Port Lavaca Calhoun
Ends Mules Season 46-22 in San Marcos
-Sandcrabs Move on to Semi Finals
vs. Brenham
-Mules Proud of 10-4 Season and
Now Look Ahead
(San Marcos, Texas)—Everybody knows
the feeling. You enter the season
full of enthusiasm and excitement, twist and turn during the journey,
experience the highs and lows as a community, and all but one team and its
fandom end on the down. But now
that we’ve all had a few days to get it in perspective, our chins are up and we
celebrate a terrific Mules season that was a ton ‘o fun! Yeah sure we would rather have made it
to the mountaintop but it ain’t an easy climb. This season ended three steps from the top as Port Lavaca
Calhoun sent the Mules home 46-22 at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos on a frosty
day. We get our Mules and put ‘em
up for every step and congratulate the Alamo Heights Mules for giving us our 10th
consecutive year in the playoffs (an irrational fantasy to anyone associated
with Alamo Heights from any decade prior to the 90’s), a 10-4 season and a team
that was a heckuva lot of fun to watch.
We here at the Mule Fan are proud, as we know you all are.
 |
| Photos courtesy all season of Mary Candee. Thanks Mary! |
The Sandcrabs executed a potent
triple-option offense throwing size, strength and “vewy cwafty deception” at
the Mules as Elmer Fudd might say.
Statistically, Port Lavaca poured 485 yards of rushing offense all over
Alamo Heights, which managed only 62 yards on the ground. When Calhoun lead rusher Cory Williams
signed off, he had booked 194 yards in 32 carries and a touchdown. Quarterback Hunter Boerm stacked 85
yards and two TD’s on top of that.
Plenty of understudy backs got into the act as well faking into the
line, taking pitches and diving into the end zone. It was an offense that the Alamo Heights scouted well but
were certainly not able to duplicate their power in practice.
 |
| See these shots and many more great ones at http://dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com. Buy a batch of memories shot by a pro with a camera that costs more than $100. |
In spite of the heavy hit the Mules
took through two and a half quarters, the defense got some big stops and the
offense started to turn it on in the third putting themselves in a position to
flirt with a two possession game with ample time. But a long effective drive
fell short with a tipped ball and interception at the three yard line by a
Sandcrab linebacker putting down the Mules threat. The Mules did get a 94 yard returned blocked extra point by
special teams wiz Cameron Dawley, an exciting touchdown from Jake Osborne on a
61 yard catch and score on a Dalton Banks pass, and an 82 yard fumble recovery
and score from defensive tackle Juan Alvarez with time running out but that was
about all that was on the menu on Saturday.
So thanks go all around to the
seniors listed below (and there’s a bunch of them), to whom we wish the best of
luck, for their leadership and contributions to the Alamo Heights football
program and to the coaches, trainers, student trainers, athletic staff, band,
Spurs and cheerleaders for all their effort this season and throughout the
year. It’ll be an exciting off
season with plenty of intrigue as districts realign and new schedules with new
opponents are finalized.
This Week’s Canned
Hams? Who Else? The Seniors:
Armando Tamez, Jake Osborne, Juan Pablo Olazaba, Scotty Uhl,
Wesley Sparr, Daniel Mays, Noah Hernandez, Ted Zuzula, Robert Schuler, Jay
Hargrove, Tommy Tyng, Byron Proctor, Jacob Cilfone, William Faz, Adam Luna,
Brandon Wasson, Austin Jaramillo, Nick David, Kaw Ka Pow Htoo, Bruno Fontana,
Robert Durbin, Zander Thomas, Parker Hollingshead, Connor Gates, Ben McSween,
JD Janicek, Matthew Wilkes, Zach Guney, Joey Gonzales, Chris Magallanez, Juan
Alvarez, Zach McConnell, Connor Peoples, Camilo Garcia, Max Molak, James
Lockwood, Riley Zander, Christian Lalinde, Jeffrey Dubrof, and David Andrade.
“His Inside Voice”
A weekly discussion with
Coach Mike Norment
Mule Fan: During the playoffs you’ve talked about
always having to “up your game” and top your last effort with your best game of
the year. On Saturday the Mules
didn’t have their best game of the year and Port Lavaca probably did. What do you think was the bigger
factor, Calhoun’s execution of their triple option or Alamo Heights not hitting
on all cylinders offensively?
Coach
Norment: It was a
combination. In the first half we
struggled offensively and that allowed Port Lavaca to be on the field a
lot. They were much bigger than we
are and we didn’t want the defense to be out there as many snaps as they were.
So that led to them being up three scores at halftime and that’s definitely
what we didn’t want to do. In the
last two games we were able to jump on the other team and play with a lead.
