Alamo Heights Unloads Early to Crush Indians 48-17 and
Advance in Playoffs
-Second
round foe Austin LBJ to face Mules in San Marcos on Saturday
 |
| Photos courtesy of Mary Candee www.dulcedesigns.photreflect.com |
(San
Antonio)—Traditionally the Alamo Heights Mules have had little trouble pushing
through the first round of the playoffs in the modern era. There have been some exceptions and
upsets, and one in particular a couple of years ago against Brackenridge (and
there were plenty of upset folks that day spread hither and yon). But those little hiccups in Mules
playoff history tend to vaporize quickly.
Taking care of business is the norm and Friday proved not to be
stressful. The scoring machine was set on “auto” and the defense was not
hospitable as the Mules rolled Harlandale 48-17 in front of a chill-bumped home
crowd at Harry B. Orem Stadium.
The win was the Mules seventh
straight victory and pushed their season record to 9-2. And by halftime, the chatter in the
stands was focused on “where and when” and the second round. The opponent wasn’t going to be settled
until Saturday afternoon. The
Mules will face Austin LBJ from District 26 -5A on Saturday, November 22 at
Bobcat Stadium on the Texas State University campus in San Marcos at 2:00p.m.
As you’d know if you are a Mules
football parent or player, everyone is practicing together now. The playoffs are a reward for everyone
including those younger Mules still out there practicing who dressed and
increased the sideline population on Friday. And, of course, also rewarded are the parents, grandparents,
friends and neighbors who get to hear Rick Shaw possibly belt out some new
names. There were plenty of
substitutions on the night and lots of playing time for players on the two-deep
and three-deep roster positions, which has fortunately happened a lot this
season. Here’s hoping there are
more opportunities like that this post-season.
It hasn’t been the easiest year to
really get a handle on how good this 2014 edition of the Alamo Heights Mules
actually is just yet. Admittedly
district 27-5A has some soft tissue in it, taking nothing away from the efforts
and attitudes of some of the schools.
But 9-2 is 9-2. And when
your team can dissolve your opponents in a few cat-quick blows, put up big boy
numbers and swat down threats with ease, there is talent and strong coaching there.
Now obviously the level of play boosts a few levels each week and the Mules
will have to kick down stronger fortification.
For the opening act last Friday
night, the Mules were once again quite efficient scoring every time they
touched the ball on offense in the first half. That offensive production was coupled with an effective
defense that restricted the Indians’ running game and held Harlandale to 83
yards of ground game. It did face
a challenge with Harlandale quarterback Jacob Delgado, a left hander who liked
the challenge of rolling right and throwing across his body, and pulled it off
completing 19 passes on 30 attempts for 196 yards and one score. Delgado could impressively hoist a long
one every now and then. But other
than that, Harlandale had little success.
The Mules defense led by Rocky Tips, Cody Pfeiffer, Trevor Bagg, Trem
Carr and Conoly Koontz applied liberal pressure all night. And the ubiquitous Mitch Abramson took
one interception back 22 yards following the block of senior Cameron Newton to
go along with a scorching opening kickoff return of 34 yards.
Once again, quarterback Dalton
Banks lit all the offensive fuses and notched another big night. Banks didn’t pass that much nor did he
need to. But while he was up, he completed all of them for a 12 for 12 night
for 159 yards and two touchdowns. His
first TD pass was another deep post route to Greer Shetler, a play that has
been effective all season, who halved a double team for 36 yards and the second
Alamo Heights score of night, which came on the first play of the Mules’ second
possession. On the following
possession, Banks found running back Tucker Azar isolated on a wheel route for
a seven yard score. Banks also
mixed in a pair of rushing touchdowns in the first half. On the opening drive, the Mules cruised
downfield at an accustomed gas guzzling pace and on the third play of the drive,
Banks rolled 30 yards for the score.
He added a 10-yard touchdown late in the second period, faking a
defender right out of his shorts with a feinted throw and cruising on to the
end zone from there. Banks had 42
yards on the ground for the night.
Sophomore Jack Woodland took over for much of the second half and
connected on five out of eight attempts.
 |
| Photos courtesy of Mary Candee www.dulcedesigns.photreflect.com |
As the week begins, the Mules will
prepare for the second round against the Austin Johnson Jaguars. Ticket information is highlighted below
along with a preview of the Jaguars.
