Looking Back:
STONY MAKES ITS POINT….AGAIN
Lightning struck near Harry B. Orem Stadium Thursday night. So close was the lightning that it caused the cancellation of the Freshman A Team game late in the third quarter. Lightning struck Orem Stadium Friday night – but this time the lightning was in the form of lightning speed – the nation's 15th ranked team, the Stony Point Tigers (this is pretty dramatic writing, huh….like the beginning of a good novel).
Friday was Senior Night before the Season Opener. The Seniors from the JROTC, Cheerleaders, Spurs and Football Team were introduced at midfield with their parents, followed by a quick photograph from Mary Candee. Senior Night is very nice in theory, but not exactly what the players or coaches want before an opening game. The players finish their pre-game warm‑up early and then line up beside their parents. The pre‑game intensity goes away during this session for what one senior football player referred to as a "buzz-kill." The Mule Fan is not sure about the rationale for this pre‑game event, but it has become a tradition. The Mule Fan reporters seized the opportunity to smirk at the program. You see, each dad/guardian wears (better yet, attempts to wear) the away jersey of his son for the picture. This is quite humorous in some instances – we think you know where this is headed [Is it possible they gave us the freshman jerseys by accident?]. Some dads did not even make the effort – Rich Garza was pretty certain that he could not wear David's jersey and thus he "opted out" of the task. The "best effort" award clearly goes to Wendall Hall for pulling Sam's jersey over his head. Thanks to the supporting cast of fathers who helped Wendell remove the jersey after the photos were complete, without breaking Wendell's neck. Sorry Wendell, but everyone is fair game in this blog, and none of us looked particularly suave in the tight jersey. Mules moms were also dressed in blue and gold – Sarah McSween and Lynda Alston were both wearing flashy blue/gold blouses, not that we were looking.
The typical late arriving crowd filled Orem Stadium. With storms in the area, only a few pre-game sprinkles popped through the "09 Bubble" and made their way to the turf. After weeks of 100 degree temperatures, at 7:30 p.m., it was actually a very nice evening for football. Stony Point won the toss and deferred to the second half. The Mules showed jitters on their first drive quickly going three and out after a miscue on the second snap put them in a hole. Stony Point took over at the Mule 43 and QB Aaryn Sharp and RB Jihad Johnson quickly showed that they could bust through holes and rack up the yardage. We heard those two names called all evening by announcer Rick Shaw (of La Fonda "pre-game and post-game" fame – that is a plug folks!). Johnson ran for 15 and then the final 10 for a score. With the missed extra point, the Tigers led 6‑0 with 8:12 left in the first quarter…shades of the 2008 game and 56 points by Stony Point??? The Mules started their next drive on the 30 and again had difficulty moving the ball. A terrific punt by junior Kristian Stern was downed at the 1 yard line. Good shape for the Mules, right? A quick turnover and we're in the thing, right? No so fast Tiger breath. Johnson and Sharp and Johnson, oh my! Twenty yards and thirty yards and fifteen yards, oh my! Johnson finally pushed the ball in from the 5 yard line, and though the 2 point conversion failed, the 99 yard drive put Stony Point up by 12 with 3:10 left in the first. Another stalled Mule drive was followed up by more Sharp and Johnson and on the first play of the second quarter, alternate QB Gus Barrera ran it in from the five for a 19‑0 Stony Point lead with 11:42 left in the second quarter. Ugh!
Let's catch our breath, because this story gets much better from this point. No doubt, everyone feared Stony Point in some form or fashion. Honestly, we suspect the Mules cheerleaders on the field probably didn't want to be that close to this quick, tough Round Rock team. Interesting, from the Mule Fan's perspective [high, high up in the stands and wearing outdated contacts], the Tigers were not the biggest team your Mules will face this year. But they were incredibly athletic, extremely quick and very aggressive on and off their blocks on both sides of the ball. With the first twelve and a half minutes of opening day jitters against a national powerhouse team behind them, your Mules played three quarters of terrific football.
