Looking Back:
What was amazing to me is that we drove for a hour and a half to play our first district game and we were closer to Austin than San Antonio and still in our district!!!! That being said, it was a great night for football and the long drive wasn't in vain. When the final gun sounded, the Mules were 1-0 in district with a 31-6 victory over the Lockhart Lions. In addition, we had no injuries!!!
Won | Lost | ||
1 | Alamo Heights Mules | 1 | 0 |
2 | Smithson Valley Rangers | 1 | 0 |
3 | Buda Hays Rebels | 1 | 0 |
6 | Clemens Buffaloes | Bye | Bye |
4 | NB Canyon Cougars | 0 | 1 |
5 | Lockhart Lions | 0 | 1 |
7 | Kyle Lehman Lobos | 0 | 1 |
Friday's District Results: | |||
Alamo Heights defeated Lockhart 31-6 | |||
Smithson Valley defeated NB Canyon 35-14 | |||
Buda Hays defeated Kyle Lehman 27-14 | |||
Clemens had a bye |
No. | No. | |||||
2 | Kristian Stern | K | 51 | James Uhl | LB | |
4 | Zach Montana | DB | 54 | Jonathan Lalinde | DL | |
5 | Steven Elder | QB | 56 | Tyler Heinemeyer | OL | |
7 | Wyatt Ponton | WR | 58 | Zane Narro | DL | |
12 | Dean Meyer | RB/LB | 60 | Nick Martinez | DL | |
15 | Jai Boatman | DB | 62 | Chris Bernal | DL | |
17 | Armando Rodriguez | DB | 65 | Clinton Campbell | DL | |
18 | Carter White | TE | 66 | Arron Rodriguez | OL | |
19 | Braden Berry | DB | 67 | William Burns | OL | |
20 | Carter Thurmond | DB | 70 | Beau Devine | DL | |
25 | Luke Wakely | WR | 72 | Angel Galvan | OL | |
26 | Travis Feste | TE | 73 | Zack Mullins | OL | |
28 | David Cantu | TE | 74 | Peter Deluna | DL | |
30 | Zach Richter | WR | 75 | Caton Sandoval | DL | |
34 | David Dubinsky | DB | 77 | Ryan Meador | OL | |
39 | George Shaw | LB | 84 | Garret Hisle | DB | |
40 | William Thompson | RB | 87 | Jack Newman | DB | |
44 | Jett Ploetz | WR | 88 | Jonathan O'Brien | DB | |
46 | Anthony Knowles | OB | 89 | Zach Dubrof | LB |
Chirps from the Byrd - Head Coach Byrd, that is:
Mule Fan: What do you expect Friday night against Hays?
Coach Byrd: Hays is a good football team. They are a big team and coach Shelton has been there since the school opened. They have won a lot of football games. Hays took a little step back when they opened the other high school,Lehman, and split their school district. But those growing pains are pretty much over now and they’re becoming a good football team. Their quarterback does a nice job of running their offense. They’ve got three backs that are all pretty good, but I understand that their better back hurt his ankle pretty badly in the last game. Hays is a contender for district playoffs and if we want to be a part of that party then we need to make sure we bring our game this Friday night.
Mule Fan: Can we expect any surprises from Hays?
Coach Byrd: On offense, they run every formation you can think of. They will line up in the wishbone one play and no back the next and then every other formation in between. They don’t run a whole lot of plays but they try to trick you with formations, so we have to be sharp and keep our bases covered with how we line up. On special teams, they have an outstanding kick returner, so we are going to have to make sure that we protect our punter, kick the ball high, then spread out and stay in our lanes as we get downfield. We don’t want to give their returner a chance to catch the ball and get a head of steam behind their blockers.
Mule Fan: Now that we are in district competition, do take advantage of games where you can score a lot of points and run the score high in case there is a tie between teams going into the playoffs?
Coach Byrd: Good question, because if there is a 3-way tie at the end of the season, the tie will be decided by total points. But the UIL has instituted a 17 point limit per game when they look at total points. And that’s a good rule because that keeps teams from running up scores of 60 to 70 points because they fear they might end the season in a tie for district playoffs.
Mule Fan: How is the kid’s demeanor right now?
Coach Byrd: I think it’s good. On offense, we had a great day yesterday and a great 4th period practice today. Defensively, we have had two good days of practice. But I’ve been worried about the defense since Hays gives you so many formations that you spend the whole time figuring how to line up, and then suddenly the ball is snapped and you can find yourself not playing very good football. But they’re getting quicker each day and that’s what you want to see. This is somewhat of a challenging week with all of the distractions. We have had some kids out with illness and it’s the end of the six weeks grading period. On top of that, it’s homecoming week, and tomorrow night is Howdy Night and the bonfire, etc. It’s just keeping the boys focused - that’s the main thing, as we get ready for Hays on Friday.
The only loss the Mules had this evening was the loss of the coin toss! The Mules first series consisted mostly of running plays led by a strong Heights offensive line, opening holes all night for their running backs. It ended with a 23-yard scamper by Coby Bailey into the endzone for a TD. The PAT was good, but the referees could not decide if it was good until Ray Charles hollered from the stands that in fact, it was good! The second series was also positive for the Mules, capped by a 30-yard TD pass from Kevin Kujawa to Matt Kelly. The third series, well, much of the same as Kalen Brockwell found Cole Bailey in the flats for a 51-yard TD pass. The half ended and the Mules were up 27-0. The Mules took the pedal off the gas in the second half and the final score was 33-0.
