MULES TAME WILDCATS 28-14

VICTORY OVER GREGORY PORTLAND SETS UP STATE QUARTERFINALS MATCH-UP AGAINST #1 LAKE TRAVIS

On the Friday night during Thanksgiving week, nobody knew for sure what type of crowd would show up 120 miles away in Calallen. Thanks to some hard work by many, especially Patty Juarez in the AH athletic office, Mules fans headed south in planes, trains and automobiles. The team had a good week of practice while most students were taking the week off. Lest we forget, the Band, Spurs and Cheerleaders were unable to spend Thanksgiving time with Aunt Bessie and Uncle Fred at the farm in Ohio, as they too committed to the week by supporting the football team. The Gregory-Portland fans took a short trip to Calallen for the game played in their backyard. Judging from the number of folks in the GP stands, the two towns must've shut down for the evening, sending everyone to cheer on the Wildcats. But, Mules fans made themselves noticed. Starting with a team send-off and a police escort out of town, this community seemed focused on the day. By game time, four busloads of fans and several hundred other cars, helped fill the Heights stands. This clearly was a key as the Heights team was able to lean on fan support when the game was on the line.

GP won the toss and deferred to the second half. Heights moved the ball on the ground and in the air. Cullen Mills, looking spectacular on the night, completed three consecutive third down passes to Bryson Marshall, who himself had a great evening. Hollye Marshall and her parents were thrilled. Brent was busy trying to keep Tyler calm as he reassured him that he had played just as well last year, no matter what Bryson said. The drive stalled and the field goal attempt just missed. GP took over and attempted to move the ball under the Slot-T formation, a set the Mules had a tough time containing in the second half of the San Marcos game. But on this night, the defense again showed it was able to step up to the plate. Early in the drive, James Uhl and Forrest Hagar caused a fumble giving the ball back to Heights. A few plays later, Justin Rosenthal carried it in from the 9 for a 7-0 lead with 3:04 left in the first quarter. The defense again held, thanks in part to a 7 yard loss caused by a Thomas McSween sack. The Mules took over at the 29 yard line at the end of the first quarter. Heights 7, GP 0

The Mules continued to move the ball on offense. Mills was on target on this drive, given time provided by the offensive line. He connected with Marshall, Garza and Cabell. The Mules moved all the way to the Wildcat 6 and a tough helmet hit to the ball caused a turnover, giving the ball back to the Wildcats at their own 6 with 10:57 left in the second quarter. Before the Mules knew what hit them, the Slot-T worked to perfection as Joey Sanchez scampered 78 yards for a touchdown and a 7-7 tie with 8 minutes left in the second quarter. This would be the only big run the defense gave up on the night. The Mules took over and on a 3rd and 7, the Wildcats looked to be in good position if they could hold and force a Mules punt. That would be a big "if" as Mills lofted the ball deep to a streaking David Garza who hauled it in for a 65 yard touchdown and 14-7 Heights lead with 6:03 left in the second quarter. The rest of the quarter was fairly uneventful as the defense continued to hold the Wildcat offense and the Mules offense could not put together a drive. Halftime-Heights 14, GP 7.

At halftime, Mules fans seemed a bit nervous. The Mules seemingly had outplayed the Wildcats but the scoreboard only reflected a 7 point lead. The Wildcats would get the ball first, so the defense needed to come out strong again. With both teams moving the ball and the clock, the game was on a quick pace. Stand in the concession line too long and you might miss the entire third quarter.

The quick game continued in the third quarter. The Wildcats received the kickoff and though they drove to the 46, the defense held. The Wildcat punt pinned Heights at the 8. The Mule got the ball out of the danger zone with running and passing. Again, Mills found Bryson Marshall for some key third down receptions. The drive stalled but the Stern punt pinned GP at their own 10 with 4:42 left in the quick moving third quarter. This was becoming a game of field position and the Mules were moving the field in their favor. The defense again held, with Mike Warren making a huge stop. The Wildcat punt forced the Mules to start from their own 30. Mills to Marshall for 20 and Rosenthal for yardage on the ground. The quarter ended with the Mules at the GP 30. It appeared that the awesome offensive line was wearing down the Wildcats defensive line. End of the Third Quarter: Heights 14, GP 7.

A couple plays into the fourth quarter and Mills, on his best play of the night, rolled left behind great protection, and threw back across the middle to Garza in the end zone. Heights 21, GP 7 with 11:23 left in the game. The Wildcats were down but not out. With quarterback Fishbeck apparently stopped in the backfield, the shifty junior found daylight for a 50 yard gain. A few plays later, running back Sanchez carried it in from the 5 and the score was 21-14. With 5:25 left in the game, the Mules lined up expecting the onside kick. Have we seen more onside kicks than normal this season, or is it just me? With only Thurmond deep and 10 on the line, the Wildcats did, in fact, opt for the short kick. Fortunately for Heights, it took a high bounce up and out of bounds. Mules ball at their own 49. Time to run some clock and get a few first downs. That's exactly what the Mules did. On eight consecutive running plays, the Mules offensive line was downfield on every play opening up holes or moving the line. Rosenthal carried it in from the 15 with only 1:43 left in the game. The defense finally could relax, forcing GP to use the remaining clock without getting to the endzone. Final: Heights 28, Gregory-Portland 14.

Once again, the Mules played good ball. Any win in the third round of the playoffs is a good win. The Mules have some things to work on in the upcoming week but the key thing is, they will be working on plays into December---the true goal when the season started in August. Thanks to the Coaches, Staff, Gene, Patty, the Trainers (Mike and Adrianna) and the Manager (Trey). These people and their families gave up their Thanksgiving break to prepare the boys for this game. It would've been easy to look back to the Killeen game or look ahead to the Lake Travis game, but the important issue was to have the boys prepared for, and focused on, the Gregory-Portland Wildcats. The preparation is evident. This defense has seen a greater variety of offenses than Elizabeth Taylor has seen in husbands. And the defense has been able to adjust to each of these offenses. On the night, the offense was balanced in the air and on the ground, racking up 457 yards. The line, as always should get the lion's share of the credit. The special teams again were great. Good victory and on to the Quarterfinals.


LOOKING AHEAD

Lake Travis Cavaliers – San Marcos 7:30 p.m. - Friday at Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Texas State University

The Lake Travis Cavaliers. Okay, where do we start. Well, here's where we start. How about this? The Mules are in the State Quarterfinals of the 4A Playoffs, Division I. To break that down, this Mules team is one of only 16 4A teams in the State playing football in December. This is what we dream of. Lots of statistics and numbers on Lake Travis. We all know that. Now our boys can go play with their heart and see how they match up with the very best.

Did we say the very best? Yes, Lake Travis was picked by most to win the 4A, Division I, State Championship. Not a bad pick considering they had won thirty (yes 30) straight games coming into the 2009 season – a streak that now stands at an incredible 43 consecutive wins. Not a bad pick considering Lake Travis has won back-to-back State Championships. Not a bad pick considering 10 starters return off of last year's State Championship team. The Cavaliers have a program that many colleges envy – including an indoor practice field. The program is incredible, and the talent continues annually, much in the way that Southlake Carroll dominated the 5A scene for several years. Maxpreps lists Lake Travis as the 12th best team in all of Texas (including 5A teams) and 94th in the country.

