Game Week Update-Boerne Champion

The Excitement Builds for Boerne Champion

-Mule Fan Editorial Staff Cuts Short 'Off Week' Mustache Wax Manufacturers Convention in Ypsilanti, Michigan to Write Game Notes

Next up for the Mules is Boerne Champion at Harry B. Orem Stadium this Friday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m.  Champion comes in to the game sporting a 3-0 record after a 59-37 pasting of Marble Falls at Marble Falls.  Boerne rolled up 485 yards on the ground led by a highlight film filling night from junior running back Travis Pospisil who collected 305 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns including two trips to the pay station of 57 and 43 yards.  Oh, while he was up, Pospisil also caught five passes including three touchdowns and was named Offensive Player of the Week by the Express News (I guess so!).  Anyway, the Mule Fan has inquired as to whether Mr. Pospisil’s biology teacher might consider holding him after class on Friday to dissect a newt or something so that he might miss the team bus down IH-10.

The Mule Fan chased up Coach Mike Norment to check in on his observations of the district opener and Boerne Champion.

Mule Fan:  You were in the stands to watch Boerne keep their record unbeaten with a big scoring night.  Most of it was ground game.  What impressions did you come away with in Marble Falls?

Coach Norment:  Well it was a rainy night sort of like the conditions we played them in last year.  The difference between Boerne last year and Boerne this year is that they were able to get into “two tight-two back” and were able to run the ball and were able to do that very successfully.  They had a running back that had over 300 yards and they threw the ball some as well.  They’re more two-dimensional than they were last year.  They can run and pass because that running back had three touchdowns running and passing.

Mule Fan:  Of course they knew you and your staff were in the stands.  Do you think they held back a little bit to not show you everything after they got up to the big score at the half (45-16)?

Coach Norment: No when they had the big lead at halftime they were trying to get out of there with no injuries.  They wanted to run the ball because they had the lead.  They didn’t want to do anything to allow Marble Falls back into the game and started putting a lot of their subs in the second half.  I’ll admit that’s when we left.  It was raining and we didn’t stay there very long.

Mule Fan:  Marble Falls was able to put up some passing yards on them.  What are the keys to attacking Boerne’s defense?

Coach Norment:  Before the Marble Falls game they were playing just a base defense. But against Marble Falls they blitzed a lot more than we’d seen in their previous two games.  That’s causing us to have to work on some other things more than we had the week before.  But that was good.  We were able to work their base defense last week because we saw that on film and this week we’ve been working more on the blitzes that we saw. 

Mule Fan:  What about keys to the game for your defense?

Coach Norment:  We’re going to have to stop the run and be able to play the pass, which is what we do with other teams.  We try to be more than one-dimensional and that causes defenses a bigger problem. 

Go Mules!!!

Eagle Pass 12 Alamo Heights 37 September 13, 2013

MULES DIRTY THE EAGLES’ NEST

Alamo Heights bumped the season record to 2-1 with a handy 37-12 victory over the Eagle Pass Eagles on a lucky Friday September 13 at Harry B. Orem Stadium.  The Mules got off to a very quick start stacking up five scores before Eagle Pass got on the board.  AH scored on all 5 of its first full possessions.  Robert Schuler took a four-yard pass from Dalton Banks early.  Then less than four minutes later, QB Scotty Uhl scampered for 30 yards and six more.  With the clock winking down the seconds in the first quarter, QB Dalton Banks took care of a 24-yard keeper and hit the end zone.  Kicker Robert Carter helped the Mules cause with a 32-yard field goal in the front half of the second quarter and then running back Byron Proctor got his first of two scores with a nine yard run.  He followed that up early in the fourth with an 11-yard touchdown.  Proctor totaled 154 yards on 14 carries to go along with his two TD’s.

Eagles’ QB Ty Chisum showed his athletic ability and challenged the Mules all night.  He gave equal time to wriggling out of the grasp of several Mules defenders and also being swallowed up by the defensive pressure.  He did however run for one touchdown and pass for another.  But credit the Mules withering defense with keeping pressure on the quarterback and not allowing the run which played a key role in tucking away the Mules’ second straight win.  The defense held Eagle Pass to eight first downs and forced seven punts.

“His Inside Voice” 

A weekly discussion with Coach Mike Norment

Mule Fan:  Alamo Heights was impressive in getting its second straight win and popped out quickly to put Eagle Pass in a hole. The defense also did a great job of pressuring and taking away the run.  What were your general thoughts about the victory?

Coach Norment:  We talked about wanting to jump on them early.  So the defense did a great job of forcing three and out and gave the offense great field position and the offense was able to turn that into points on the scoreboard.  Overall we did a great job and did exactly what we talked about.  We were able to get a big lead and so then we were able to coast and get a lot of players into the game.

Mule Fan:  Just on that point Coach, all these kids work hard during the week and hard in the off-season and you get a game like this where you can basically empty the bench.  How gratifying is that as a coach to see these kids get some snaps in a varsity game?

Coach Norment:  As a coach you really fret because all these kids have put in the time and you want all of them to be able to play.  You really do.  Unfortunately you can’t play everybody because of how competitive a lot of our games are.  So it is always great when you can put kids into the game and watch them do a great job and excel.  I was real excited to watch some of these guys actually get in and have great games.

Mule Fan:  In these first three games you’ve had a number of different circumstances, which have caused you to have to put a lot of different lineups and combinations on the field particularly offensively.  Are you comfortable enough with the combinations you’ve seen to know what you’ve got going into district?

Coach Norment:  One good thing is that it has given us some added depth having to make these combinations and get some people some playing time that probably wouldn’t have gotten this much.  So that’s the positive.  The negative is that we really haven’t played as a unit with who I think (all) the starters are.  But the added depth will come in handy.  And like I said in an earlier interview, what I like is getting put into adverse situations and seeing how we respond.  We’ve responded very well to making lineup changes and sometimes it has been the day of the game where we’ve made these changes.  The way they’re responded has been a huge positive and that tells me about the type of kids we have. If in a game something negative happens they’re going to be able to respond and come back and do a good job.

