Lockhart 20 Alamo Heights 52 September 26, 2014

Mules Take Care of Business with 52-20 Take Down of Lockhart

-Prepare for renewal of San Marcos series ON THURSDAY OCTOBER 2

Photos courtesy of Mary Candee
http://dulcedesigns.photreflect.com

By Bob Cohen, Sr. Rain Soaked Editor  

(San Antonio)—Nobody likes to face a capable team that has just come off of a stunner of a loss.  But Lockhart drew that straw this week and never would the straw have felt shorter than after a first half of an efficient Mules offensive scissoring and having a fired up defense with all its senses about it declawing the Lions’ ultra-traditional (only unconventional by today’s standards) wing T offense.  The Mules stuffed 31 first half points down Lockhart’s throat in a consistent downpour and went on to win 52-20 moving their season record to 3-2, 2-1 in district play at the halfway mark of the regular season schedule.

The Mules shook off last week’s wrenching loss to Boerne Champion with determination in spite of tough game time weather conditions.  This reporter will have to resort to memory for this post because for the most part, the notebook we keep at games turned to pulp by the second quarter.  Management was nowhere to be seen after yours truly asked if they would go to CVS at the half and pick up another one.  They declined saying they didn’t know how to get there.  Typical.  We have dealt with this sort of unresponsive and unfeeling management for all the years this rag has been written.  So we resorted to repeating the notes a lot until they were memorized.

What can be made out in our notes is that Alamo Heights began making its point on the first play from scrimmage which was a Dalton Banks keeper around right end from his own 38 yard line hauling it the distance for a 62 yard touchdown and early lead 7-0 after the Cameron Dawley PAT. That play by the way was nominated for  http://news4sanantonio.com/sports/features/high-school/#.VClLeSfk9J8 play of the week (go vote for it!).  The weather played a role in Lockhart’s attempted response when it fumbled the first of four times on its second play.  Defensive lineman Brandon Peterson fell on the ball setting up the Mules on Lockhart’s 38. The Mules capitalized quickly.  Dalton Banks settled in comfortably behind good protection and drilled a pass to tight end Greer Shetler for a 25-yard touchdown.  On the next possession, Lockhart struggled again with a wet ball.  The Mules defense bottled up the Lions forcing a punt attempt, which never occurred after the long snap was airmailed over the punter’s head.  Alamo Heights picked up the action on Lockhart’s 15-yard line and two plays later Banks took it in again.  Once Dawley tacked on the PAT, the Mules had scored three times in five minutes. 

Alamo Heights had its own problems with ball security in the second quarter with some dropsies but no damage was done.  The Mules scored twice more as the rain continued.  Banks finished off a read draw from 18 yards out.  This after linebacker Trevor Bagg recovered a Lockhart fumble on the 18.  Bagg also kept a drive alive earlier in the quarter getting a first down on a fake punt snap, which went to him for the effort to convert.  Dawley added a 25-yard field goal to the total before going in to towel off.

Mule starters had a little more work to do in the second half.  The rain seemed to let up at halftime but resumed as the ball was kicked off to begin the second half.  In spite of a wet ball, Alamo Heights was still able to strike from the air.  Two touchdown passes to senior receiver Colton Courtney of 28 and 45 yards in the third quarter assured that reserves were able to get some action and those substitutions began wholesale as the third quarter ticked down.  It really wasn’t until Lockhart decided to hand the ball consistently to their huge running back Curtis Hawkins that they made any real progress with their offense.  Hawkins quickly scored twice on lumbering runs late in the third and early fourth period.  He ran for 143 yards on 25 carries for the night.  Alamo Heights managed one more score on a seven yard Grant Biggs run as did Lockhart before everyone could call it a night.  The stats are deceiving.  Lockhart led in first downs 16-10 but obviously the Mules didn’t need as many.  Only one of its seven touchdowns was from inside of the 10-yard line.  While not expecting to see much Lion passing, the Mules defense was able to hold them to 68 yards in the air and Mitchell Abramson managed to pick off one of the Lion passing attempts to add to his total.

Dalton Banks led the Mules with 135 yards rushing and three touchdowns to go with his five of 11 passing performance, 126 yards and two TD’s.  Alamo Heights again spread the rushing around to five players to put up 238 yards.  There were seven turnovers in the game and Alamo Heights got possession on four of them.

 Now the Mules must go on the road and try and get off the snide with their first road win.

NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU ARE AWARE AND TELL EVERYONE WHO CARES THAT THE GAME FOR THIS WEEK, ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 3 HAS BEEN CHANGED TO THURSDAY OCTOBER 2 OWING TO CONSTRUCTION DELAYS AT SAN MARCOS’ NEW STADIUM.  SO THE MULES WILL STILL TRAVEL TO SAN MARCOS BUT WILL PLAY AT BOBCAT STADIUM ON THE CAMPUS OF TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY ON THURSDAY AT 7:30PM.  SAN MARCOS IS THE ONLY TEAM THE MULES HAVE PLAYED AT BOBCAT STADIUM THROUGH THE YEARS DURING THE REGULAR SEASON ALTHOUGH AS YOU KNOW, IT HAS BEEN THE SITE OF SEVERAL MEANINGFUL PLAYOFF APPEARANCES INCLUDING THE ELIMINATION GAME LAST SEASON.  THIS ONE WON’T BE AS COLD AS THE LAST TWO.

