Mules Defang
Vandergrift’s Vipers 24-21 at Alamodome and Move On
-Thanksgiving week preparation underway for
the Calallen Wildcats
-Friday
November 29th, 7:30pm in Victoria, Texas Memorial Stadium
(San Antonio)—We like playing in that joint. The Mules continued their string of
successes in the Alamodome by locking down a dramatic 24-21 victory on Thursday
over the Vandergrift Vipers to move on to the third round of the playoffs. It
is comforting to know that there are defibrillators mounted all over the place
because Alamo Heights has had some hair raising games there that cause the
heart to flutter. Count Thursday
night’s win over the Vipers in that list as the Mules gutted out a clutch late
fourth quarter drive to take a not-so-decisive lead in the game and then rolled
skid marks on the Vipers with a breathtaking defensive stop as Vandergrift
tried to snatch it back with the clock winking down to the final moments.
Common football knowledge
subscribes to the coaching axiom that in a loss or a win one shouldn’t really
pin the blame or praise on just one or two plays. And with Thursday’s game that may resonate more than in
other games. Thursday was a rock ‘em, sock ‘em thrill ride of a football game
with twists and turns that would make anyone woozy. There were more big plays than in the New York theater
district. But a few select dandies
cut to the front of the line.
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| All photos have are courtesy of the inestimable Mary Candee- http://dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com/ |
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| Mitchell Abramson Interception Photo courtesy of Mary |
Where do we start? Wait I know. Let’s look at the margin of victory and take a glance at a 37 yard Vandergrift field goal attempt with seconds left in the second quarter. At the end of a grinding Vandergrift drive, highlighted by a 35 yard pass and catch to Viper running back Christian Reyes that made it to the Mules’ 20, the Vipers elected to collect at the pay station with a field goal before the end of the half and try to cut the Mules lead to seven. Heavy pressure through the middle overpowered the Viper wall and sophomore defensive lineman Stone Tarver got his belly on the kick just after liftoff to keep the Mules’ 10 point first half lead preserved for the break. Let’s see, two plus one carry the four to the fourth power times the square root of pecan pie equals…..Yep got it. Three points. Checking the final score….yes-we can conclude this play can be filed under “HUGE.”
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| Photos courtesy of Mary Candee http://dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com |
By the way,
this all came one series after the Mules turned away another threat on their
end zone and then were stopped on their own drive. From the Mules 10 yard line, Viper QB threw a fade route to
lengthy Viper receiver Luke Peterman in the front corner of the end zone but
into a Mules double team of Mitchell Abramson and Cameron Dawley. Abramson darted in front of the pass to
notch the first of two key Alamo Heights interceptions. Abramson’s stopped a touchdown.
Next hot play? Well, let’s examine a
little series of them. Was it just
the Mule Fan’s editorial staff high vantage point in the Alamodome press box or
did quarterback Dalton Banks’ passes on Thursday look like something out of
Star Wars?? His leading target was Christian “Edward Stickumhands” Lalinde who
made catch after catch of bullets that looked as if they would tear Lalinde’s
arms out of socket. On an
impressive mid-second quarter drive, the Mules moved the chains racking up one
first down after another with Lalinde gathering a big second and 16 pass
followed by clutch catches by Scotty Uhl and Jake Osborne along with some great
runs by Byron Proctor en route to a seven yard touchdown run by Proctor. In all, the drive went 74 yards and put
the Mules up 17-7.
For the night Banks and Lalinde
hooked up eight times for 116 yards. Banks
finished the night 22 for 37 and 255 yards and two interceptions. Banks’ other battery mate was Jake
Osborne who had an electric game and hauled in eight passes for 93 yards, many of
which had vapor trails coming off of them and a couple which needed some
acrobatics and shortstop instincts to collect.
Yes. Here it is. We
haven’t forgotten and saved the best for last. Let’s set it up. Following a fourth quarter interception of
a Dalton Banks pass and return of 87 yards by Viper senior defensive back Max
Regan and an apparent touchdown, the Vipers were flagged for unsportsmanlike
conduct and forced to take it back out to the Mules’ 19 yard line. They managed a 19 yard scoring drive and
in the end scored anyway with a one yard quarterback keeper but paid full
retail for it as it took an extra four minutes out of their account. Who knows
right?
