Clemens 10, Alamo Heights 31 November 1, 2013

Mules Buffalo Hunt Successful; Clemens Falls to Alamo Heights 31-10

-Trade Buffalo hide for playoff slot in 27-4A

-District title game next for the Mules at Buda

(San Antonio)—The Alamo Heights Mules bench has resembled a M.A.S.H. unit from time to time this year.  Friday night was one of those times.  But the Mules responded with one of their inspiring performances of the year and secured a spot in the playoffs by knocking Clemens off their perch 31-10 on Homecoming Night at Harry B. Orem Stadium.  Clemens (7-2, 5-1) came in ranked number two in the Express News Sub-5A rankings and the Mules (7-2, 5-1) ranked number three. 

The Mules are always well prepared and when preparation and execution meet, good things have happened this season.  There was much talk about the Clemens strong defense all week but the Mules were up to the task putting a knot on their heads early.  Heights put seven on the board before the Buffalos even knew what hit them.  Alamo Heights moved the ball down the field with efficiency and good protection for quarterback Dalton Banks.  Tight end Christian Lalinde took a 31 yard pass from Banks under two minutes into the game to cash in the Mules’ first points. This was set up earlier in the drive after Banks and Jake Osborne hooked up for a deep route.  Osborne finished the night as the game’s leading receiver with five catches for 99 yards. Then the Mules defense went to work and stopped Clemens on a fourth and four play when Jay Hargrove intercepted a pass from Buffalo QB JJ Elkins, the first of four he would give up on the night.  This led to the second successful offensive drive, which culminated in a TD pass to running back Brandon Wasson from nine yards out. 

Wasson had come into the game when the area’s leading scorer Byron Proctor, went out with an apparent ankle sprain.  Proctor tried coming back in but quickly realized he was done for the night.  It was to be a stellar night for Wasson who piled up 121 hard yards of rushing, the nine yards receiving which resulted in one of two touchdowns and a gutty performance on an unsettled gut.

The Mules defense stopped Clemens on the following drive when free safety Cameron Dawley, one of the other stars of the night, came off the edge to sack Clemens quarterback JJ Elkins to stop a drive and force a field goal attempt of 31 yards which got the Buffalos on the board for their only offensive score of the night.  Dawley also stopped the final scoring attempt of the first half when he picked off an Elkins attempt in the end zone to keep the Mules lead at 14-3.

The Mules maintained their intensity coming out of the halftime locker room with an effective ball control drive featuring mostly runs and finishing with a 27 yard field goal from Robert Carter.  The third quarter yielded Clemens’ only touchdown of the night when Jacob Ferguson recovered a fumble and rambled 46 yards for a touchdown. 

The key offensive drive for the Mules in the second half occurred midway through the third quarter and again featured a steady combination of pass and run which got the Mules down deep inside Clemens territory when suddenly running back Brandon Wasson needed to leave the field after executing and end around lateral.  As it turns out, Wasson had a bit of an upset stomach and needed an answer for that, which occurred for all to see just before the snap.  Wasson took a one play break and after scoffing down a couple of breath mints and the field was cleaned up, came back into the game and finished the drive with an eight yard touchdown run for his second score of the night in the most unusual drive he may ever experience.

Effectiveness of their own on defense was a key for the Mules as the last score of the night to seal the victory came on a blocked Clemens punt by Cameron Dawley, who has been so close so many times this season, and was gathered up by Zach McConnell who rumbled 36 yards for the score.  This play was set up after a very sore senior defensive end Ben McSween blew around a Clemens tackle to get a key sack and end a Buffalo drive. The Mules defense picked up four interceptions in the game and held Clemens to 12 first downs. 

Offensively, Wasson’s second half 107 yard effort was a highlight.  QB Dalton Banks had another strong game going 16 for 28 for 262 yards and two touchdowns.  Receiver Robert Schuler hauled in six passes for 70 yards.  In addition to tucking away a playoff berth, the win for the Mules sets up an opportunity to win the District 27-4A crown outright when they travel to Bob Shelton Stadium to face Buda Hays on Friday November 8 at 7:30 p.m. Each time comes into the game with one district loss.

 

“His Inside Voice” 

A weekly discussion with Coach Mike Norment

Mule Fan:  Three things about the win over Clemens that come to mind.  The defense didn’t allow a touchdown and forced turnovers.  Special teams got a turnover and scored a touchdown.  Then it seems the biggest accomplishment of the night is that you knew Clemens’ strength was their defense and you handled their defense seemingly with ease.  Did this come off to you as the Mules most complete game of the year?