Mule Fan:  How does the routine change during the off week?

Coach Norment:  We’ll still practice but we’ll cut it back a bit.  This is also a great time for the seniors to take college visits.  We’re telling them that if they need to go this is a perfect time because we’re giving them Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off.  The practices will be shorter while we’re here.  Since we don’t yet know a lot about our next opponent we’re being really general to start working on things that we saw we needed to work on from the Eagle Pass game.  Then we’ll start getting some film and breaking it down and start working the game plan working against offenses and defenses that we’re going to see against Boerne Champion.  If they’re banged up or bruised they might be asked to come out and practice a little if this were a regular week.  But we’ll probably give the ones who are banged up a few days off to get healthy and recuperate.

Mule Fan:  The kids are off on Friday but we know the coaches will not be.  How will scouting work this week for you and the staff?

Coach Norment:  Boerne had last week off so they were at our game against Eagle Pass and we’ll be in Marble Falls this week for their game.  That’s the only game from our district this week so we’ll be there.

Mule Fan:  Technology has changed and made it easier to scout with all that is available to you now.  Does it still make a difference to go see a game live and what would you learn seeing a game live that you cannot pick up on game film?

Coach Norment:  Just the feel of the game.  On film you can’t tell if a player gets hurt.  If there is an injury, is it serious or will the player be back the next week? You get a feel for how the team is responding because you can see the sidelines.  Maybe you can pick up something on the sideline that you might not pick up on film.  I still think it is important.  We send our junior high coaches out.  They always scout the team that we’re going to play throughout the year.  They do a great job of getting us the information even though we get the film.  They give us great insight that we can’t always get from film.  And we get film on every team we play in our district.  When we play (Buda) Hays we’ll get nine films.  There is always something you can learn by going and watching though.

Mule Fan:  So describe what will happen this Friday.  How many will you take to see Boerne?  How do you divide assignments?

Coach Norment:  We’ll take quite a few.  For example defense will watch their offense but we’ll help each other out.  If Boerne has the ball then our offensive coaches help the defensive coaches by calling out the different routes they run while they are watching the play develop in general.  More eyes are better.  We’ll get a sense of the size of their players too, which is harder on film.

Mule Fan:  As we record this you have not yet seen Boerne on film.  This is a rivalry game and they have not been here in a while.  They have a new head coach and are 2-0.  Generally speaking what are your views on what they have done and might do differently under a new coach? 

Coach Norment:  Keith Kaiser is the new head coach. He actually coached here in 2001.  I know him very well. He is a great coach and the Boerne players are going to be well coached.  They always have been.  As you said it is a rivalry game and we’ll both be up for each other.  We’ll know more specifics soon but they’ll come here wanting to beat us especially because we did a pretty good job on them last year on their Homecoming game.  I’m sure the revenge factor will be talked about.  And of course having a new coach coming in and trying to build a program it helps to beat your big rival and coach Kaiser knows the rivalry because as I said he was here.  So I expect a really good game.

AH Football Film Night Completes You

The Mule Fan editorial staff will occasionally jump upon the soapbox.  We must climb up to express our opinion and/or seek input about a little privilege we call “AH Football Film Night” held weekly on Monday nights at 7:00pm in the Oaks building on the AHHS campus.  For the uninitiated, this is not a scholarly film review session of the classics.  It is a weekly gathering (or rather it is supposed to be) of player parents, friends and any AH fan to sit down with Coach Mike Norment and get a down-by-down review of each play of the previous Friday night game with his narrative of why things happened the way they did.  It is really fun and you learn a ton!  So far, not many takers.  This is a change from when your humble scribe last foamed at the mouth about varsity football. 

These little sessions used to take place in the visitors locker room with Coach Byrd and were very well attended (not hundreds but enough to make it worth everyone’s time).  We’d put out folding chairs and sit for an hour and get a review of the game from inside the head of the head coach.  Well now the players all have this app called HUDL.  So one who has access to HUDL can have another look even before Monday. That has possibly dented attendance.  Or maybe the ironing is muscling its way into our Monday night agendas.  Monday Night Football is not really a valid excuse.  But it is tough to expect Coach Norment to want to give up time with his family to show film to eight guys every week.  He’s already seen the footage. 

In December of 1980, NBC tried an experiment and aired a game between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins without announcers of any kind; just video and crowd noise.  Obviously it didn’t catch on.  It is really good to have the play-by-play and the analysis.  Having the coach there to teach us about what is going on is really a neat deal.  And by the way, watching in the classroom in the Oaks building (just west of the natatorium) is to the visitor’s locker room what first class is to coach. Let’s get some turnout and keep it going. 

For this coming session only, film night will be on Tuesday, October 1 at 7pm.  Then it returns to the regularly scheduled time slot of Mondays at 7pm.  Obviously no film night during the week of 23 September.

Eating for the Mules at Order Up and EZ’s

You have to eat so why not help the Mules while you do? Two community restaurants have stepped up to support Mules Dine Out Days and there are a few dates remaining in this generous program.   Mules Football earns cash on meals ordered at Order Up in Lincoln Heights and EZ’s at Sunset Ridge.  Go by Order Up specifically on September 24^th (all day) and EZ’s on September 19^th and 26^th (from 5pm-closing).  Write AHHS Football on the back of the receipt and put the receipt in the fundraiser box next to the bulletin board.  We are told that AH Football collects 15-20% of sales that are "dropped in the bucket."

Cliché Corner – Cuz learnin’ is gud!

Impress your friends; baffle your enemies with all this nawlidge.

Choose the football cliché.

