It was throwback night on Friday as the Canyon Cougars brought their smashmouth style of offense to Harry B. Orem Stadium to face the Mules in a district showdown that ended with Mules on top 14-10. With the win, the Mules are now 3-0 in district play and essentially a lock for the playoffs.
Behind a big offensive line, the Cougars lined up in a 3-back Power-I offensive backfield. Their strategy was to blast it up the middle, pick up first downs and chew up the clock. After going three and out on their first drive, the strategy worked on Canyon's 2nd drive as they chewed up a majority of the 1st quarter on a 50 yard drive that took 14 plays before they scored to take a 7-0 lead.
But the Mules responded right back. After a pop fly kickoff was mishandled by the Mules, they maintain possession and started their second drive of the evening at their own 32 yard line. Behind some big runs by Andy Brooks and scrambles by QB Wes Yancy, including one for 22 yards, the Mules easily advanced the ball down to the Cougar 3-yard line. Two plays later the Mules would even the score on a 3-yard pass from Yancy to Truman Biggs. After the extra point by Luke Donnelly was good, Yancy walked off the field feeling a pain in right knee. Later, Mules fans would notice Yancy on the trainer’s table and a doctor examining his knee. He would spend the rest of the game on the sidelines cheering his teammates.
As the 2nd quarter clock wound down, the Mules were unable to put together another offensive drive and were forced to punt from their own endzone, giving the Cougars good field position at the Mules 38 yard line. With less than a minute left in the half, Canyon decided to go sandlot, heaving two long passes toward the goal line in hopes of a lucky break. They would get that lucky break on the next play. With one second left on the clock, Canyon tried a 49-yard field goal that was missed left, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave them another try. With time expired, they kicked again from 44 yards out and this time it was good, sending the Mules to the locker room trailing 10-7 at halftime.
The Mules came out of the halftime pep talk ready to play ball. The Mules defense again held the Cougars to a quick three and out, forcing another Canyon punt. This time Canyon got the benefit of a good roll and pinned the Mules down at the 4-yard line. Quarterback Dub Yarborough didn’t let 96 yards of real estate intimidate him as he put together an impressive drive that started with a 21-yard scramble up the middle to give the Mules some breathing room at 31 yard line. Then Yarborough went to the air completing two passes to tight-end John Durbin, one an outstretched grab for 27 yards. After a 13-yard reception by John Geibel moved the ball down to the 12-yard line, Robert Schuler finished the drive with a nice run on a screen pass to move the Mules ahead 14-10 with 3:30 left in the 3rd quarter.
Other than the 96 yard drive in the 3rd quarter, the Mules offense would struggle through the rest of the 2nd half. Fortunately, the Mules defense was in top form. Canyon was held to only 112 total yards and 9 first downs. The Mules defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and linebacker Skylar Nelson was chosen as the Express News Player of the week with 22 tackles, a sack and the victory-clenching interception late in the 4th quarter. Other Mules that had had big nights were linebackers Luciano Vizza and Nick Uretsky and defensive linemen Warren Monnich and Frankie Alvarez. Offensively, the Mules need to reign in the small mental errors that lead to missed opportunities. Penalties also continue to plague the Mules. Against Canyon they had a total of 8 penalties that added up to a total of 70 yards.
Like we said last week…a win is a win! And with three district wins in a row, the Mules are on a roll. Next up is Smithson Valley.
District Standings - Week 3
| Won | Lost | ||
| 1 | Alamo Heights Mules | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | Smithson Valley Rangers | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | Buda Hays Rebels | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Clemens Buffaloes | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | NB Canyon Cougars | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Lockhart Lions - Bye | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Kyle Lehman Lobos | 0 | 3 |
| Friday's District Results | |||
| Alamo Heights 17, Buda Hays 14 | |||
| Smithson Valley 41, Kyle Lehman 0 | |||
| Buda Hays 21, Clemens 12 | |||
Chirps From The Byrd – Head Coach Byrd, That Is:
Mule Fan: What was your takeaway from Friday’s game against Canyon?
Coach Byrd: Canyon is a good team and it was an important district win for us. Canyon is a big school and they will probably be 5A next year. Our defense played a great game and they are getting better and better. Canyon was a one dimensional team and they really just tried to run it inside the tackles and that really played into our hands. Offensively, we are not where we need to be. We did not move the ball as well as we should have. We had some busts on assignments and a couple of times we got the wrong play signals. We can really take off as a football team if we can get the offense hitting on all cylinders. Canyon had a good defense. I went back and looked at the film of when they played Smithson Valley. Smithson Valley had 11 first downs and 270 total yards and we had 235 total yards against Canyon. We were behind Smithson Valley in yardage, but it shows you that Canyon has a good defense. Smithson Valley scored 30 points on them on them but they had a 77-yard touchdown pass; they blocked a punt for a touchdown; and they ran back a punt for a touchdown. So 21 points came on just 3 different plays.
Mule Fan: How is Wes Yancy’s knee?
Coach Byrd: Fortunately, it’s not his ACL, which is a good thing. And it doesn’t look like it’s a real bad tear. Tomorrow he is planning on having it scoped. He could be back in 2 to 4 weeks. If they get in there and find that it’s torn worse it will be 8-12 weeks.
Mule Fan: I know you are sad about the loss of Ben Schmidt.
