Alamo Heights 49, Lockhart 20 October 25, 2013

AH Mules Declaw Lockhart Lions 49-20

            -Maintain tie for lead in district play

(Lockhart, Texas)—The Mule Fan editorial staff never takes for granted the meager travel budget our management provides for away games.  So when the Mules hit the road, we soak it all in and try to be keen observers of all the activity swirling around our wide eyes.  So here are a few honest observations about Lockhart if you please: 1) If one were to meet any vegans in Lockhart, know that these would be people made of strong stuff.  It would be danged hard to stay this way in Lockhart.  The barbecue is just phenomenal.  They well and truly put the “C” in carnivore. On this night we wondered, aloud at times, why Lockhart has this tradition and propensity to produce smoked meats of such high quality, 2) being asked to play receiver there is cruel, and 3) the Lions “old timey” (as Coach Norment put it last week) offense tugs so hard at the nostalgic heartstrings that it took a Sunbeam 350 to iron the lump out of our throat once we returned home.  Seriously, seeing all those kids in four point stances makes you think of the Texas Longhorns 1969 national champion wishbone backfield of Jim Bertelsen, Ted Koy and Steve Worster.  The Mule Fan editorial team hasn’t seen that many people on all fours since being forced to cover the International Olympic “Twister” Qualifying trials in Santa Clara in 1971. Or maybe it was when we interned as a key grip on the filming of the campy cult classic romantic comedy “A Crabwalk Summer.”   Heck even the coaches were in four point stances at times. 

Photos courtesy of Mary Candee at
www.dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com

            The Mules (6-2, 4-1) did take care of business on Friday and scooted out of Lockhart with a handy 49-20 victory to remain atop the district 27-4A standings with this week’s opponent, the Clemens Buffalos and Buda Hays.

Key to this night was the defensive preparation and execution, which kept the Lions’ chains anchored at key moments and forced Lockhart to punt seven times.  The Mules also forced four fumbles and recovered two.  Lockhart did amass 315 rushing yards on 50 carries but much of that yardage came late in the game when the Mules were trying to figure out what to order the traveling squad at Whataburger and the game was tucked away. 

           Heights put Lockhart in fourth and long a bunch in the first quarter and in particular on their first two possessions allowing the offense to pop two quick scores on their first two possessions.  Quarterback Dalton Banks kept for six yards and cashed in for a TD at the 5:03 mark in quarter one followed by Byron Proctor going over the top on the next possession to give the Mules a 14-0 lead at the end of one. 

Against an offense such as Lockhart’s, a two score lead is good but three is much better and the Mules mounted a very important drive late in the second period which ended with Byron Proctor romping 27 yards to put the Mules up 21-0 after Robert Carter put through his third extra point of the night.  But the Mules weren’t finished with the first half scoring.  After Alamo Heights stuffed the Lions attack one more time in the first half there was enough time to run a few more plays and pad that lead which the Mules did when Banks hit Robert Schuler on a 14 yard strike.  So the Mules enjoyed a 28-0 lead at the end of the first half.

Heights remained hot in the third quarter piling up three more unanswered scores to put the game out of reach for Lockhart beginning with a 40-yard tight end counter scoring run by Christian Lalinde.  The last scoring combo from starters came four minutes later when Banks found Jake Osborne for a four-yard touchdown pass.  Juan Pablo Olazaba tacked on the extra point.  Armando Tamez got a turn at quarterback and engineered a drive, which finished with him keeping it for a two-yard touchdown run.  Wesley Sparr knocked through the extra point.  That was the end of the Mules scoring for the night.  Lockhart picked up their 20 points in the fourth quarter on long TD runs of 34, 25 and 47 yards from running back C.J. McKinney. 

Alamo Heights held Lockhart to 12 first downs, which was an enormous blow to their ball control game plan, while picking up 19 of their own.  The Mules pushed out 260 yards on the ground led by another 100 yard plus night by Byron Proctor who had 115 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns.  Brandon Wasson added 53 yards on 12 carries.  Cameron Dawley had a productive night on defense recovering a Lion’s fumble along with a nice punting night belting three for a 42.3 yard average.  The Mules passing offense was balanced with Banks going 13 for 20, 142 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to add to his opening rushing touchdown.  Five Mule receivers hauled in passes led by Jake Osborne and Robert Schuler.

