Mules Kick Over
Litter Box on Callallen Cats in 31-13 Victory at Victoria
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Mules proceed to State Quarterfinals against
Port Lavaca Calhoun
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First trip to State Quarters since 2009
(Victoria, Texas)—Now
we can say it. When your team is
playing in December, it has gone, what many consider, “deep” into the
playoffs. As is always the case,
the collective feeling from Mule Nation and the community now is; “MORE.”
The
Mules settled their account with Corpus Christi Calallen on Friday in
Victoria’s Memorial Stadium 31-13 before an impressive road crowd of turkey-weary fans and tightened down another trip to the 4A Division II State Quarterfinals this Saturday against the Port Lavaca Calhoun Sandcrabs. The Mules decisively dismantled a
Wildcats team that came into the game undefeated and averaging 50 points per
game and held them to seven points.
A withering defense, which forced four turnovers including one for
points, was carefully mixed with a dominating Alamo Heights offense and left
the Mules cleaning their swords in preparation for a joyous trip home and
looking forward to another week of serious business.
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| All photos courtesy of Mary Candee http://dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com |
The
Mules were ornery from the beginning.
We at the Mule Fan surmise it began with Coach Norment not allowing the
busses to stop at the outlet malls on the way up IH-35 to let the boys out for
a little Black Friday shopping.
Just as the guys were settling back down after that idea was rejected,
the busses turned south in front of Bucee’s, which of course was jammed with
Black Friday shoppers. This was
cruel. (Editors Note: To those
readers from other parts of the country unfamiliar with this retail brand, there
are some who call Bucee’s a big convenience store. Well, to call Bucee’s a convenience store is the mother of
all understatements. Bucee’s is to
convenience stores what DFW Airport is to Kitty Hawk. Where else in the free world can you get a scorpion encased
in Lucite, 12 inch pecan logs, a horseshoe shaped pencil sharpener and 36
flavors of non-dairy creamer including the elusive “asphalt ripple mocha” while
gazing at 120 active gas pumps??)
When Coach Norment teased the fellas by turning past this shopping
oasis, tempers were white-hot. The Mule Fan believes this was all by design.
Alamo
Heights jumped to the lead early and only shared it for a few minutes late in the
first quarter and then straitjacketed Calallen over three quarters en route to
the win. The Mules defensive line
forced the agenda making sure that accomplished quarterback Derek Scheible did
not have a heavy hand in the game.
Scheible struggled to reach 53 yards rushing, not familiar territory for
him, being forced out of his comfort zone often to attempt to find
receivers. His passing wasn’t
enough to overcompensate for a rushing offense virtually stopped cold, as he
was 10 for 23 and 98 yards and two interceptions.
The Mules scored on their opening
drive when Byron Proctor peeled off 34 yards on an amazing left side run with Calallen holding desperately onto his
jersey at one point to put the Mules up 7-0. It was Proctor’s first of three rushing touchdowns and 34 of
his 110 yards on 15 carries. He
was touched on neither of the next two.
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| Mary Candee Snaps 'em |
Calallen replied on the next drive
with their only meaningful points of the night as running back Chris Price
scored on an off tackle run from the two.
With the score tied at seven, the Mules started the next drive on their
own 39 and took seven plays to reclaim the lead for good. The key play on the drive was a 19 yard
pass play from Dalton Banks to Scotty Uhl to get the ball to the Wildcats 31
yard line. A few plays later,
Proctor burst up the middle through a large opening in the line for 19 yards
and the Mules second touchdown.
On the first play from scrimmage
following the Mules kickoff, Calallen set up shop on their own 33. Running back Chris Price took a handoff
to start off tackle on the right side.
