Bliss Monitor

31st edges 6th, 11th for post 10K title

Master Sgt. Steve Miller
Public Affairs Chief

About 150 runners leave the starting line Friday morning during the post 10-kilometer run at Biggs Army Airfield.

Five runners from the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade finished in the top three spots Friday in the various age groups to lift their team to the post 10-kilometer run championship at Biggs Army Airfield.

The “Ready and Vigilant” brigade had one 1st place runner, two 2nd place runners and two in 3rd place to earn 23 team points. They edged the 6th and 11th ADA Brigades, who each compiled 17 points. Points were awarded based on 7 points for finishing first, 5 for second and 3 for third.

Larry Smith, 33, of 11th ADA Bde was the overall winner among some 150 runners in 36 minutes, 1 second. He is a member of Team Bliss men’s Army Ten Miler team, which was scheduled to run another 10K race Saturday in El Paso.

“With our training, we can go back-to-back,” Smith said of running 10Ks on consecutive days. “Today I ran pretty hard for the first part of the race, and I took it easy coming in.”

The women’s overall winner was Carmen Vega of William Beaumont Army Medical Center in the women’s 35 to 39 age group. Her time was 42:41.

“It was a good run for me today because I had my (Army Ten Miler) teammate, Nancy Castro, with me. We paced each other and pushed each other,” said Vega, 39.

Indeed, Castro of the 108th ADA Bde was the third woman to finish, in 43:42, just behind Army Ten Miler teammate Maria Tristan (6th ADA Bde), who won the women’s 34 and under age group in 42:58.

Kevin Ciocca ran the 10K in 37 minutes, 58 seconds to win the men’s 35 to 39-year-old age division and get 31st off to a good start. The rest of the points for 31st were racked up by their women’s runners. Dawn Brooks ran a 50:20 to earn second in the women’s 35 to 39 age group, just a couple minutes ahead of Carolyn Birchfield, who finished in 52:05. Evelyn Hollis ran a 1:01.01 to place third in the women’s 40 and over category, and Team Bliss Army Ten Miler team member and coach Rachel Rosenbaum placed third in the women’s 34 and under category with a time of 44:09.

In addition to Tristan’s triumph, 6th ADA Bde also finished first in the women’s 40 and over category as Michelle Glubka ran a 47:36. Michael Latzke picked up the other points for 6th by finishing third in the men’s 40 and over category in 47:24.

In addition to Smith’s win, 11th notched a pair of second-place finishes. Jabasi Jennings was second to Smith in the men’s 34 and under category in 36:37, and Adrian Thomas was the runner-up in the men’s 40 and over division with his 44:53 showing.

Student champions
OBC overcomes halftime deficit to earn flag football title 46-34

Master Sgt. Steve Miller
Public Affairs Chief

OBC’s Chris Hartings, center, discusses strategy with his teammates while facing a 28-16 halftime deficit during Friday night’s flag-football championship game at Stout Field. OBC outscored E Btry, 3rd Bn, 43rd ADA, 30-6 in the second half to win the flag football title 46-34.

Three second-half interceptions keyed a 30-6 run to help the Officer Basic Course overcome a 28-16 halftime deficit Friday night and win the post flag-football championship 46-34 at Stout Field.

Defending champion E Battery, 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery, grabbed that first-half lead on the strength of four touchdown passes by Curtis Zervic, whose offense scored on every first-half possession. Daniel Ward and Q. Quintanilla each caught two first-half scoring passes for Echo, but things began to turn in OBC’s favor early in the second half.

Rick McIntyre caught a 1-yard flip from Chris Hartings on OBC’s first possession of the second half, and Hartings found McIntyre again for the 2-point conversion to bring OBC within 28-24. Zervic hit Ward from 15 yards out on Echo’s first second-half possession to increase their lead to 34-24, but OBC answered as Hartings hit Carson with a 24-yard scoring strike to close back within 34-30.

One change OBC made for the second half was inserting Hartings on defense to guard Ward, who had a height advantage in the first half. The switch paid dividends for OBC when Hartings interecepted a Zervic pass and returned it to the Echo 12-yard-line. Hartings then hit Jevan Willis for a score on the first play after the interception and found Carson for the 2-point conversion to put OBC up for good, 38-34, with just over four minutes left.

“At halftime we talked about how we could switch it up on defense and what plays we wanted to use in the second half,” Hartings said. “We were pretty confident on offense – we have a lot of speed, and we were catching balls and getting open. Our concern on defense was we were getting no pressure on the quarterback.”
To that end, OBC had Manuel Ramos rush Zervic up the middle in the second half and jump in front of him as he looked for a receiver, forcing him to move left or right.

