LOOKING BACK:
BIG TIME BURN
What better way to start off the Centennial weekend than a family picnic on the practice field. What better way to finish off the evening than a varsity picnic on the football field.
With one of the largest crowds in Alamo Heights history – a reported 6,000 fans – the Mules faced the Boerne Champion Chargers Friday night at Harry B. Orem Stadium for Homecoming and the 100th anniversary of the school. In the Friday Boerne Star newspaper, Boerne's coach Danny Threadgill indicated that the crowd would be "more distractions for them [Heights], they [Heights] have to deal with it." [Folks, you are getting big-time reporting here.] Would the large crowd and the festivities distract the Mules? It quickly became obvious that the answer was a definitive "NO!"
The Mules took the kickoff and were forced to start at their own 12 yard line. With the Chargers playing a stacked defense – up to 9 men in the box (Jill, that mean real close to our linemen), the Chargers challenged the Mules to beat them with the pass and with the outside run. What the Chargers forgot was that the Mules have one of the best offensive lines in the City and a quarterback who can hit the mark with a football. The Chargers defensive plan was under attack early and often. On the opening drive, the offense went with an empty backfield and Cullen Mills passed to Justin Rosenthal, David Cantu, John Cabell, Cantu again, Cabell again, before finding Bryson, a/k/a "Brian" Marshall, for a nine yard touchdown. The 88 yard drive, through the air, took less than 2 minutes – and the assault was on. The Mules defense entered and showed the hometown fans exactly what we've been writing – this is an awesome defense, gaining confidence by the week. The Chargers were held without a first down after a third down stop by Thomas McSween. A lengthy punt forced the Mules to start from their own 19. Mills found Rosenthal, Cabell, and Trevor Lovelady. Rosenthal, on the first run of the evening, carried to the one and then caught a pass for a 14-0 lead with 6:51 left in the first. The defense again held the Chargers (three and out) and the Mules took over. Since the Chargers were bunched up at the line, why not go deep to a tall receiver? Mills passed to Stephen Elder (of quarterback fame) for 50 yards and then to Cabell for a 6 yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead with 3:58 left in the quarter. You'll never guess what happened next. The Mules defense held the Chargers to another three-and-out series. The defense dominated on the night, and the Mule Fan believes the Chargers got only one or two first downs the entire half. Chargers punt. Mules take over. End of first quarter.
The Mules first drive of the second quarter featured a 45 yard run by Rosenthal to the two before Mills passed to Lovelady for his fourth passing touchdown of the night with less than 13 minutes gone. The Mules led 28-0. The Chargers play of the night occurred when Miles Albrecht returned the ensuing kickoff for 101 yards and a Charger touchdown, and Boerne was on the board, 28-7. A penalty by Boerne allowed Zack Richter to return the Charger kickoff to the Boerne 45. Rosenthal scored on a 36 yard touchdown, and the Mules led 35-7 with 9:58 left in the half. This was an incredible offensive machine executing under a terrific game plan. On the Mules last drive of the half, Rosenthal broke behind an Evan Golden block for 65 yards and was dragged down at the 1. On the play, Rosenthal injured a sensitive male portion of the body. After "yakking in front of all my friends and the whole student section," he was able to secure everything was in place comfortably during the lengthy halftime. Most male readers, unfortunately, have experienced this sensation – or lack of sensation – at some time during their lives.
The Chargers took the second half kickoff and appeared to be driving before a tipped pass was intercepted by Grant Piland. The drive stalled and a 33 yard field goal made the score 38-7. On the ensuing kickoff, the ball was fumbled into the end zone where Garrett Hisle fell on the ball for a 45-7 Heights lead. Time to let all the remaining hard working Mules enter the game and get some deserved experience. Another Boerne turnover gave the ball back to the Mules where William Thompson, who looked explosive on the evening, carried it in for the 51-7 lead. Enter Andrew "The Homecoming King" Forney, and the beginning of the "For-ney" chants. After Forney's kickoff, Stuart Biltz picked off another Boerne pass – the fifth turnover of the night. With Stephen Elder and William Thompson in the backfield, Mules fans got a glimpse of great things to come. Behind a strong offensive line, Thompson and Elder drove the Mules downfield with Elder running the ball in for the touchdown. The King's extra point was good, and the Mules led 58-7. Champion drove down for a late touchdown, and the Mules walked away with a 58-14 victory.