On defense, the Cavaliers returned Crow and Lazarus who combined for 300 tackles last year, twenty of those for a loss. With last year's Quarterback Garrett Gilbert graduated to UT, this year's QB is Junior Michael Brewer, whose father was himself a quarterback at UT in the early 1980's. The Cavaliers also returned several offense linemen, receivers and their kicker, Kramer Fyfe, who has booted a ton of extra points and kickoffs for the scoring machine.

Prior to this past weekend's game, Quarterback Michael Brewer was averaging 300 yards passing per game and he had thrown for 34 touchdowns. Brewer has completed over 71% of his passes for a total of 3,572 yards. Brewer has also rushed for 427 yards and another 15 touchdowns. Running Back Andy Erickson has run for 786 yards and 18 touchdowns and caught 47 passes for 1116 yards and 11 touchdowns. Conner Floyd has caught 53 passes for 1,034 yards and 8 touchdowns. Three other receivers have at least 20 receptions. Obviously, Lake Travis is a solid team. Since the Kerrville game, Heights has had stretches of good quarters but has not really put together a solid 48 minutes. The Mules will have to have a performance like the Kerrville game to have a chance to hang with Lake Travis.

On Defense, Quinton Crow averages 11.3 tackles per game, Austin Williams averages 10.1 tackles per game and Ian Lazarus averages 9.1 tackles per game.

Lake Travis rolled through its regular season undefeated. Lake Travis beat Killeen by 25 points and Austin Westlake by 21 points. Lake Travis was only tested once this year by Steele in the second round of the playoffs. Lake Travis won by 7, but the game may have served as a wakeup call for Lake Travis, which soundly beat Flour Bluff in San Antonio this past weekend. The Cavaliers have scored over 50 points 10 times this year and were held under 40 points only once (by Steele). In six games this year, Lake Travis gave up 7 points or less.

Have a nice day.

A Few Words with the Head Coach of the Mules – Don Byrd
November 30, 2009

Mule Fan: Congratulations on the 28-14 win over Gregory-Portland and now you move on the 4th week of the playoffs. For the second time this year you faced the Wing or Slot T offense, they broke one long one on you but by the third quarter it looked like the Mules defense had the Wildcat’s offense figured out and held them scoreless in the 3rd. It has to be hard to simulate that offense in practice. How much did it help that you had seen it against San Marcos?

Coach Byrd: I think it helped a lot. We made some mistakes scheme-wise against San Marcos that we straightened out this week. That helped out a lot. Having seen it once before meant that it wasn’t a big learning curve for the kids and they actually had some reps going against it. The alignments and some of the game plan was similar so it helped out a lot.

Mule Fan: The Mules got a TD run early from Rosenthal and then two outstanding touchdown passes from Mills to Garza. GP then made it a little scary with a time consuming scoring drive in the 4th. They followed that with an onside kick which of course was not successful. With the way the Mules offense was moving the ball did Gregory-Portland really have any other choice but to try the onside kick?

Coach Byrd: No I would have done that too. They needed a shorter field and they needed something to try to keep our offense off. We went down the first drive and we had a key miss on third down and we should have gone in and scored. Then we scored. Then we got down in the red zone and had a turnover. And even though we only got the one touchdown out of those three drives, we sure kept the ball away from their offense for a long time and we made them have a long field. That’s huge making them have to go that far. It’s hard to put 18-20 plays together to be able to score so it helped out our defense tremendously.

Mule Fan: The offense took over from there and closed it out by moving the chains and protecting the ball. What more could you have asked for on that final drive?

Coach Byrd: You start with the offensive line always and they had a great game. And then Justin (Rosenthal) runs so hard. He’s getting so many carries but he’s able to handle it. Now he had a little problem with the asthma. The climate down there probably hurt him more than anything. But he still had 190 yards. I’m not upset I’m just worried that we probably should have substituted a little more in this game because of the asthma problem.

Mule Fan: Did the game unfold the way you thought it might and in the way you prepared during the week?

Coach Byrd: Right you know offensively we scored 28 points. We had two other opportunities which would have put us at 42 and we missed a field goal. So that is about where I was hoping to be. We had the yardage we needed but we just didn’t finish the drives. We overcame some penalties which we haven’t done in the past so that was a plus. Defensively we started out against that offense a lot stronger and yes we did give up a run there and missed a few tackles here and there but all in all it was a great effort. And then our kicking game, besides the missed field goal, we were creating some long fields for the other team and that’s huge from here on out.

Mule Fan: We’ve talked about this a couple of times this season that this group of seniors with all the playoff runs in their careers have been around the game 13 extra weeks which is more than a full season. What does it mean to have that kind of senior leadership and experience in the locker room and on the field this deep in the playoffs?

Coach Byrd: Well the first thing that comes to mind with these seniors is that we have 41 of them still out. Of course only 11 of them can be on the field at one time. So that’s such a tribute to the kids showing us that they respect and they enjoy what we’re doing here at Alamo Heights with the football program. And they grew up and as freshman on campus seeing a state championship. We worked them out those five weeks in nothing but fundamentals. Then as sophomores we worked them out two extra weeks and they were going against varsity kids and older kids. I think a lot of times the kid’s light comes on and they say “Hey this is fun but I’m not having success against these older kids because I’m not strong enough or quick enough.” I think that really ups the tempo and the intensity in the off-season which carries over to each and every season.

Mule Fan: Now on to the state quarter finals and the Lake Travis Cavaliers. They come with a pre-heated reputation is pre-heated of a long winning streak and two straight state titles. But a lot of the boys had a chance to see them in person the last two weeks at the Alamodome. Did that help to demystify them a little?

Coach Byrd: Well I think so. Don’t get me wrong Lake Travis is an outstanding program. Coach Morris does a great job. They have unbelievable community and school support for the football program up there. You can tell by the facilities and the things they’ve accomplished that it’s a complete package. But our kids have been in big games. We’ve played Stony Point and they’re still playing. We’ve played Clark and they’re still playing. Steele is as good as anybody in the state. Everybody in our district challenged us so we’ve been in some big games and we’ve been in big games over the years. So I’m hoping that the kids will believe. The state championship year we had to spend a lot of time with kids and parents and community talking about the fact that “Yes we can take Lamar, we can take Copperas Cove.” It’s been a neat week because I get a feeling that everybody now has bought into it after beating a Calallen and the two games that I just mentioned and even back in the 80’s when we beat New Braunfels and shut them out up there, that we’ve come up against some teams that are at the top in the state and we’ve had success against them. So the mystery and the intimidation by going against a good program I hope is over with. We’ve got to go out and play a perfect game and do some things but half the battle is believing.

Mule Fan: We had a chance to see both of those games in the Alamodome and above all they look to us to be a very patient and disciplined team. What do you think is Lake Travis’ key strength and how will you prepare for dealing with it?