A. “The white zone is for the loading and unloading of passengers”

B.  “We had them schemed right”

Answer:  B. To have selected the right game plan for the opponent

A     Mule Fan Staff Airs Dirty Laundry Regarding Off Week

Tug of War with Management to Blame

The suits and board of directors who sit atop this once-heralded publication are at it again.  Understand that your reporter has been through quite a slog with these dopes.  We thought we’d straightened out everything but apparently there are a few loose ends.  Without involving our Mule Fan readers too deeply in the controversy we feel an obligation to give at least a topical view. 

As you know, each season the Mules have an off week and we are there now.  For as long as we can remember our reporting staff has been locked in debate with management about our writing obligations during this time.  Do the readers want the last game recap and coach’s views as soon as possible or do we wait and let the coaches get a more thorough scouting report on the opening district opponent and see pictures about how they spent their “time off?”  Will memories of details from the last game fade and fans really want to move on?  All difficult questions to answer to be sure and the cause of many sleepless nights buy your Mule Fan editor.

But here is how the bozos in our carpeted offices see it.   They demanded that one week’s content is all football and the following week leading up to district, feature our boys lounging at home with their “wives and kids!”  Seriously.  That’s just how disconnected they are from what happens in the field.  We only have a handful of players who are married and they’re already empty nesters.

This publication is a labor of love.  We write in horrid conditions such as candle-lit rooms with no windows with walls covered with soot, slime, coal dust and under a stable-like noxious stench that can makes one’s eyes bleed.  And that is just when we are writing at home!  We will spare you readers the blistering description of our Mule Fan offices and what management considers “palatial digs.”  We continue to wait for the people that rake in the change for our toiling to just say a simple thank you or at least give us a free library card.

So in compromise, we will certainly use our best judgment to time content to your needs and desires during this two-week break between games.  And since our contract requires that we manufacture a certain number of words, we have elected to reprise a feature written before many of you were born back in 2008 about the inimitable Rick Shaw, the Mules public address announcer for 1,036 dog years, Alamo Heights Pool proprietor and former King of the Sunset Ridge La Fonda Beandom. Management fought us on this saying all content had to be original.  Our insistence was that most of you readers weren’t aware of a Mule Fan in those days or cared so it would be “new”.  And that many more of you in those days spent Friday nights at Chuck E. Cheese or blowing up balloon animals with Daisy B.  We lost that argument.  They said it could not be the same.  We caved and yours truly went through and found two typos that were corrected and here we are with a story that is NOT THE SAME (hee hee).

Shaw Ready to Belt Out Another Season of Public Address Calls Amid Controversy 

By Bob Cohen  

(Originally published in the Mule Fan in September 2008)

Radio and TV sportscasters who stay in the business a while will inevitably develop a signature phrase to describe something on the field or court. It’s their trademark. “Holy Cow,” “HOOOLLLLEEE TOOOOLEEDO,” “Oh Doctor,” “He breezed him one more time,” “Turn out the lights, the party’s over,” “That ball is history,” and many others which get burned into our memory.

Public address announcers also chip in a few of their own from time to time. And so it is with Rick Shaw, the long time PA voice of the Alamo Heights Mules. How many Mules is it when a “host of Mules” join in on a tackle? We all know it’s somewhere between two and 11 but that doesn’t matter so much. It’s just good to know Rick’s up there in the press box and it’s a fall evening at Harry Orem Stadium. It’s all good.

But there is one particular piece of announcing which is just this side of crucial to a home Alamo Heights football crowd. It is to a home Alamo Heights football game what free refills are to iced tea, what wax teeth are to Halloween, what the curl is to a Dairy Queen cone. When the chains move for the Mules, what must follow next is Shaw’s trademark. Do I even have to write it? “THAT’S ENOUGH FOR ANOTHER ALAMO HEIGHTS (then the required pause timed precisely long enough for dozens of Mule fans to fill their lungs and complete the statement)….. FIRST DOWN!” Ahhh, just writing it makes me happy. Simple, comforting, reassuring and OURS.

Did he plan it? Nope. The best ones are never planned. They appear like a freckle. Soon they are part of you. The origin is much more ordinary. Shaw, the ’09 restaurateur, AH Pool Czar and one-time sword-toting, plumed-hat wearing emperor of the city for 10 days, is a take charge guy whose voice can rattle windows without a microphone. And in the early days of his proprietorship of La Fonda, it was only every 10 minutes that the kitchen and wait staff heard, “That’s another…ENCHILADA PLATE.”

“We were all this close (holding thumb and forefinger two centimeters from one another) to walking if it went on much longer,” said one employee who wished to remain anonymous. “I’m not joking. It was too much. We’d alternate placing prank calls to Rick just to occupy him on the phone and give us relief. The call from Alamo Heights couldn’t have come a moment too soon.”

As beloved as it is by the majority of Mule fans, talking up first down has not been without its controversies or detractors. As recently as last season, an increasingly vocal group which calls itself “Friends of Second Down” has started to make things a little uncomfortable for Mr. Shaw.

“It takes no chops at all to be a fan of first down. The risk factor is nada,” commented Eddie Huddles, the group’s spokesperson. “With first down, you’ve got four downs to work with and virtually the entire playbook available to you. Third down? Come on, we all know that in this day and age, the last thing quarterbacks and receivers need is their own down but they got one ‘cause they said they needed it.”

What about fourth down? On this subject one could conclude that Mr. Huddles is borderline mean-spirited. “You gonna try and argue fourth down is the most important down? The only people that care about it are punters, deep snappers, return men, their parents and grandparents, people who don’t punctuate text messages and the scoreboard operator who likes to punch the reset button. We don’t like to talk about this too much but we have some sketchy dudes in our organization who have considered setting fire to a stadium all because of fourth down. All the upside is in second down and its high time people came to grips with this.”