Once again, hats off to our coaching staff for the hard work in creating a perfect game plan. There are no weekends for these men this time of year, and on Friday it showed, as the scheme was executed to perfection. The Mules defense was awesome on the night, holding Champion off the scoreboard until a very late touchdown. The defense intercepted three passes, and the defense and special teams recovered two fumbles. The offense moved the ball with precision, gaining almost 600 yards on the night. The kickoff coverage (except once) was terrific again. Most fans thought this would be a fairly close game, but the Mules gave their fans a Centennial Homecoming to remember for years.
LOOKING AHEAD
Seguin Matadors – Friday in Seguin – 7:30 p.m.
The Mules head to Seguin on Friday night for a district battle against Seguin. The Matadors return seven starters on offense and five starters on defense and are led by a big, strong quarterback, Brig Gerlich, who is 6'4" and 217 pounds. The quick Gerlich is the leading passer in the district –ahead of the pack in passing yardage and he is also the leading rusher for the Matadors as well. Gerlich has two Key returning receivers – Dustin Reed and Jared Curnel. On defense, the Mules Reed Egger will line up against a quick nose guard, Chris Carpenter.
Seguin is 0-2 in district play and can be expected to pull out all the stops against Heights in what amounts to a "must win" for Seguin in district play. This past weekend, Seguin lost to Kerrville Tivy 31-14. But don't be deceived. The Matadors trailed by only 3 at halftime and 10 after three quarters. Seguin racked up 300 yards of offense. In the district opener, Seguin fell to New Braunfels Canyon 24-14. In that game, Seguin held Canyon to 42 total yards rushing, but three Seguin turnovers were the difference in the game that Seguin actually could have won. In non-district battles, Seguin beat East Central 31-21 giving up only 73 yards of rushing. The game would not have been so close had Seguin not turned the ball over four times and been called for 135 yards in penalties in the first half. Seguin also beat another tough squad, Georgetown, by a score of 41-20 holding Georgetown to 86 yards rushing but permitting 302 yards passing. In the game, Gerlich ran for 125 yards and passed for 338 yards.
Statistics can be misleading, but Seguin leads the district in passing offense. Gerlich spreads the ball around as the top three receivers (by yardage) in the district play for the Matadors. Seguin is the toughest team in the district to run against but Seguin gives up the most yardage in the air. Gerlich leads the district in passing yards per game. After the 2-0 District Start, and the great victory on Homecoming, the Mules should be confident in themselves, but certainly will not be overconfident against any team in district play this season. Anyone can beat anyone on any given night.
A large crowd at the Clemens game was pivotal for the Mules. The Mules need the same support this week. Take the short drive to Seguin (sounds like a car commercial doesn't it?) and support the Mules, as they start the second half of their season.
MATADOR STADIUM--Take 10 to Seguin..exit Hwy 123 Bypass. Turn Right, follow 123 you'll see the Stadium.
www.maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1350+E+Cedar+St,+Seguin,+TX+78155&ie=UTF8&z=15&om=1&iwloc=addr
BEFORE THE GAME--Mules fans will meet at El Ranchito in Seguin starting at 5:30. We have a room reserved for Mules fans.
983 Hwy 123 Bypass ....just across Hwy 123 from the Stadium.
www.maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=1W1DKUS_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=0,0,2912627146422517145&fb=1&hq=el+ranchito&hnear=seguin&gl=us&daddr=983+N+Highway+123+Byp,+Seguin,+TX+78155-3919&geocode=7881318814925841072,29.578378,-97.941789&ei=lTjKSoPED8GHtgexlLTvDg&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=directions-to&resnum=1
Tickets for Seguin
Matador Stadium is the site for this week’s district 27-4A clash between your Alamo Heights Mules and the Seguin Matadors. The game starts at 7:30pm. As always, you can pick up tickets in advance at the Alamo Heights athletic office for a discount. Tickets are
Sales hours this week at the athletic office are:
Wednesday - 8:30 - Noon & 1:30 - 4:00
Thursday - 8:30 - Noon & 1:30 - 4:00
4:00p.m. - 6:00 p.m. (JV Football Game - Stadium)
Friday - 8:30 - 3:30
Mules Advance in Two State Polls
With the win over Boerne Champion, Alamo Heights has moved up in the state 4A rankings this week to #10 in the Harris poll and #9 in the Padilla poll (Padilla ranks teams for Texas Football Magazine).