“His Inside Voice” 

A weekly discussion with Coach Mike Norment

Mule Fan:  Last week you spoke about the difficulty in preparing for Lockhart because of their unique style of offense and play overall. Lockhart was kept to many fourth and long plays and they were given nothing to work with. You had to be proud of how the defensive coaches prepared the team.

Coach Norment:  The defensive coaches did a great job of coming up with a great game plan to stop Lockhart.  Another thing is we got some people healthy and moved some people around to give ourselves a little more depth on defense and that helped.  And just as important is that we did a great job on scout team giving both the offense and defense a great look.  And that was tough.  We actually came up with a scout team with kids in different positions, certain positions and we had to practice that.  So we were able to somewhat simulate what Lockhart did which gave the defense a great look and got them prepared.  So basically it was all three of those things, which helped us have such a complete defensive game.

Mule Fan:  We also talked about how getting Lockhart down by two scores was going to be tough on them.  How big of a deal was it to get that third score with a couple of minutes left in the half after coming two turnovers and then to add a fourth score a couple of minutes later?

Coach Norment:  We definitely wanted to go in a minimum of 21-0 at half.  And then when we were able to stop them and get the score to make it 28-0, I knew it was going to be difficult for Lockhart to get back in the game.  At halftime we preached that we can’t let them even think about getting back in.  One of our goals this year has been to get better each day, each play, each half so we stressed trying to get better in the second half and in a lot of ways we did.

Mule Fan:  Did you find some extra defensive weapons on Friday night?

Coach Norment:  We moved some people around.  The good news is that we got some added depth with people who have gotten playing time that probably wouldn’t have if people would have stayed healthy.   At the same time we were fortunate enough to get a big lead so we got some other people in the game.  That’s going to hopefully pay dividends down the road when they’re going to have to step in for a play, a series or maybe even a game because of injury.  So we were fortunate to get some more people some playing time.

Mule Fan:  Many people were thinking that it was nice to be able to empty the bench and get some kids into the game that work hard all week.  But the fact of the matter is you’re already deep into your roster.  How important is getting all those kids quality minutes at this point?

Coach Norment:  We’re getting young players playing time for next year.  But talking about this year, we’ve already felt the situation where it is not unheard of for a third or fourth stringer or even someone from the JV one week to get playing time on the varsity the next week.  So getting them playing time in a game is so much different than just getting reps in practice.  So that was a great thing about getting that lead to get some of those guys into the game and get quality reps.

Mule Fan:  So now to Clemens, which in our mind has come a long way it seems.  They’ve played in recent years in the shadow of Cibolo Steele during the Mike Jenks/Malcom Browne era.  What has given them that lift?

Coach Norment:  People forget that Clemens was a powerhouse in San Antonio in the 80’s and 90’s and even in the 2000’s before Steele came around.  Even when Steele opened up, Clemens was still the big dog.  We’ve had many battles.  Every year that I’ve been here we’ve either played them or scrimmaged them.  So we have a history going back with Clemens.  One thing that’s really helped them is with the head coaching change and they’ve changed a little of their philosophy.  But the big thing is that they’ve started shifting people back from Steele back to Clemens and they are growing.  In fact, they’ll be moving up in classification next year because the school has grown.  With more numbers they get more athletes and more athletes have helped them in the program.   So they’re a very good football team.

Mule Fan:  As you told us in Film Night, they lead with their defense which is their strength?

Coach Norment:  Their coach even mentioned that they were going to put special people on defense.  Their defense is the heart of their team.  Their front seven is as good as anybody we’ll probably see this year.  Their two defensive ends that are fraternal twins, are very, very good returning starters.  A lot of those guys played last year.  They were very young last year.   A lot of those guys played and got lots of playing time.  They’ve gotten better.  They’ve only lost one game so it’s going to be a challenge for our offense to move the ball against them.  Offensively they’re not conservative but they’re not going to make a lot of mistakes.  They’ll try and get first downs and if they can’t get the first downs they’ll punt the ball and let their defense hopefully get a turnover so they have a short field to work with.

Mule Fan:  Does moving back into an opponent who has a more commonly seen style of offense, after working so hard at the out-of-the-ordinary Lockhart offense, present any challenges?