Back to the game. The Mules offense finally began clicking. Senior QB Cullen Mills found Senior WR John Cabell for 15 yards and a first down. The teams exchanged possessions as the defense finally settled in and began tackling better and defending the "veer-like" Tiger offense more aggressively. Back on offense, the offensive line began opening up holes allowing SR RB Justin Rosenthal to pick up some positive yardage, even one very long run that was partially called back because of a penalty. With the Tigers back on offense, Stony Point drove to the Mules 13. A third and ten pass for a sure touchdown was stripped nicely by Jonathan Barshop. The Stony Point field goal was good and the Tigers led 22‑0. The next Mules drive featured a 15 yard run by Rosenthal and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for a hit on QB Mills, which lead to a 49 yard field goal attempt by Stern that bounced off the upright midway up as time expired. Halftime 22‑0.
We'll wrap this up before you fall asleep. The Tigers received the ball but another key stop was made by Anthony Knowles (A.K.), who knocked down a 4th and 5 pass. The Mules next drive included a key fourth down conversion. The Mules offense gained confidence as they picked up a few first downs and the defense played a terrific quarter against the speedy Tiger offense. The teams exchanged mistakes with a Tiger fumble picked up by Cliff Molak. Mills found JR TE David Cantu for fifteen tough yards. The Tigers moved the ball in the fourth but another Tiger fumble was recovered by Tyler Elorriaga. With 1:18 left in the game, the Tigers scored a meaningless touchdown – the first touchdown since the first play of the second quarter – 29‑0 Final Score.
Now, nobody likes to lose by 29, but this was a "good loss" if there is such a thing. As the game continued, it was clear that both sides of the ball were gaining confidence. Yes, Stony Point moved the ball, but the Mules defense began tackling better, made better reads and came up with huge plays when the Tigers were in the red zone. Though the offense didn't score, the offensive line, as the game continued, gave QB Mills more time to throw and moved the line to allow the Mules to gain yardage on the ground. The Special Teams were terrific all night – led by Stern's kicking and punting and good downfield tackling on punts and returns/block on kickoff returns. No injuries and a respectable score was the best any of us could ask for – and we got it.
LOOKING AHEAD
Clark Cougars – at Home Friday at 7:30
Guess What? Things don't get much easier for the Mules this week. Guess who is predicted to win San Antonio's District 28‑5A (which includes talented, large schools such as Warren, Stevens and O'Connor) and is second in the City in 5A? You got it – The Clark Cougars. The Cougars last year barely beat the Mules in a classic battle at Farris Stadium. Last year, Cougars had a terrific run to the State's Division I 5A Semifinals. Several players from that team are gone and several return.
Repeat after me: Hayden Greenbauer, Hayden Greenbauer, Hayden Greenbauer, Hayden Greenbauer. Do you get the picture? The Clark Cougars are led by…..you guessed it…..QB Hayden Greenbauer. Greenbauer is possibly the most talented quarterback the Mules will face this year. The 6'1", 200 pound, senior runs a 4.6, 40 and passed for 880 yards and ran for 1200 yards in the 2008 season. He passed for 9 touchdowns and ran for another 21 touchdowns. He is a force every time he touches the ball, whether he throws or runs. To stay in this game, the Mules must contain Greenbauer – it's as simple as that. The Cougars return five starters on both sides of the ball. A large offensive line, including 290 pound Center Chapman and 300 pound Guard Wiggins shall prove a tough test for the Heights defense. Last week it was speed – this week it will be size, that the Mules defense must contain. On defense, two of the Cougars linebackers return, including Linebacker Joey Carver, who has 99 tackles last year. The defensive line includes 6'1", 260 pound, Greg Castro. Nobody says we don't give you the details.