“These people are a nuisance,” commented an agitated Shaw, having to be calmed by John Thomas, his trusty spotter of many years. “They’re loonies. It’s as simple as that. I’m hesitant to even talk about them because I don’t want to give them credibility. When they come into La Fonda, the only thing they ever order is hot water. I spent 10 minutes one night trying to convince one that there was no such thing as a coffee cup for people who are left handed! And they always ask if we have square tortillas. They got in Alamo Heights pool once last summer and, well I’m not gonna say what they did but we had to drain the dang pool after it.”

While First Down is clearly something the home fans favor, it occurred to this reporter that the topic might be sensitive to one other group not normally considered irrational or anything approaching the more vocal malcontents. That group is the Defense and parents thereof. Nobody was really comfortable speaking on the record at first but I found one person who insisted on anonymity and couldn’t resist revealing a crackling cauldron of emotions bubbling under the surface.

“Well if you want to know the truth, it’s hard.” said our source. “We suffer in silence. Lookit, I don’t want to take anything away from the offense but our boys work their tails off too. Why should they be made to feel guilty to take the field?”

“Wasn’t Rick a quarterback in his playing days?” the person asked rhetorically. “And his brother Stan was a receiver at Heights wasn’t he? I’m not usually a conspiracy theorist but if you ask me it smells fishy. Why is he so quick to rub it in – every stinkin’ time?”

So sit back fans and know that there is a whole lot more to this PA gig than just down and distance and who made the tackle. Years of being perched high above Harry Orem Stadium have helped Shaw hone his craft. The atmosphere of a Mules home game wouldn’t be the same without him. You can tell he loves it too.

“Shoot I’d do this for free,” proclaimed Shaw when asked how he keeps it up year after year with all his other responsibilities. When reminded that he does do it for free, Shaw simply smiled and said, “It’s all for the blue and gold, long may it wave.”

All Alamo Heights fans appreciate it and hopefully that’s quite enough for a bunch more Alamo Heights first downs!

Mules Open District at Home in Rivalry Game with Boerne Champion

It has been several years since Boerne fans showed their mugs around here.  It was the night of the official celebration of the AH Centennial Year in early October 2009 and one of the biggest crowds in Harry B. Orem Stadium history which witnessed an impressive Mules hammering of Boerne Champion 58-14.  We are expecting another big crowd so arrive early for a 7:30 kickoff on September 27^th.  Those folks from Boerne tend to take a lot of our parking spaces around the neighborhood.  While we are happy to host as many as want to come (after all, we are capitalists), we think they ought to have to walk further than we do-just sayin'.  This ain’t no convenience store or one of them strip malls.

As of this writing, Boerne prepares for a game on Friday the 20^th against Marble Falls and goes into that game with a 2-0 record after wins over New Braunfels and Dripping Springs.  We’ll write some pregame words about Champion in the “Extra” edition next week.

WARNING:  “Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for District.”

Alamo Heights 47 Clark 34 September 6, 2013

Mules Even Record With Win Over Clark

Alamo Heights opened the home part of their schedule with a solid 47-34 win over the Clark Cougars on Friday extending their win streak to four games over the Cougars and leveling their season record at 1-1.  The Mules first win of the young season featured balanced production on both sides of the ball.  Defense opened the scoring with Mitchell Abramson’s first of two interceptions which he toted 24 yards to get the Mules on the board before the offense touched the ball in the first quarter.   The Mules defense forced turnovers and kept pressure on the athletic Cougar quarterback Trenton Ford all night. It also overcame a big rushing night from Clark running back Branden Valle who ripped off 198 yards in 31 carries and a 57 yard touchdown haul in the first period.   Mules quarterback Dalton Banks connected with receiver Robert Schuler for two touchdowns in the first quarter for 18 and 22 yards.  Banks was 13 of 21 or 174 yards and one interception for the game in his second varsity start and spread his passes around to five different Mules led by receivers Schuler, Jake Osborne and Noah Hernandez.  The Mules running attack played a role in opening up the passing offense with senior running back Byron Proctor scampering for 163 yards on 16 carries and three scores highlighted by a 56 yard touchdown early in the third period.  QB Banks led the offense on a time consuming drive late in the third period and finished it with a one yard TD plunge in the opening moments of the 4^th.

SA Express News Honors to Abramson

Alamo Heights junior defensive back Mitchell Abramson was recognized this week as the Defensive Player of the Week in the San Antonio Express News.  As mentioned above, Abramson snagged two interceptions for 30 return yards and one touchdown.

All Photos Courtesy of Mary Candee - Dulce Design Photography

Eagle Pass Comes to Orem Stadium

Next up for the Mules is their third consecutive 5A opponent as the Eagle Pass Eagles (really, what other mascot could they be?) make the trip to Harry Orem Stadium for a 7:30 matchup with the Mules on Friday September 13.  The Eagles, from District 29-5A are winless in their first two outings having lost to Weslaco East and Nixon.  The Eagles were shut out by Nixon 6-0 last Friday at home.  Eagle Pass finished 5-5 in 2012 and 4-2 in their league for 3^rd place.  Alamo Heights is rated as the Eagles’ toughest 2013 regular season opponent according to www.maxpreps.com.  This is the Mules final tune up before starting district play on September 27 against Boerne Champion at home.  Alamo Heights has an open date on Friday September 20th.

“His Inside Voice” 

A weekly discussion with Coach Mike Norment

Mule Fan:  Congratulations on the Mules’ first victory on Friday.  Let’s begin with a look at the offense, which overcame penalties and turnovers and were able to roll up an impressive 47 points.  What were you able to do this week that got your offense going and get the production you had?

