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!