Sophomore tackle Stone Tarver came around Price from behind and knocked
the ball loose resulting in what they call in baseball a nice “Sunday hop” and
into the warm and loving arms of safety Adam Luna who had come in for an
injured Cameron Dawley. Luna
recognized instantly that the color in front of him was a relatively
uninterrupted stretch of green and thanks to a sinus-clearing block from the
ubiquitous Ben McSween, darted the distance untouched for the Mules third score
of the half.  |
| Scotty Uhl demonstrating "ball security." This will come in handy someday when he is actively involved in late night feedings. |
In the second quarter, the Mules
stuck one more pin through the Calallen voodoo doll, putting together an eight
play drive with Proctor scoring from seven yards out with 2:17 left in the
half. The feature play on the
drive was a 36 yard over the shoulder catch by Scotty Uhl on a Banks pass which
took the Mules to the Wildcat’s 35 yard line. With one more short possession in the second quarter,
Calallen tried to narrow the gap but were turned away on the last play when
safety Adam Luna was able to get another scalp picking off a Hail Mary pass
from Scheible as the first half ran out.
The Mules went to the halftime locker room up 28-7.
The Mules completely smothered
Calallen in the second half while tacking on one additional score from the leg
of kicker Robert Carter who connected on a 32 yard field goal with 1:40 in the
third. Alamo Heights’ defense was impenetrable with three enormous defensive
stands that helped crystallize the victory. In all, the defense was responsible for two fumble
recoveries including one returned for a touchdown and two interceptions on the
night.
The Mules now take on the Port
Lavaca Calhoun Sandcrabs (12-1) in Texas State’s Bobcat Stadium, right off
IH-35 in San Marcos, on Saturday December 7th at 1:00 p.m. Calhoun upset Cedar Park on Friday in
the very same location by a score of 28-27.
“His Inside Voice”
A weekly discussion with
Coach Mike Norment
Mule
Fan: The Mules beat a Calallen
team that was previously unbeaten and you held them to less than half of what
they had been producing in total offense.
What were you able to do in this big win that others had not up until
that point?
Coach
Norment: We played a complete
game. Offense put pressure on them. We were able to score and get ahead and
that always puts pressure on a team if they’re always behind. They hadn’t played from behind a whole
lot this year. Then our defense
probably played one of their best games of the year. They did a great job of hustling besides that first drive
where they allowed them to score.
After that they were able to shut them down. Also they had two goal line stands and stopped them on
fourth down several times. And that was a good team, a well-coached team. What you want is to be peaking towards
the end of the year. Hopefully
this was not our best game. We’re
starting to bring it all together.
We’re starting to get a little healthier and we’re playing really well
right now.
Mule
Fan: You mentioned that they had not
been behind much during the year. We wondered if they had been behind at all! Suddenly
they were behind a bunch. We know you have a lot of respect for their coach but
do you think that got to them a little bit?
Coach
Norment: Well I think they really
thought they were in the game.
They pinned us on the one yard line and we were able to come out and get
a couple of first downs and change the field position. I think that really got their
attention. I think also when it
was third and what, 27, and we were able to convert on a long third down play,
I think that took a lot of wind out of their sails. They were a big play team on offense. They had some drives but we didn’t give
up the big play and I think that was key to our success.
Mule
Fan: The run was a good option for
Dalton Banks. It was the fewest
pass attempts he’s had all year.
What was he seeing in coverages that made the run work better on Friday?
Coach
Norment: Early on they were giving
us five in the box (Editor’s Note:
This is not a reference to a menu item at Church’s.) and that usually
tells us that we think we can try and run the ball and that’s what we did. And then when we got up 31-7 our whole
mindset changed as well. We just
decided we were going to try to bleed the clock and not do anything to give
them a chance to get back in the game such as sacks and interceptions. So that’s one reason why we didn’t
throw the ball as much as we have in the past. If it would have been a closer game we probably would have
thrown the ball some more. But
we’re a team that will take what the defense gives us and that’s what they were
giving us.
Mule
Fan: The defensive line pressured
their quarterback all night long.
You took a tem averaging 50 points and held them to 13. Where does the
credit go for that?
Coach
Norment: It goes to the kids and
the coaching staff. The defensive
coaches did a great job of coming with a great game plan and the kids went out
and executed and flew around so once again it was a team effort.
