The Mule Fan

Looking Ahead:

Mules Take on Southwest Dragons

Friday, September 10th – 7:30 PM

Harry B. Orem Stadium

It’s been another week of rain and wind, very similar to this same week the past several years. At least we don’t have to drive to Laredo on a Thursday night and worry about whether La Barbie and La Ken had crossed the border to visit the peeps. (I’m not sure where I was going with that) Anyway, this week the Mules are at home against yet another 5-A opponent – the Southwest Dragons. Southwest was an early pick to win District 28-5A again this year, but penalties have plagued their first two outings. The Dragons are 1-1 on the season so far, having lost to Warren in their season opener and edging out Lee last Friday night. Southwest has 12 returning starters from last year’s 10-1 team that went to the 2nd round of the playoffs. But at the end of last year Southwest coaching hero Matt Elliot left the Dragons for New Braunfels Canyon. So, offensive coordinator Pete Wagner finds himself at the helm this year. The Dragons return a big, strong offensive line but they lost a lot speed from last year which could have an effect on their bread and butter - the running game. Southwest runs a three-back type formation, along with a Power I. They use a lot of fakes and misdirection to lead their running attack. The Mules will again need to be on top of their game. It should be a great contest. Bring your friends, family, neighbors, and come support the Mules this Friday at 7:30 pm on our own home field. See you there!

JV Mules vs Southwest Dragons - Thursday 9/9

Southwest High School - Loop 1604 at Pearsall Road - one mile north of southwest IH-35.

JV-B plays at 5:00

JV-A plays at 6:30

Link to map directions to stadium.

Freshmen Mules vs Southwest at Home - Thursday 9/9

B-Team plays at 5:00

A-Team plays at 6:30

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. Show your Mule spirit by having your children's faces painted. Liz, the face painter, will be at La Fonda from 5:30 till 6:30 to add a little spirit to the 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.

Mules on Twitter:

OK, the Mule fan editors have been baffled by the tweet. But we’re working on fixing the bugs in the system. Twitter is a great way to follow the Mules and stay up on all the latest Mules announcements. Sign up at www.twitter.com/mulefanblog and we’ll keep you informed of Mule Fan blog postings, pre-game get togethers, etc. Activate Twitter on your mobile phones as well!

Mules on the Radio:

Don't forget, if you can't get to the game on Friday night, you can listen to it on ESPN 1250 AM. Dave Parker and Ed Suarez will be bringing you all the action!!!!!!!!!

Looking Back:

AH Mules vs Clark Cougars

"As the momentum turns"

If you missed this one, you missed a Barn-Burner. The momentum swung back and forth all night, with both teams fighting until the end. Our hat (helmet) goes off to Clark as they battled and answered back all night. But the Mules just kept pouring it on. In the end, the Mules won 33-29 and moved to 2-0 for the season.

The Mules were first to put points on the board as they capped their opening drive with a 33 yard field goal by Kristian Stern to make it 3-0. On Clark’s next possession, the Mules forced them to punt with a 4th and long due to a Dean Meyer sack on 3rd down. Meyer is fast becoming a go-to guy on the Mules as he now trades playing time at both running back and linebacker. After a quick strike to Richter on the first play, Steven Elder connected with David Cantu on a 30 yard touchdown pass to put the Mules up 9-0. (Point after was blocked). It didn’t take long for Clark to respond as they returned the ensuing kick off for a touchdown to make it 9-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Andy Brooks started the 2nd quarter with a 25 yard run, and he would tack on more later and finish the game with 11 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown. The drive ended with another Stern field goal from 35 yards out to make it 12-7. Clark put a drive together that put them in the end zone, and after going for 2, the Cougars were now out in front 15-12. The last few minutes of the 1st half were action packed. The Cougars held the Mules to 3 and out, and with less than 2 minutes left in the half, Clark score to make it 22-12. This fired up our boys, and after the kick off and a quick 20 yard pass from Elder to Cantu, and a 25 yard pass to Richter, the Mules found themselves on the 10 yard line with 34 seconds left. The familiar connection of Elder-Richter put it in the end zone to close the gap. The Mules trailed at halftime 22-19.

After an entertaining halftime show by the Mules Band, the back and forth continued where it left off in the first half. After holding the Mules on their first possession, Clark used almost all the 3rd quarter to drive the ball for yet another touchdown to make it 29-19 with just under 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Just under 3 minutes proved to be just enough time to put one more score on the board before the 4th quarter. After some solid running by Brooks, and a 15 yard tack on for a late hit, Elder hit Richter from 13 yards out to regain the lead 29-26. Zach Richter would finish the night with 6 receptions for 104 yards with 2 TD's.