Coach Norment:  This one and probably Boerne were the two most complete games we’ve had because of all three phases of the game came together.  We’ve had different phases throughout the year but this is when it all came together and we’re playing some good football right now.  We played good against Lockhart and against Clemens and we’re on a little bit of a roll.  We’re feeling good.  We’re starting to get healthy again.  We’ve got depth because we’ve had to play some other people so hopefully we’re hitting our stride.  We haven’t peaked and we’re going to the playoffs.

Mule Fan:  We heard you tell the kids in the locker room that this is what happens when you have a week of good practices.  You hear coaches talk about that a lot.  What helps you determine that it has been a good week of practice when you look back over a week?

Coach Norment:  We’ve had two good weeks of practice.  First of all you have to have a great attitude.  Mondays are always going to be the roughest days because that’s when you’re putting new schemes on; you’re making a few changes so those are always going to be the toughest days.  The second day, hopefully some of the things you’ve put on (in practice) Monday are starting to get a little clearer and the kids are starting to understand better and execute better. By Wednesday they’ve gotten most of that taken care of.  At the same time you’ve got to have great attitude and be flyin’ around and giving great effort.  It’s a combination of knocking out mistakes and getting crisp in your execution.  At the same time having great attitude and flying around and we’ve had two weeks of that.  Like today (Tuesday) we weren’t perfect by any means but we were flying around and had a good attitude and were better than we were yesterday.  So that’s our goal and hopefully we’re better tomorrow than we were today.

Mule Fan:  As you have said in Film Night, it is hard to get a blocked punt or field goal at this level.  Cameron Dawley has been close so many times this year and he finally got his claws on one on Friday and we “scoop and score” off of it.  What about the operation allowed him to get to this one this time and get the block?

Coach Norment: First of all there are a lot of things that are going on.  The person next to him has to engage the end at the line of scrimmage so that he can’t block out or widen to make the outside man, or Cameron in this case, go wide.  If you go wide, you won’t get it.  So we did a great job of occupying him.  We came right off the defender’s butt and had a great angle.  On the other side we’ve got to have somebody be ready for the ball to be able to pick it up and run with it after it.  So we block the punt and if we didn’t have that then we would have recovered the ball but we wouldn’t have scored and you don’t know what’s going to happen.  So there are several things that are going on at the same time and it all worked perfectly and we were able to occupy the last man, come off the edge, block it and the next man (Zach McConnell) from the other side pick up the ball and score.  Looks great but they all had to do the things that they’ve been working on this whole year for that to come about.

Mule Fan:  Now the playoff berth is sewn up but there’s more at stake this Friday with Buda Hays is there not?

Coach Norment:  Well first of all it is for the outright district championship.  Alamo Heights hasn’t been outright district champ since 2007.   We shared several in that time period but we haven’t been outright district champs.  And also it goes down to seeding.  We’re going to be “small school” (division) no matter what.  The four schools are already set.  Hays and Clemens are “big school” (based on enrollment numbers when district’s realigned two years ago) and Heights and Tivy are the small schools.  If we win we’ll be the number one seed and if we lose we’ll be the number two seed.  You just want to go into the playoffs on a positive note and on a roll.  So that’s what we’re looking at.  We want to go out there and play well going into the playoffs.

Mule Fan:  If you could to choose at the beginning of the season, would you rather have three pressure packed games at the end of the season to sharpen up rather than the most important games at the beginning?

Coach Norment:  Pressure packed and you win them is much better than pressure packed and not winning.  I like the fact that after the Tivy game we picked it up some.  We talked about having to win two out of the next three to get into the playoffs and we knocked the two out right away.  We always talk about how you respond to things.  Clemens picks up a fumble and scores and cuts the lead to seven and then we go down and score.  We responded. So it’s always great to see how a team responds to different situations and we’ve responded so far really well.  I’m curious how we’re going to respond to this situation of going out there not really having a whole lot to play for besides seeding purposes going into the playoffs.  I really think this team is very focused.  I truly believe that the Tivy game opened their eyes a little bit.

Mule Fan:  So with the district title up for grabs we come upon Buda Hays, which has been one of the strong teams of the district all season.  What do you see out of them that has given them the success they’ve had and what can we expect this Friday?