"His Inside Voice" 

A weekly conversation with Mules head coach Mike Norment

Mule Fan:  What impressed you most about the preparation this past week and the way the team responded on Friday against Lockhart?

Coach Norment: We had a really good week of practice.  I think the kids realized we needed a better week of practice and needed to work on things that we talked about.  The coaches did the same thing.  We had to up our game as well, stay after the kids and make sure they were doing everything right.  When they weren’t, we had to motivate them to do it right.  The coaching staff and the kids responded really well.  We were fortunate to jump on Lockhart early and that sort of set the tone.

Mule Fan:  Everyone knows the weather was a mess.  But you’ve said that Alamo Heights likes playing in the rain and your guys are confident playing in those conditions.  Why is that?

Coach Norment:  I wish I could tell you.  I just think we’ve done a good job of brainwashing them.  But they really feel confident.  One thing is that we’ll practice in the rain.  A lot of teams have indoor facilities.  The only time we come off of that practice field is if there is lightning.  As a matter of fact, about a month ago a rainstorm blew in with rain blowing sideways. We didn’t come in.  The offense was practicing with slick footballs.  I can control a lot of things but I can’t control whether it’s raining or not.  We want the kids to feel confidant and that we can go out there and execute.

Mule Fan:  The stat sheet from the Lockhart game doesn’t look as one-sided as the score but doesn’t that come from your efficiency?

Coach Norment: Several times we had short fields because the defense gave us great field position.  At the same time, they got a lot of yards in the second half when we had the game in hand. We got playing time for a lot of young kids and backups.  They kept their starters in so they got some yards late.  But even then we did a great job of playing how we’re supposed to.  We were a step late at times but that was expected for a sophomore or junior that hasn’t gotten as much playing time.  Sometimes stats are misleading and this is one of those times.  We had a great effort from start to finish.

Mule Fan:  We’ve talked a lot the last couple of years about the challenge of preparing for that unconventional offense.  We’re used to seeing it now with San Marcos a few years back and now Lockhart.  How did you feel about the way the defense handled it?

Coach Norment:  They did a great job. There were only a couple of times that they were able to break a couple of long runs.  And on one of those runs they showed us a different look than we had seen.  The second or third time they ran it we did a much better job because we were able to make an adjustment during the game.  So I thought we did a great job of pushing the line of scrimmage back to cause them some problems in the blocking schemes.  They did a great job of preparing and executing the game plan.

Mule Fan:  Speaking of San Marcos, they’re up next and it’s a short week.  Do you give up anything in preparation or just compress it?

Coach Norment: It’s compressed.  You can’t get everything in. There are a couple of things that we’re not going to be able to go over as much as we’d like.  But San Marcos is in the same boat.  We made today’s practice (Monday) a little bit longer to try and get some things in.  And we combined Monday into Tuesday and Wednesday practice. We’ll do a little bit more on Wednesday and Thursday a little bit more during fourth period than we usually do.  We’ll miss some things but overall we’re getting most of the things in and we’ll pick out the most important things.

Mule Fan: So let’s break into San Marcos a little.  Again, it’s a ball control running offense. What do you expect this week?

Coach Norment: They have a great running back and a really good quarterback.  The quarterback (David Hamilton) might be the best athlete in the district. He’s their leading rusher so the offense goes through him.  They’ll do a lot of jet sweep motion and then he’ll keep the ball or hand it off. That’s mostly their offense. Defensively they’ve changed a little bit. They’ve gotten much better the last two weeks. They fly around to the football. They won’t blitz a lot but they’ll choose their times. It’s going to be a good game.

Mule Fan: Does it feel like you are halfway through the regular season?

Coach Norment: It seems like it was yesterday that we started and it also seems like a year ago.  I tell the guys we’re only guaranteed five more games.  If we want to earn that sixth game we’ve got to keep on playing good.

Mules Among Area Leaders

In the SA Express News Sub-6A rankings, it's 1. Boerne Chammpion 2. Alamo Heights 3. Kerrville Tivy with no change from a week ago.  Dalton Banks moves to #2 in total offense with 1627 yards and 4th in passing with 1306 yards.  The Mules have three of the top 13 receivers in number of catches - Courtney #8 with 24, Ford #12 with 22 and Shetler #13 with 21.  In receiving yards the Mules have three of the top 15 with Shetler #7, Courtney #12 and Ford #15.