Phillip Banks of OBC intercepted a tipped ball on Echo’s first possession after OBC got the lead, and OBC cashed it in a couple plays later when Hartings hit Carson from 5 yards out. Hartings went to Galen Terry for the 2-point conversion to account for the 46-34 final score. Carson then intercepted a deep pass by Zervic two plays later to seal the deal and end any comeback hopes by Echo.

“Their quarterback was putting the ball right on the money. I have to take my hat off to them,” Zervic said. “I made one bad decision and floated the ball out there, and they took advantage of it. We mercy-ruled every team up to now. That’s a great team over there.”

The accompanying chart is a scoring summary from the championship game.

Turkey Bowl countdown continues
1st Lt. Victor hoffer
31st ADA Bde.

A yearly tradition on Fort Bliss, the Turkey Bowl flag-football tournament holds almost as much prestige as winning the year-long, multiple-sport Commander’s Cup. As with any of the many years before it, this season’s competition has already brought out the competitiveness and confidence of coaches and players alike.

“31st is gonna win it all,” Bill Speier said confidently. The coach of the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade’s team, Speier knows that confidence combined with practice and teamwork can bring home the win. Every other team, though, believes likewise that their organization can take the trophy home, and that is what makes for the fun and exciting competition.

“Tell everyone else they can stay at home and surrender the trophy,” said Charles Branson, team captain for Garrison Command said, “or they can come out and meet the pain.” Preparing for his first Turkey Bowl after being assigned to Fort Bliss on Independence Day of this year, he has high hopes and desire to win. “I haven’t slept very well this last week, just anxious getting out here.”

For some, the Turkey bowl is more than just a sport, more than a week of flag football. “It’s a lot of pride at stake when it comes to Turkey Bowl,” said Garrison Command’s Charles Barber. “This is one time of the year when a lot of officers come out of retirement as far as athletics go.”

Games for the Turkey Bowl are scheduled Monday through Nov. 19 with the championship game at 6 p.m., Nov 23.

Read more about Oozle Finch in an upcoming issue of The Monitor.

Sports briefs

Turkey Bowl playoffs
The Turkey Bowl flag-football playoffs begin Monday night and go through Nov. 23 at Stout Field. The tournament will feature seven teams in a double-elimination format, with the single-elimination championship game set for 6 p.m. Nov. 23.
Monday night’s first round pits Joint Task Force-North against the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command at 6 p.m., 6th ADA Bde versus 11th ADA Bde at 7 and Garrison Command taking on 31st ADA Bde at 8. As the defending champion, the 108th ADA Bde has a first-round bye.
For information, call 568-5995 or 4508.

Jaguars in semis
The Fort Bliss Jaguars youth football team meets the El Paso Seminoles in a semifinal playoff game at 9 a.m. Saturday at Burges High School. The winner of this match-up of 10 and 11-year-olds advances to the Little Bowl, which is the youth football championship game.
For information, call 568-2617.

Military night at the Sun Bowl
Saturday is Military Night at the Sun Bowl as the University of Texas at El Paso honors veterans and active-duty military members, and hosts Rice University at 7:05 p.m. Fort Bliss static displays featuring a Patriot launcher, Sentinel radar system and MK-19 grenade launcher will be set up. The Bagpipers of the 62nd Army Band will pipe in the colors, which will be presented by a color guard from 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery, and the 62nd Army Band will play the national anthem.
Special 2-for-1 coupons are available to all military ID card holders at the Information Ticketing and Registration office or at the Public Affairs Office in Bldg. 15. For information, call 568-7506 or 6056.

Food Drive Run
United States Army Air Defense Artillery Center and Fort Bliss will conduct an Installation Holiday Food Drive Run sponsored by the Noncommissioned Officer’s Academy November 19, 2004 at 6 a.m. All units and organizations will collect food throughout November and all items will be collected November 19, 2004 to be distributed and delivered to organizations and families throughout Fort Bliss and the surrounding community of El Paso.
Civilians and dependents are invited and encouraged to participate in the run in support of the food drive. Civilians/dependents can either utilize the walk route or run to the rear of their unit of assignment. Civilians and dependents participating in the run are advised to wear appropriate physical fitness clothing and should be in position by 5:50 a.m.