Coach Byrd: They have many weapons on offense. It’s a sound offense. They spread things out. Their running back/receiver is a big play guy. He’s a Manziel (Kerrville QB Johnny) and they’re smart enough to give him the ball a lot. Then they have a well coached offensive line and they have two receivers that are big “go to” guys and a quarterback that makes good decisions. They don’t get penalties and they don’t turn the ball over and they take what the defense gives them. They’re patient on defense. They’re very aggressive. They have some stunt packages that are real sound. They don’t give up the big play. They tackle well in space so you’re going to have to earn what you get. Probably the best part of their team that I’ve been impressed with is their kicking game. Every opponent I’ve seen they start the drive from the 20 or inside making an 80 yard field. That takes a lot more out of your offense to move the ball. Their punt team too. Everything’s sound. They’re a well coached team. They’re like anybody else. They’re human. Their defense does have weaknesses and every play they line up just like every defense. Their offense does have big play guys but they have to execute. We have some things going. I don’t think they’ve seen defensive ends as quick and as big as ours. Michael Warren’s played solid in the middle. Our safeties have done well. Then on offense we’re as balanced as you can get. Out kicking game has done well. So there are some things that Alamo Heights is bringing to the table too.

Mule Fan: We’ve seen some good quarterbacks this year. Their quarterback, Michael Brewer, likes to run a lot of fakes, mis-direction, likes to go to his left and throw and there seem to be lots of plays designed for him to read and create. How do you simulate that in practice?

Coach Byrd: We’ve got three or four films on him and we’ve watched him in person now. You just try and simulate what you think they’re going to try to attack us with and show our players. You can’t show it all but you can show enough of it and hopefully they can shut down what you show them. The stuff that you can’t hopefully they’ll recognize and be able to get better at defending as the game goes on.

Mule Fan: Lots of schools turn out good teams from time-to-time. But these two schools have good programs. There’s a difference in those two things aren’t there?

Coach Byrd: You know it’s hard to pinpoint where the differences are and what it takes. I know we have a great work ethic here at Heights and I know that they have a great work ethic there. I know that their coaches spend a lot of time in the off-season learning technique and schemes to put their kids in a position to have success. You have to work immensely hard on the weights and quickness. And you have to make sure the kids believe in what you’re doing. So there are a lot of things. But being there and doing different things in big games gives you the credibility to be able to get that kind of program.

Mule Fan: We were talking before we started this interview that there have only been this Alamo Heights team and a couple of others that have been this far in the playoffs. It’s early in the week but could you give us a sense of the vibe, the atmosphere in here and can you compare it to the 2006 and 2004 teams that had success at this time of year?

Coach Byrd: There’s a certain air where somewhere along the line the kids decide they just want to be good at playing the game of football. Then it becomes an atmosphere of no mistakes in practice and intense. Then you go out and most of the drills are game-like tempo. The kids are really getting after it and they’re pushing each other and they’re taking pride when they make mistakes of trying to get it corrected. It takes a lot to have that special ingredient that makes a team want to be good. That’s what I’ve been sensing with this team just like we did when we went against Lamar in that year in the Astrodome and had a nice run and then of course the state championship team.

Mule Fan: Good luck this week. It’s a big game for Alamo Heights and we know the kids are cranked up and ready to play.

Coach Byrd: Yeah it’s going to be a lot of fun. I was proud of the crowd we had go down to Corpus and looking forward to having just an unbelievable high school atmosphere Friday at 7:30 in Bobcat Stadium.

Ticket Sales Information for AH vs. Lake Travis on 12/4/09

Tickets are on sale at the Alamo Heights Athletic Office at these hours this week:
Tuesday 8:30 a.m. - Noon & 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday 8:30 a.m. - Noon & 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Thursday 8:30 a.m. - Noon & 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. (Athletic Ofc)
4:45 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (Muledome)
Friday 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Ticket Prices: Adults - $8
Students - $4 (kinder thru 12th)

AT GATE ALL TICKETS - $10

Mules Playoff Radio: ESPN 1250 The Zone

The Mules really need your support in San Marcos on Friday. So if you can come to the game, please do. But it you cannot make it you can follow the action on ESPN AM 1250 The Zone. Airtime for the pre-game show this Friday is at 7:00 p.m. Ed Suarez and Dave Parker will call all the action. Please say thanks and patronize all of the generous sponsors. If you’re not in town, you can listen to the live broadcast on the internet at www.tsrnsports.com/index.html.


Flash from the Past

Thanksgiving week was a perfect time for a motivational visit from some familiar members of the 2006 Alamo Heights state championship team. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Giovanni Vizza, Sam Dibrell, Adam Bridgeman and Bobby Broadnax stopped by to watch as the Mules prepared for Gregory-Portland, renew some old friendships and take some of the younger boys' meal money. After the workout, the 2006 Mules had a few words of wisdom for the 2009 Mules who want to be where these guys have been. We have a few highlights for you in our video below. You'll hear from Vizza, Broadnax and Bridgeman. Dibrell's comments, while inspirational, have been saved back by the Mule Fan editors for inclusion on the "Bootleg-Uncut Sessions" version which is scheduled to be released just prior to Christmas.






GO MULES!!!!!!!

Countdown to a Third Round Clash with Gregory-Portland

LOOKING AHEAD
Gregory–Portland Wildcats

Next up for Heights are the Gregory-Portland Wildcats. The game will be at Corpus Christi Calallen's field, essentially making this a home game for the Wildcats. For those of you unfamiliar with the coastal areas of South Texas, simply ask one of your buddies with a "beach home" in Key Allegro or Port Aransas. They've probably been through or within a stone's throw of Gregory-Portland many times. The good news is that the boys will travel in the fancy buses as they head south. As many of you may not know, on these long trips, the coaches pull over before getting to the stadium to allow the boys to stretch and get taped before arriving at the stadium. Since this Friday is a school holiday and no classes will be missed, the Mule Fan lobbied unsuccessfully for an early departure, and an educational trip to the State Aquarium and the U.S.S. Lexington. Therefore, the Mule Fan is pushing for the pre-game taping to occur at the beach. Likely this too will be shot down by the coaching staff, though if some gulf fishing was involved, we might have a shot.

The Wildcats come into the game with a record of 10 and 2. Gregory-Portland (let's call them GP from here on out) returned six starters on offense and three starters on defense from last year's team that was a regional finalist, having gone 6-0 in district. Once again, GP was predicted to finish first in district, and they did so in convincing fashion. Though some folks say that these gulf coast districts are not as tough – don't kid yourself, the Wildcats can play football. Leading the offensive line is tackle Chance Vernon, a 6'7", 335 monster in the middle. Yes, the Mule Fan checked the sources to confirm that both the height and weight were correct. On offense, the Wildcats return Joey Sanchez, a small but shifty running back who ran for 1200 yards last year, and quarterback Kyle Fishbeck, who also started last season for the Wildcats. On defense, Brett Parker is 6'3" and runs a 4.6 40. Joining Parker on defense are a slew of talented defensive tackles, including Gonzales who had 80 tackles last year, and linebacker Garza who had 75 tackles last season.

This season, GP started off the year going 2 and 2 in its non-district games. Then, as expected, GP ran through the district at 5-1, losing only once by one point to Port Lavaca Calhoun. GP scored 70 points in the game before that game, and following the loss, GP scored 42, 49, 42 and 38 points before being held to 12 last week. Over the last three games, the GP defense has become dominating, giving up only 6, 10, and 12 points. In the first round of the playoffs, GP beat San Antonio McCollum 38-10, and last week, the Wildcats beat an 11-0 Mission team by a score of 12-7.