Coach Byrd: Yes, Ben was neat young man. And a fine young man who proudly served our country. He played football here in 2005, the year before we won State. He was a defensive back. A neat thing happened here yesterday (Monday). I’m here at the office and Debbie Chesney brings by a young girl who is Ben’s girlfriend from California. I think they were close to getting married. She said she had heard so much about our football program and about the coaches from Ben and that she wanted to come over and meet everyone while she was here in town. It makes you feel good. You know you don’t realize as coaches what impact you have sometimes until things like that happen. They are a neat family and they are going through a terrible loss. We all pray for them. It’s been a tough year for Alamo Heights with the loss of Sam Dibrell, Eddie Moreno, and now Ben.
Mule Fan: How do you prepare for Smithson Valley?
Coach Byrd: One of the hearts of Smithson Valley is their punt and punt coverage team. They have a great kicker who can get the ball downfield. They block kicks and they have run several kicks back for touchdowns. So we are directing some of our attention to make sure we do well in that area. Offensively, they’ve got a really good running back and a good sized offensive line, with 3 kids right at 300 pounds. But I still think their quarterback is the key. He’s a junior who started last year as a sophomore. He’s the guy we’ve got to stop. He throws the ball pretty well and he has a couple of tough receivers. Defensively, they’ve always been known for their defense. If we go out and execute I think we can move the ball. It’s a great opportunity for our kids. But I think we are catching them at a good time. They haven’t played a hard game in a couple of weeks, so I kind like where we are sitting.
Mule Fan: How do our kids feel their chances are Friday night?
Coach Byrd: You never really know until the game starts, but my best sense is, yes, they are very confident in themselves. That’s three-fourths of the battle when you are going against a big team. The year we won state and the two years after, I thought we had the edge mentally. Our kids would line up and they didn’t care who they were playing. Last year we started weighing out our opponents a little bit. And that is something we have worked hard on in the off-season. I think we are just about there where we say “hey, just put a football down and lets play. I don’t care who it is - we are going to come at you and play hard.” We’ve just to execute better, but I think we are ready to go.
Spotlight on Community Spirit:
As you may have noticed, before last Friday’s game our Alamo Heights football team joined New Braunfels Canyon at midfield to pray together before the game. Upon hearing the news of the recent loss former Alamo Heights football player, Lance Corporal Ben Schmidt to enemy fire in Afghanistan, the players at New Braunfels Canyon approached Alamo Heights about bringing both teams together in prayer before the game. Canyon also recently suffered the loss of one of its former players. It was a moving moment to witness both teams, hand-in-hand, huddled together at midfield to pray and lift up the families and friends of both individuals. It was a classy act by the players at New Braunfels Canyon and the Mule Fan would like to let the Cougars know how much we appreciate and respect their invitation to pray and come together as a community. May God bless the families that have lost their sons and we pray for peace for them during this time.
JV Falls Just Short Against Coogs 14-13
The JV Mules took a trip up I-35 to New Braunfels this week. It was the first time the boys got to play on the new red turf of the Coogs. Not really sure what the boys thought, but I have not seen a bigger waste of paint since my third grade art class. In the end, it was the Coogs and not the field that got the best of our boys. The Mules opening drive stalled but not before Kalen Brockwell completed a long pass to Robert Weigel. Behind a huge offensive line, the Coogs broke a 75-yard touch down run. The Mules blocked the point after. 6-0 Coogs.
On the next drive, Scott Uhl completed long passes to both Lalinde and Weigel before Scott took it in for a 6 yard TD scamper. The PAT was good and the Mules led 7-6.
The next defensive series was marked by a monstrous hit in the backfield by Robert Durbin and a smashing block by Adam Luna on the ensuing punt return. Zach Crumley also had a big hit on that defensive series. The Coogs chewed up the entire second quarter with a long ground churning drive. If I had to watch that offense on that field all year long…….. A missed field goal by the Coogs left the score 7-6 at half.
The Mules ate up most of the 3rd quarter with a long drive of their own but we could not put points on the board. The Coogs broke off another long run and converted the 2 point try and led late in the 4rth 14-7. That was when they fumbled a pitch, the ball was picked up and returned 70 yards for a touchdown. The coaches decided to go for two, the right move since there is no use in playing for a tie in JV ball. Unfortunately we did not complete the attempt and we lost 14-13.
Looking Ahead:
AH Mules vs. Smithson Valley Rangers
Friday, October 14th - 7:30 PM
Smithson Valley Stadium
It’s the district 27-4A showdown between the Alamo Heights Mules and the Smithson Valley Rangers. Friday night will be the battle for district supremacy. Smithson Valley is ranked as the number one Area-4A team and Heights is ranked 3rd. The Rangers will be a tough opponent, but they are coming off a bye week and an easy win over Lockhart, so they haven’t been tested in a few weeks and the Mules have a good chance of catching them off their game. Leading the Rangers offensively is running back Lawrence Mattison, a likely D1 recruit who has compiled 816 yards rushing and 13 TDs so far this season. He is a big tough runner, but he has yet to face a defense as good as the Mules. At quarterback for the Rangers is Parker McKenzie, a junior and two-year starter who runs the Smithson Valley offense very well. Containing both McKenzie and Mattison will be key assignments for the Mules defense. If you haven’t made a game yet this season, this will be the one to attend. We are playing on Smithson Valley’s home turf, so the Mules will need a big crowd to let them know we believe in them for victory. See you there! Go Mules!
SV is a very well coached program and athletic skilled team. AH just needs to compete, and let the chip's fall their way.
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