This game didn’t work out that way so they were able to play their game of ball
control and pretty much be able to do what they wanted to do. We were playing catch up and having to
throw the ball almost every down. That’s not what we do. We are able to mix it up so we became
one dimensional so it was a combination.
Plus Port Lavaca was a very talented team and played very, very well so
when you combine us not playing our best with them playing very good you get a
score like we had this week and unfortunately we were on the losing end.
Mule
Fan: You had their offense scouted
well. I saw a few minutes of a few
practices last week and recognized all the formations and plays from scout team
but they were a very physical team.
What can you do when you can’t simulate size and strength in a scout
team environment in practice?
Coach
Norment: Yeah they were very big
and very strong and you really can’t simulate that at all. You just have to do the best you can. They were very physical on both sides of
the football. That just shows that
we have to work on that in the off season and try and get a little stronger and
be able to hold up against teams that want to do that to us.
Mule
Fan: With all of that, the defense
started making some stops in the second half, the offense started getting tuned
up a little bit and then there was the drive in the third that ended with the
tip and the interception after scoring in the previous possession. Had you
scored you were looking at a two possession game and plenty of time. Were the
guys feeling that?
Coach
Norment: I think so. We had a lot
of momentum. They were on their
heels. And you don’t know what’s
going to happen but I do know that had we have scored there you don’t know what
would have happened but it would have been better than what happened. You could just feel the wind get out of
us. That was unfortunate because
we had a great season and I like the fact that our kids never gave up. It would have been real easy to say all
right that’s it and fold the tent but they didn’t. And you expect that from Alamo Heights but you want to make
sure the kids do that and they did so I’m very proud of how they finished the
game.
 |
| Can't do these with an iPhone. Thanks again to Mary Candee! http://dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com |
Mule
Fan: We know there’s only one team
that finishes the year happy but your team accomplished a lot this season
especially in the wake of last year’s early exit from the playoffs. I know you’re proud of that. What do you think was the biggest
reason that they achieved what they did?
Coach
Norment: Well they really bought
into the team motto and they understood that everybody was a part. We talked about that a lot. Everybody
was a part of this team. The JV had to give us a great effort in scout team and
when they did they were reminded that they had to give us a great look and at
the same time they were getting better for next year. You know we had so many injuries and other things that we
had to grab people that maybe weren’t starters and maybe didn’t think they were
going to play as much and all of a sudden they’re getting lots of playing time
and they actually bought into that.
So we always talk about not being the weak link and we talk about that
in the off-season. Well we can
actually say that there weren’t weak links out here. When the person was called on to step up they were able to
step in and do the best they possibly could and we didn’t lose that much. So I think those are the factors that
really made this team be able to go as far as they did is the fact that they
bought into the concept of team.
Everybody’s got a position and a role on the team and they fulfilled
that.
Mule
Fan: For many years, whether
you’ve had more talent or less talent, more size or less size the teams have
had great chemistry. You guys have
been able to inject that into their approach.
Coach
Norment: It does help that we are
a school district where a lot of these kids grow up with each other. You may play on different YMCA teams or
they play on the same teams. The majority of them go to the junior high and so
we have a small town feel even though we’re surrounded by San Antonio. That gives us an advantage over some of
these other schools maybe that don’t give that. But at the same time our kids
are good kids and they’re very accepting, they see everybody as blue and gold,
they’re a Mule and so we have really good team chemistry at all levels
including the freshmen. We get
kids that move in or maybe come from the Academy and they’re welcomed in. They’re assimilated very quickly and
that’s a positive for the program.
It was going on way before I got here and it still continues today.
Mule
Fan: Can you share with us what
you said to the guys after the game?
Coach
Norment: It’s always disappointing
especially for the seniors because it’s over. You grow very, very attached to these seniors especially
these guys who you’ve coached and you’ve seen grow from young, and this is a
term of endearment, “idiot freshmen”, to young men who are seniors who are
about to go out on their own and you get very attached. We see them cry because
it meant so much to them. It is
tough. It’s tough as a coach but I
told them I was so proud of them for what they accomplished. It is hard to feel great right now but
if you really look at it we had a great season. We did better than most people
thought we would and I told them that they would always be my guys.
The
sad thing is watching these guys leave. But it was very heartening to be in San
Marcos and see all these former players there that you remember were seniors
two, three, four, five and many more years ago come back and support the
program and see how they’ve grown up and become young men, husbands, fathers
that hopefully this football program has helped them be a little bit better of
a person because of it and that it taught them about hard work and things. So it is difficult to see the seniors
leave but you get a new crop and you can’t really think about it a whole lot. You’ve
got to get those guys ready because we’ll be doing this again next year. So it is a continuous thing and that’s
what makes high school football coaching fun because it is a constant
cycle. But seeing the seniors go
is always the toughest for me.