Okay. Yada, Yada, Yada. What does GP do? What is their offense? What is their defense? On offense, the Wildcats are led by Fishbeck at QB and RB Sanchez. Fishbeck throws an average of 10 times per game for an average of 92 yards a game. So, how did they with so many ball games passing only 90 yards a game. Well, guess what Sherlock? They run the ball. Joey Sanchez averages 114 yards per game, Nikki Smith averages 113 yards per game. Johnson and Robeau each average 35 yards per game, and Fishbeck runs for another 20 yards per game. On total, the Wildcats average 272 yards per game rushing – more than any team Heights has faced. The offense is similar to San Marcos with many different runners touching the ball. The Heights defense must expect everyone except the water boy to carry the ball. Heights will face a team hoping to control the tempo with long drives (sounds like a team that plays at Orem Stadium). On defense, Polasek averages 10 tackles per game, Smallwood averages 11.5 tackles per game and Garza and Luna both average over 7.5 tackles per game. The Wildcats force about 2 turnovers per game. Justin McArthur (#1) is a threat on punt returns and kickoff returns – keep it away from him. As we've become more experienced, we've located more websites with statistics, so next year's Mule Fan writer will look intelligent right out of the gate.

Kickoff is 7:30 at Corpus Christi Calallen.


A Few Words with the Head Coach of the Mules – Don Byrd
November 24, 2009

Mule Fan: The Mules advanced to the third round with the 21-19 win with a big tip of the cap to the Alamo Heights defense for a fantastic effort. They forced turnovers, scored points, held Killeen to half their average yardage output and half their scoring average and of course get a huge game winning stop on the two point conversion at the end. To quote former NFL coach Dennis Green, “Was Killeen who you thought they were going to be on Friday?”

Coach Byrd: Oh exactly. You know they were a team that seemed to get better as the season wore on. Last year we got a good taste of the athleticism and their speed. They’re a well coached team and they are one of the top programs around right now. I think when it hits playoff time they play as well as anybody. The defense just played unbelievable. The defensive coaches did a great job of coming up with an outstanding game plan. They’re great coaches and the kids play hard for them and the kids went out and executed. It’s really hard to single one out. We got the interception with Thurmond and some other big plays but play in and play out every one of them was playing exactly the assignment with a lot of intensity and a lot of excitement.

Mule Fan: Take us through that last two point conversion attempt from Killeen which was obviously THE key play at the end to close it out. What were your observations from the sidelines?

Coach Byrd: Well they were going to the right. The quarterback had the option. Nelson (Skylar) went right through and just made an outstanding play along with Luke Maloy and the rest of them. It was just a play that was going to be close. We were just a little more aggressive and quicker off the ball than they were. Those were the guys who were at the point of attack but it was just a great play across the board with the entire defense. Skylar made a great play and Warren was there also. So it was just a great play out of our line backing corps and then Maloy coming up along with everybody else.

Mule Fan: What effect did the nasty weather have on each team’s game plan?

Coach Byrd: The neat thing about it is that playing on the new surface means that you have great footing no matter what the weather is so that worked out well for us. But it makes it harder to concentrate and it’s a little harder to execute on offense. Defense you get to react the same way you have all year. But it throws a little bit of the timing off. But all in all I thought the game unfolded about the way it should have no matter what the weather was. It’s a little harder to throw the ball and get to some of your outside game.

Mule Fan: The offense moved the ball well between the 30’s but struggled a little inside the “red zone” and had difficulty finishing particularly in the first half. Was that weather related, something Killeen put in front of you with their adjustments or just down to execution?

Coach Byrd: No you look at it and we had a lot of plays of four yards or better. You go back and look and each drive was either killed by a bad snap or a penalty. We had two holding calls that stopped drives and we jumped offsides. We had a bad snap. There’s four drives that ended right there. We just didn’t quite finish. It was just hard to get explosive plays down the field so you were going to have to have longer drives and against a team that talented it is hard to overcome any mental errors.

Mule Fan: In games like that you can always expect special teams to play a role and Heights got an outstanding night out of the kicking game with Stern’s punts and knocking in some good kicks while Killeen struggled with theirs. Does special team play seem to be amplified at this time of year?

Coach Byrd: Exactly and the punt team was unbelievable giving them (Killeen) a very long field in the shadow of their end zone. That cuts down on their play selection which helps our defense. Also on the kickoffs I thought he (Stern) placed them very well the majority of the time and the coverage was outstanding. So those were big, big parts of the game.

Mule Fan: On to Gregory-Portland now. This is as deep as Alamo Heights has been in the playoffs since the state championship run in 2006. You’re facing a 10-2 team that has only completed 58 passes all season but with a pair of backs that each average over 100 yards per game. Are we looking at a San Marcos type of offense here?

Coach Byrd: Yes it has a lot of similarities. Both of these coaches from San Marcos and Gregory-Portland worked under the same coach and they are disciples of the offense he runs. It’s going to be a condensed offense where they run right at you. They come off hard and low. They’re not one of the bigger teams. The thing that catches your eye immediately is how aggressive they are across the board. The kids just play hard from the snap of the ball to the whistle. So we’re going to have to match that intensity and make sure that we’re taking care of business because they’re a very well-coached team.

Mule Fan: Clearly they live and die by the running game but can you get into a situation where you clamp down hard enough on their backs to force them to pass because obviously they would seem to prefer not to?

Coach Byrd: Yeah you can get them out of their running game. The quarterback throws the ball very well. If you are fortunate enough to stop them and they start spreading things out a little bit more he can still hurt you with his passing not only in the spread formations that they run but his play action. You get so tied up in stopping the run that you can fall asleep and that receiver sneaks by you.

Mule Fan: So again with the running game, is it more of a grind-it-out, four yards at a time or do these backs get out in space and create on their own?

Coach Byrd: It’s a condensed formation where there are not usually the bigger gains or larger amount of yards. Then they do pitch it out on the option and get you in space so it’s a combination of both really.

Mule Fan: Any other trends you’ve observed either on film or from other exposure to Gregory-Portland?

Coach Byrd: We’ve played Gregory-Portland off and on for years. They’re very well coached and have unbelievable community support. They run the ball and grind it out. On defense they’ll play a pretty aggressive front. They’ve had to jump into man coverage against us in year’s past. I’m not sure if they’ll stay in their “cover four” which is two safeties and the corners backed off a little bit or what they’re going to do against us. But they’re just a very aggressive, well coached football team. There’s not much more you can say about them.

Mule Fan: The boys are out of school for the Thanksgiving holidays so you have their full focus and attention which is timely during this important part of the playoffs. What does this allow you to do differently from your normal routine during a school week?

Coach Byrd: During the school week when we try to watch films or lift weights there are always kids that have to meet with teachers and do things like that which they need to do. But this week with no school we get their undivided attention so that’s been nice. We get to work out in the morning and spend a little bit more time in the afternoon planning instead of the coaches having to run off and teach a class and so forth. So it’s kind of a nice setting. It’s a lot quieter around school when it’s just us showing up for practice and then everybody goes home in the afternoon. So it’s a neat setting and it’s nice to get back into practicing during Thanksgiving week.