Poached Ham:  That’s what we’ll serve this week.  The hams got a little soggy on Friday but still are nummy nummy. Heck we hear tell that you can even get a ham slush at Sonic during Easter!  Quarterback Dalton Banks gets something to gnaw on this week.  With conditions less than swell, Banks took care of the ball, made key runs when he needed to and took advantage of excellent protection with a solid and efficient passing attack.  His production on the ground was almost half of the Mules rushing offense.  In the air, Banks totaled 98 of his 126 yards passing on touchdown throws. 

Photos courtesy of Mary Candee
http://ducledesigns.photreflect.com

District 27-5A Scores

Lockhart 20 Alamo Heights 52

Boerne Champion 31 Floresville 14

Kerrville Tivy 64 Kenedy 7

San Marcos 38 Memorial 6

Seguin idle

District 27-5A Standings

Boerne Champion 3-0

Kerrville Tivy  2-0

Alamo Heights 2-1

Lockhart  2-1

San Marcos  1-1

Seguin  1-1

Floresville  1-2

Kennedy 0-3

Memorial 0-3

San Marcos Notes:  The Rattlers enter the game with a 2-2 overall record to go with their 1-1 district mark…San Marcos is primarily a running team.  Junior quarterback David Hamilton leads attack with 833 yards rushing.  He’s only thrown one touchdown pass all season (played in three games) going 35-60.  Hamilton also plays baseball….San Marcos averages 305.8 yards rushing per game and 92.8 yards receiving and 31.8 points per game…The Rattlers finished 4-6 in 2013 (1-6 in District 25-5A) and haven’t finished above .500 since 2006 (8-6)… Their last playoff appearance was in 2007 in the Class 5A Division II first round…San Marcos returned four offensive starters and two on defense...The Rattlers were a former district rival of the Mules but have been away for a few years.  The last meeting with the Mules was in October of 2009 with Alamo Heights securing a 23-22 win at Harry Orem Stadium…All recent meetings with San Marcos have been at Texas State’s Bobcat Stadium.

Ticket Information:

Tickets for THURSDAY’S District 27-5A matchup with San Marcos will be available at the Alamo Heights Athletic office as usual.  Patty Juarez will follow this schedule:

Tuesday and Wednesday hours are 8:30am-12:00pm and 1:30pm-3:00pm. On Wednesday she'll also be selling at the JV game at the stadium from 4:00pm-6:30pm. Thursday selling time is 8:30am-3:00pm. Ticket prices are $6 for adults and $3 for students in advance and $7 at the gate on game night.

Cliché’ Corner

Cuz nawlige wins aarghumints.

Which one is the football cliché or term?

A.     Jump the route

B.     Wingtip

C.     Two stroke engine oil

Answer: A. when a defensive back positions himself in front of the receiver in anticipation of the pass coming to a particular spot

Mules on Radio 

KBUC 92.5FM is where you hear Mules Football or online at www.tsrnsports.com.

Story Ideas:  By contract we're obligated to ask our readership what they want to see more or less of.  (That's what management says and they don't really care as long as you pay.)  But behind their back, we really do want to get your feedback.  Someone asked about what I'd name shrimp boat if I owned one.  Thinking about that and not sure but it might start with Daisy.  We heard someone ask if back in the old days huddles were more circular or more like an oval.  We think every huddle west of the Mississippi was more rounded.  We got mail that wondered if the Halloween edition was going to have any spooky surprises to it.  Possibly.  How else can we serve you?  We'll listen.  What could we give you more of or less of?  Are you getting good value for money?  Do you floss regularly?  How many fight songs can you hum on command?  Just drop us a note to bobcohen@sbcglobal.net.  

Alamo Heights 31 Boerne Champion 56 September 19, 2014

Mules Suffer District Setback in First Ever Loss to Boerne Champion 56-31

         By Bob Cohen, Sr. Staff Editor-Needs-Sleep

                        (Boerne)—There was no good reason to think it was going to end this way.  The Alamo Heights offense reeled off scores on their first four possessions of the game and for the most part, through the first quarter at least, seemed to be operating at a tempo at which they are accustomed to playing with good results.  But there was some stuff that didn’t feel quite right.  For one thing, there were three Alamo Heights touchdowns called back!  Penalties both ways began to interfere with pace.  And, while operating with a throbbing knot on their head from the Mules first quarter production, the Charger’s stayed right in Alamo Heights’ mirrors. In the second quarter Boerne Champion edged closer paced by an effective running attack that would prove to be the beast that grew larger and larger as time went on. 

            Alamo Heights put up impressive offensive numbers right out of the gate opening the game with a short four play scoring drive after having the opening kickoff return for a TD called back for a block in the back, the first of 10 pesky penalties.  Mules quarterback Dalton Banks cannoned a 25-yard pass to receiver Colton Courtney on a slant, which he took in right at the goal line to take a 6-0 lead.  It was the first of seven Courtney catches on the night, which he turned into 148 yards.   Boerne’s star receiver Cort Cowart answered right back with his first of three touchdown catches to go along with 158 yards, this one for 18 yards followed by a missed extra point. The Mules scored twice more on the ground in the first quarter on a 10-yard keeper from Banks and a three-yard TD run from running back Deryl Reynolds.