Still the Vipers had scored 14 unanswered points to take a
21-17 lead.
The Mules got the ball back with
5:05 on the clock and pounded it down the field 70 yards in 11 plays concluding
the drive with a 15 yard run by Byron Proctor who quickly found the edge on the
left side, where Mules’ receiver Scotty Uhl made a terrific block on the only
Viper defensive back who had a shot at stopping Proctor, allowing number 22 to
stroll into the end zone and put the Mules back up 23-21. Carter’s PAT extended the lead to
three. But there was just under two minutes left on the clock. Following Proctor’s go-ahead TD
scamper and Robert Carter’s PAT, which may have come even too quickly leaving
adequate time on the clock, the Mules kick off team finished the return off at
the 27 yard line. On the first
play of the Viper’s apparent final desperate drive, Viper’s QB Jamie Hudson
steamed a pass to a downfield crossing receiver who was apparently open to
everyone in the building until linebacker Jay Hargrove laid out every inch of
his frame and intercepted the pass leaving Vandergrift with two timeouts and
faint hope.
The Mules offense welcomed back
Byron Proctor who dashed for 175 yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns. He and running mate Brandon Wasson did
the one-two on the Vipers and kept them honest which opened up the passing
game. Wasson contributed nine
carries for 37 yards and a TD and also made a huge stop while putting in some
defensive time. And in the last
moments of the game with a lot on the line, Wasson had to get off the field
again to do his vomiting routine, which we have come to love. Although this time, he waited until he
was comfortably hunched over on the Mules sideline. We’ve taken a poll among the Mule Fan staff. And it is our considered opinion that
when Brandon Wasson blows chow, we all
win. However, AH athletic director Gene Phillips might not agree as he was seen
negotiating with Dome staff after the game to try to keep from having to cough
up (sorry) the school’s security deposit.
We know that it wasn’t a team chili cheese dog lunch that Wasson could
blame this time so we’ll figure it was a hairball.
Defensively the Mules held
Vandergrift to 19 first downs to their 27 along with only 138 yards passing and
held big receiver Luke Peterman to four catches and only 55 yards. The Mules
(9-3) never punted and piled up 446 yards of total offense in the win.
Everywhere you turned there were big plays. We deployed Mule Fan reporters to monitor the “we want our money back” window at the Alamodome at the end of the game and nobody showed up. It was good value for money if you were just a casual fan. But if you are like most readers of this cyber fish wrap, then you were wrung out after it was over. What a show!
And so we get to enjoy Mules high
school football on Thanksgiving week, which is a delicacy your humble scribe
has sampled a few times before and can put hand on heart and say it
DEEELICIOUS. Let’s gather up all
the family and friends, go buy some tickets from Patty Juarez and show them a
hard working and exciting football team, make them scream their heads off for
the guys who still have to sit at the kid table and keep this train rolling
down the track.
Calallen Wildcat
Notes: The Cats come in
undefeated with an 11-0 record…Playoff wins so far for Calallen include a 49-6
first round win over Medina Valley and a 42-0 pounding of Alice last Friday
night…The last meeting between Calallen and Alamo Heights was also Thanksgiving
weekend November 26, 2010 at Harry B. Orem stadium where the Wildcats ended the
Mules season 27-20…Calallen averages 50.3 points per game and gives up only
8.25 points per game…This will be the second consecutive week where the Mules
will face a dual-threat quarteback in Calallen’s Derek (“I Pledge Allegiance to
the Band”) Scheible. He is definitely the meal ticket for the Cats but defaults to the run...Scheible rolled out 160 yards rushing last week in the win over Alice in 13 carries and three rushing scores. Year to date he's totaled 900 yards rushing and averages 6.62 yards per carry. Passing has been limited to 12 attempts per game. Scheible also averages 43.5 yards per kick as the team punter. (The Mule Fan is chasing down the rumor that he is entering the city's mayoral race in the spring)…Calallen's leading tackler is Kade Young with 133 and 24 solos.