In their opener, The Cougars beat Churchill 27‑0 behind Greenbauer's 152 yards rushing and two touchdowns (yes, he's the quarterback!) and RB Ryan Jones rushing / receiving of 102, including a 32 yard touchdown pass from Greenbauer. The Cougar defense held Churchill to only 39 yards passing in their Thursday night game. A couple of Churchill turnovers kept Churchill from scoring, but the game was out of hand at 24‑0 midway through the 3rd quarter. Clark coach Alexander said, after the game that, "Hayden played just like Hayden always plays." The Mules' task this week is to not let Hayden play like he always plays.
THIS WILL BE THE LAST HOME GAME UNTIL OCTOBER 3RD. SPREAD THE NEWS AND THIS WEBSITE AND COME SUPPORT THE MULES.
Kickoff 7:30 p.m. – Friday
Harry B. Orem Stadium
The Junior Varsity will travel to Farris Stadium on Thursday and the Freshmen will play at home.
A Few Words with the Head Coach of the Mules – Don Byrd August 31, 2009
The Mule Fan: Against Stony Point you went through a very difficult first quarter and were down 19 by early in the second. The team seemed to start to execute better from there and on balance put together a respectable performance against a powerful and athletic team that should be tough in the post season. What were your views of the game on balance and what do you believe fueled the response to that tough start?
Coach Byrd: First of all our kids had to go out and play against them a little bit to believe they could have success. Number two, they’re a very fast team and it’s hard to simulate that in practice. So you’re going out there on the same angles to block people and make tackles and all of sudden the guy’s farther down the field because we can’t simulate that speed. Once our kids adjusted their angles and started believing they could make plays I was very proud of us. On defense, we got into some stunts that gave them a hard time. On offense we had more consistency. We still had some mental breakdowns. But on offense we had about five starters who missed at least two days of practice that week with little nicks and so forth and you could just tell our timing was off. So all in all I’m proud of where we are. We’ve got to improve a lot on little things. The effort was outstanding so with that kind of effort I’m excited about where the season could go.
The Mule Fan: Last week you talked about your excitement with the team’s chemistry. What did you learn this week about your team that is difficult to learn in a practice session?
Coach Byrd: I learned a lot. I learned that they didn’t give up. I learned that they can play with a lot of emotion and feed off of each other. That it’s a team that is still coming together and still working hard and is giving every indication that it is an overachieving team because of the chemistry that the young men have and the parents.
The Mule Fan: Offensively we were able to see the new “no huddle” approach that you began to work on back in the spring. In spite of the fact that you didn’t get to run as many offensive plays Friday as you would have liked, how was the execution of that against Stony Point?
Coach Byrd: I thought we were close. Two times we caught them off guard and we didn’t take advantage of it. They were still just breaking their huddle and we snapped the ball. But that’s just something they’re going to have to learn with experience. We’re trying to run the ball a little more and have a ball control game and that’s a tough team to start out with as physical as they were up front. But we saw a lot of good things and we’re going to straighten some areas out. It really came down to us shooting ourselves in the foot. On the first drive we get a bad snap and take a big loss. The next series we don’t stay on a block long enough and get a sack. That team is tough and when you get out of sync with it you get a second and third down and 15 to go. You go back and take those plays out and a couple of others…we had several plays that were four yards or more and that’s how we evaluate it. And the one’s we didn’t were because of mistakes that Alamo Heights made. So I hope they go away believing that if we learn how to play football a little better with that kind of effort that we could do a lot this season.
The Mule Fan: It was also your first real game situation to lift the lid on your 4-3 defense. What will you concentrate on defensively this week based on what you saw in the game?
Coach Byrd: We gave up too many yards after first contact. We saved ourselves by getting a lot of guys to the ball. The hustle really made up for being a little sloppy on the tackling. Early out of our base they found some things to hurt us and we didn’t adjust quite as early as we needed to and when we finally did we started playing ball with them well. Those are the kinds of things we’re going to concentrate on. We learned a little more about each of the players and so forth. But they played with a lot of heart.