Mule Fan: You have a walk-through scheduled for Friday morning before you leave which is typically done on Thursday. Will that give you and extra day on Thursday for a full workout or will that be more like a typical Thursday?

Coach Byrd: It’ll be kind of in-between. See we’re actually losing a little bit of time because we normally work out fourth period, our athletic period during the school day right before lunch where we get in eight five minute segments or about 40 minutes. We did not want to go much longer (in practice) so we’re trying to keep the same schedule Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then Thursday we’re going to add a few things that we didn’t accomplish during the week. So it’s a little different but we’ll get it all in by Friday.

Mules Playoff Radio: ESPN 1250 The Zone

If you can come to the game, please do. But it you cannot make it you can follow the action on ESPN AM 1250 The Zone. Airtime for the pre-game show this Friday is at 7:00 p.m. Ed Suarez and Dave Parker will call all the action. Please say thanks and patronize all of the generous sponsors. If you’re not in town, you can listen to the live broadcast on the internet at www.tsrnsports.com/index.html.

Go Mules!!!!!

LOOKING BACK

MULES REFUSE TO LOSE TO ROOS---21-19

Heights heads to the third round of the playoffs with thrilling victory.


For the second straight year, the Mules went 7-3 in the regular season. For the second straight year, the losses were against Stony Point, Clark, and Steele and the victories were against the same seven opponents--Laredo(seems like a lifetime ago),Clemens, Boerne, Seguin, San Marcos, New Braunfels and Kerrville. For the second straight year, Heights beat Brackenridge in the first round of the playoffs. For the second year in a row the Mules were matched up against a talented team from Killeen. For the second straight year, the game was played on a cold, drizzly night at a neutral stadium. NOW GET THIS ONE, for the second straight year, Killeen scored 19 points...that's pretty weird but having written for two years, The Mule Fan writers recall these things. For the second year in a row, the game was on the line at the end of the fourth quarter. But this time, the ending was oh so sweet.

For those of you who have followed the Mules this year, the game seemed to be a snapshot of so many events that had happened during the year. Like the Clark game, a steady rain changed both team's game plans. Like the San Marcos game, the Mules stuffed a critical two point conversion to preserve a win at the end of the game. Like the Kerrville game, the defense shut down a high-powered offense averaging 40 points a game. Like the Steele game, the smallest lineman for the opponent seems to be twice the size of our largest lineman...and meaning no disrespect to our linemen, our linemen are a pretty healthy sized group. And like so many games this year, the Cardiac Kids have aged each of their parents by a good 10 years---this writer's hair has gotten thinner and grayer by the week (got to blame it on something).

So, here we go. Mules won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Killen set up shop at its own 12. Before you could even say the second "Car" in "Car-Car" or the second "Da" in "Da-Da", Mamma Sharon (I presume "Ma-Ma" in the Thurmond household) is on her feet because Carter Thurmond has picked off the first Killen pass and returned it to the endzone for a 7-0 lead with 11:42 left in the first quarter. Wow...an unexpected start to the game. Killen took the next kickoff and got a couple of first downs on the ground. With the wet weather, Killeen had to change its game plan which is normally a passing offense. So too did Heights have to change its defensive scheme which was geared to stop the pass. The Roo drive went all the way to the Heights 36 when a bad snap gave the Mules the ball at the 48. Heights went to work on the ground getting as close as the Roo 10 before a holding penalty pushed Heights back to the 20. The drive stalled and Kristian Stern kicked a 28 yard field goal for the 10-0 lead with 5:08 left in the first quarter. Time for a quick editorial aside: The special teams were awesome on the night...something as simple-looking as an extra point or a field goal deserves extra credit on a rainy night--great blocking, great snaps by David Garza, great holds by Steven Elder and, of course, great kicking by Kristian Stern added 4 points in the first quarter that were not sure things in this weather. The defense went back to work holding the Roos to 3 and out. Rosenthal with a 35 yard gain to the sidelines but again Killeen held on a 4th and 8. Killeen then started to roll its offense. RB Haskins and QB Cummings (both juniors) went to work on the ground and the quarter ended with Killeen driving to the Mules 5 yard line. Heights 10, Killeen 0.

On the first play of the second quarter, the Roos scored on a 5 yard run. Killen had cut the lead to 10-7. Though Heights had outplayed the Roos, the offense was struggling to put points on the board, missing opportunities by not making the plays when they needed to do so. Momentum Roos. In the words of Scooby Doo..."Rut Roh." The rest of the second quarter was a bit sluggish. With the heavy rain, neither team was able to do much on the ground or in the air. Both teams struggled to move the ball and again the defense was holding back this potent Killeen offense. Halftime: Heights 10, Killeen 7.

What do you do at halftime? You listen to the band, watch the Spurs and ponder what should have been. It seemed that the Mules had the Roos on their heels but they could not put them away. Grab a cup of coffee, discuss strategy with the other fans and head to the seats. Speaking of fans, the Mules had a tremendous amount of support. Thanks to all the folks who made the road trip on such a crummy night. The crowd definitely pumped up the Mules and it was evident as many Mules players turned to the fans encouraging them to turn up the volume. The crowd- appointed cheerleader, Brent Marshall, did his impression of Rick Shaw--not the "hand over your right heart" thing, but the "That's Enough for Another Alamo Heights First Down" thing.

Third quarter started with William Thompson returning the kickoff to the 30. On the night Thompson returned kickoffs extremely well giving the Mules good field position on a couple of occasions. Cabell and Marshall make great catches from Mills, but the Mules drive stalls. Enter one of the best weapons on the evening--Krisian Stern. Stern's punt pins the Roos at the 12. After the defense held again, the Mules forced a punt on 4th down. This Mule Fan can not see so well at night (scary to think he then drove 70 miles back to San Antonio) so he is unable to specifically point out names of the defenders making great plays on the night. However, the linemen, as always were awesome, the linebackers (on this evening led by Mike Warren and his 14 tackles) and the defensive backs (led on this evening by the hard hitting Phillip Massari) contained the Roos offense. Back to the story. Roos punting on 4th down but the snap goes into the endzone for a Mules safety and a 12-7 Heights lead. A Mules turnover set Killeen up in good field position. On a 3rd and 20 Cummings found Baker and the tall, strong receiver pushed his way into the endzone. Up 13-12, Killeen elected to go for 2 to try to put themselves up by a field goal--this missed conversion would be important later in the game. The extra point was no good, but Killeen led 13-12. See Scooby Doo above. The Mules again took the ball but the drive stalled. Fear not though Mules fans--Stern's punt drops out of bounds at the 3. The defense holds AGAIN and on the 4th down punt, the snap is extemely high (from my lofty perch, it looked like it went through the goal posts), goes out of the end zone and the Mules are up 14-13 with 1:43 left in the third quarter. Luke Maloy returned the free kick to the 48 where Heights went to work. Steven Elder on the keeper romped for 15 yards, the Mules moved the ball further on the ground and Rosenthal carried it in from the 15 for the 21-13 lead with 38 seconds left in the quarter. The Roos took the ball and Massari and Sandoval made nice plays to end the quarter. Heights 21 Killeen 13.