Mules On the Air
Follow the action on the radio all season, home and away, with Dave Parker and Ed Suarez on ESPN 1250 "The Zone". Airtime this week is 7:00 p.m. for the AH vs. Seguin contest. Thanks to all of the radio sponsors who have made the broadcasts possible this season!
Get Punt, Pass and Kick on your Calendars Sunday, October 25th
The Mule Fan editors recall fondly the excitement in our homes when the Mule for a Day event rolled around each year. Our younger Mules look forward to the event with the same enthusiasm. This is a really fun event for future Alamo Heights Mules (kindergarten-6th grade) as they get to interact and learn football skills from current players in the Alamo Heights football program. The date of the event this year is Sunday, October 25th from 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. and the event is brought to us by Jefferson Bank and Vivroux Sports. Stop by the athletic office for an official registration form. $30 covers the kids and includes a T-shirt, snack and halftime recognition at the October 30 home game against Kerrville Tivy! You can even pre-order an autographed football signed by the varsity team for $15.
A Few Words with the Head Coach of the Mules – Don Byrd
October 6, 2009
Mule Fan: The Mules won their third straight game with a 58-14 win over Boerne Champion to go 2-0 in district play. There wasn’t an area where you didn’t statistically dominate and it was just a great win. How important was it at this point of the season to have a performance like that?
Coach Byrd: Well I think it’s great in a lot of ways. We overcame a lot of distractions. The boys just put everything off mentally except for the football game. They really worked hard and paid a great price and executed very well across the board. You really can’t single out any one position. You don’t have numbers like that both offensively and defensively unless you have everybody pulling together and playing hard and I was proud of that.
Mule Fan: It had to feel good to get everybody into the game on a night with such a great crowd in the stands.
Coach Byrd: Oh yeah, exactly. And people who aren’t starting right now really played well. I was proud of those guys. It was just a great feeling across the board for the program.
Mule Fan: The offense was able to produce its best passing effort thus far. Cullen Mills connected with eight different receivers capitalizing on the defense they showed you and was able to spot receivers all over the field. In terms of growth and improvement over previous weeks, was this the most improved area?
Coach Byrd: Well we became more consistent. It hasn’t been bad though. We’ve been over fifty percent in both (district) games. Mills has made some good decisions. Our receivers have gotten better. When you have a guy like Justin Rosenthal rushing for 150 yards, that’s a big part of your team. You don’t have to rely on the pass as much. They gave us a passing defense and Mills did a great job capitalizing on it and so did Stephen Elder. I can’t say enough great things about Stephen.
Mule Fan: Boerne gave you a 5-2 set on defense and man-to-man coverage and they were also pressed tight to the line of scrimmage. Considering the first half which you put together, were you surprised they didn’t drop out of that and show more zone defense in the second half?
Coach Byrd: They jumped into a little bit of “cover two” but that was kind of their game plan to go against us. So with the 5-2 there is seven in there we had to block against for the run. On offense you basically always look for a one-on-one situation whether it is blocking or passing and when they lined up in man coverage you get that one-on-one so that’s where we went. The receivers came out and ran great routes. The line did an unbelievable job with protection. And Mills and Elder threw the ball very well.
Mule Fan: The defense was stellar forcing four fumbles, three interceptions, producing points and closing Boerne down and sending them off the field three and out in the first several possessions of the game. They’ve played great all year but it seemed like they slipped into a higher gear on Friday. Did it appear that way to you and the staff as you looked at the game film?
Coach Byrd: Oh yes, exactly. They’ve played well all year. I can’t say enough great things about our defense. They held them to one first down in the first half and I think it was a total of five turnovers. Great plan by the coaches and a great job of executing the plan by our players. They played with a lot of intensity and again all those distractions were out of their minds. It was football and that was the big thing that night and they did a great job.
Mule Fan: It’s the halfway mark in the regular season and you’re over .500 and 2-0 in district. I know you look for improvement every week but as the head coach, what checkpoints do you feel are crucial when you get halfway through the season?