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| Photos courtesy of Mary Candee- http://dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com |
Mule
Fan: So Port Lavaca is next. They
go into San Marcos last Saturday and beat last year’s defending state
champions. How did they do it?
Coach
Norment: They got after them. They won their three playoff games by
less than a touchdown. They were
able to hang around, hang around, hang around and then somehow at the end of
the game they were able to make big plays and come out with a win. They beat (Corpus Christi) Flour Bluff
in overtime. They came from behind and scored to beat Floresville. And then of
course they scored late and went for a two point conversion to go ahead
(against Cedar Park). And then
they were able to come up with a goal line stand of their own to deny Cedar
Park any chance to score at the end of the game. They’re guys who hang around and find a way to win at the
very end.
Mule
Fan: Calallen hung 48 points in a
shutout against Port Lavaca in September.
You swap four films with your opponent in these playoff rounds. Is it safe to assume that that game
will be one of them since Calallen is fresh in your mind?
Coach
Norment: Well Calallen really
didn’t do a lot that we do offensively so that’s not one of the games that we
chose. We chose the last four
games they’ve played. The Calallen
game was early in the year and sometimes you have to look at those early games
and take them with a grain of salt.
Obviously they’ve gotten better.
We know that Calallen got after them but they’re also a district rival
that get’s after it and that’s like somebody taking our film with Tivy. That was early in the year and for
example Port Lavaca didn’t ask for Tivy even though they beat us. So that’s just one of those
things. When you start doing the
numbers game and say Calallen beat them by a bunch of points, Tivy beat us,
Cedar Park beat Tivy and they beat Cedar Park; you just have to throw out some
of these comparisons and realize that both teams are very well coached and
they’re both good.
Mule
Fan: Again you face a run offense
in Port Lavaca although it is more of a run option offense with three strong running
backs. What does your defense have
to watch on Saturday?
Coach
Norment: They’ll have to be real
disciplined because any time you’re running against an option team, you have to
be disciplined and stay and do your assignment. Because if you take the wrong person then somebody can be
untouched on the pitch or something like that. I feel very confident in the defensive coaches. We spent the last couple of days
watching a lot of film and coming up with a plan. They’re going to teach the
kids. We’ve got a whole week to
get ready for them. I have the
ultimate confidence in the defense and the defensive coaches to come up with a
great game plan to slow them down.
You can’t really stop them but you can slow them down.
Mule
Fan: What were the strengths defensively that you observed in Port Lavaca on
Saturday that your offense will have to face?
Coach
Norment: They’re big upfront and
give you a bunch of different looks.
They will give up some points but they are also opportunistic in the
fact that if you don’t do your assignment, they’ll get a sack or they’ll get an
interception or a turnover.
Possessions are also going to be important because they do run an
offense that can keep the ball away from you for a lot of time. We can’t afford to be doing a lot of
punting or turning the ball over to them.
Mule
Fan: The Mules haven’t been this far in a few years. How do you put this in perspective for the kids? Do you want
them to realize the size of the moment?
What’s your approach to this with them?
Coach
Norment: Well you can’t say it
isn’t a big game because everybody knows that it is. There’s excitement in the community. Everybody’s talking about it and
everything like that. But at the
same time, you can’t worry about it like well if we win this game we’re in the
semifinals. If you take that
attitude, you’re going to end up losing and not making it there. So just like any other game, we have to
have great practices. I want them to be excited and intense. But at the same time you can’t be too
excited. I want the same intensity
that we had against Calallen, that we had against Clemens, that we had against
Vanergrift, that we had against Boerne.
You can sort of see it. They’re
not jumping around but you can tell they’re serious and that’s what we need to
have.