Last Week’s Division II Region IV-4A Playoff Results
Cedar Park 43, Kerrville Tivy 21
Port Lavaca Calhoun 27, Corpus
Christi Flour Bluff 21
Corpus Christi Calallen 42, Alice
0
Alamo Heights 24, Austin
Vandergrift 21
This Week’s Other Regional Finals Matchup
Cedar Park (11-1) vs. Port Lavaca
Calhoun (11-1) at Texas State Bobcat Stadium Saturday 2:00 pm
Playoff Ticket
Information
Straight from Patty “The Mule Whisperer” Juarez: Tickets are on sale from Monday through
Wednesday from 9:00am-12:00p.m. and 1:00pm-5:00pm at the Alamo Heights Athletic
office. Tickets will be $8 at the gate for
adults/students/butcher/baker/candlestick maker/ambassador to Paraguay. Advance
purchase prices are $8 for adults (Not a typo-no discount for you! We haggled
for the customary dollar off but they must be made of stronger stuff down
there.) and $4 for “students” age 2 through 12th grade. Editor’s
Note: There are possibilities
where this little qualifier from enemy territory could cause a little
confusion. As an example, if you
happen to have a 6 year old who is in his or her freshman year in college, then
you’ll just have to work out your deal at the stadium.)
Parking and
Location
Parking at the stadium is value priced at $2 per car. The stadium address (for easy GPS use)
is 3001 Miori Lane, Victoria, Texas
77902. If you show up at the
Calallen Stadium in Corpus Christi you’re going to be upset with yourself or
whoever was in charge of reading this carefully.
Busses (Time
Sensitive)
Arrangements have been made for some bus transportation to
Victoria. Anyone who wants to book
a seat has until 10:00am on Tuesday morning November 26 to bring the cold, hard
cash to the Alamo Heights athletic office. It’ll cost you $20 per person to ride in luxurious
upholstered seating. The Athletic
Office is open at 9:00am but Patty J. thinks she’ll be there even earlier. Busses will depart from out in front of
the big blue AH band truck and athletic office right after team sendoff on
Friday at 2:30 p.m. So figure
wheels up around 2:45p.m.
Link to Playoff Brackets
“His Inside Voice”
A weekly discussion with
Coach Mike Norment
Mule Fan: Coach
the Vandergrift win was a night of big plays. We know you were
proud of your guys on a lot of levels. But how about their ability to put their
heads down and go get it done when they had to?
Coach Norment:
Vandergrift had gotten a turnover and basically went down and scored and
we were behind. So we had to go down and score. We went 70 yards and put a score up and
then the defense had to get a stop and got the interception and we were able to
run out the clock. So that was
huge. We won the game but it
was how we won the game that was big for the program.
Mule Fan: When
you got the ball back with 5:05 left in the game and you knew you had to make
the long march down the field to go ahead you gathered the offense up around
you like you always do. What did
you say this time?
Coach Norment: We
said we just have to get a score right now. We reminded them to protect the football. We didn’t say anything really special
because everybody knew what was going to be required and knew we were going to
have to go down and score a touchdown.
Mule Fan: How
big of a lift was it to get the blocked field goal just before the first half
ended?
Coach Norment:
That was huge. We had
messed up and didn’t get a score like we should have at the end of the
half. That would have been huge
but then the defense came in and slowed them up and they got one big play but
they had to use one timeout and had to kick a field goal. We almost got another one on a point
after on the touchdown earlier.
They were thinking they were going to get some momentum and they didn’t
go in with any momentum. And that was huge especially since they were going to
get the football to start the second half. So that was a huge play.
Mule Fan: The
passing game seemed to be really clicking on Thursday. Banks was throwing hard and guys were
getting open in space and moving the ball around. Was there anything about their secondary that gave you that
indication you were going to have that success?
Coach Norment:
We feel confident that we go into every game and take what the defense
gives us. They took away our
outside receivers and opened up the middle so that’s the reason why Christian
Lalinde and Jake Osborne had big games because they were fighting over top so
much to help out on the outside receivers. We didn’t know exactly what they were going to do but we had
some ideas so Dalton was able to find some receivers. We put some wrinkles on just like we do every week and those
wrinkles worked out well for us.