Photos are all courtesy of Mary Candee
www.dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com

            The Chargers used an effective running attack in the second quarter to inch closer.  Backup quarterback Alex Flores scored his first of three touchdowns and Travis Pospisil notched one of his two TD’s.  Flores came in after an early injury to starting QB Josh Green and also threw for 97 yards and two touchdowns.  The Mules would struggle all night trying to fell these two.  The Boerne backfield combined for 376 yards on 42 carries for an average of nearly nine yards per carry for the game. Pospisil hogged 242 of those yards (When does this kid graduate for Pete’s sake?  We’re anxious to wish him luck as he matriculates somewhere). 

            With a 21-yard field goal from Mules’ kicker Cameron Dawley and a Banks to Dakota Brokaw touchdown pass as the clock stuck one minute in the second, the Mules took a 31-21 lead to the halftime break.  It took 90 minutes to play the first half.  It was a muggy night with heavy air.  It would not have been a stretch to think the first half took a physical toll on both teams just from that respect but injuries also played a role.

            The second half was like a bad dream for the Mules.  To begin with, Boerne was able to move the ball in gaudy chunks of yardage scoring three times on their way to 409 yards on the ground.  On this night, there was simply no answer for Pospisil who shredded the Mules defense.  The Mules were unable to loosen the Boerne Champion defense for more than 34 rushing yards of their own.  While relying on the pass is certainly comfortable territory for Alamo Heights, doing it with a weakened offensive line isn’t.  And it is here where the game went from slightly lumpy to a dog’s dinner.  On a first and 10 from the Mules own 34-yard line in the third period, Dalton Banks intended a pass, out of good protection, to go to Zach Ford.  Something went haywire on the pass or the route but it ended up in the hands of Charger defensive back Ryan McGovern who jumped in front of Ford and sprinted in the direction of the end zone’s right corner.  Mules’ senior offensive left tackle and leader of the offensive line, Ronnie Rogers pursued but crumpled and clutched his knee after a McGovern cut back.  Junior guard Duncan Bartlett also ended up looking at the sky on the play and aggravating a previous tailbone injury.  Bartlett went back in but not for long.  Rogers did not.  A bad moon rose after that interception leaving babies crying and women sprouting facial hair.  Even Alamo Heights superfan Abel and his wife June were reportedly speaking with Russian accents after that play.  The Mules had to restock the offensive line and move guys into unfamiliar positions, a fact clearly not lost on Boerne Champion.  The Chargers turned up the rushing pressure from a full assortment of directions which resulted in Mules quarterback Dalton Banks seeing some of the second half from a sitting position and sometimes lying down more than he is accustomed.  In any case, most of Banks excellent passing numbers occurred before this play.  He finished 24 of 34 for 370 yards and two touchdowns.  And the Mules were outscored 35-0 in the second half.  The final result evened the Mules overall season record at 2-2 and now 1-1 in district play.  Boerne’s record stays unblemished at 4-0 overall and 2-0 in district play.

 27-5A Scores 

Lockhart 42  Memorial 12

Seguin 27  San Marcos 24

Floresville 49  Kennedy 7

Kerrville Tivy idle

27-5A Standings 

Boerne Champion 2-0

Lockhart 2-0

Kerrville Tivy 1-0

Alamo Heights 1-1

Floresville 1-1

Seguin 1-1

San Marcos 0-1

Kennedy 0-2

Memorial 0-2

"His Inside Voice"

A weekly discussion with Mules head coach Mike Norment

Mule Fan: On Friday, the Mules jumped on Boerne Champion quickly scoring on the first four possessions.  The Mules also had three scores called back.  The Chargers hung close.  What was working for you so well in that first period and most of the second and what did you see developing that aroused concern at halftime?

Coach Norment:  We felt very confident.  We’d only had one bad series on offense.  At the end of the half our defense also had come up with a couple of stops.  We went into halftime feeling confident and made some adjustments.  We came back planning on continuing to do what we did. Boerne just came out and executed better than us in the second half.

Mule Fan:  They lost their starting quarterback in the first half.  Their backup quarterback and running back was effective.  What was the biggest factor, their athletic ability or our ability, on this night anyway, to get off blocks and wrap up defensively? 

Coach Norment:  I think they just played a little bit harder than we did. They had their leader go out in the first half.  They were able to come in at halftime, calm down and rally.  So they came out in the second half with a good plan and just executed it and we didn’t.  We had a couple of miscues.  You go into halftime up and all of a sudden within a couple of minutes gone in the second half, we’re down. That’s what took the wind out of our sails and we just never could recover.

Mule Fan:  The third quarter interception for Boerne resulted in the injuries to the offensive line and some big changes with Rogers out and Bartlett eventually going out. What affected you the most about the way Boerne adjusted to that?

Coach Norment:  Really there was no adjustment. They played the exact same defense they played in the first half. We just didn’t execute like we did in the first half.  That’s what it came down to.  We made plays in the first half and we weren’t able to make those plays consistently in the second half.  We made some plays and got down deep in their territory but just couldn’t finish the deal.