Coach Norment:  Well one thing is we were able to run the ball better.  And one thing that helped us was that the quarterback was able to read the running game and we were able to get some yards there.  And we did some short throws that turned into some long yardage runs.  We were able to throw the ball a bit better.  We had better protection.  Clark didn’t blitz a whole lot.  O’Connor blitzed more than Clark did.  So we gave more protection and had some success there.  The defense did a real good job and gave us a short field several times.  They (the defense) scored a touchdown.  And we had a good punt return which gave us a short field.  It is much easier to go 30 yards than 70 yards and that happened a bunch also.  The offense clicked a lot better this week and that is what should happen between game one and two and hopefully we continue to get better in between games two and three.

Mule Fan:  The defense faced a lot of run pressure chasing around two good athletes from their backfield.  It seems like the defense has put together two solid games.  How did you see the defensive effort?

Coach Norment:  The defense has been on the field a lot.  We’re trying to figure out ways to get them off the field more based on what we do offensively and help them out.  But defensively they played really good.  Coach Moody (Defensive Coordinator) talked about forcing turnovers.  Well they forced three turnovers against Clark, which really helped us.  They gang tackled. They were able to make adjustments to take away some of the things that Clark wanted to do.  And Clark did pose some problems because they would line up in their “big” formations to do what they’ve always done which is run the ball out of a double-tight and wing (set).  Then they would spread them out.  That poses a challenge to a defense to be able to stop both of those.  Our defense overall did a very good job. 

Mule Fan:  This is the first time in several years that Alamo Heights has had a junior starting at quarterback.  What are your observations about Dalton Banks progress in his first two varsity starts as a junior?

Coach Norment:  He did better in the second game than he did in the first.  That’s just going to come with game experience.  It’s a lot different playing on the JV than playing on the varsity.  It’s much faster and opponents spend more time (preparing) for the varsity so they’re going to give you a lot more and different looks and you have to be able to read all these things.  He will improve throughout the year.  That’s what is good about having a junior quarterback.  We’re fortunate that we have two good quarterbacks.  So if anything happens to Dalton we have a senior back up (Scotty Uhl) who is getting on the field at another position.  So we’re lucky.  A lot of teams don’t have one quarterback and we’re fortunate to have two.  That’s one of those things that Alamo Heights has always had.  Everyone wants to talk about our starters but we’ve usually had a pretty good backup.

Mule Fan:  The Mules will now face its third consecutive 5A opponent.  This has been a practice that has gone on for many years going back to Don Byrd’s years at least.  What is your philosophy about playing this level of non-district talent?

Coach Norment:  Well this schedule was set with Coach Byrd when he was the head coach.  But I agree with that being with Coach Byrd as long as I was.  You don’t learn anything about your team when you’re playing easy teams.  You have to be put in adverse situations.  So I like adversity.  We want adversity. And we’ve had a lot this year. And we’ve learned a lot about this team. If you’re not put in an adverse situation until the fifth game of district you don’t know what the team is going to do.

We want our team to be put in adverse situations from the get-go.  So we learn a lot about that.  The defense was put in an adverse situation when we fumbled the ball on the 15-yard line (against Clark) and they stepped it up and did a great job.  So there we learned a little bit about the defense.  Last week against O’Connor we had three terrible offensive series and had to have a discussion on the sideline.  We learned a lot about our offense when they came back and went on an 11 play drive and scored.  We want to do that against good football teams.  When you’re going against a team that is not very good, you don’t learn a lot about your team.  That’s my philosophy and it was also Coach Byrd’s philosophy.

Mule Fan:  This is the last tune up game before district play with a 5A school that made the playoffs last year. They are 0-2 this season and were shut out last week.  What are you expecting from Eagle Pass this week at home?

Coach Norment:  There are a scrappy bunch.  They have a lot of guys back.  I think they have six returning starters on offense and seven on defense. They’ve had a couple of bad breaks.  Offensively they do a little bit of everything.  They’re mostly a shotgun team but they will line up in some heavy sets and run the ball.  Defensively they like to play a lot of man coverage and blitz people from different directions.  So that’s going to cause a challenge for our offense to be able to see that and make the reads and hit the hot route.  So we simplified our game plan a bit for that.  At the same time defensively we’re going to have to play good sound defense and hopefully be able to contain them.

"MEET THE COACH" 

We circulated an insightful yet nosey questionnaire to the coaching and training staff so that Mule Nation can get to know our coaches better.  Coach Norment gets extra credit for turning his in early and fittingly gets the first feature in the Mule Fan.

 MULES HEAD COACH MIKE NORMENT

 Name:   Mike Norment                     Position Responsibility:  Head Coach/TE’s                                            

Hometown: San Antonio

Spouse: Tracey            Children/Ages: Kasey 23, Lindsay 21, Haley 17, Carly 13

High School: Churchill H.S.            College/Degree: Texas A& M University, B.S. in Agriculture Economics, Texas A & M-Kingsville Masters in Education Administration

Sports played in high school/position/titles: Football (O-Line) and Track (Shot and Discus)

Best coaching advice you ever received:

Have fun and be yourself.

Favorite food that is good for you:

Strawberries

Favorite food that isn’t good for you:

Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and cream gravy

Favorite high school era song/artist:

ACDC Back in Black

Favorite Saturday morning cartoon show character:

Bugs Bunny

All time favorite movie:

Caddyshack

Do you have a comic book in your home?

No

Favorite book that you’d recommend to your students:

Into Thin Air by John Krakauer

Oldest song on your iPod/iPhone/CD in your vehicle:

Something by Frank Sinatra  (Editor’s note:  Sinatra always called this his favorite “Lennon-McCartney” tune even though it was written and sung by George Harrison.  Good choice Coach.  Great song.  Especially the drum solo.)

Non-traditional pet you’ve owned or wish you’d owned (ex: Monkey, Python, African Grey bird, Manatee, etc.): 

Duck named Daffy

If forced to sing karaoke, what song could you nail:

You Never Even Called Me by My Name by David Allan Coe

More About Mules Head Coach Coach Mike Norment

 “He is... The Most Interesting Coach in the World”

He has been called the "Human Subwoofer."