Coach Norment:  In some way it helps us because we had to be so disciplined last week I think that’s going to carry over.  To realize that you still have to be disciplined even though it is not the same kind of offense.  At the same time, all offenses will give us challenges because Clemens will line up in an “I” and try and run the ball and spread you out and try to throw the ball.  They’re not “super multiple”.  They are definitely run heavy but they will throw the ball around some so our defense once again is going to have to come and be able to play to stop them. At the same time, offense and defense are going to have to work together along with the special teams to hopefully get a win against Clemens.

 

Clemens Buffalos Got Next

This one will get some attention this week around town.  Clemens will show up on the Mules Homecoming Night at 7:30pm Friday November 1 at Harry B. Orem Stadium.  The Mules come into the game ranked third in the Express News Sub-5A rankings and the Buffalos hold down the second spot.  It is a matchup of two of the three teams tied for first in district 27-4A.  Clemens is coming off a home district win over Boerne Champion 34-21.

Mules Notes:  Alamo Heights is averaging 40.6 points per game and allowing 29 per game…Dalton Banks is ranked 11^th in total offense with 1999 yards and fifth in passing yardage with 1,724 yards and pass completion percentage of 60%...Robert Schuler is in a four-way tie for fourth with 44 receptions…Byron Proctor is tied for the lead in city scoring with 12 points and 19^th in rushing yardage with 904 yards.

Other District 27-4A Results October 25, 2013

Clemens 24, Boerne Champion 21

Kerrville Tivy 36, Kyle Lehman 7

Buda Hays 25, Seguin 18

District 27-4A Standings

Alamo Heights        4-1

Clemens                    4-1

Buda Hays                4-1

Boerne Champion   3-2

Kerrville Tivy          3-2

Lockhart                   1-4

Seguin                       1-4

Kyle Lehman           1-4

Upcoming District 27-4A Schedule 11/1/13

Seguin at Kerrville Tivy

Lockhart at Kyle Lehman

Buda Hays at Boerne Champion

Clemens at Alamo Heights

Mules on Radio and Online

If you can’t get out to the stadium, follow the Mules on KBUC 92.5/93.3 FM or www.TSRNsports.com.  Ed Suarez, Dave Parker and Albert Gonzalez will call the action and keep the numbers straight.

We appreciate the job they do.  We’ve had a tour of the Mules radio booth on game night and we can tell you it is a complex operation.  How complex?  Try this on.  Dave Parker announces all the vowels.  Ed Suarez handles the consonants.  And Albert Gonzalez calculates the numbers.  But it doesn’t stop there.  Parker advises on whole numbers and Suarez sorts out the integers.  Gonzalez ciphers through all of this and it comes out on the radio in easy to understand denominations.  These guys put it in one end and it comes out as Mules Football on the radio. 

Don’t forget to patronize the broadcast sponsors and tell ‘em thanks!  

Cliché Corner – Cuz learnin’ is gud!

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

Choose the football cliché.

A.  They put hats on the ball  B. Wax teeth

Answer:  A.  Defense making a tackle in hopes of also causing a fumble

10^th Annual Fenley Trophy Golf Tournament Successful

A salute to the organizers, sponsors and participants in last Friday’s scramble fundraiser at the Quarry Golf Club.  By all accounts it was a big success and a good time was had by all.  There was good food and the expected amount of cheating and smack talk.  The weather was cool enough that the snakes were hibernating which is good because this golfer observed that many, like himself, spent time in the deep weeds looking for sporting goods. The proceeds of the tournament support all sports at Alamo Heights.  Thanks to all who made it happen.

Mary Candee didn't take this one but she should have! Umm!
454 grams of clove-pierced perfection…..

What Would Homecoming Be Without Ham???

Pork for everyone!  The defensive coaching staff gets our nod for the Canned Ham Award for this week. They prepped our lads well to defend against the Lockhart Lions.  Their preparation and execution last week really put our team in a position to win.  Mules offensive tackle Ronnie Rogers also put in some time on the defensive line and his overall play stood out particularly on his first go-round on defense.  So he gets a ham slung his way as well.  Good going guys!

 Go Mules!!!  Beat Clemens!!