Mule Fan:  The big turning point last season was the loss at home to Kerrville Tivy. The team overcame it.  What are the behaviors you recall about the team last year that fueled that turnaround and what behaviors will you look for this week?

Coach Norment:  Well this is a team game and we’re all involved.  And I think we all would agree that we didn’t do our best job last week.  So as a team we’re going to come back and work harder.  Like I told them, we lost our way a little bit and we’re going to find it again.  We had a renewed sense of urgency today at practice (Monday) would probably be a good way to describe it.  The practice was a little bit crisper.  And some things that the coaches had let slide, we can’t afford to do that anymore.  Like making sure to wrap up every time the defense is on the field. Even on scout team they have to wrap up and practice that.  Practice running and moving your feet, practice on tackling. We went back to some basics that we hadn’t done in a couple of weeks.  I think they realize that there’s a sense of urgency also because if we lose another district game it’s going to get real interesting and real difficult to make the playoffs.

Mule Fan:  What do you expect out of your seniors in these circumstances?

Coach Norment:  They have to make sure that everybody is pulling the rope together and if somebody is not, I expect them to encourage that person to do it the right way.  I think that’s what is going to happen.  I think that this is a good group of seniors and I expect that.

Photos are all courtesy of Mary Candee
www.dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com

Mule Fan:  Let’s take a look at Lockhart who is undefeated and always plays the throw back conservative split T, wing T offense.  What do you expect this week? 

Coach Norment:  They’re well coached. This is Coach Herman’s second year there.  He’s got them doing what they want to do.  They’re 4-0 so they’re playing good right now. They’re going to come into this game with a lot of confidence.  We were shaken a little bit last week so we’re going to have to regain our confidence and come out and have a great week of practice to stop that unconventional offense.  It’s hard for us to simulate that in practice. But we did a pretty good job today for day one.  Defensively they bring a lot of heat so we’re going to have to pick up all the different blitzes and give our quarterback some time.

Mule Fan:  Even when you know they won’t pass very much, what is it like to prepare for that offensive approach they take?

Coach Norment:  Because there are so many options.  You have to be very disciplined.  If you take a fake, there’s a hole that opens up and they’re good at hitting those holes once they see that’s happening.  So discipline is important when you’re playing a team like this.

Photos courtesy of Mary Candee (except the bad ones, they are
all courtesy of the Mule Fan)

Area Leaders

Three district 27-5A teams sit atop the table of Sub-6a rankings from the SA Express News.  It's Boerne Champion #1, Alamo Heights #2 and Kerrville Tivy #3.  Champion and the Mules swapped places for obvious reasons this week.  QB Dalton Banks sits 3rd in total offense with 1366 yards, 4th in passing with 1180 yards and nine touchdowns.  The Mules have three receivers among the area leaders.  Zach Ford is 6th with 22 catches and 8th in receiving yards with 342, Colton Courtney 8th with 20 catches and 15th in yardage with 270, Greer Shetler 15th in passes caught with 18 and 12th in yardage with 304.  The Mule Fan also made the area leaders this week in Sub-6A rankings with 36 typos and 9 really bad jokes and the editor was called out once for not covering his mouth when he sneezed. Oh well, just have to work harder and fly around.  Incidentally, the Mule Fan staff is not well coached nor has anything resembling a sense of urgency.

Lockhart Notes

Lockhart is unbeaten this year with a 4-0 record and 2-0 in district play with district wins against Seguin and Memorial…At Monday’s film night, Coach Norment passed along that he had heard it was the first time Lockhart has been 4-0 in 36 years.  Clearly they were talking about football and not barbecue cookoffs….Lockhart is 0-4 vs. Alamo Heights…In 2013 Lockhart finished 3-7 overall and 1-6 in district…Alamo Heights won last year’s matchup 49-20…head coach Brian Herman is in his second year in the position…Lockhart is averaging 36.5 points per game.

Cliché Corner

Identify the football cliché.

Remember, nawlidge is par.

A. Ice the kicker

B.  Got a bad ticker

C.  Partner’s Card

Answer A.  When an opponent calls timeout just before a field goal attempt to make the kicker nervous so maybe he might miss it and stuff.

The Ham  

When it comes to recovering from a tough loss, there’s nothing like comfort food and the Mule Fan always suggests ham in these circumstances.  So this, week you should contact senior receiver Colton Courtney to see if he’ll share his.  Courtney caught seven passes for 148 yards including an athletic catch of a 25-yard Dalton Banks rocket on the first series of the game. 

Mules on the Radio

Don't miss a minute of the action if you can't be at the game.  Fire up KBUC 92.5 FM for the play-by-play or go to the www.tsrnsports.com website for the webcast both live and archived.

Photos for Sale

If you have a kiddo on the Mules football team, and we know many of you do, you'll want to make sure you check out Mary Candee's work at www.dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com and see if she took a hot action photo of your little darling.  I'll bet she has because she has a big camera that goes fast.  And she'll make you a deal to own that very picture which is better than trying to sketch one of your own. Check it out!