Mule
Fan: Can you take us through what
happens in the off-season program?
Coach
Norment: We’ll pick up the
equipment and do some testing before we leave for Winter break. I want to have numbers. What’s their bench press and all that
stuff so we have a starting point.
And then when we come back from the break we’re going to have a boot
camp. And this is something we started many years ago when I first got here
back in 1996. There were one or
two years when we didn’t do it. The head coach always talks to the seniors to
find out what’s good, what’s bad and what can we do better and I remember Don
Byrd talking about that being one of the biggest things that the senior class
thought was an important thing in the program. We’ve done it for the last ten years. We’ll change it up a little but
basically I like to say “a rubber band doesn’t have any value unless you
stretch it”. Well you stretch a
player during boot camp. They’re doing things that are not fun and are
physically demanding but we also put a mental aspect to it to show them what
they are capable of doing. We’ll do boot camp for 2-3 weeks and then start the
off season where we’ll do weight lifting inside everyday and some sort of
agility and running outside every day and we’ll do mat room. We’ll do that pretty much up until
March when we start doing football skills and of course late April we’ll go
into spring training and spring ball.
And that is it in a nutshell.
It is going to be imperative since we’re losing so many people (40). We can’t really say right now but when
we get testing done we’ll have an idea where we have weaknesses and the things
that we need to work on. Port
Lavaca Calhoun was very physical and very strong and that is one area we
definitely need to work on is getting our strength up and getting some size. If you just look at the scores from
last year we’ll probably need to get some speed so we’ll be pushing that. But we’ll try to target the players a
little more specifically and see where each player is weak and concentrate on
those and turn them into strengths.
Mule
Fan: This is a transition year for
district. When do you expect that
information to be out there?
Coach
Norment: That will come out in the
beginning of February. We already
know the numbers. The UIL has done
that so we know basically what schools are in what classifications. There’s not a whole lot we can do now. Looking at the numbers there will
probably be two Valley districts, two Corpus, two San Antonio area and two
around the Austin area in 4A. What
district we’re in we don’t know and that’s also still in process. We’re working on schedules for the
non-district games. I’m pretty
sure I’ve got that pretty close to solid and I’ll make calls in January to make
sure before the realignment takes place.
When that takes place we’ll be scrambling and making sure we get the
schedule and the home games and get that taken care of. So there’s a lot of work that goes on in
the spring that you don’t hear about.
We’ll be gearing up for 7-on-7, Mules In Training (summer program) and
before you know it football season we’ll be here which is always great because
it’s always better to be in football season.
How to Sum it All
Up??
This reporter and his loyal team of crayon toting scribblers
have enjoyed bringing you this propaganda each week. We thank all the coaches
and staff for the access that they give us and hope you feel you got good value
for money.
As I watched the players file out of the Bobcat Stadium
locker room on Saturday, some with big ‘ol tears coming down their faces, and
parents with lumps in their throats, it brought back a familiar feeling. Somebody
with a memory of this reporter’s previous exploits suggested I reprise a little
piece that I wrote at the conclusion of the 2009 Alamo Heights season. After some consideration and
consultation with my agent, I concluded that it might still work. Just know that it has not been altered
at all. It deals with the end of
the 2009 season. But these are new eyes on it with the same emotions.
The context was this.
This reporter’s oldest son had just finished his senior season,
coincidentally in the same danged stadium and in similar climate conditions
(brrr!) against Lake Travis, the eventual state champion. It was the end of a terrific and
exciting season, a close game, and none of us were ready for it to end. But end
it did. Some of us knew we would
get another bite at the apple in a few years. Others knew that was it. Next chapter starts now. While the piece was a personal reflection, it was written
thinking it would resonate with all parents of seniors.
“The Drawer”
A Reflection by Bob Cohen
While looking in my son’s
closet for one of my shirts recently, I opened “the drawer”. Not “a” drawer. It
was “the” drawer. After a pause, the realization of what I was seeing hit
square. I’ll bet nearly everyone reading this has one of these drawers as well.
Folded up inside the drawer, or wadded up to be truthful, were pants, jerseys,
sweat bands, belts, 8 ½ inch long shin guards, mouth guards small enough to fit
a puppet, socks and more representing the game gear from a career in kid’s
sports.