Mule Fan: After
you scored to go ahead at the end, it left the Vipers with some time. Was there anything special about how
you had planned to defend their last drive or did Jay Hargrove just make a play
on that interception?
Coach Norment:
He made a great play. Now
we figured they were not going to be able to run the ball as much as they were
going to have to throw. But we had to also make sure that they didn’t run a
draw like they did earlier and sneak some yards up there because all they
needed was a field goal to tie it.
But the defense just played good realizing what they needed to do with
the time constraints that they had.
But it helps us out also knowing what they can and can’t do in that
situation.
Mule Fan:
Calallen is a familiar opponent for Alamo Heights and even perhaps a
rivalry because Heights has had some very big games against them. They come in undefeated at 11-0 having
rolled up a lot of points in the process.
What have you seen that has allowed to total up that kind of point
production.
Coach Norment:
They’re well coached year in and year out. Their coach, Phil Danaher just won his 400th game.
There’s only one other coach in the history of high school football that’s done
that before in Texas and that guy’s name is G.A. Moore so he’s in elite
company. So what they have is a
very explosive offense. They have
a quarterback that can make you pay and he can also distribute the ball by
throwing and hands off to the running back. So they’re very explosive on offense. Then they’re very well
coached and fly to the football on defense so they give the ball back to their
offense and get a lot of turnovers so that’s the reason why they’re able to put
the points on because they’re well coached in all facets of the game.
Mule Fan:
Statistically, it appears the Calallen quarterback is similar to the one
we faced with Vandergrift. He is
also among their leading rushers and the offense centers around him. What did you observe?
Coach Norment:
Yes, he’s going to hurt you more times than not with his feet instead of
his arm. But he can throw it to make you pay once you start coming up and
trying to stop the run. That’s
what makes him very dangerous.
Mule Fan: What
has to happen this week against their defense to repeat the kind of offensive
performance you got last Thursday night in the Alamodome?
Coach Norment:
Boy, I don’t know. We were throwing the ball around really well. They’re very similar. They run a 3-4 defense just like
Vandergrift. They’re not real big
but they fly to the football much like Vandergrift. They probably won’t blitz as much at least from what we’ve
seen so far. But they will move
around and are very athletic on defense.
So we’re going to have to stay on our blocks and make sure we give
Dalton some protection. They’re
going to jam our receivers and we’re going to have to get off that.
ALERT!!!! RADIO BROADCAST CHANGED AGAIN FOR THIS
WEEK
The Mules road game will be beamed back to San Antonio via a
complex array of cabling and electronic and digital modulation at 36,000
megacycles via a 10 kilowatt back haul line. What does that mean? If you are not going to be able to make
the trip to Victoria, listen to the game on KLUP-AM 930 or www.TSRNsports.com. Ed Suarez, Dave Parker and Albert
Gonzalez will call the action. Pre
game programming begins at 7:00p.m. (The change is due to a conflict with UTSA
Roadrunner basketball.)
Porksgiving
You’d think we’d give Porky the week off since it is
Thanksgiving after all. But no
such luck. As you may know, when
the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth Rock, it was loaded with pigrims. So it is business as usual and we’ve got two of the canned
trophies to award this week. This
week’s Canned Hams go to tight end Christian Lalinde and linebacker Jay
Hargrove for extraordinary efforts in the Mules playoff win. As you read above, Lalinde led all
receivers with eight receptions for 116 yards including some clutch first down
conversions on scoring drives. And
Hargrove effectively ended any hopes of Vandergrift last second heroics with a
breathtaking interception with under two minutes to play.
Thanksgiving Poetry
There
once was a Mule Fan named Craig,
Who with Thanksgiving turkey typically went
for a leg
But
Friday in Victoria was where he was at
Thus deciding he would switch over to feast
on cat.
Happy Thanksgiving from the Mule Fan! Thanks for paying the subscription.
Go Mules!!!! GO MULES!!!! Go Mules!!!!
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