Defensively, the Mules were very strong. The defensive line, led by Chase Stockton, held the Lions to minimal yardage all night up the middle. The linebackers, led by David Verette, and the Mules secondary kept the Lions from breaking the big play outside. Cole Bailey was huge on punt returns, with returns of 27, 15 and 40 yards. The defensive secondary had 2 interceptions: one by Matt Kelly and the other by Blake Rosenthal. Rosenthal returned his interception 47 yards for a touchdown as he goose stepped his way into end zone!
Freshman A-Team
The offensive and defensive lines led the way to a convincing 35-6 victory of the AH Freshmen A-Team over the Lockhart Freshmen A-Team. The Mules O-Line opened huge holes, paving the way for 5 AH touchdowns. Brandon Wasson scored twice on runs and Scott Uhl scored one TD run and threw a TD pass to Christian Lalinde. Justin Latimer had a 1-yard TD run following a 38-yard punt return. And to boot, Kicker Wesley Sparr, who moved from B-Team up to A-Team kicked 5 of 5 PATS! The Mules defense was equally outstanding, with the D-Line giving no ground and scoring 8 sacks. Max Reimenschneider had 2 interceptions, and Brandon Wasson forced a fumble.
Freshman B-Team
After playing 4 straight 5A teams, the freshman B team finally got to pick on somebody their own size and pick on them they did. A strong run game led by William Faz and a speedy touchdown run around the end by Kaw Ka Pow Htoo were too much for the boys from Lockhart. Jeffrey Dubrof also connected with Riley Zander for a touchdown pass. The defense was equally as impressive. Les Pilcher had a nice interception and Sean Levoyer was laying the big hits. All this resulted in a dominating 18-0 win for the mules.
Looking Ahead: AH Mules vs. Buda Hays Rebels
7:30 PM - Harry B. Orem Stadium. It's Homecoming!
District play continues this Friday night as our Mighty Mules take on the Rebels from Buda Hays. In case you're wondering what a Buda is, Wikipedia defines it as: Buda, in Ethiopian folk religion, is the power of the evil eye and the ability to change into a hyena. Now, isn't that special! In South Texas we call that a Chupacabra! Buda is actually located south of Austin. When you see the big Cabela's store, you have arrived in Buda.
The Buda Hays Rebels come into this week with an overall record of 3-2, and they are 1-0 in district after defeating Kyle Lehman last Friday 27-14. The Rebels have 7 returning starters - 4 on offense and 3 on defense. A key player to watch will be senior Torrance Smith who plays both running back and wide receiver.
JV Mules Travel to Buda Hays
4800 Jack C. Hays Trail, Buda, TX 78610
Thursday, September 30th
B-Team plays at 5:30
A-Team plays at 7:00
Tickets:
Tickets for Friday's Homecoming game are available at the AHHS Athletic office Tuesday through Friday from 8:30am - noon and from 1:30pm -3:30pm. Tickets are $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for students. Note that tickets bought at the gate will be $7.00 for both students and adults.
La Fonda Before and After the Game:
Don't forget to join your fellow Mules fans at La Fonda at Sunset Ridge before and after all Mules games. It's a great place to hang out with friends and get your cheese on before every Mules game. Then head up the street to enjoy Friday Night Football AH style! Also, don't forget that La Fonda is the place to be post game to celebrate the Mules victory! Rick Shaw plans to keep the kitchen open until 11:00 so come by and have a drink and reload the belly.
7th Annual Fenley Trophy Golf Tournament:
Sign-up today for the 7th annual Fenley Trophy Golf Tournament honoring the late great Mules head coach, Gaylard Fenley. The tournament will be held October 15, 2010 at The Quarry Golf club. All of the details are on the attached flyer. All proceeds benefit AHHS sports programs which are supported by the AH Mule Team. Participation and support is not limited to golfers. Tee sign sponsors and auction item donations are also needed. Please send to any alumni, parent, vendor or prospective supporter. Thank you in advance for your support and help getting the word out.
Mule for A Day: Punt, Pass and Kick:
Come join the AH Varsity Football Team for an afternoon of fun and games and to form the Spirit Line at the home game against Smithson Valley.
Sunday, October 3, 2010 - AH Football Stadium - 2:00 p.m.– 5:00 p.m.Four Year Olds– 5th Grades are welcome.
Many, many thanks to Mary Candee for supplying the Mule-Fan with great photos of the Mules in action. Her photos are available for purchase at www.dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com. The Mule-Fan would like to remind all you Mules football fans out there that Mary works extremely hard to photograph all Alamo Heights sports, so please generously support Mary and order your photos throughout the season. No question - her photos are far better than anything you could take from the stands!
Mules on Twitter:
Go to www.twitter.com/mulefanblog and sign up to follow the Mules and get quick updates on Mules football announcements. Activate Twitter on your mobile phones so you can stay on top of all the action!
Mules on the Radio:
Don't forget, if you can't get to the game on Friday night, you can listen to it on KKYX-680AM. Dave Parker and Ed Suarez will be bringing you all the action! This is a change from AM 1250, which was a much weaker channel. You can also hear the game on the internet live or archived at www.tsrnsports.com Go Mules!