How is it possible that my
oldest son has played his last game? All the 8:00 am Saturday soccer games, the
nights at the Little League fields, spring afternoons in the batting cage, the
weekday fall afternoons watching football practice and then finally those
indescribably wonderful Friday nights under the lights in all those stadiums in
all those places. Poof-over! Only the intramural fields await but I won’t see
any of those contests, not without causing nearly irreparable embarrassment
anyway.
Obviously this is a moment
that is typically reserved for the parent of a senior, or at least a senior
that isn’t moving on to the next level of organized athletics. But most of us
are having our own little moments like this right about now. While I watched it
all wind down last Friday night in that cold stadium in San Marcos, I struggled
hard to put a period on the sentence. Can you be ready for that moment? Those
were hard yards…
I stood there silently with
all of the other dads, moms, grandparents and friends surrounded by my own emotions
and a teary wife. Mentally it felt like being yanked out of that stage of my
life into the next (with this kid anyway). I watched him kneeling down on the
goal line watching the other team's celebration and wondered what he was
thinking. Did he realize that he would probably never again experience the
feeling of “team and camaraderie” in quite the same way? Did he recognize that
he had shared an experience and a journey that he will always remember with
some guys with whom he will remain life-long friends and some with whom he will
lose touch? He’ll remember them all and that includes the coaches. It’s a
different memory than the one about the guy who sat next to you in biology.
From running up and down a
soccer field at the age of 6, right arm thrust in the air shouting
encouragement to teammates while staying as far away from the ball as one can
and still be in-bounds to the first year of pads and getting into a three point
stance that looked like something from a Three Stooges episode to locking up in
the biggest game of his life with a defensive lineman with a weight and height
advantage and probably a future of playing on Saturdays…these are the images
that will be etched in this parent’s memory.
There are people to thank
and I’ll leave some out but not mean to do so. You fill in the blanks with your
own list as you look into your drawer. Thanks to all the dads who coached him
early and gave positive encouragement and constructive criticism. Thanks to the
moms who cheered from the camp chairs on the sideline and who car-pooled to
practice and who went to Vivroux for the umpteenth time for another batting
glove or mouth guard. Wait a minute; come to think of it Vivroux should
probably thank me. There was enough merchandise in that one drawer to cover
their rent for a month! Thanks to the trainers and docs for keeping him patched
up especially for that all-important senior year. Thanks to all the parents and
grandparents and other dads for the camaraderie. These are kindred spirits
brought together for an experience that is naturally shared from the inside
out. To all those people who were sick of the football parents who could
seemingly talk about nothing else for four years, thanks for your
understanding. It will ease off now we promise. Thanks to the boys for all of
the time and effort spent making themselves the best players they could be and
for the priceless memories. Yes it sometimes was a hassle to tell us about
every syllable that was uttered by the coaches at halftime and after the game.
We’re not sorry. It was as close as we could come to a do-over. And finally,
thanks to the coaches at the junior high and high school. When we hand off to
you, you play a vital role. In my very ordinary high school sports career I had
a few good coaches and a few that were dreadful. I remember each of them. I
personally am grateful, and I know others are as well, for the experience,
skills, values, lessons and confidence that this Mules coaching staff imparted
to our kids from junior high on up.
If you haven’t done so yet,
approach “the drawer” with caution. Do it because you have to eventually cross
over. But give yourself a few minutes and reflect on the importance of the
moment. Don’t just open it and shut it like you would the one just above it.
Remember the hours in the backyard tossing the football or baseball, tackling
the guys in the hallway in their pajamas before bed, hauling the juice boxes
and donuts on your snack day, painting their helmets, throwing batting
practice, car-pooling to practice, playing H-O-R-S-E, and all the rest. Then
close the drawer. Maybe you can use the stuff for the younger brother. If this
is truly the end of it, I hope you soaked up every minute of this year and
stored the memory in its own special place. I did.
A final thought from the Mule Fan…
On behalf of our underpaid editorial staff we want to thank
you for your continued support.
Without your subscription, management would not be able to continue
drip-feeding us our meager wages.
When we hear the coins drop into the can outside our offices, we leap to
it faster than the tongue of a Komodo lizard. We’re just days away from beginning our now familiar
negotiating dance with these senior management dorks who think they know
something about this business.
We’ll get through it. They
already missed the renewal date on the contracts of all of the writers. One staff writer has decided he is
going into sheet metal fabrication; another is finally going to pursue being a
shepherd, yet another is putting his mobile harpsichord tuning service truck
back on its route and yours truly is currently knitting curtains for all of the
press boxes in south Texas to support us over the long winter. Our future with the publication is, as
usual, up for grabs. We’ll
see. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, from our emaciated Mule Fan family to yours, we
wish you all the best for a happy and healthy holiday season. Thanks for a fun year and…..
GO MULES!!!
Bob Cohen