Headsets fear him.

He has been credited with creating a vowel that only whales can hear.

His bedtime stories have been known to simultaneously put kids to sleep…..in Belgium.

He can break down game film that has not yet been shot.

His favorite song is Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas.

Foghorns come to him for training.

He can yodel the national anthems of 36 countries.

Coach Norment:  “I don’t often lead cheers.  But when I do I prefer to get my Mules and put ‘em up!”

Thanks to Mule Fan Alumni Editorial Staff

Our thanks to decorated former Mule Fan Editor Jeff Bailey for taking time out from getting in his winter wheat crop to update this year’s Mule varsity and JV rosters and 2013 schedule on www.mulesfootball.com.  

Mule Mail Bag

Thanks for the kind words and comments on last week’s post.  As we said, we’re happy to take on all comments and suggestions. Public, private, constructive, destructive, cruel, inflammatory, thought provoking, cowardly, uplifting, cuss word laden invective, sugary sweet compliments, you name it.  In fact, some of you did weigh in privately with some dang timely topics.  Without revealing your identities, we thought we’d publish a few of these exchanges as a public service.

Note #1

Angry Reader:  Why didn’t you put my son’s name in the blog?

Mule Fan:  What’s your son’s name?

Angry Reader:  Well if you’re gonna get technical about it……

Note #2

Reader:  Why isn’t there any JV or freshman football coverage yet?

Mule Fan:  As we have said, we are short staffed.  This reporter is flying solo and will not be able to be at all the freshman and junior varsity games what with the cooking and the washing… In fact, my day job has me on some special assignments.  Why just last week I was off covering the Mouse Riots in Refugio.  That’s a load.  And management of this rag has a reputation of asking for a little more and a little more and a little more. Before you know it, you’re reading the Sunday comics to them and getting paid nothing more than the occasional backhanded compliment such as “is that Hai Karate cologne you’re wearing?”   You can’t eat that.  To quote The Who, “We won’t be fooled again.”  I need a freshman and JV correspondent(s).

As always, we are happy to consider all of your comments.  Feel free to express your concerns, comments and ideas in the comment box below or tear us a new one privately at bobcohen@sbcglobal.net.  We can handle the criticism and have the thin skin to prove it.  We pledge to respond in a truly positive and mature manner once we finish with a reasonable tantrum.

Cliché Corner – Cuz lernin’ is gud!

Impress your friends, baffle your enemies with all this nawlidge.

Choose the football cliché.

      A.     “Gotta Getta Stop”  B. “Tax Free Weekend”

Answer A.  To seek a defensive stand

Thanks to Dulce Design Photography

The Mule Fan management clods have only provided the staff with a Kodak Insta-matic camera with a flash cube. The publisher got it for his 10th birthday and couldn't figure out how to work it.  Those don't take good photos at football games and it is hard to find film and more flash cubes.  But the pressure is off because Mary Candee has incredible gear and makes a living taking great photos.  So she is so kind to share some of her great game shots with us.  There's more where that comes from.  So go to her website and find some awesome action shots of your little sweaty darlings and save those memories.   http://dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com

Mules on Radio and Online

Again a reminder that if you can’t get out to the stadium, follow the Mules on KBUC 92.5/93.3 FM or www.TSRNsports.com.  Tell your mom and them.

 Punt, Pass & Kick Fun on Sunday

The annual Mules Punt, Pass & Kick event was held on Sunday at Harry B. Orem Stadium.  Kids from around our community came to have fun and practice some football skills with the big boys.  Here are few video clips of the day's fun activities.

Welcome to the 2013 Mule Fan Blog

Mule Fan "Back in Business" for 2013 Season

Retread Writing Staff Reassembled and Encouraged to "Try Again"

Former Co-Editor, Quiz Show Host and Writer’s Union Chief Bob Cohen said to be “Refreshed and Ready for Gig”; Contract Details Undisclosed

Graduation Imposed Three-Year Hiatus and Nasty Scrap with Management “All in the Past”

I’ve been sucked back into the vortex.  Willingly.  Blew the dust off the keyboard, turned the crank on the old computer, cracked a few knuckles, changed power on the readers, put some fresh batteries in the digital recorder and I’m ready to go.  To some of you, this Mule Fan space is all new.  But it has a history.  Born in the glorious state championship season in 2006, early editions were scrawled on a piece of butcher paper with a crayon and carried to La Fonda for a public reading on Tuesday nights.

Page views have continued to grow. By the looks of the counter below, team Bailey and Feste clearly added value through the years.   Passionate reporting, a nice new template and a fan base thirsty for more game week distraction and voila! People flat read this rag.  We know because subscription revenues have been on a northbound trajectory since those days of putting the first draft on papyrus.  The most recent board meeting produced some shocking figures.  “My how you’ve grown,” would have been an understatement.