Coach Byrd: You look at how consistent they can be and have they consistently gotten better. You play a very good game like the Champion game and now you’ve got to stay at that level. I’ve preached all week long that the kids played a great game. There’s no doubt about it. They played an outstanding game. Just like the University of Houston did against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. Then they go against UTEP who was blown out by Texas and they got beat. Now I don’t believe UTEP out-played Houston. I believe that U of H didn’t have their heads on right. Just like Madison was running along as one of the top teams in the state and they get beaten by MacArthur. Roosevelt just this last week was doing an unbelievable job, playing great football and here comes Reagan who slips up and beats them. You can’t tell me that the teams that were ranked that high were out-played. They didn’t come with their mental preparation. They didn’t come with their execution. I know those teams are very well coached. So it comes down to these kids. How hungry are they going to be next week? How long can they sustain this type of intensity and execution that they displayed on Friday night?
Mule Fan: How do you keep them focused on the task at hand during the practice week?
Coach Byrd: The big thing is we had great workouts last week and we played better and better. Now we had a very good football game so what’s the key there? Great workouts and then you have a good game. We’ve got to keep that level of execution and intensity in practice. They’ve got to know that everything they do out there is forming a habit and if they want to play near perfect in a game they’ve got to form great habits.
Mule Fan: The Mules have an important district game this week against Seguin. It’s a big game for Seguin as they try and stay in a playoff race but obviously a crucial one for Alamo Heights as well. What are the keys for Heights this week?
Coach Byrd: I expect a very aggressive team and one that is well coached on offense and defense and the kicking game. They beat Georgetown in non-district. They beat East Central. They were very close at halftime to their arch rival New Braunfels, which knocked off Smithson Valley. They lost to Kerrville but it was 10-7 Tivy at the half and Kerrville got the edge at the end. They are a very aggressive team. Alamo Heights is going to have to play well. This team, I believe, is one of the teams that ought to make the playoffs out of our district. They’re hungry. They had a setback against Canyon. Their quarterback got hurt and they made some key mistakes and let Canyon beat them. Canyon is not a bad team but I thought they were playing better than that. Now they’ve got their backs to the wall and I know their coaching staff and I know these players and they’re going to come out fighting. Alamo Heights is going to be on the road and they’re going to have to take care of business.
Concerned Community Member’s Heavy Lifting in Early 80’s Lights Fuse on Mules Winning Tradition (Part 2): The Transformation of Alamo Heights Football Begins Followed by Victory on the Field
Clyde J.B. Johnson IIIWe continue our two-part look back over our collective shoulders at the very impactful efforts of a group of caring community members led by Clyde J. B. Johnson III to help start the process of looking at athletics differently at Alamo Heights.
It's no secret. There is a simplistic view held by some people who may not know this story that a "crucial" factor in the success of the football program came when Alamo Heights stayed 4A while a 5A category emerged to house the larger schools, some of which beat up on Alamo Heights frequently in the 70's as an example. But once one gets their head around the real details a more likely and thoughtful conclusion might be that the 4A-5A deal was only a very, very small piece of this and much more to do with enrollment numbers anyway. Heck, Clyde Johnson and Coach Byrd don’t even mention it until we followed up with a specific question about it. We have heard it too much through the years to ignore that the opinion is out there. But it's way too shallow and once these other facts come into the light of day, one might almost feel guilty about believing the bit about the 4A-5A comparison.
Don Byrd's view is that through the early years of his and Coach Fenley's involvement Alamo Heights was playing teams like Kerrville Tivy which had been to the state semi-finals and he also referred to Tivy's efforts this year including a win over Judson and other good 5A teams. He reminded us that New Braunfels, which was a regular Mules 4A opponent, had the highest winning percentage of any team in the state in the 80's and that there were others which were advancing deep in the playoffs. Alamo Heights may not have had the enrollment but they were always playing great competition. In fact, without the events you’ve read about in part one and what you’ll now see in part two, there would still be a lot more L’s than W’s regardless of who Alamo Heights would play in football. In the end, there have been lots of W’s against 5A schools along the way and many of the 4A teams which Heights plays regularly have racked up strong records against 5A schools.
Disclaimer: You simply cannot read part two unless you’ve read part one. We're putting our foot down on this. Luckily on a blog you just scroll down to it below. No mess-no fuss. So go ahead. We’ll wait…..
There now that you’re up with us we’ll carry on. So let’s understand now how the off-the-field activities led to the winning tradition on the field in part two.
Mule Fan to Clyde Johnson: You’ve given great background on how those walls were knocked down and obviously Gaylard Fenley was the man at the right place at the right time with the right skills to be able to knock down those walls and get everybody to pull together. So in addition to his Herculean political effort he also must have been a pretty smart football man because he brought in some really good people. In your opinion, what were some of the pivotal moments to get the program competitive?