Port Lavaca
Calhoun Notes: The
Sandcrabs toil in District 30-4A and finished second behind Calallen this
season with a 5-1 record…they lost a September meeting to Calallen 48-0…they
average 46.4 points per game and give up an average of 25.6 ppg…most passes
attempted in a game this season was seven and most completed was six…Sandcrabs
average 452.5 yards rushing per game and 46.7 yards passing…Three Calhoun
running backs have over 1,000 yards rushing this season. Hunter Boerm averages 123 yards per
game and 8.07 yards per carry with 14 touchdowns, Jakorious Williams averages 158.6
yards per game and 9.42 yards per carry with 28 touchdowns, and Brandon
Smithwick averages 85.4 yards per game and 14 yards per carry…In the last three
years, Port Lavaca has a 33-3 record.
Other Region IV
Result
Port Lavaca Calhoun 28, Cedar Park 27 at San Marcos Texas
State University
Remaining
4A-Division II Matchups
Region 1: Aledo
(13-0) vs. Wichita Falls (8-5) 7:30pm Friday at Justin Northwest
Region 2: Ennis
(13-0) vs. Mesquite Poteet (12-1) 7:30pm Friday at Allen
Region 3:
Richmond George Ranch (13-0) vs. Brenham (12-1) 1:00pm Saturday at Tully
Stadium
Region 4: Port
Lavaca Calhoun (12-1) vs. Alamo Heights (10-3) 1:00pm at San Marcos Texas State
University
Next bracket:
Region 4 plays Region 3; Region 2 plays Region 1
Playoff Brackets
Ticket Information:
The Alamo Heights athletic office will be selling tickets in
advance this week beginning Wednesday.
Prices are $8 for adults and $5 for students two years and over. Prices
will be a flat $10 at the gate. There will be a charge for parking this week of $5. Mule fans will sit on the east side of Bobcat Stadium. Ticket office hours this week are Wednesday and Thursday
8:30am-noon and 1:30pm-3:00pm. and Friday 8:30pm-4:00pm in the athletic
office. On Friday, you can buy
tickets from Patty Juarez at the Muledome from 4:30pm-7:00pm where she will be
vending while Gene Philips’ girl’s hoopsters are playing.
Playoff Broadcast
Information/Note new Streaming Information
This Saturday’s game broadcast will be on KKYX-AM 680 and
104.9 FM. Dave Parker has informed
the Mule Fan that the traditional web stream will not be available this week
due to preemptive rights from the UIL.
However, you can hear the live stream on www.kkyx.com
and also listen on the iHeart Radio app.
Don’t panic. No big deal.
This week it will be Ed Suarez and Dave Parker bringing you all the
action. Airtime will be about a
half hour before game time.
Mirror, Mirror on
the Wall, Who’s the Hammiest of them All?
‘Tis the defensive line this week folks. Now these are big lads and we’ve been
informed that the bumbling oafs in management are “preserving cash” (presumably
to pay themselves a Christmas bonus while our writing staff keeps this
operation held together with clothespins and velcro) so they will not get full
sized canned hams but rather canned hamlets. Juan Alvarez, Ben McSween, Stone Tarver, Ronnie Rogers,
Rocky Tips and Micah Dennis will be able to swallow these morsels whole and
lick their fingers clean before Saturday.
Congrats to the defensive line for monstering up against Calallen.
Lost and Found
As a service to the community, the Mule Fan occasionally
posts lost and found notices. It
is especially important when a Mule Fan staffer has lost something or a child
is left at the stadium. If anyone
picked up the canvas back (navy blue version-vintage) off of one of those
folding stadium chairs, please let us know here at the Mule Fan World
Headquarters. That pesky little
thing slips off and when Mule Fan Mommy went carrying it down out of the
stands, it slipped off. You may
well ask why Mule Fan Daddy didn’t carry his own dang chair. Well he did but he also had to carry the
typewriter, the printing press, a mimeograph machine and his trusty 50 watt
generator plus 36 different colored markers and he just couldn’t carry hers
alright?? When we went back to
look for it amongst peanut bags and plastic bottles, somebody had apparently
souvenired it. There is no reward
offered and no possibility of a ransom.
Just our warmest personal regards.
Thank you.
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