A Bit of History

The original idea was that a dad of a varsity football player (usually a junior), who knew how to activate spell check and couldn’t run very fast, was usually forced, err “asked” to do the honors of writing to a fussy football audience with “entertain me” written all over their blue and gold kissers.   So back in the 2008 season, the job fell to your humble scribe, father of offensive tackle Matt Cohen and my partner in prose, Bobby Rosenthal father of the electrifying running back Red Rocket, Justin and recently graduated defensive back little bro Blake Rosenthal.  We had some fun, tried some new things and got just enough positive feedback to feed our fragile egos and got paid just enough to keep it interesting.  The free sausage wraps at halftime were just a bonus and didn’t affect our taxes.   Lulled into a semi-sense of accomplishment, we slept through the auto-renewal deadline without exercising the important termination clause, which resulted in an (at the time) unprecedented second year on the case, which just happened to coincide with the senior seasons of our oldest boys.  Following that riveting senior season, your humble scrivener put away his writing utensils and returned to football at AH Junior School with the “little one.”  Other willing dads came along by the name of Joey Feste and Jeff Bailey and carried on the tradition in a nearly unforgettable manner.  Feeling very full of itself after much acclaim and very little editing scrutiny, the Mule Fan writer’s union threw a “haymaker” to management by asking for recycled paper and jalepeño Kiolbassa sausages for the 2012 season.  As the story goes, this was a request so repulsive to the miserly Mule Fan management that an attempt was made to break the back of the Union and a full season passed with the weekly publication put in mothballs.   Clearly management underestimated the resolve of the Mule Fan Writer’s Union.  Even more clearly, the world spun on its axis and life carried on for Alamo Heights Mules football in 2012 without the Mule Fan which of course makes one wonder why the reinstated writing staff feels that there will be a single reader to this weekly scrawl.  Surely the fragile ego of your humble scribe will now be tested and pleas sent out to the Mule Nation to try and restart this once-purring engine of “fine journalism and quality reporting.”

Ready for a Ton o’ Fun!

To all of the newly minted varsity moms, dads, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and family veterinarians, and those like yours truly who are coming back for a second helping, we’re all going to have a blast and share great memories.   As one who has already soaked up one full delightful chunk of the varsity high school football experience I’d say my synapses are fully engaged and cranking like a hemi engine.  Yep.  Been there. LOVED that.  Of course, this reporter is a known certifiable nut-job when it comes to this stuff anyway.  But dozens of us witnessed mere mortal mommies turn into strange but delightful creatures that foamed at the mouth on Fridays and developed facial ticks after wrenching losses.  We have permission to get a little bit nuts for a few years.  It’s that much fun. Take it all in.  Every single bit of it.  When its over you have no choice but to behave like normal folks again.   It just happens.   Personally my preference was the mania.  My spouse appreciated the break.   But we knew we were just pressing pause for a few years until the youngest made his way up to the high school. For those of you saying, “this guy’s silly,” I can’t wait to wag my finger at you in a couple of years with the  “now, see” look on my face. 

To you veterans out there, thanks for indulging me to chronicle the experience again.  This reporter will step carefully back into the role and try to get to know all the players and coaches as quickly as possible.  If you are uncomfortable with some hand crafted sarcasm and good-natured humor and desire 100 percent pure X’s and O’s then this product will meet with your complete disapproval.   We plan on providing a carefully blended weekly concoction of whatever the heck pops into our heads.  But we promise it will be loosely based on Alamo Heights football 2013.

So here we go.  Let’s get rockin’ and bloggin’. Go Mules!!

This Week

The lid-lifter on the Mules home season and the first of three consecutive home games as Alamo Heights dials up another opponent from district 27-5A and the non-district annual rival Clark Cougars who finished 4-7 in 2012 and fourth in the district standings. Clark snagged the last playoff position in their district and extended their season with its first playoff appearance in two seasons.  They were eliminated by East Central in the Class 5A Division I bidistrict tilt. The Cougars are coming off an opening weekend 35-20 Gucci Bowl loss to Churchill.   Kickoff is at 7:30 at Harry B. Orem stadium. 

If you are a season ticket holder and have not yet picked up your tickets, plan on doing so at the AH Athletic Office this week or risk spousal ridicule or the inevitable “do I have to do everything??” comment.   It will be Football Parent Night where we will be introduced to the parents of our senior Mules as they parade to the center of the field arm in arm with their sons during pregame for a photo with Mary Candee.

Another Alamo Heights First Down

The full throated Rick Shaw returns for his 74^th consecutive season at the public address mic at Orem Stadium standing in vivid contrast to our opening week Farris Stadium public address announcer who was on loan from his day job as the official voice of “Lullaby Hour” at National Public Radio. It was the first time this reporter seriously desired a smart phone app that did public address subtitles.

Mules on the Air

Follow the Mules all season on KBUC Radio 92.5/93.3 FM That’s right - a two-station simulcast. What’s really cool is to lay on the floor with a radio aimed at your left ear at 92.5 and one on the other side blaring into the right ear at 93.3.  Dude…

You can also fire it up online at www.TSRNsports.com.   Caution:  None of these activities should be conducted in a bathtub.  There are easier ways to get a perm.

Former Mule Drew Allen in the Stat Sheet in Syracuse Debut

Former Mules QB and Oklahoma grad Drew Allen made his first college start over the weekend for the Syracuse Orangemen beginning his final year of eligibility in a nationally televised 23-17 loss to Penn State from the Met Life Stadium in the Meadowlands, New Jersey.  Drew went 16 for 37 for 189 yards and two interceptions.  

Cliché Corner

The Mule Fan strives to educate as well as entertain and inform.  So occasionally we'll engage in some good old fashion learnin'.  It is important to know the proper terminology for "fan speak" so rather than have you stumble we'll take you through some rigorous training.  To some of you, this will just be review.  

Which is a proper football cliché?  A. "Want to"  B. "Riboflavin"
Answer:  A It was a trick question.  Ex: "To win in this league our players have to have a lot of "want to."

“His Inside Voice” 

A weekly discussion with Mules Head Coach Mike Norment

The Mules dropped their opener to the O’Connor Panthers 41-28 at Farris Stadium.  Alamo Hieghts faced a tough 5A opponent with a lot of weapons.  Let’s examine the thoughts of second year Mules head coach Mike Norment on last week’s loss, hear a bit more about the team and look ahead to the home opener.

Mule Fan:  The first game is under your belt and there has been some time to review film and also reflect on the key takeaways for the Mules first action against an opponent for 2013.  What are the headline takeaways from your perspective?