Clyde Johnson: When Gaylard got here, one of the conditions when he accepted the job initially he believed that you had to have a good weight program for football to be successful. And you have to have an athletic period. There was a time when we didn’t have an athletic period. Because everybody else is out there with an athletic period so if you don’t have one you can’t get in as much time coaching. So I think those were two things that he required when he came; an athletic period where you could have football during the day plus a weight room. When he got here he couldn’t even find the weights. We finally found them somewhere over at the swimming pool all rusted from the chlorine in there. The school did what they’d told him they’d do. They found a little area to have a weight room and got some weights and went from there. So that got it started.
Now besides getting the equipment and tools to build up a strong team, he went out (and this was really after he came back the second time) and figured out that Alamo Heights wasn’t going to win by lining up and knocking people off the ball. Because as he explained it to me, “That’s an attitude you develop because of your background. Kids at Alamo Heights, and it’s not bad, aren’t raised that way. So we’ve got to figure out what the kids at Alamo Heights have. They have brains. They’re taught to use their brains.” So he went out and started studying offenses. The passing offense we have today Gaylard put in originally. It’s supposed to be an offense where you can’t cover all the receivers so there is supposed to be an open one. So you have to have a quarterback who can find the open receivers. You have to have a receiver who is supposed to know how to get open. Between the two they should be able to complete a pass on every play. He said it was so foreign to him. He went and studied these people they said it didn’t make any difference whether you were on the two yard line, the 50 yard line or where you are on the field. You throw the football. He said it was real hard for him to start with to go out there and change his whole way of thinking. He said that they told him that the linebackers are taught all week against these running offenses to come up and meet the ball carrier. Now all of a sudden they’re playing a team that is throwing the football everywhere and that linebacker who wants to come up and hit somebody is backing up the whole game. It’s hard for him in one game to turn around and change. Of course today you have more passing offenses than you had then but when he first went to it nobody else was doing it in high school. Then he said you’ve got these defensive backs who aren’t seeing much passing from other teams and now all of sudden they’re seeing it all over the field. It worked and he had a lot of success with it. And we’re still having success today. But that was the biggest turn around in the whole deal was when he went to that offense.
Coach Byrd talks about this topic: In ’84 Coach Fenley came in and we put in a very sound offense and defense. Defensively we played very well. Offensively we got going to a certain level. We were an I (formation backfield-fullback and tailback) team and were trying to out-muscle people. We learned the first time we were thrown in the Hill Country district, particularly in the Boerne game which was the second to last game in ’89 and they beat us real bad. Boerne had had three unbelievable linebackers. No matter who we put on them we couldn’t block them. So we’re sitting there in an I formation trying to run the ball and there are always three guys there. No matter what we did we couldn’t block. We got to talking saying no matter who we played in this region, the better ones were going to have linebackers and linemen like we saw and we had a better than average line. If we couldn’t get it done with them then we better look at what we’re doing. Coach Fenley went out and studied what we could do to take our kind of kids and put them in a position to have success on offense. Everybody he talked to with similar kids that were having success were in the one back spread offense. There weren’t many teams doing it back then and he took a gamble on that.
So we figured instead of having all of our guys condensed on offense, and again this is Coach Fenley, we ought to spread them all out and put everybody on an island and see which mismatch we would have on one of our receivers and be able to throw the ball over these bigger guys. Then we could have success and get them thinking about us passing and then sneak the running game in. We changed our offensive scheme and went 9-2 and 10-1 the next two years and were beaten by Westlake in very close games in the playoffs each year. Then we took another step forward when people were starting to take us seriously not only in San Antonio but in the region. And the rest is kind of history. This is basically what we’re using now.
Mule Fan to Coach Byrd: How would you characterize the difference in athletics, specifically participation in football, from when you arrived here to what we’ve grown used to now?
Coach Byrd: When I first got here athletics was in very sad shape. A lot of kids were going to one sport and not playing football. The better athletes were not out playing football. Now we’re getting somewhere between 60-80 freshmen. We had 19 freshmen the first year. The facilities were in terrible shape. There was just no respect for football. As we started getting success and started putting in a sound program and started winning some games and getting in the playoffs, more and more kids started showing up. As Coach Fenley said, all we had to do was build success and the kids would find us. He was right on that. It wasn’t anything else but trying to offer as good of a program as we could, the kids found us and the numbers have grown to where we are now.