The Mule Fan: Every year you have kids that have never played in a varsity game before. When you get a loss like that on opening night, what is the role that the older players play and what does the coaching staff do to convince the new kids that the sky’s not falling especially when you look at last year starting 0-2 and then roaring back and make a good playoff run?
Coach Byrd: Well we talked about it last year. At the end of the season we had four losses. Two of them were 5A state semi-finalists. Two of them were 4A regional finalists I think or right about at that level. So the teams that beat us were very good football teams. We’re not real worried about what the other team has. We watched the film. We showed each play where we messed up, what we could do and how much yardage we weren’t able to attain because of poor execution. We went through the defense and talked about how if they went down on first contact and we tackled better just think how much yardage we would have held them to. We’re striving. We know we won’t play perfect but we’re striving to get ¾ of the way there. If we can get ¾ of the way from where we were, then that’s playing with Stony Point. That’s a great accomplishment and that shows you the sky’s the limit with this team.
The Mule Fan: Next up is Clark, a familiar opponent since we’ve played them the last few years. They have another talented team that was successful last year and has some good players returning. What can we look for this week?
Coach Byrd: Yeah last year they were 13-2 and were beaten in the state semi-finals. They’re picked to win their district. We have a challenge ahead of us. They’re a very talented team that is playing with a lot of confidence because of the success they had last year. They’re a very physical team. They have an all-state center, a quarterback who is just a phenomenal athlete. Those are the two that stick out on offense. The rest of them are solid across the board. They have size, they have speed, they have depth. They play as many as four or five tight ends. They play a very aggressive defense. They give you a lot of looks. They slant and bring a lot of people. It’s a solid football team that we’re going to have to read on the run and make things happen. But that’s what it’s all about. Just going over the last game and looking at this next game, we know about every one of our weaknesses. We know where we need to work as a team. You can go and over-power somebody and win 42-0 and you don’t know a whole lot about your team. Did you out-athlete them or are you playing football correctly? And that’s the thing that will come out after the scrimmage against MacArthur and these first two games and really Laredo United too. They went two rounds into the playoffs last year and I believe they were district champs. If we can stay healthy and knock on wood we have been then we’ll know a lot about our football team.
Coach’s Corner
Last year we started a feature called Coach’s Corner which stalled early due to limited participation by the assistant coaches. Some of the reasons included shyness; one had to dye Easter eggs; they had to re-arrange their sock drawer that day; one had to save a kitty from a tree; one wanted an action photo of them mopping (which we weren’t going to agree to) and one had fudgesicle stains on his only shirt at school. When the Mule Fan explained that they didn’t need a clean shirt to answer the questions on the questionnaire the coach in question fessed up to the real reason which was he was recovering from scurvy. So we quickly concluded they just were too busy. But your Mule Fan editors are a persistent lot and we took another crack at it. This year we upped the offer to a 64-color set of Crayola Crayons WITH a sharpener and we got a few new bites (so far). The rest are holding out. While we don’t like to negotiate on this blog, we will pass along to the coach (you know who you are) that asked for the canoe oar signed by the ’76 Yankees and year’s supply of Big Hunks – that is a non-starter. Go ahead-hold out. Watch your colleagues collect all the fame and notoriety that comes with being featured here.