Coach Norment: Looking at the positives, at times our defense played very, very well and stopped a very explosive offense.  At times our offense moved the ball against a very good defense.  And we had a great special teams play blocking a field goal and returning it for a touchdown.  So those are the positives.  When you’re playing a really good team, and O’Connor is a very good team that is going to win a lot of games, you can’t make more mistakes than they do.  And that’s what we did.  We were in the game but we didn’t give ourselves a chance to win the game because we made too many mistakes.  The good news is that all the mistakes we made are correctable.  We were fighting at the end.  We could have easily laid down and we didn’t.  The kids had a great attitude afterwards. They realized they needed to work harder.  So those were the positives. 

Mule Fan:  Alamo Heights fans had their first look at a new “no huddle” offense.  Tell us a little about the philosophy of this approach and what is different about this from what you’ve run in years past, how it works and how the guys did with it on Friday.

Coach Norment:  At times we did really good.   We’ve still got to get faster.  For a first game it worked pretty well.  Basically it is the same plays that we’ve always run here at Alamo Heights.  We just won’t huddle.  We’ve run that in the past but a lot of times we’d sit there and wait for the defense to line up and then we’d call a play.  Now we don’t really care what the defense does.  We’re going to try to up the tempo.  And that puts pressure on the defense. They can’t do as many things as they want because they don’t have a chance.  For example, O’Connor like to flip their team.  Well they couldn’t flip all their people and be where they wanted to be because we were about to snap the ball when the ball was blown live or pretty soon after that.  So it puts pressure on the defense for them not to be able to do what they want to do.  I think that gives us an advantage.  It’s the same plays but just at a much faster pace.  At times we were really clicking against O’Connor.  We need to go faster.

Mule Fan:  At the same time, it does put a premium on your team’s fitness especially on a night like Friday when the defense had to be on the field so much.

Coach Norment:  When you go three and out that’s not good because 30 seconds have gone off the game clock possibly and so it does make the defense have go possibly longer.  For Coach Moody’s defense, he says stop the offense and we won’t be out here very long.  So it is sort of a combination.  If you’re going fast on offense, we have to be in shape.  At the same time, the defense has to be in shape.  If you noticed, O’Connor started to go more up tempo also.  That’s a thing that starts causing problems for the defense.  We talked about doing it last year. At first we didn’t feel all that comfortable doing it.  We started looking at it in the spring and overall I think we’re in great shape putting in the “no huddle.”

Mule Fan:  Graduation affects every team differently each year.  On balance where did you lose experience from last year and where do you have it coming back?

Coach Norment:  We lost a lot of leadership on defense.  We had some great players. Two got scholarships (Klumpp and Uretsky) and they were leaders.  And so defense was probably hit a little bit harder than the offense experience-wise.  Offense was hit on the offensive line.  But that’s one of the great things about being a high school coach.  You see this turnover.  You get the kids that you get and you see them grow from their freshman year to their senior year.  We’ve talked about that. We want a lot of senior leadership and we’ve had a lot of seniors step up and become leaders.  That’s the great thing about high school.  Every year you’re going to see that.  This senior class has come together especially just recently.  I think they’re dedicated themselves.  We have a large senior class.  We have 41 guys that made it through four years and football is not easy.  That’s a testament to them and also the program.

Mule Fan:  You’ve been in this game a long time. Now that you’ve had that first year as a head coach what can you say was the biggest thing you learned as a first year head coach?

Coach Norment:  When you’re a position coach, you get to know a small group of kids very, very well.  You’re with them all the time.  The bad part is that I don’t get to spend that much time with a small group of kids like I did.  But I know more people better because I know everybody on the team now better than I did when I was a position coach.  I knew who they were and would talk to them but I didn’t know them as much as I did my guys.  So that’s different.  You also have to step back.  I’m an O-Line coach and keep on looking at the offensive line.  But now I’ve got to look at the quarterback, receivers, kicking game, the defense and things like that.  You have to look at the big picture much more.  That’s probably been the biggest change.

Mule Fan:  We have had a long series with Clark, another 5A school. They went back to the playoffs last year after two years away from them.  What should we expect this week?

Coach Norment:  I went to the Gucci Bowl vs. Churchill on Thursday night.  They’re a well-coached team.  They’re athletic on offense and defense.  They have big offensive linemen like they’re always had.  On offense they will either spread out or they will get back into a two tight end set and pound the ball. They had two quarterbacks that played in the game.  One is a little bit more of an athlete and one looks like he might be a bit better thrower but they both can throw the ball.  They have a big tight end that will split out.  So we have to prepare for a lot of different things.  We have to prepare for the spread offense and for the traditional Clark “two tight end, tackle over, pound the ball”.  On defense they run a 3-4 similar to us.  They’re very athletic and they run to the ball probably better than they have in the past.  So it is going to be a good game.  It’ll be a big challenge for us.  They suffered a loss.  We’re both looking for our first wins.  So it should be a good game.

Feedback

If you've made it this far this week, bless you.  Now here's the bargain we need to strike up.  At the moment, no deal has been struck with any co-writers.  By now we should have had our headhunters scraping through applications after a comprehensive global search.  In the meantime, we need your feedback and suggestions on what you'd like to see in future Mule Fan issues.  Do you want more of this or that?  More cartoons with witty captions or satellite photos of proper spacing on the 3-4 defense?     We'll take any ideas you want to put forward.  If anyone has a good muffin recipe, we may consider chunking that in there too.  No promises but we just might use it.  Handing us a note at a game written on a gum wrapper is not acceptable.  But tell us what you think!  We need this kind of feedback to keep the miserly thugs they call management around here off of our aching backs.   If you want to give us public feedback well just look down below and throw one in there.  If you'd rather just keep it between us, you can e-mail the editor at bobcohen@sbcglobal.net.  I'll make sure that our staff is briefed in our weekly meeting.  Thanks in advance!