Mule For A Day Draws Record Crowd 

One of the most important fundraisers of the year for Alamo Heights football happened on Sunday at Harry B. Orem Stadium. It's also called "Punt, Pass and Kick."  But whatever you want to call it, the day was a huge success.  The varsity parents who organized it deserve a big high five for their well executed game plan. They were very well coached and brought their A game for this one.  The little Mules had a blast even though it was pretty hot. We're in good hands in a few years.  These guys and (some girls too) were impressive. The varsity players did a great job as well.  Congratulations!

Kennedy 0 Alamo Heights 41 September 12, 2014

Mules Ground Rockets in 41-0 Weather Shortened District Opener
           -Look Next to Rivalry Game with Boerne Champion

By Bob Cohen
Sr. Editor, Consumer of Baked Goods Brought to Home by Cheerleaders

             (San Antonio) – Everyone was looking for relief on Friday night.  A summer weary sun-dried group of fans from both sides were looking for a cooler weekend in San Antonio.  Timing is everything right?  The temperatures dropped to pleasant levels early in the evening.  By the end of the first quarter, the Kennedy Rockets had taken knee-buckling blows from the Mules to the tune of 21 points and were searching for some relief as well.  While the weather kept going in a positive southerly direction, the deficit for Kennedy did as well and by halftime, the Mules had pasted up 41 well-distributed points just as the rain began arriving in sparkly sheets. 

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

            As both teams emerged from the locker rooms after a water-logged performance from both bands, it seems there was lightning close enough to Harry B. Orem Stadium to subject the game to a minimum required delay and ultimately a decision to end it early.   A 41-0 victory, a 2-1 season record and 1-0 district record was tucked away for the Mules with businesslike effort and attention turned to Boerne Champion which is next up for Alamo Heights.

            The Mules offense got to cruising speed early scoring on their first three possessions. The Mules defense was impenetrable allowing no first downs until the second quarter and forcing Rocket punts including one, which for the second consecutive week forced the Mules to start a series from their own one-yard line late in the first period.  Except this week, rather than fool around with the inconvenience of a drive, Dalton Banks delivered a deep sideline pass which Greer Shetler collected in stride and motored most of the rest of the way in beautiful picturesque strides until a visible hamstring pull at about the 15 forced him to totter the rest of the way to the end zone.  Incidentally, this play was nominated by News4 San Antonio WOAI-TV for play of the week.  Get on line and make sure it gets voted in.  http://news4sanantonio.com/sports/features/high-school.

            Shetler’s field tour followed two other quick strikes by the Mules.  The Mules punctuated their first possession of the game with a three-yard Brendon McClinton TD run which ended a 70-yard drive that took two and a half minutes.  On the next possession sophomore running back Deryl Reynolds reeled off a 50-yard tote not quite to paydirt but had it called back for a block in the back. On the very next play following that temporary setback, Banks dialed up receiver Zach Ford on a 77-yard touchdown pass.   

            The Mules defense held Kennedy to 40 yards of total offense, forced five punts and allowed only three first downs in total.  By 9:48 in the second quarter, second team substitutes from the offense and the defense began to make appearances on the field.  Unfortunately a potential bench clearing night was cut short by the game being called. But while they were in, the second wave did a great job as well.  Mules’ running backs Deryl Reynolds scored on carries of nine and three yards and Grant Biggs found the pay station on a 19-yard lug.  And the defense kept the clamps on Kennedy, which was unable to escape first gear all night. For the night, Alamo Heights totaled 419 yards of total offense and picked up 16 first downs.  Quarterback Dalton Banks was 10 of 13 for 237 yards and two touchdowns.   

            While nobody was gloating that this was necessarily a fair fight, at least the heat was turned down considerably early to make it humane.  A win is the result.  Alamo Heights gets off on the front foot to start the district schedule and now looks forward to dealing with Boerne Champion, this Friday at 7:30p.m. in Boerne, one of the two “hill people” district 27-5A rival tribes up IH-10, whom the Mules care passionately about vanquishing.

27-5A Scores

Boerne Champion 42  Memorial 2

Lockhart 14  Seguin 13

Kerrville Tivy 50  Floresville 40

San Marcos, idle

"His Inside Voice"
A weekly discussion with Mules Head Coach Mike Norment
Mule Fan:  To begin with can you tell us how the decision was made to cancel the second half of the game?

Coach Norment:  As we were coming into halftime, Mike Post our trainer, has a lightning meter and there was a lightning strike just outside the range of calling everybody in.  So we came in and talked about what we were going to do in the second half, how we were going to substitute and as we were starting to go back out to warm up Mike Post said there was a lightning strike within the range and so we all had to come back in.  By rule, if there is a lightning strike within a designated area, you must wait 30 minutes. So we’ve already been inside for 30 minutes and now we’re going to wait at least another 30 minutes because we don’t know if the lightning is going to continue.  So at that point, (Alamo Heights Athletic Director) Gene Phillips goes over to confer with the Kennedy coaches and the referees and everyone decided it was best to call the game at that point.  Also by rule, once you reach halftime it is a complete game and so the game ended at 41-0.