Coach Norment:  Every coach I’ve talked to says they’re real physical.  They’re going to come up and hit you offensively and defensively so that’s going to be a challenge. Another challenge is that on defense we’re going to see a 3-4, which we haven’t seen in a while, many weeks in fact.  So we have to go back and talk about how we block that defense. They do a lot of slanting and lot more blitzing than we’ve seen so it is curious to see what’s going to happen as the game unfolds.  Offensively they have a couple of different schemes.  They run a jet sweep which is a guy coming across the formation handing off to him that we have seen.  But then they’ll actually run a triple option veer that we haven’t seen. So with those two things our defense will have some challenges.  They’ll be well coached and their special teams are going to be solid so we have to prepare for that too.  It will require a good game in all three phases to have a chance to beat those guys.

Other District 27-4A Results November 1, 2013

Buda Hays 38, Boerne Champion 7

Kyle Lehman 40, Lockhart 9

Kerrville Tivy 51, Seguin 15

District 27-4A Standings

Alamo Heights        5-1

Buda Hays                5-1

Clemens                    4-2

Kerrville Tivy          4-2

Boerne Champion  3-3

Kyle Lehman           2-4

Lockhart                   1-5

Seguin                       1-5

Upcoming District 27-4A Schedule 11/8/13

Kerrville Tivy at Lockhart

Seguin at Boerne Champion

Kyle Lehman at Clemens

Alamo Heights vs Buda Hays (at Bob Shelton Stadium in Kyle)

Playoff Scoop:

The Mule Fan was on top of the developing playoff picture this week seeking out the finest and most reliable and respected sources in the land who all said this is how they believe things will look.  Here's how things break down.

The Mules will face Brennan, Burbank or Lanier first round.  Highlands plays Brackenridge and Lanier plays Burbank this weekend.  If Highlands wins and Burbank loses this weekend (both have to happen), the Mules will face Brennan in the small school division.  If Highlands loses or if Burbank wins the Mules will play either Burbank or Lanier.  In this circumstance, if the Mules win, they'll play the loser of the Burbank-Lanier game.  If the Mules lose, they'll play the winner of the Burbank-Lanier game.

This will all be sorted out by Sunday because Burbank and Lanier play on Saturday night.  Stay tuned.  Just don't make any plans for a weekend getaway next week.  

A Mule Fan Exclusive Behind the Scenes Look

Your Mule Fan editors were granted special access to the fragrant and elated post game locker room after the Clemens victory.  Here's your chance to see what goes on after a victory with these exclusive videos.  Especially a big victory.  We're sorry we can't give you the full effect with a special "scratch and sniff" pad.  But that technology doesn't exist yet.  Trust us.  In this case, you've been spared.  Enjoy the gleeful footage.

Mule Notes:

As expected, the Mules swapped places in the area sub-5A rankings with Clemens are now ranked #2 behind Brennan at 10-0…Mules QB Dalton Banks is 10th in the area in total offense with 2,265 yards.  He's 4th in area passing yardage with 1,986…receiver Robert Schuler is 4th in area receiving with 50 catches…Byron Proctor expectedly dropped out of the scoring lead in the city due to having to sit out almost all of Friday's game against Clemens but still ranks 7th with 120 points…defensive back Mitchell Abramson sneaks into the interception chart at 11th with four picks.

Ticket Office Hours for the road trip week of 11/8 are Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30am-12:00pm & 1:30pm-3:00pm and Friday from 8:30am-3:00pm.  Tickets are priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students.  Tickets are $7 from kinder and up if you buy them at the gate.   Leave your favorite umbrella at home. They don’t allow them into the stadium. 

Cliché Corner – Cuz learnin’ is gud!

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

Choose the football cliché.

A.  He’s so tough, he eats rocks an bleeds gravel  B. If rash persists, call a physician

Answer:  A.  The player is tough but may need dental work

Mules on Radio and Online

It’s a road trip and the Mules could use some noise at the stadium.  But if you can’t make it, 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.

Gene, Gene the Southwest Conference Scoring Machine

Our very own Gene Phillips, Alamo Heights Athletic Director and Head Coach of the girl’s varsity basketball team, was honored last week with a great honor as he was inducted into the Southwest Conference and Texas Sports Hall of Fame.  Gene was a legendary college basketball player at SMU and holds a record for the most points scored in a Southwest Conference game with a 51-point effort on the University of Texas.  He was called the purest shooter in SMU history.  This reporter used to walk past a big photo every day, as we walked to our office in the concourse of the historic Moody Coliseum on the SMU campus, of Gene knocking in a baseline shot against an SWC victim.  In high school, Gene dumped in a record 81 points in a game, which survives today as the most points scored in a Texas high school game.  Phillips also has some great stories about his two-year pro career with the ABA Dallas Chaparrals, the team that moved to San Antonio and became the Spurs.  Congratulations Gene!  The Alamo Heights community is very proud and happy for Gene on this well deserved honor.