The Mules were like a rash that wouldn't go away. Our defense just kept mixing it up and shutting them down. Props to the coaches for the game plan and for keeping the boys focused. As for Elder, he was not only focused, but he took over. Elder was 20 for 30 with 295 yards and 3 TDs, not including his 6 rushes for 98 yards, and most of that was when it really counted during crunch time. On the Mules next possession, Elder led them on a drive that ended with Andy Brooks running in it from the 3 yard line to give the Mules the lead for good at 33-29. Late in the 4th quarter Clark’s final drive was disrupted on 3rd down when Sophomore Blake Klumpp sacked the Cougar QB for a loss. The Cougars had one last chance to win, but with a 4th down on the 30 yard line, Jack Newman knocked the ball down in the end zone to give the Mules the ball back. After some needed first downs by Elder keeping the ball on some options for long runs, the victory formation was the final play called. 33-29 Mules!!

This game showed again that there is no quit in our boys!!! They have battled two 5-A programs and have come out on top. The next step toward the goal is Southwest, and we have them at home next Friday. This is how we roll!!!!

Joey

A Few Chirps from the Byrd - Head Coach Byrd, that is:

Due to the bad weather Tuesday, the Varsity film review was cancelled and so an interview with Coach Byrd was not available. Check back with us next week

JV-A Manhandles Clark 36-6

The JV-A Mules put on an exhibition at Harry B Orem stadium last Thursday evening as they completely dominated the Clark Cougars on both sides of the ball. Not taking anything away from our JV team, but Clark must have pulled all of their talent up to Varsity. It was beatdown from the opening kick-off.

Clark’s first offensive attempt went nowhere and their 4th down punt was blocked by a swarm of Mules. This set up a 35 yard field goal by Matthew Kelly. On the next Cougar offensive series a 3rd down pass was intercepted by Mules safety Ben Bass. On 1st down, Mules running back Coby Bailey (Easy now, I’m not proppin up my kid - my son is Cole Bailey) takes the ball 40 yards before he is run out of bounds at the 5 yard line. QB Kevin Kujawa then takes it 5 yards for the score. The Cougars continued to go nowhere on offense due to great defensive efforts by Aaron Rogers, Blake Rosenthal, and the Mules defensive line who held Clark to no gain, forcing another Cougar punt. The Mules take over under QB Wes Yancy and drive down the field to score under the combination of key receptions by William Foster and tough running by Christian Biedenharn. The Mules led 17-0 at the end of the 1st quarter.

The 2nd quarter gets off to a quick start as Wes Yancy connects with George Mixon on a 35 yard pass, followed by a 21 yard scoring run by Coby Bailey. Clark saved some face in the 2nd quarter as their quarterback made a beautiful pass over the middle for a 35 yard Cougar touchdown. Not to be outdone, on the next set of plays Christian Biedenharn shows his running skills as he takes it 80 yards for a TD. That ended the 1st half with the Mules up 29-6

In the 2nd half the Mules pick up where they left off with Coby Bailey scoring on a 60 yard run. The final insult to injury came late in the 4th quarter when Matthew Kelly intercepted a Clark pass to end the game.

JV-B Dominates in Lightning Called Game 19-0

The JV-B continued the afternoon’s beating. I think the Cougar’s defense was completely distracted by Dan Garcia’s bright yellow cleats, as they were helpless against a strong Mules running and passing game. Robert Lowe accounted for two Mules touchdowns on runs of 35 yards and 40 yards. On the passing side of the game, it was QB Kalen Brockwell to Robert Weigel, who accounted for a touchdown before the game was called at halftime due to lightning. On the defensive side, big plays were made by Charles Stuckey, Garrett Voss and Derrick Patterson.

Freshmen beat up on the Cougars 22-7

The AH Freshmen A Team beat the Clark Cougars 22-7 on Thursday afternoon, barely beating the rainstorm which cancelled the B-Team game. The Mules defense carried the day against a much larger Cougars team, with several key stops including an interception by Ted Zuzula. The Mules scored on a strong run by Justin Latimer and two passing TDs from Scott Uhl to Robert Schuler and Christian Lalinde. Record 1-1 in preseason play.