Starting the 4th quarter, Maloy broke up a 3rd down pass, presumably because he wanted to return the punt again. Oh how (Mules baseball coach) Coach T cringes everytime the Mules force a punt. The Mules drive stalls and Stern pins Killeen at the 10. The defense holds and the Killeen punter boots a 58 yard punt. The Mules punt and Killeen starts at their own 17 with 3:18 left in the game. The defense looks to be in good shape but on 3rd and 10, the call is pass interference against the Mules. Very questionable call it seemed from our side of the field (Any of you seen that Buffalo Wild Wings commercial where the fans ask the ref to do something to send it to overtime? For those of you that have, this penalty seemed right on point in front of the Roo sidelines). In any event, the refs certainly had a better view than The Mule Fan (and was probably a bit less biased), so the Roos had life. Killeen continued to drive nicely down the field and Cummings found Sylvester for a 28 yard touchdown with 38 seconds left. Killen will go for two to try to tie the game. More grey hair. Less hair. See Scooby Doo above. On the option pitch the Mules stuff the run at the one foot line. Though there were certainly others there, Mike Warren and Luke Maloy looked to be in on the big stop. Now, the onside kick...shades of San Marcos. On the kick, the reliable Zach Richter comes up with the ball. 36 ticks left..Mules to take a knee..no direct snap...shades of New Braunfels Canyon. Snap is good. Mules win 21-19.

They (spotter Charlie Wernette, to be precise) say a team needs to win two out of three to win a game. Let's start with defense. Killeen averages 40 points a game and over 400 yards a game. The Mules hold them to 205 yards with 83 yards coming on the last drive and the defense held the Roos to just 19 points. What a performance by the defense. Special teams? Kicking team, punting team, kickoff return team and punt return team. Add in perfection on field goal/extra points and the Mules are in good shape. The offense outgained Killeen and totaled 240 yards with a wet field. What a great win for the program. Practice over Thanksgiving week is what these boys have hoped for...and they've got it.

PLAYOFFS ROUND TWO-LOOKING BACK


CLASS 4A, DIVISION I, REGION IV


C.C. Flour Bluff 38, Harlandale 21


Lake Travis 27, Steele 20


Heights 21, Killeen 19


Gregory Portland 12, Mission 7

Sneak a Peak at the Post Game Locker Room Excitement from Dripping Springs!

There's nothing like the excitement of a crucial playoff win in high school football. For the second consecutive year, the Mule Fan editors have negotiated a "playoff budget" with their publishers to travel the video crew. This occurred at the last minute on Friday so we had to roust them out of the bowling alley to pack up in time to get up 281 and through the traffic to get to Dripping Springs. During the course of the game, the Mule Fan editors paced the aisles nervously waiting for the crew to arrive. They finally turned up claiming that we told them to go to Sulphur Springs. Come to think of it, it is possible. But, no worries, they made it in time to capture an excited group of Mules in the post game locker room. Enjoy!!

Tickets and Transportation to Corpus Christi

Next to Thanksgiving plans, the most important topic of the week (or is it THE most important topic of the week-we know how the Mule Fan would vote!) is the subject of tickets and transportation to the game this Friday November 27th, as the Mules face off with Gregory-Portland in Calallen’s Wildcat Stadium at 7:30 pm.
First up-ticket sales info directly from Patty Juarez (All ticket sales at the AH Athletic Office except in Muledome as noted):

Monday 1:30-4:30 (Athletic Office) & 4:30-7:30 (Muledome)
Tuesday 8:30-noon & 1:30-5:00
Wednesday 8:30-noon & 1:30-5:00
Thursday (Thanksgiving-no ticket sales)
Friday 8:30-1:30

Pre-Sale Prices: Adults $7 Students $3 All tickets at the gate at $8

Bus transportation has been arranged. Please read the information below very carefully. Families of players (and anyone else wishing to depart early) will depart at 2:00 p.m. after a player send-off at 1:30. The 2:00 p.m. buses will make a stop at a restaurant in Corpus Christi before the game. Cost per person on either the player family/early bus (or buses depending on demand) or 4:15 departure/fan bus is $15 per person. A fan/later bus (or buses depending on demand) will depart promptly at 4:15 p.m. Both groups of buses will depart from just outside the athletic office and Muledome. Bring your own refreshments.

IN ORDER TO RESERVE A SEAT ON YOUR BUS, PLEASE WRITE A CHECK FOR THE NUMBER OF SEATS YOU ARE RESERVING TO “AH VARSITY FOOTBALL”. HERE’S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART! DROP OFF YOUR MONEY TO PATTY JUAREZ, AND INDICATE WHICH BUS DEPARTURE TIME YOU WANT TO THE AH ATHLETIC OFFICE (HER OFFICE HOURS THIS WEEK ARE POSTED ABOVE) BY NO LATER THAN 9:30 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING NOVEMBER 25. WE WILL FILL AS MANY BUSES AS WE CAN BASED ON DEMAND. WE WILL DETERMINE THAT NUMBER BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. NO SEATS ON THE BUS CAN BE RESERVED WITHOUT THE PAYMENT.

Two Mule Fan Posts this Week!!

Oh you're in luck Mule Fan readers. We figure everyone has a little extra time on their hands this week. Since the Mule Fan editors have used up all our vacation, the publishers have "asked" us to consider putting out two posts. It is playoff time and we're three rounds deep so we agree that it is only right that we "feed the beast" a second time. Our preview of the Mules' next opponent, Gregory-Portland and our weekly visit with Coach Don Byrd will be out mid-week. Plus we'll have maybe a few more surprises. Keep checking back!

Photos courtesy of Mary Candee-Dulce Designs

MULES PLUCK EAGLES 35-0 TO ADVANCE

LOOKING BACK

HEIGHTS DOWNS EAGLES 35-0

For the third year in a row, the Alamo Heights Mules faced the Brackenridge Eagles in the first round of the Division 4A Playoffs. For the second year in a row, the Mules were able to play this game at Harry B. Orem Stadium. Many believed that all of the District 27-4A teams would easily defeat their District 28-4A opponents. All three of the other teams took care of business in easy order – Steele, Clemens, and Kerrville. For the Mules....not so much. While this game never was in jeopardy, it took the Mules until the 3rd quarter to put this game out of reach.

The Mules won the toss and deferred to the second half. On the kickoff, Brackenridge returned the ball all the way to the 47, but a big hit caused a fumble, which was recovered by A.K. – Anthony Knowles. The Mules immediately went to work in the air with Mills hitting Bryson Marshall and then John Cabell on a 4th and 3, but a turnover gave the ball back to Brackenridge. Brackenridge was led by their star tailback, Willie Culpepper who tried to run but was stopped by the terrific Heights defense. The Mules took over at their 25. Mills hit David Cantu on a little out pass, but Cantu made a shifty move turning a short gain into an apparent touchdown. However, Cantu was called down at the 1. Mills passed to Bryson Marshall for the touchdown, and the Mules led 7-0 with 7:03 left in the first quarter. This would turn out to be all the points the Mules would need on the night. The Mules kickoff team had one goal after the initial kickoff – keep the ball away from the speedy Brackenridge kick return specialists. The Eagles got the ball after the pooch kick but went three and out. Again, the Mules drove well, including a scramble by Cullen Mills on a 3rd and 7 for a first down. The drive stalled when the Mules could not convert a fourth down. The defense once again held the Eagles, led by a Carter Thurmond break up of a long pass. Skyler Nelson, the talented sophomore, also made a big play. On the Brackenridge punt, Luke Maloy romped 40 yards on the punt return setting the Mules up at the Brack 40. End of the first quarter. Heights 7, Brackenridge 0.