Hoop shoot
Youth Services will once again host the annual Elks Lodge National Free Throw Contest. The contest will be held at 9 a.m., December 4, 2004 at the YouthPlex and is open to boys and girls ages 8-13. The winners in each age group will advance to the next round in local competition to be held December 18, 2004.
For information call Mike Emile at 568-2617.



www.bliss.army.mil	Published for the Fort Bliss/El Paso, Texas Community	November 10 , 2004

<map name="boxmap-b4"> <area shape="rect" coords="0, 589, 120, 600" href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" > <area coords="0,0,10000,10000" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=&creative=92501&camp=8117&link_code=dl1&path=subst/misc/amazon-cobrand-cc/v3/marketing-from-associates-step1.html/ref%3Db1_assoc_29" > </map>	31st edges 6th, 11th for post 10K title Master Sgt. Steve Miller Public Affairs Chief About 150 runners leave the starting line Friday morning during the post 10-kilometer run at Biggs Army Airfield. Five runners from the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade finished in the top three spots Friday in the various age groups to lift their team to the post 10-kilometer run championship at Biggs Army Airfield. The “Ready and Vigilant” brigade had one 1st place runner, two 2nd place runners and two in 3rd place to earn 23 team points. They edged the 6th and 11th ADA Brigades, who each compiled 17 points. Points were awarded based on 7 points for finishing first, 5 for second and 3 for third. Larry Smith, 33, of 11th ADA Bde was the overall winner among some 150 runners in 36 minutes, 1 second. He is a member of Team Bliss men’s Army Ten Miler team, which was scheduled to run another 10K race Saturday in El Paso. “With our training, we can go back-to-back,” Smith said of running 10Ks on consecutive days. “Today I ran pretty hard for the first part of the race, and I took it easy coming in.” The women’s overall winner was Carmen Vega of William Beaumont Army Medical Center in the women’s 35 to 39 age group. Her time was 42:41. “It was a good run for me today because I had my (Army Ten Miler) teammate, Nancy Castro, with me. We paced each other and pushed each other,” said Vega, 39. Indeed, Castro of the 108th ADA Bde was the third woman to finish, in 43:42, just behind Army Ten Miler teammate Maria Tristan (6th ADA Bde), who won the women’s 34 and under age group in 42:58. Kevin Ciocca ran the 10K in 37 minutes, 58 seconds to win the men’s 35 to 39-year-old age division and get 31st off to a good start. The rest of the points for 31st were racked up by their women’s runners. Dawn Brooks ran a 50:20 to earn second in the women’s 35 to 39 age group, just a couple minutes ahead of Carolyn Birchfield, who finished in 52:05. Evelyn Hollis ran a 1:01.01 to place third in the women’s 40 and over category, and Team Bliss Army Ten Miler team member and coach Rachel Rosenbaum placed third in the women’s 34 and under category with a time of 44:09. In addition to Tristan’s triumph, 6th ADA Bde also finished first in the women’s 40 and over category as Michelle Glubka ran a 47:36. Michael Latzke picked up the other points for 6th by finishing third in the men’s 40 and over category in 47:24. In addition to Smith’s win, 11th notched a pair of second-place finishes. Jabasi Jennings was second to Smith in the men’s 34 and under category in 36:37, and Adrian Thomas was the runner-up in the men’s 40 and over division with his 44:53 showing. Student champions OBC overcomes halftime deficit to earn flag football title 46-34 Master Sgt. Steve Miller Public Affairs Chief OBC’s Chris Hartings, center, discusses strategy with his teammates while facing a 28-16 halftime deficit during Friday night’s flag-football championship game at Stout Field. OBC outscored E Btry, 3rd Bn, 43rd ADA, 30-6 in the second half to win the flag football title 46-34. Three second-half interceptions keyed a 30-6 run to help the Officer Basic Course overcome a 28-16 halftime deficit Friday night and win the post flag-football championship 46-34 at Stout Field. Defending champion E Battery, 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery, grabbed that first-half lead on the strength of four touchdown passes by Curtis Zervic, whose offense scored on every first-half possession. Daniel Ward and Q. Quintanilla each caught two first-half scoring passes for Echo, but things began to turn in OBC’s favor early in the second half. Rick McIntyre caught a 1-yard flip from Chris Hartings on OBC’s first possession of the second half, and Hartings found McIntyre again for the 2-point conversion to bring OBC within 28-24. Zervic hit Ward from 15 yards out on Echo’s first second-half possession to increase their lead to 34-24, but OBC answered as Hartings hit Carson with a 24-yard scoring strike to close back within 34-30. One change OBC made for the second half was inserting Hartings on defense to guard Ward, who had a height advantage in the first half. The switch paid dividends for OBC when Hartings interecepted a Zervic pass and returned it to the Echo 12-yard-line. Hartings then hit Jevan Willis for a score on the first play after the interception and found Carson for the 2-point conversion to put OBC up for good, 38-34, with just over four minutes left. “At halftime we talked about how we could switch it up on defense and what plays we wanted to use in the second half,” Hartings said. “We were pretty confident on offense – we have a lot