Looking Back:
Mules Turnover Win to O’Connor Panthers in Double OT
“Heartbreak Hotel”
Mule Fans checked into Farris Stadium Saturday night for the 2011 Mules season opener. They were part of the 3,969 faithful to bear the sizzling summer heat to witness Game One of 2011. The Alamo Heights Band, Spurs, Cheerleaders, fans, coaches and players were all waiting to see what kind of team do we have this year?? As the tradition has evolved at Heights, Game One is always an eye opener and our worthy opponent is typically bigger, stronger, faster - and 5-A. The scheduled test usually provides great insight as to the talent we possess and our level of preparedness.
Immediately upon kickoff our eyes were opened. The O’Connor Panthers offense started fast, found some holes, and it looked like the Mules defense would be in for a long night chasing Panthers. No sooner than Mules defense warmed up to the Hot August night, they also dialed in, stiffened up, made adjustments and plugged the holes to stop the Panthers and force a punt.
Blake Rosenthal returned the punt to the Mules 24-yard line, giving the Mules decent field position. Opening game jitters for the Mules offense are also a little bit of a tradition at Alamo Heights and tonight would be no different. A couple missed blocks, a few hesitations, and a quick pass from QB Dub Yarborough to Truman Biggs that went incomplete, and the Mules were promptly returning the favor and punting the pigskin back to the Panthers.
With the opening jitters behind us the defense found their groove and Skylar Nelson, Blake Klumpp, Nick Uretsky and company let the O’Connor faithful know they were in for a long night at the Heartbreak Hotel. A quick 3-and-out put the ball back in the hands of the Mules offense and fellow QB Wes Yancy lead the team back out onto the field to begin their drive from their own 37-yard line. The Panthers obviously had done some serious scouting and keyed on Andy Brooks all night long – making it difficult to advance the ball with our running game.
On 3rd down and 6 Yancy found Truman Biggs on a slant over the middle for 17 yards and a first down. Yancy would go on to complete three more passes; one to John Geibel, one to Truman Biggs, and finally a 7 yard strike to Garrett Iverson in the endzone for the Mules first touchdown of the season. Matt Kelley added the extra point and the Mules were feeling good with a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Mules defense came out strong in the second quarter and forced the Panthers to punt, but a bobbled reception gave the ball back to the Panthers deep in Mules territory. Once again, the Mules defense held their ground as Nick Uretsky, Coby Bailey and Garrett Voss pushed the Panthers 3 yards back, forcing a 37-yard field goal. While the defense was doing their job, the “O Line” received some gentle encouragement from Coach Norment on the sideline after a couple of poor series that spotlighted some missed blocks which resulted in stuffing Brooks and sacking the QB’s. Norment’s direction immediately turned into some great blocking and several pancake blocks served up by Jake Molak and Carl Stephens. Sam Peacock and Daniel McCarty also took care of their assignments and the Mules began to find a nice stride. With time running out QB Wes Yancy handily moved the Mules downfield to the Panther 10 yard line. Just when it looked like the Mules would score, a fumble ended the drive (Heartbreak) and sent the Mules into halftime with a 7-3 lead.
At halftime, the fans went below the stadium to try to get a bottle of water and some relief from the oppressive heat. The Mule Fan found this guy near the concession stand!
Andy Brooks received the opening kickoff of the 2nd half and brought the ball out to the 30-yard line. Unfortunately, Andy came up limping and was forced to leave the game with a knee sprain, but he is expected to make a speedy and full recovery. Coby Bailey came over from his cornerback position to replace Brooks and did a great job carrying the ball for the Mules for the remainder of the game. Dub Yarborough took over at quarterback and moved the ball downfield with three successive passes to Truman Biggs. After a scramble down to the 7-yard line, Yarborough found Garrett Iverson open in the endzone for his 2nd touchdown of the evening pushing the Mules lead to 13-3 with 9:00 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Yarborough was 6-11 for 129 yards and two TDs.
After the kickoff the Panthers tried to establish some offence. The Mules defense turned into a cyclone fence corralling the Panthers offense and leaving them scratching their heads. Nick Uretsky, Blake Klump, Luci Vizza, Aarron Rogers and Warren Monnich helped to shut down the running game while Garrett Voss, Ben Bass, Rosenthal, Kevin Kujawa, and Matt Kelley teamed up to hold the Panther passing game to 105 yards - less than one third of the Mules passing yards. An attempted Panther field goal careened off the left upright and was no good, sending the bruised Panthers back to their bench to lick their wounds.
It was now Yancy’s turn to lead the Mules and he started off the series with a bootleg pass to Cole Bailey for 23 yards. Three plays later Yancy connected with Biggs for another 18 yards. Running back Coby Bailey found a hole off-tackle and scampered 15 yards down to the Panther 16-yard line. After a couple of Mules false starts moved the ball back to the 21, Yancy found Cole Bailey open in the flat where he shook off one tackle and twisted his way down to the 2-yard line before being knocked out of bounds. Just when it looked like the Mules would score, a fumble stopped the drive at the one. The replay later showed that Yancy actually recovered the fumble, but the referees felt sorry for O’Connor and determined that the fair thing to do was give the ball to the Panthers. Heartbreak! This just made the Mules defense mad and they came out and stopped O’Connor in their tracks. Big hits by Garrett Voss, and Luci Vizza held the Panthers negligible gains. On third down and six, Alex Johnston threw the O’Connor QB down in the endzone for an apparent safety, but after much confusion and discussion, somehow the refs ruled the play an incomplete pass. Heartbreak!