Steven Elder came in on the next drive as Cullen Mills' hand had been injured on the first play of the game when it was stepped on by a defender. Elder went right to work, completing a couple passes before finding Bryson Marshall for a 20 yard touchdown and a 14-0 Heights lead (that's one TD for Hollye and one TD for Brent) with 11:13 left in the second quarter. Again Brackenridge could not move with one key stop made by Wills Bauer. With the Mules setting up from their own 44, on the first play, Elder found a streaking (yes, streaking) Sam Hall who caught the pass in stride and outran the defenders for a 56 yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead with 8:30 left in the second quarter. The Mule Fan was especially happy for Hall who had a great summer in 7 on 7 football but who hasn't had significant playing time due to the Heights depth at the receiver position. Again, the defense held Brackenridge to three and out and again Maloy gave the Mules good field position on the return. [Note: The defense, as you can tell, kept the Eagles from gaining any momentum when the Mules offense could not put the game out of reach. As we all saw in the second half, Culpepper is talented when he gets an opening, but the defense did not allow Culpepper any room until the score was out of hand.] The rest of the half featured a sluggish offense, but some good defense. Skyler Nelson had another great stop, Stuart Biltz had a nice interception and Jonathan Barshop made a terrific stop on a Stern punt, pinning the Eagles at the 3. The half ended with Heights up 21-0.

At halftime, the coaching staff likely was not thrilled with the intensity of the team. It seems that Heights plays at the level of its opponent, but fortunately the Eagles were outmatched by Heights. Not to take anything away from the Eagles. Coach Willie Hall had his team ready to go. On defense, Brack played 8 in the box, effectively taking the Mules running game out of play. While Heights made numerous substitutions on the night and did not show any special plays to the Killeen scouts in attendance, the Mules hoped to finish out the game on a stronger note…and they did.

With Mills icing his hand, the Mules started the third quarter behind Elder. The first drive was crisp Alamo Heights football. With tremendous pass protection on third and eleven, Elder passed to Zach Richter (look for that combination a ton next year) and on a great option read, Elder scampered for 25 on another third and three. Rosenthal carried it in from the 9 and the Mules were up comfortably 28-0 with 7:55 left in the third question. The defense got their first dose of how explosive Culpepper can be. He found daylight and ran for 50 yards with Jack Newman making a great stop. Newman and Tyler Elloriaga later combined for a fourth down stop. The Mules took over at the 1 yard line and had a terrific drive – finally running the ball with Rosenthal and Elder, who took one tuck for a 50 yard gain. However, a tipped pass led to a turnover with 14 seconds left in the third quarter. Quarter: Heights 28, Brackenridge 0.

The fourth quarter was a quick quarter due to the running clock. With such a lead, the referees have discretion to let the clock run on incomplete passes and out-of-bounds runs. In the quarter, Mitchell Dan broke up a deep pass forcing the Eagles to punt. Kristian Stern's excellent punting and the great down field coverage continued. The defense held Culpepper in check and Stuart Biltz had his second interception of the night. Scotty McIntyre made a nice catch and on Heights last possession, our own Willie – William Thompson broke free down the middle for a 17 yard touchdown run. Finally, "The King," Andrew Forney, kicked the extra point and a kickoff into the endzone. Final: Heights 35, Brackenridge 0.

On the evening, the defense was spectacular. Through Culpepper ran for 197 yards, the defense contained in the red zone. Brackenridge, playing with a backup quarterback, was 0 for 13 in passing and the defense came up with three interceptions. On offense, the running game was effective in the second half, once the passing game was established. Mills and Elder threw for a combined 261 yards and Elder led the team in rushing with 81 yards. Bryson Marshall and Sam Hall had big nights catching the ball. The kickoff coverage and punt teams were excellent as well. By the time the game ended, it was easy to see that Heights dominated on both sides of the ball.


LOOKING AHEAD

Killeen Kangaroos

Looking Back – No that is not an error in the posting. Before we can look ahead, we must look back. Quick Quiz – In the first round of the playoffs last year, who did the Mules play? If you answered "Brackenridge Eagles," you would be correct. In the second round of the playoffs last year, who did the Mules play? If you answered "Killeen Kangaroos," you would be correct. The prize for answering both questions correctly? A drive to Dripping Springs for round two of the 2009 4A, Division I, Playoffs.

Suffice it to say that as soon as the playoff brackets started to take shape (the night of the Steele game), the Mules' coaching staff and the seniors returning from last years varsity squad circled the potential second round matchup (which may have explained some of the sluggishness in the first round this year). In case you don't recall, on a cold, dark November night in Round Rock, the Mules 2008 season came to an end. The Mules spotted Killeen 19 points before halftime and looked to be defeated going into the locker room. Heights reeled off 16 straight points in the second half, including two 2 point conversions, to pull within three. Heights appeared to have held Killeen on a 3rd and 4 with a couple minutes left in the game and Killeen punted on fourth down, apparently giving the Mules the ball at the 35. With all the momentum, Mules fans were excited that they had the ball and a chance to drive the field. BUT, offsides was called on the punt, giving Killeen a first down and allowing them to run out the clock. Though The Mule Fan unfortunately recalls every painful second of those final moments, you can check on the 2008 posting of that game if you still crave more information. Don't be mistaken – Killeen was a great team and executed a terrific game plan all night. No sour grapes. They won the game and moved on in the playoffs. However, we must "look back" to be able to "look forward" when discussing this matchup.

The bad news is that Killeen returns 13 starters from last year's club – seven on offense and six on defense. The offense is led by QB Michael Cummings and RB Jaquil Haskins. Last year, Cummings ran and threw for over 1000 yards each. The defense returns two of last years defensive backs, including all district Brandon Howard and linebacker Marcellus Lee, the leading tackler. Like the Mules, Killeen was the second seed in the large team bracket – with both of the top teams in both districts (Steele and Lake Travis) going large.

Killeen started the year with four tough non-district games, going 3 and 1. Killeen opened district play against Austin Lake Travis, the State's #1 ranked team. While Killen lost the game 56-31, this was the closest game Lake Travis had all year. Killeen has since reeled off six straight wins, including a 49-26 victory over Austin LBJ in the first round of the playoffs.

Season Statistics? You've come to the right place thanks to the internet. Killeen scored almost 40 points a game this season, led by Junior QB Michael Cummings who threw for 2201 yards and 20 touchdowns. On the ground, Heights will have to contain running back Haskins, who ran for 800 yards and QB Cummings who himself ran for 630 yards. Cummings spreads the ball around very well. Brown and Baker had 35 and 32 catches respectively, while Sylvester caught another 22 passes. These receivers are very tall and fast, and Killeen has scored points quickly on long plays. The Heights backs better have on their jumping shoes. The Roo defense gave up a lot of points to Lake Travis but held other teams to around 21 points per game. The Mules will need to be focused and play with intensity to give themselves a chance to play with this talented, quick team. They cannot afford to spot Killeen 19 points this year, that's for sure.