Mule Fan to Clyde Johnson: Coach Byrd talks about the fact that when he first got there, they had very few kids come out for football as freshmen. Thinking back to your study what was the attitude of the students towards participation in the program?
Clyde Johnson: There was not a lot of participation. School spirit meant wanting to be part of something that was going on and they didn’t have school spirit. It wasn’t their fault. They hadn’t been indoctrinated with it and they had to pick up on it. There wasn’t enough there for them to be excited about. So when you don’t have school spirit you don’t have much participation whether it is football, or other sports, or cheerleaders or what have you.
Mule Fan to Clyde Johnson: In these years we’ve been speaking about, Gaylard comes and obviously some resources are being dedicated to building up the program. I would imagine there were some bumps in the road during those transition years when there was resources going to football primarily but the wins were not there yet. It takes time for those things to evolve. Do you remember any groundswell of doubters or any things that the community had to do to help support Gaylard and assure everyone that this was the direction we had to go?
Clyde Johnson: Not really. I think when he was there you could always see a little progress being made all the time. He had to chip away at it but we were always making a little progress whether it was in the win column or just in the way people felt. Now that didn’t mean that he didn’t get down on certain things from time to time. Dr. Charles Slater came in as superintendent (1988-95) and was not a football man per se. He came from up east. But he was smart enough to tell Gaylard that he was his athletic director and “you just take care of things over there and I don’t want to hear from you unless you have a problem. If you have a problem you let me know and I’ll help you solve it. But you run your own program.” So with that Gaylard could make a lot of progress.
When we were doing the competition committee and we had people go out and compare other programs, the number one thing that the successful coaches said was their relationship with their principal. If they didn’t have a good relationship with their principal they couldn’t get anything done. So that was key. Now in our case when Dr. Slater came, and this was all after Dr. Gross had gone, he had the athletic director and the principal on par. They were both important to him so that one couldn’t dominate the other. We’ve had some problems when that hadn’t been the case. It’s like a stool. You have three legs – the superintendent, the principal and the athletic director/football coach (until recently they were always the same). You pull any one of those legs out and the whole program breaks.
Mule Fan to Coach Byrd: What did you see generally in athletics at Alamo Heights once that wave started and you started to feel the shift with competitiveness and the serious commitment? In your opinion, how did that bleed over into the other programs?
Coach Byrd: Well it was a commitment to excellence in football. Basketball was having success. Tennis was having all kinds of success. Soccer was a new program but they were rolling well. I just think everybody feeds off of each other. Once a program hits a high level all the other programs strive to get to that level. They see that if kids from Alamo Heights can win in this sport and this activity then let’s push in hard in our particular area and see if we can get to that level.
Mule Fan to Clyde Johnson: When you were sitting in the Alamodome in December of 2006 during the state championship game, what was going through your mind knowing all that you had been through and all that had happened?
Clyde Johnson: I thought it was really a great payback for all that work back when. This was where we all wanted to get to. I thought it had finally come to fruition. Not that we didn’t have some other great years with some of the playoffs and other things but that was the ultimate. I was real happy for lots of people.
Mule Fan to Clyde Johnson: But just hearing the way you’ve told the story and where the program was when you felt compelled to get something done, it must have been nearly impossible to have that vision to say we’re going to win a state championship one day. Or did you really feel even then that was achievable although it would take a hell of a lot of work?
Clyde Johnson: Well I think what we were hoping for and our vision for success was being successful year in and year out and not having up and down seasons, where we were reaching the playoffs and maybe even going a little deeper into the playoffs. But you could see this thing building each year. When we beat Calallen (2001) that was a big turnaround to beat a team like that. I mean you knew that we had boys now that weren’t going to back off and they understood what it took. And all that success builds on itself and keeps building. And it did. It got to there and at that point you could see that maybe someday we could maybe have a state championship. And then of course we got there over in Houston (State semifinalist Astrodome vs. LaMarque in 2003). We got that close and you could feel that it was going to happen.
Mule Fan: Even though that game in Houston was not pretty for the Mules you had to say to yourself, “we’re here and even though we’re playing this great team and it is not pretty, we’re playing in a game of this weight in this building.”
Clyde Johnson: That’s right. And that was just the next step. You know the one after that was to win it all. I think it’s really the ultimate that we won it in ’06.