The lucky Panthers were forced to punt from deep in their endzone and Garrett Iverson (Ivy) returned the punt to the Panther 29-yard line where Dub Yarborough took over. Two plays later, as Yarborough scrambled to his right, Biggs released downfield and caught a short pass that he ran downfield for the Mules third touchdown of the evening. After the extra point, it looked like the Mules were in command 20-3 with just under 10 minutes left in the game. Truman came to the sideline with a twisted ankle, but still finished the night as the metro area’s top receiver with 9 catches for 167 yards.
Then began proverbial pendulum shift from Panther heartbreak to Mule heartbreak. Deep into the 4th quarter the heartbreak shift began to stun everyone on the east side of Farris stadium. Turnovers and missed assignments began to deteriorate the 17-point lead, and before we knew it the game was tied 20-20 and we were headed to overtime. Each team would get the ball at the 25-yard line with the opportunity to drive for a score. After stalling on our first offensive possession in OT, our defense went out and shut down the Panthers on their possession. Now it was Double Overtime and the tension in the air was thick and for a short time, we all forgot about the sweltering heat. Our next possession was a thing of beauty ending on a one-yard strike from Yancy to Iverson and topped off with the Kelly’s extra point for a 27-20 lead. Iverson had a big night with 5 big receptions for 90 yards and 3 TDs. Likewise, Yancy also had a great game at QB where he was 12 of 16 passing with two TDs and 42 yards rushing.
The Panthers came onto the field for their 2nd OT possession and quickly scored to pull within one point, 27-26. After some coach discussion the Panther offensive unit was sent back onto the field for the go for broke two-point attempt. We stop’em, we win. We don’t, we head back to Broadway on a very quiet bus. The Heartbreak transformation was quickly made complete. The Panthers completed a pass to break our hearts, send us home on the quiet bus 0-1 as they head back west jubilantly 1-0.
After a Hot August Night the Mule Fans checked out of the Heartbreak Hotel. Yes we beat ourselves and yes the better team did not win. I also think the heat got to the referees as they ruled in favor of O’Connor on three big calls that would have each led to a Mules victory. Garrett Voss’ interception in the endzone near the end of the game was ruled out of bounds, but film review showed that he was clearly in. Also, Wes Yancy’s fumble recovery and Alex Johnston’s safety were added heartbreaks.
But once again, after Game One, we all have a pretty good idea of what kind of ball club we have and we look forward to Friday night and defending our home field against the Clark Cougars. Not to worry Mules Fans, we have lost the season opener on several of our most accomplished football seasons, including the Mules State Championship run in 2006. Preseason is just that – preseason. Preparing and improving for district play is what counts. This Mules team has all the tools with some of the best talent we have had in awhile. It’s going to be a great season!
A HUGE thanks to fellow contributor and ghost writer Carter Speer for his contribution to this week's blog.
Chirps from the Byrd – Head Coach Byrd, that is:
Mule fan: What were some of the things that you saw that kept us from winning on Saturday night?
Coach Byrd: Its’ a shame - we had about nine things that went wrong on Saturday night, and if just one of them had gone right, we would have won the football game. The first thing is five turnovers. We’ve got to protect the football. For us to lose by one point and have that many turnovers is remarkable. So that’s something we’ve got to have figured out for this next week. We had a few plays for negative yardage and some sacks that we’ve got to get cleaned up. We did not run the ball as well as we needed to; they were giving us a lot of different stunts inside. I thought that was going to be a highlight with the linemen we have back this year, but we’ve been playing some of them on both sides of the ball, offense and defense, and we weren’t as crisp as we needed to be. But having kids learning different positions early in the season is something we need to do to be a good team, even if it hurts us some in the early games.
Mule Fan: What were your thoughts about some of the questionable calls made by the referees on Saturday night?
Coach Byrd: That’s very hard for me to comment on. Years ago when I first was an assistant coach here, I learned that we weren’t going to make mistakes and then blame the refs. Whatever happens on the field is in Alamo Heights control. We don’t want to rely on the official’s calls to determine the outcome of the game. But, this is one of the few games that I do think it had an impact on the outcome. Now as I told the boys, we should never have put the officials in a situation to make calls like that. We should have taken care of business early. These officials had an overtime game Friday night and then our double overtime game on Saturday. Both were probably the two hottest days of the year, and that’s the first time they have been out in the heat like that. In talking with the official about the safety, which I thought was a safety; the official threw his flag, thinking it was intentional grounding. But the league changed the rule, so if there is a receiver nearby its not grounding. Once he threw the flag for grounding he basically ruled that the quarterback got the ball off in time. So it was very hard for me to argue “never mind it wasn’t grounding, but the quarterback was in the grasp”. But I still think it was a safety. Then the interception by Voss in the endzone was obvious. I don’t understand how he blew that call. But with all that said, I have the utmost respect for the officials. Believe me that is the toughest job there is out there.