This Week's Canned Ham(s)…are well deserved by two winners.  For their efforts, Cameron Dawley and Brandon Wasson collect the swine.  Dawley finally got his mitts on an opponent's punt which Zach McConnell scooped and fled chasers for a 36 yard touchdown return.  Dawley also had an interception.  And Brandon Wasson overcame his bout with nausea and his eventual urp to turn in the 121 yard rushing performance scoring one touchdown running and one touchdown receiving.  Eat up boys!

Editor’s Note (disclaimer):  We will say it and own this right up front.  As far as senior running back Brandon Wasson is concerned, he had a heroic night and we hope you agree that we have treated nearly every bit of his performance on the field with the deepest respect and admiration.  But we cannot ignore the circumstances. (And truly, what is about to follow is only slightly about him but more about the act of barfing on a football field which few of us get to experience. And we are heartened by Brandon's sense of humor on the topic as evidenced in his comments to the San Antonio Express News.) The Mule Fan editors were gabbing amongst themselves after the game debating how to treat the topic involving bodily functions in this week’s post.  Should we ignore it? Uh uh. We must address it.  As we hope you know by now, your editorial staff tries to entertain you each week.  Occasionally, we must entertain ourselves and identify community health topics that are relevant. (It is nearly the cold and flu season). Too much was bubbling up (sorry) in our minds and we just had to let it out (I know, I know…).

When we unrolled Saturday’s San Antonio Express News and saw that not only did Lorne Chan (the Express News man covering the high school beet [sp!!]) devote two paragraphs and a quote to Wasson’s blow-by-blow night (somebody please stop me), the EN sports desk editors used it in their headline??!!!  Really!!??? Well, it’s on.  We will not be outdone by the schlemiels at the local daily.  After all, we are classically trained in this area.  And when we are offered up nuggets (I’m ashamed and so out of control) like this, we must pounce.

We are imagining the conversations you are having at home right now.  Something like this perhaps…. 

Mule Mom reader to Mule Dad:  “He’s going too far with this isn’t he?  Enough already.  It’s already overdone.  Is he nine years old or something?? What's next?  Hawaiian nose humming?”

Mule Dad reader to Mule Mom:  “No he is right on target.  And to be fair, this clown typically spews forth {so, so sorry, :)} what we are all thinking.  We know we can count on him.  He is rounding into playoff form.”

A note about the aftermath:  Once the Mule Fan editorial staff realized what had happened, the synapses opened up so that we could make keen observations about social behavior in our species.  To begin with, we didn’t hear one person say “bless his heart, his tummy hurts.” Well maybe a few of those. There was confusion as to why the players were taking a knee and collective worry that we typically see when a blue and gold uniform is laying out on the turf.   We had already had plenty of that on this big night.  Your editors were wondering in our own minds where the Haz Mat unit was going to come from.  Suddenly from the bench, the Mules’ brave assistant athletic trainer Amanda Boyd stepped out onto the field with a nice white towel.  She will now have a good career story to tell at Thanksgiving this month and for many years to come about how she collects evidence and examines symptoms before deciding how to treat things.  Interesting though how head athletic trainer Mike Post was nearby, but principally in a supervisory role.  Notably, he has a reputation of being a superb delegator and on this night his acumen was on full display.  One must pay their dues right? As always, he was supportive. 

What’s on the Menu:  The subject then reverted to what the lads had dined on earlier at the traditional Friday varsity lunch.  And we think we found the problem.  It was revealed that the bill o’ fare was chili cheese dogs! What?? No side order of beef stroganoff and mashed peas??  At that point, why hold back? Had it been an early September game, this situation could have been biblical in proportions.  Fortunately it was not a hot night. (No offense intended to the hosts. It was an honest effort and I would have eaten three of them.  And in fairness the chili and cheese was optional so the players bear some responsibility in their choices.  We are told that the coaching staff wisely passed on the chili, which had to be difficult to do.)

Note to future varsity lunch hosts:  Although a batch of larrupin' chili cheese dogs are a good, yummy and respected stadium comfort food, it is better that they be fed to tailgaters and out of concession stands and not to guys who will be doing 2½ hours of wind sprints with 25 pounds of padding on their bodies.  To be safe, this week we think the hosts should ladle out bowls of chicken noodle soup accompanied by all the saltine crackers they can eat, some club soda for the beverage followed by popsicles and be done with it.

Okay that’s enough.  We think we’ve coughed up enough on this subject. :)

GO MULES!!! BEAT BUDA HAYS!! WIN DISTRICT!