Mule Fan:  The Mules appeared to play a near perfect first half scoring on six of seven possessions, rolling up a lot of offense and allowing almost nothing defensively.  What stood out most to you about the way your team played as the first half went along?

Coach Norment:  We talked about wanting to go out and take care of business right from the get-go and not have any letdowns.  And then if you get a lead don’t have another letdown. So I was very proud that we came out guns-a-blazin’.  We were moving the ball very quickly. The tempo was very good offensively.  Defense, boom, shut them down, three and outs and made them punt. Then the other thing I was proud of is when you start putting subs in both offensively and defensively there’s a little letdown.  Except there wasn’t any.  The defense still played hard forcing them to punt and we were able to score.  So those were the things that stood out for me in this game.

Mule Fan:  Other than getting some guys some deserved playing time, is there much more you could have gotten out of the game had you finished it?

Coach Norment:  When it’s 41-0 and with the weather conditions, there’s not a lot besides a lot of guys who deserve to get in.  That’s my big regret is that we couldn’t get a lot of guys in that work hard every day, that come to practice and do everything you ask.  We want to reward them when we can.  You never know.  You want to get them playing time because you never know when they’re going to have to step up and get into the game. 

Mule Fan:  Let’s look at Boerne Champion then.  Of course this is a rivalry game and the Mules have never lost to Boerne Champion since they’ve been around.  Thinking back to last year, you faced a pretty potent running attack.  What are the differences between the two versions of their team?

Coach Norment:  Last year we were fortunate because we jumped on them early and got them down a little bit.  They’re very similar to last year but probably a little better.  This is Coach Keith Kaiser’s second year so he’s got them rolling along really well.  They’re scoring a lot of points.  They’re the second ranked defense in our district behind us.  So I expect a great game because it’s Boerne Champion and Alamo Heights and that’s always going to be a great game.

Mule Fan:  As we’ve said, this is a rivalry game.  They know they haven’t beaten Alamo Heights and you know you haven’t lost to them.  How is that fact used, if at all, in the preparation for the game during the week?

Coach Norment:  To tell you the truth I have not mentioned it to the kids.  I don’t know if they even know that and I don’t really care.  I just don’t want this to be the year that Champion beats Alamo Heights.  So we’ll concentrate on the game like any other week.  We had a good Monday workout and we’ll get better on Tuesday right through Thursday.  Every district game is important. Of course it’s Boerne so it’s going to be a little bit more special because it is a rivalry game.  You really don’t have to say a lot to the kids because they know who they’re playing.

Mule Fan:  Does the strangeness of the half game blowout win last Friday affect the flow of the preparation for the game?

Coach Norment:  I don’t think so because Boerne is in the same situation because they had a blowout win too.  At the same time our kids were executing pretty well when they were in there.  If we had been sloppy that would have been one thing.  But I thought we did a good job executing no matter who was in there.  So I just think we’ll be a little bit fresher.

Mule Fan:  I want to talk a little about special teams.  The Mule Fan has gotten some questions about the philosophy of kickoffs and how you decide to pooch kick and give good field position or a short field and what dictates kicking it deep and making a team work at running it back up field?

Coach Norment:  Well first of all if you can’t kick it into the end zone then there is a chance of a return.  I know that if we pooch it, we’re going to give them the ball at the 30-yard line, which is our goal with no return or very little return.  We have kickers right now who can get it to about the 10 or five-yard line.  If we have a great wind, maybe into the end zone.  But a lot of times, the best athletes are back there (receiving) and if you kick it to the five or 10, you allow the other team to set up their return that they work on every week.  And instead of giving them the ball at the 30 or 35, they can get a big return or maybe even a touchdown.  If you pooch the ball you very rarely give up a big play.  So our philosophy is that if we can’t kick it out of the end zone, we give them a nice high pooch and give them the ball on the 30 or 35. Our goal is the 30 anyway so anything inside the 40 we consider a positive.

Mules Among High School Area Leaders

Senior quarterback Dalton Banks is right up there in area rankings: 3rd in the area in total offense with 985 yards and 4th in passing with 63 completes in 101 attempts for 810 yards, 7 TD's and 1 Interception.  Senior tight end Greer Shetler is 8th receiving with 18 catches for 304 yards averaging 16.9 yards with three touchdowns.  Shetler is also ranked 4th in receiving yardage. Zach Ford also makes this list at 12th with 245 yards and 9th in receptions with 16 averaging 15.3 yards with 2 TD's.  Senior receiver Colton Courtney is 14th in receptions with 13 catches for 122 yards at 9.4 yards per catch.