Mule Fan: What did you think about playing two quarterbacks?
Coach Byrd: I was proud of both of them and how they played. Everyone has been so worried about having two quarterbacks and we need to pick one and stuff like that. It doesn’t scare me a bit. If we are a total program, it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is, especially when we have two talented men like we have. If it’s that big of a deal who plays and we’re relying on one person no matter what, then that’s not a real program, it’s just a bunch of athletes.
Mule Fan: I see we have a couple of new coaches this year.
Coach Byrd: Yes we have two new outstanding coaches this year. Terroll Dillon is coaching our defensive secondary. He went to Southwest High School, played at the University of Texas, and brings a lot to the table. Dean Herbort is working with our tight ends. He was the head coach at Fredericksburg and he a great job there. I think this is probably the strongest coaching staff we’ve ever had at Heights. Not only are they outstanding football coaches, but they’re great educators in the classroom and they’re good people and they’re great role models. If you look at the four years that these coaches are working with the kids, there are a lot of special moments and they’re there for them and they are committed to what’s best for your sons.
Mule Fan: At the end of the game in regulation when the score was tied, did you consider trying a field goal instead of passing into the endzone?
Coach Byrd: Yes we thought about it, but we are very young at kicker. Two of our kickers haven’t been in the football program until this year. I thought about it and I try not to put them in such a pressure situation that early in the season. The kick was deeper that what we have been really working on in practice. We’ve been concentrating on extra points and short field goals up to this point. Once you have a bad experience with pressure situation like that, sometimes it can carry over into a couple of games. Right now, early in the season, we need to make sure things are positive in our kicking game.
Mule Fan: Thanks Coach and we look forward to Friday night at home against Clark.
Mules Tribute to Sam Dibrell:
You may have noticed a small round sticker on the back of each player’s helmet on Saturday night. Last Friday after 4th period practice, the coaches told the boys to place their helmets in their lockers with the backs facing out. When the boys came back for afternoon practice, they found that the coaching staff had placed a sticker on each helmet in memory of former Mules wide receiver Sam Dibrell, #82. As many know, Sam was killed on a one-car rollover this past June south of Freer.
Sam was a senior captain of the 2006 Mules State Championship team and holds the school record for receiving with 154 catches for 2,629 yards. In his senior, state championship year Sam was First-Team, All-State with 92 catches for 1,556 yards. He went on to play college football at the University of North Texas.
Sam was a young man who loved life and had a way of bringing sunshine into every room. He was kind and generous and he loved everybody. He had an infectious personality that people just gravitated to. He is deeply missed by his family, his friends, his former coaches, and by the Alamo Heights community.
Mules JV Tames the Panthers:
The Mules defense set the tone from the opening drive in this game. A scoreless first quarter was highlighted by sacks from Zach McConnell and Jaun Alvarez. Ben McSween had a big stop in the backfield on 3rd down to force a punt. Good special teams play also helped with field position in the quarter. Jay Hargrove had a nice punt and the coverage was great from the punt team.
The offense got rolling in the second quarter. Scott Uhl hit Kalen Brockwell in stride for a 56 yard TD pass. Later Uhl scrambled for a 34 yard TD run. When Kalen returned to the QB spot he hit Christian Lalinde for a 28-yard TD pass. It was not all offense in the quarter, however. Moses Diaz broke up a long pass on 4th down; Conner Bibb recovered a fumble and Ted Zazula had an interception. Most impressive however was the Mules had no penalties in the first half of their first game.
The defense did not rest in the second half and opened with a good stop by Adam Luna; a huge sack by Conner Gates and another Zazula interception. The special teams highlight came in this half as Hargrove booted another punt and Brandon Wasson crushed the return man for no gain.
A great start for the JV team, see you at Clark.
Looking Ahead:
AH Mules vs. the Clark Cougars
The Clark Cougars will venture into ’09 this Friday night to try to avenge a close 33-29 loss to the Mules last season. It was a back-and-forth match between two evenly matched teams. This year should also be an exciting matchup. Clark will be hungry for a win after not playing to their potential in last week’s Gucci Bowl loss to rival Churchill.
Clark is another big 5-A school with big 5-A players. It may look like it’s their basketball team that walks out onto the field Friday night as a big number of Clark’s players are 6’2” or better. Clark’s quarterback, Josh Kern, is 6’5” and a second year starter. Kern, a top recruit, has already committed to Arizona. His favorite targets will be wide receiver and fellow giant Brandon Yates who is also 6’5”, and 6’4” tight end Alex Hunter.
The Cougars defense is built around senior linebackers Manny Menezes and Nathan Barrientez. Also keep an eye out for Makeba Henderson, a 6’2” defensive end with 4.7 speed and quickness.
Friday night will be our first home game of the season and it is also senior parent night. As the Mules rebound from last week’s nail-biter, they will need all the fan support they can get. So come on out to the field and bring your family, friends, and neighbors to Friday Night – Alamo Heights Style. It should be a great football contest again this week. See you there!
