Purcella set to defend first roping title

Thursday, Dec. 4, 1997 | 12:41 p.m.

For Texas team ropers Steve Purcella, 30, of Hereford and Steve Northcott, 27, of Odessa, the difference between winning and losing the 1996 world title came down to the average competition at the $3.2 million National Finals Rodeo.

"The average made a lot of difference," Purcella said. "The two teams ahead of us (in the world championship hunt) went out of the average race early. We stayed in good and that was the main thing. It worked out good for us and bad for them."

Indeed.

The two Steves put together nine solid runs in 10 rounds at the 38th NFR. Their lone miscue came in the sixth round when they roped their steer in 19.8 seconds. Nonetheless, their 70.1-second total time on 10 head was good enough to win the NFR's average title, and each man pocketed the $18,209 payoff that went with it.

The 1996 world title was the first for both NFR veterans.

"It feels great," Purcella said after the 10th round. "But I don't know, really, if what I'm feeling is right because it just hasn't sunk in yet."

Purcella and Northcott entered the 1996 NFR ranked third in their respective categories in the Crown Royal World Standings with $50,781 apiece.

Three-time world champion Tee Woolman, 40, and his heeling partner, Rich Skelton, 30, both of Llano, Texas, led the standings with $58,859 apiece before the Dec. 6 opening round of the NFR.

Header Charles Pogue, 31, of Ringling, Okla., and defending world champion heeler Allen Bach, 39, of Toltec, Ariz., were ranked second in their respective events' standings before the rodeo started.

Pogue had earned $55,029 and Bach had garnered $53,778.

In the first round, Woolman and Skelton fell out of average title contention when they failed to post a time. That same dreadful fate caught up with Pogue and Bach the very next night.

Meanwhile, Purcella's and Northcott's first two rounds were rather uneventful -- 8.1 seconds in the first go-round that finished out of the money, and a 5.2-second effort in round two that was good for a fourth-place finish worth $2,097 apiece. By the time the second run ended, Purcella and Northcott were ranked third in the average race.

During the third round, the two men took control of their destiny.

The pair posted a 5.3-second run that was good for second place in round three and $6,268 each.

More importantly, however, the run pushed them into the lead in the average race--and they never looked back.

The pair put it together again in the fourth round by winning in 4.9 seconds to earn $8,365 paychecks.

The two ropers placed in four of the remaining six rounds and, although none of those finishes was higher than their fifth-round tie for third place, their times were consistent enough to win the lucrative average title.

The two earned $40,289 at the PRCA's 10-day event inside the Thomas & Mack Center. They ended their seasons with $91,069 each.

* World Titles: 1996 World Champion Team Roper (Heading).

* Hometown: Hereford, Texas.

* Date of Birth: November 12, 1966.

* Height/Weight: 6-2/215.

* 1996 Earnings: $91,069.

* 1996 NFR Earnings: $40,289.

* Year Joined PRCA: 1986.

* NFR Qualifications: 3 (1995-97).