Meatus Pinkus

Given the abbreviated nature of the game on Friday, the Mule Fan has elected to award ham patties to both the offense and the defense for a total shutdown on Kennedy. Why patties?  Well, we are on a tight budget here.  While you are generous with your subscriptions, this only covers a small portion of our operation.  Our board of directors has forbid us from giving away a full ham or hams this week given the fact that we only played half a game.  So we have smushed together a few slices of bacon, shaped them into attractive patties and stuffed them into a spam can. That’ll have to do this week. 

Boerne Champion Notes

The rivalry with Boerne Champion continues. But as intense as it is, Boerne Champion has never beaten the Mules…The Mules won the last meeting last year at Harry B. Orem Stadium 41-17...Boerne is 3-0 this year, 2-0 on the road and enjoys a six game winning streak dating back to last season…This season’s wins have been against Stevens, Hays, and Memorial…They finished 2013 with a record of 7-3 and 4-3 in district play…the Chargers last playoff appearance was a loss to the Mules in 2011…Champion is averaging 44.7 points per game and allowing 17.7…the return seven offensive and defensive starters from the 2013 team…players to watch are running back Travis Popisil and senior wide receiver Cort Cowart who had 44 receptions, 738 yards and six touchdowns in 2013. 

Road Trip Tickets

When the Mules travel, it is important to check in with the Alamo Heights athletic office and Patty Juarez, who the Mule Fan Blog often refers to as the Mule Whisperer, for all the important ticket information.  Without Patty, we’d all go off the rails.  Anyway, this week, Patty says tickets can be purchased in advance for the low, low price of $7 for adults and $3 for students.  If you wait to purchase on game night, those folks in Kendall County will soak us for another buck.  Do we have to remind you that each and every dollar put in their coffers puts us further at risk of invasion?  Help us fortify our boundaries and protect the future of our children and our children's children. Get your tickets in advance.  If Boerne people make it to our ’09 borders then the Tivy people can’t be far behind.  Do your part and get your tickets in advance.  Athletic office hours this week are Wednesday-Thursday 8:30am-12:00pm and 1:30pm-3:00pm, Friday 8:30am-3:00pm.

Mule for a Day 

We had some problems with the form displaying properly last week.  This had to do with a blowout of one of our cam converters.  We'd been warning management that they could go at any minute and that a simple bolt was all it would take to fix.  Nope.  Budget considerations held up the repair.  We got emergency funding to replace capacitors and converters at a much higher price so now we are back to functioning.  So here's another try.  Get you little Mules out and playing with the big boys on Sunday, September 21.  See the information below.

Cliché Corner

Identify the football cliché.

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

     A.     Bring the house

     B.     Clean the house

     C.     Employees must wash hands before returning to work

Answer A.  to “bring the house” means to rush as many as 10 players typically in a punting or field goal attempt situation to apply maximum pressure to the kicker and perhaps block the attempt

Radio

Follow the Mules at home or away all season on KBUC-FM 92.5 as well as live streaming on www.tsrnsports.com.  Ed Suarez, Dave Parker and Albert Gonzalez bring you the sounds and excitement every week.  It is the Mule Fan’s belief that these games are archived on the www.tsrnsports.com website as well so if you want to hear the game after the fact, this can be done. 

Mule Fan Mail Bag

Yeah we get letters and e-mails.  Some are quite constructive and instructive or just downright helpful.  Some make us laugh.  You name it, we’ve seen it.  Here’s one now:

Dear Scum Bag, oh I meant Mule Fiend,

I’m tired of asking you to write more about my grandson.  Why is it so hard to do? You write about other people’s grandkids.  I’m really worked up about it.  You’re a monster.  You must have climbed out from under some slimy rock.  Were you by chance raised by wolves? 

Love,

Dad

Your Input

Every year, we get great comments and ideas from our ever-creative readership.  This is YOUR blog Mule fans.  We want to make it better for you.  So we'll consider any ideas.  Management may not, but we will.  What do you want to see more of or less of?  More comics? Color fonts on our stock quotes? A little less science? More classified display advertising? Fewer shrimp recipes? More funny connect-the-dot pictures? It's really an open topic.  Just let us know.  We'll consider it all.  E-mail works best although wrapping around a rock and throwing it through our office window can also grab our attention but not in a healthy way.  E-mail to bobcohen@sbcglobal.net.  And thanks again for your subscription.

Mules Car Wash Fundraiser a Success!

On Saturday, the Mules varsity was out working hard at the Ram Station on New Braunfels conducting a fundraising car wash.  Reports are that there was a nice amount raised which is good considering that the crew worked in some rain for a little while.  Mule Fan staff was asked to take the cars of some of the slobs on our miserly board of directors to get a clean up.  When asked how much these board members wanted to give the guys for their work, the reply was “give them our warmest personal regards.”  Oh well, now you know what we deal with.  Anyway, members of our editorial staff, who barely have two nickels to rub together for our weekly reporting work, did their part contributing hard earned wages to support the boys. 

Scrub a Dub Dub While Getting Some Pub

The Car Wash Publicity Team-It Pays to Advertise

The Car Wash

Fundraiser Was a Success!  Thanks!