of speed, and we were catching balls and getting open. Our concern on defense was we were getting no pressure on the quarterback.” To that end, OBC had Manuel Ramos rush Zervic up the middle in the second half and jump in front of him as he looked for a receiver, forcing him to move left or right. Phillip Banks of OBC intercepted a tipped ball on Echo’s first possession after OBC got the lead, and OBC cashed it in a couple plays later when Hartings hit Carson from 5 yards out. Hartings went to Galen Terry for the 2-point conversion to account for the 46-34 final score. Carson then intercepted a deep pass by Zervic two plays later to seal the deal and end any comeback hopes by Echo. “Their quarterback was putting the ball right on the money. I have to take my hat off to them,” Zervic said. “I made one bad decision and floated the ball out there, and they took advantage of it. We mercy-ruled every team up to now. That’s a great team over there.” The accompanying chart is a scoring summary from the championship game. Turkey Bowl countdown continues 1st Lt. Victor hoffer 31st ADA Bde. A yearly tradition on Fort Bliss, the Turkey Bowl flag-football tournament holds almost as much prestige as winning the year-long, multiple-sport Commander’s Cup. As with any of the many years before it, this season’s competition has already brought out the competitiveness and confidence of coaches and players alike. “31st is gonna win it all,” Bill Speier said confidently. The coach of the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade’s team, Speier knows that confidence combined with practice and teamwork can bring home the win. Every other team, though, believes likewise that their organization can take the trophy home, and that is what makes for the fun and exciting competition. “Tell everyone else they can stay at home and surrender the trophy,” said Charles Branson, team captain for Garrison Command said, “or they can come out and meet the pain.” Preparing for his first Turkey Bowl after being assigned to Fort Bliss on Independence Day of this year, he has high hopes and desire to win. “I haven’t slept very well this last week, just anxious getting out here.” For some, the Turkey bowl is more than just a sport, more than a week of flag football. “It’s a lot of pride at stake when it comes to Turkey Bowl,” said Garrison Command’s Charles Barber. “This is one time of the year when a lot of officers come out of retirement as far as athletics go.” Games for the Turkey Bowl are scheduled Monday through Nov. 19 with the championship game at 6 p.m., Nov 23. Read more about Oozle Finch in an upcoming issue of The Monitor. Sports briefs Turkey Bowl playoffs The Turkey Bowl flag-football playoffs begin Monday night and go through Nov. 23 at Stout Field. The tournament will feature seven teams in a double-elimination format, with the single-elimination championship game set for 6 p.m. Nov. 23. Monday night’s first round pits Joint Task Force-North against the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command at 6 p.m., 6th ADA Bde versus 11th ADA Bde at 7 and Garrison Command taking on 31st ADA Bde at 8. As the defending champion, the 108th ADA Bde has a first-round bye. For information, call 568-5995 or 4508. Jaguars in semis The Fort Bliss Jaguars youth football team meets the El Paso Seminoles in a semifinal playoff game at 9 a.m. Saturday at Burges High School. The winner of this match-up of 10 and 11-year-olds advances to the Little Bowl, which is the youth football championship game. For information, call 568-2617. Military night at the Sun Bowl Saturday is Military Night at the Sun Bowl as the University of Texas at El Paso honors veterans and active-duty military members, and hosts Rice University at 7:05 p.m. Fort Bliss static displays featuring a Patriot launcher, Sentinel radar system and MK-19 grenade launcher will be set up. The Bagpipers of the 62nd Army Band will pipe in the colors, which will be presented by a color guard from 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery, and the 62nd Army Band will play the national anthem. Special 2-for-1 coupons are available to all military ID card holders at the Information Ticketing and Registration office or at the Public Affairs Office in Bldg. 15. For information, call 568-7506 or 6056. Food Drive Run United States Army Air Defense Artillery Center and Fort Bliss will conduct an Installation Holiday Food Drive Run sponsored by the Noncommissioned Officer’s Academy November 19, 2004 at 6 a.m. All units and organizations will collect food throughout November and all items will be collected November 19, 2004 to be distributed and delivered to organizations and families throughout Fort Bliss and the surrounding community of El Paso. Civilians and dependents are invited and encouraged to participate in the run in support of the food drive. Civilians/dependents can either utilize the walk route or run to the rear of their unit of assignment. Civilians and dependents participating in the run are advised to wear appropriate physical fitness clothing and should be in position by 5:50 a.m. Hoop shoot Youth Services will once again host the annual Elks Lodge National Free Throw Contest. The contest will be held at 9 a.m., December 4, 2004 at the YouthPlex and is open to boys and girls ages 8-13. The winners in each age group will advance to the next round in local competition to be held December 18, 2004. For information call Mike Emile at 568-2617.