Game Time: Friday Night 7:30 p.m. in Dripping Springs.

A Few Words with the Head Coach of the Mules – Don Byrd
November 17, 2009

Mule Fan: The Mules defense pitched a shutout and the offense puts up over 400 yards against Brackenridge to advance which is what it’s about this time of year. Turnovers would have been the only thing that one would think you weren’t happy with.

Coach Byrd: Yeah we played real well the majority of the time. It’s just this time of year you get a little nervous when you see the ball not being taken care of so we had four turnovers and we’ve got to get that corrected. Also we had some silly penalties that we’ve got to get straightened out. But the effort is there and we live for another week so it was a good day for Alamo Heights.

Mule Fan: Justin Rosenthal shouldered a big load against Kerrville and Steele but didn’t have as many carries against Brackenridge. Was that by design to give him a bit of a rest or was the defense taking away the run by stacking so many in the box against the Mules?

Coach Byrd: They took the run away from us a little but I wanted to give him a rest and look at some of the other things and highlight some of the other parts of our offense. We were going to try to see what we could do to refine some of the passing game and things like that. So that was the reason behind that.

Mule Fan: So next up are the Killeen Kangaroos and a rematch of last year’s game which we all know ended the Mules’ season in 2008. Alamo Heights spotted Killeen 19 points and put together a rally but fell short by 3. Turnovers played a big part in that game which we know was frustrating because it was a winnable game. Have you used that specific game film this week in preparation for this week’s game?

Coach Byrd: We haven’t used it as much in that respect. We’ve just shown them how they line up. We’ve talked a lot about turnovers. It was easy after this last game to mention it. We’re going to have to protect the football. They’re a very good football team. Last year they went to the regional finals and were beaten by Lake Travis I believe. That gave them a lot of confidence. That gave them a big boost to their program. They’re feeling good about themselves so we’re going to have to go out and play well to get a victory this Friday.

Mule Fan: They’re pretty similar to Heights in that they had a lot of returning starters from that team, something like seven on offense and six on defense. What are the biggest differences between what you know about this year’s Killeen team and what we faced a year ago?

Coach Byrd: Their quarterback last year was just a sophomore. Now as a junior he’s throwing the ball much better than he did last year. Their defensive line seems to be much more physical than they were last year. And they’re just a very athletic team. Again the other thing I noticed is that they’re playing with a lot of confidence from having success last year.

Mule Fan: Their quarterback, Michael Cummings, appears to be very multi-dimensional with good numbers running and passing the ball. Any similarities between him and say a QB like Johnny Manziel at Kerrville?

Coach Byrd: They’re both just dangerous with the football in their hands whether they’re running it or getting ready to throw it. They’re both the ones that make their offense click. Killeen just has some more weapons that he can go to than Kerrville had.

Mule Fan: As coaches, what do you guys do as you continue through the playoffs to get these players really dialed in to what their mission is for the coming week?

Coach Byrd: Well our main mission right now is “good isn’t good enough”. You have to become great. There’s no margin for error. That has to happen on the practice field. That has to happen with their attitude. So those are some of the things we preach. But they understand that over half the state two weeks ago put up their pads and half of whoever is left over put their pads away last week. And it’ll be divided again by half so you’re going to have to play great football to continue to play.

Mule Fan: You always say that you play the way you practice. So how has this week’s workouts been going?

Coach Byrd: We’ve had two very good days of practice. There’s been great weather. I think these players realize that we didn’t bring our best game last year up to Round Rock to play them so they’re hoping to correct that.

Mule Fan: So specifically speaking what are the keys to beating this Killeen team this week?

Coach Bryd: The key to beating them as we talked about earlier is turnovers. We’ve got to protect the football and it would be nice for us to get some turnovers. We did once or twice last year against them it seems like but we had some bad field position a lot of the game too. So turnovers is number one. Number two is that we’re going to have to execute, keep them from having the big play, we’re going to have to be able to run the ball and do some things to keep their offense off the field.

Mule Fan: There are always a lot of bumps and bruises towards the end of the regular season but this is the time of year where you tend to look past those things. Is everyone feeling relatively healthy going into this week’s game?

Coach Byrd: Yeah I think everybody is doing as well as can be expected. That just happens this time of year. But I’m sure the same thing has happened up in Killeen and to all the other teams that are continuing to play. So we’re just going to have to shake it off and get the most out of each play that we can.

Mule Fan: We know that our District 27-4A has been considered one of the toughest in the state. Killeen plays in a district with Lake Travis which is obviously challenging. What kind of talent and competition have they faced all year long in your opinion?

Coach Byrd: The top two or three teams in their district are very good football teams but it drops off tremendously. I think they’re just in a six team district too but I could be wrong. The main difference is that the bottom of their district is not as good as some of the ones that ended up in the bottom of ours. It’s been a mental grind. We’ve had to come out and play week in and week out.

FAN SUPPORT

This is a big game folks. Not that last week wasn’t a big game but since you all live close enough to Harry B. Orem Stadium to hit it with no more than a driver and a nice crisp two iron we didn’t feel compelled to have to push. We need folks this week. Take the nice scenic drive up 281 to 290 and get in that Dripping Springs stadium and help us make some noise for these boys. The travelling Mule Fans were a little lonely last year sitting up there in Round Rock playing these guys. And they noticed it down on the bench we can assure you. So really, unless you’re scheduled for surgery or a meeting with an IRS agent on Friday night, load up the kids, pack some ice cold Dr Peppers and put in a Jethro Tull 8-track and get up there! What’s better than a Texas high school football playoff game on a cool November night?


Killeen Playoff Tickets on Sale

Get your tickets in advance for this week’s hugely important playoff clash between the Mules and the Killeen Kangaroos. Tickets will be for sale at the Alamo Heights Athletic Office for the playoff price of $7 for adults and $4 for students (kinder through 12th grade). All tickets at the gate will be $8. Selling hours this week:
Wednesday 8:00 - 9:30; 1:30 – 5:00 Thursday 11:00 – 4:30 Friday 8:30-noon and 1:00-2:30

Mules Playoff Radio: ESPN 1250 The Zone

We need fan support in Dripping Springs this week. If you can come to the game, please do. But it you cannot make it you can follow the action on ESPN AM 1250 The Zone. Airtime for the pre-game show this Friday is at 7:00 p.m. Ed Suarez and Dave Parker will call all the action. Please say thanks and patronize all of the generous sponsors.

Mules Action Photos-Get your very own for a forever memory!

Thank you for supporting Dulce Design Photography
Mary Candee 210 241-3112
http://www.dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com/
Your Community Photographers - Your Personal Photographers

We are the EYE of the MULE!

Fly on the Wall Series

This week the Mule Fan hired a highly skilled camera crew to go down to the Mules' bench to catch a little candid footage of sideline activities. Once again we must notify you that the Mule Fan camera crew includes a group of very short sound men and therefore the microphone is pointed at everyone's knees. For better effect, please turn your computer speaker's volume up a little.