Meet Coach Chris Troilo
Photo of Coach Troilo courtesy of Mary Candee at Dulce Design Photography
Name (how many years at Alamo Heights): Chris Troilo 7 years at Alamo Heights
Hometown: San Antonio College Attended: Texas Tech, Our Lady of the Lake University
High School: Alamo Heights High School
Coaching responsibilities this season: Defensive Line and Freshmen
Career path that got you to Alamo Heights: Two years coaching at Park City High School-Park City, Utah
Subjects you also teach at AHHS: English
Hobbies: Skiing, snowboarding, cooking
The thing you had the most fun doing this past summer: Fishing
High School or College Athletics you played (position): AHHS-Running back, tail back. Texas Tech-Running back
What was your best subject in school: English
What teams do you follow as a fan: San Antonio Spurs
Fondest memory or the greatest moment in your athletic or coaching career: 2006 AH State Football Championship
Most embarrassing moment in your athletic career: Too many to mention
Most well known athlete(s) you’ve competed with or against in your playing career (who, what team or game, what level, where, those kinds of details): 1990 Heisman Trophy Winner Ty Detmer at Southwest High School ‘85
Outside of Coach Byrd (of course), what coach at any level of any sport do you admire most: Former AH Head Coach and Athletic Director Gaylord Finley
What is your pre-game ritual or any superstitions: I play catch with Coach Osborne
First car: 1969 Lincoln Continental
Musical instruments played?: Guitar
Which song from your youth would you consider your favorite: American Pie by Don McLean
If you were doing one song in an “air guitar” concert, which one you tear ‘em up with?: Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin
Four people alive or dead you’d most like to have dinner with: Jesus, Teddy Roosevelt, William Shakespeare and my brother Tom
Favorite food: Sushi Favorite concession stand food: Peanuts
Most recent book read: “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom
Favorite place to go on vacation: the mountains
If you were stuck on a deserted island, what three items would you want with you after your survival gear was covered: A journal, some books (no titles mentioned), a female (no names were provided)
Favorite TV show from your youth (not a cartoon): Six Million Dollar Man
Favorite Saturday morning cartoon show from your youth: Super Friends
Favorite movie ever: The Right Stuff
What’s the best thing that you cook: Breakfast
Favorite breakfast cereal from your youth (or now if it still applies): Lucky Charms (they’re magically delicious by the way)
At what kind of trivia contest would you be invincible? Rock and Roll
You don’t want to play me at (game/sport/board game/video game/card game, etc.): the video game ‘Astroids’
What do you like most about coaching at Alamo Heights: Family and friends
What advice do you have for your players at this point in their lives: “Get past yourself!”
Mules On Radio and Coach Byrd Live at Big Bob’s Burgers THIS WEEK-WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2nd!!!
Two important announcements regarding the Mules on the air! This season the Mules have a new radio home - ESPN 1250 AM "The Zone." Dave Parker and Ed Suarez will bring us all the action - home and away. Please remember to patronize all the Mules radio sponsors and tell them thanks! Parker also hosts an exciting live broadcast each Wednesday evening from 7pm-8pm on ESPN 1250 The Zone called Dave Parker's High School Coaches Corner. Big Bob's Burgers is located at Harry Wurzbach and Eventide. The show features a different high school coach each week and Dave's first guest is Mules head coach Don Byrd THIS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2nd. Please come out and show your support for Coach Byrd and the Alamo Heights Mules at Big Bob’s Burgers! ESPN 1250 and Big Bob's!
Mules on Twitter:
“Oh ain’t she tweet, well see her walkin’ down the tweet. Yes I ask you very confidentially ain’t she tweet.”
That famous line from the 1927 hit song performed by so many artists from Frank Sinatra to the Beatles to Conrad Tweety and the Tweety Birds and so many others throughout the 20th century inspired us to put the Mule Fan on Twitter. Go to www.twitter.com/mulefanblog and sign up to follow the Mules in very short bursts of quite tasty information! Our pledge – to use Twitter to deliver different content than you can get here on the site and to use puns when appropriate. What a deal! More work for us and the quality of your day increases by 140 characters at a time. Activate Twitter on your mobile phones so we can try and distract you at games as well. Tweet yourself today!
Baby Boomer Sooner
Check out former QB Drew Allen at work in a pre-season intrasquad scrimmage up in Norman, Oklahoma from August 20th. There's some great action footage in here which we know you'll enjoy. Drew is wearing a blue jersey #15. Go to this link below.
Countdown to Kickoff - AH vs. Round Rock Stony Point 8/28/09
Go Mules!!!
is that Justin?
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