Mule Fan to Coach Byrd: A lot of people would say that the state championship game in 2006 was the most pivotal moment in the history of the school’s football program and certainly in terms of history it would have been the most important moment. But there were obviously some crucial steps years before that night which culminated in arriving at that event. What were some of those steps in your opinion?
Coach Byrd: Oh there were so many of them. I remember some things my first year (1984). We had an unbelievably tough non-district schedule and went 0-5. We played some very solid programs like New Braunfels and New Braunfels Canyon. We came back and won four in a row to make the playoffs. We had to beat West Campus, a very talented team at that time. We were barely behind. We kicked off to them David Bebinger hit a kid real hard, the ball went up in the air and David Cruz caught it in the air and scored. We beat them which put us in the playoffs. We won a playoff game by beating Pleasanton and hadn’t been in one in about 30 years. That was very key in that first year just to get to the playoffs. Our numbers started going up from then on.
Then we bounced around. We went 6-4 the next year and didn’t make the playoffs. And we then made the playoffs the next two years with 7-4 and 8-3 records I believe and got beat by Clemens in both rounds. Then we went to one back in 1990 with Glenn Winship and that whole just unbelievable class. We went 9-2 and were beaten in a close game by (Austin) Westlake. And then went 10-1 the next year and got beat by Westlake in a close game. Both of those games were up at Southwest Texas State. Westlake was an unbelievable team and we played with them. I think that’s when the kids started believing we could play year in and year out. And, of course, when we started going eight, nine, 10 wins consistently, I think that was a huge factor in the late 90’s. Then when we beat Calallen (2001) and getting to the state semi-finals (2003 vs. LaMarque in the Houston Astrodome) was another big milestone and then the state championship. There are many other things but those are the ones that come to mind.
Mule Fan to Clyde Johnson: In this Centennial Year of Alamo Heights, as a long time member of the community, what do you think it has done to the community to have this elevation of the athletic program to rally around?
Clyde Johnson: Alamo Heights has always been like a small town community. It just gives you a rallying point to have a good football program. It sets the tone for the whole school year. There’s school spirit, there’s community spirit. Everybody in Alamo Heights has always worked well together but it just gives them something to be proud of and to look forward to be part of. It’s no different than any other little town in Texas that is having success. I mean that’s really what Alamo Heights is-just a little town in a big town.
Mule Fan to Coach Byrd: What do you feel it has meant to the community from your perspective to have this sort of success and credibility in athletics and football in particular?
Coach Byrd: Well it’s exciting. These kids work so hard and it is such a great community. These young men know what success is all about and they thrive on it. So that’s been a neat thing to watch the different faces doing the same things over the years. Getting to know the individual families has been tougher for me each year. Calling the offense and the head coach and working with the quarterbacks really takes my time away from getting as personal as I used to with the other players. I really miss that. But that’s kind of the world we’re in right now. I love the community. I love the excitement. I wish someday that we could get that kind of excitement for athletics across the board for Alamo Heights. We’re a family. We’re a community and should get just as excited if a kid has a bat or a racket or a glove or whatever in their hands out there representing Alamo Heights. We ought to pull together and get just as excited for it.
Mule Fan to Coach Byrd: What about the year-round conditioning and the way we see it now? What year did you engage in that for the first time?
Coach Byrd: The UIL opened it up for us to do it in the summer was my first year as head coach in 1995 or right in there. So we really took advantage of that knowing the kids we have here at Heights have to spend a lot of time developing their athleticism. You know when it comes to off-season football, there are not a lot of footballs out there. There’s a lot of track and agility work, weight lifting, dumbbells and things like that. Our off-season is to develop our strength, our quickness and our agility. But really in 1990 is where we really started emphasizing more of the lower body and the Olympic-type lifts and really put in the time during the summer.
Mule Fan to Clyde Johnson: With this winning tradition it feels like it transfers all the way down into the YMCA leagues, into the Junior School, Freshman and JV team. Everybody’s goal is to get to the varsity and everything funnels into that point. So it permeates all the levels.
Clyde Johnson: This competition committee study shows that successful programs have it from top to bottom down into the junior high program. You don’t just get to high school and then all of sudden turnaround and have great years year in and year out. You have to have kids at the junior high beginning to think that way. You even have them now in Y ball thinking about being part of the high school football program. You’ve got to have kids thinking from way down there all the way up that they want to try and get to that point. That’s been the history of all time is that kids look up at those that came before and look up and try to emulate them. It feeds on itself.
Pre-Game in the Mules Locker Room
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