“His Inside Voice”
A Weekly Conversation with
Coach Mike Norment.
Mule Fan: The
Mules got to cruising altitude quickly on Friday night, which is something the
Mules are accustomed to. How did
you feel about the overall approach and preparation and did it all seem to go
as you’d hoped?
Coach Norment: Yes it did. We talked about how we wanted to jump on them quickly and
execute well. And we were able to
do that in the first half very well.
In the second half we had some letdowns but that’s human nature when
you’ve got a big lead. And we were
getting a lot of players some playing time because you never know when you’re
going to need them. But overall I thought the kids played very well. They accepted the challenge and got
better so hopefully that will help in the week coming up.
Mule Fan: You
always talk about taking what the defense gives you. The Mules seemed to have come from every direction
offensively and a lot of guys got into the stat sheet. Was there any particular part of the
offense that was stronger than the other?
Coach Norment: You go into a game and you think you have an
idea of what’s going to happen and then when the game starts unfolding
sometimes you’re surprised and sometimes you’re not. It was pretty much like we thought. And we said we would take what the
defense gives us. In the first
half we did a good job of mixing up the run and the pass. In the second half we ran the ball more
that we would have. We had a
comfortable lead and wanted to burn clock. Overall I think the offense executed really well.
Mule Fan: It seems to us that the defensive line had one of
its better games. Tough to recall
a game this year when they were as active in the offensive backfield as they
were on Friday.
Coach Norment:
They did a good job of basically getting penetration. Anytime you can get into the opponent’s
backfield you’re going to cause problems with their blocking schemes. Quarterbacks are funny people. They don’t like people around them and
they get a little skittish. We
were able to put pressure on the quarterback throughout the night so it was a
great job on their part.
Mule Fan: Let’s
look ahead now to Austin Johnson.
We played Friday and they played Saturday so you got to take all the
coaches up to watch that one.
What’s their style? What did you see?
Coach Norment:
They’re very multiple on offense.
They get in into a lot of different formations. Just watching them they’re going to run
the ball more than they throw but they can throw the ball. They’re very athletic and have a lot of
speed. So we’re going to have to
try to limit their big plays and make them have to drive the field. We have to make them earn every
yard. Defensively they’re very big
up front. They have quite a few
people back on defense. They have
a few people who are going both ways.
They don’t blitz a lot. They play a lot of base and give you a couple of
different looks. But what they try
to do is put pressure on the offense by their big front pushing back on your
offensive line so you have to be able to control the line of scrimmage to have
any success against them.
Mule Fan: You always try to go fast on offense. Does that give you any kind of
advantage on a team that has players going both ways?
Coach Norment: We’re aware of it and it won’t hurt my
feelings if they get fatigued. But we’ll just try and do what we do and try to
find some weaknesses and try to attack those.
Mule Fan: LBJ lost to Vista Ridge earlier in the
season. Did you see any film from
that far back or could you tell what they did differently to win Saturday’s
game?
Coach Norment: I don’t know about the earlier game. I do
know that Vista Ridge had some chances but they gave up some big plays. And that’s the key is our defense can’t
give up the big plays because that is what Johnson did. They won the big play
battle.
Mule Fan: What was the atmosphere in the locker room after
the win?
 |
| Photos courtesy of Mary Candee www.dulcedesigns.photreflect.com |
Mule Fan: What do you expect from your seniors at this time
of year?
Coach Norment:
Hopefully they want to keep on playing because that’s the difference
between teams that go deep and teams that don’t. At some point during this
playoff run it will be real easy to say that “yeah we’ve had a good year”
because they’ve made the playoffs 12 years in a row and we’ve won a playoff
game but at some point it’s going to be hard, and it’s that way anywhere, and
you’re in a bad situation and you’re going to have to fight through it. The teams that can do that and don’t
want to give up and want to keep on fighting are a lot of times the team that’s
going to come out with a win.
That’s hopefully what the seniors are going to want to do.
Austin LBJ Notes: The Jaguars are from District
26-5A and finished with identical records in District play to Austin McCallum at
6-1 but McCallum won the crown because of a head-to-head win over LBJ…The
Jaguars beat Cedar Park Vista Ridge on Saturday 26-21 to advance…Currently, the
Jaguars are on a five game win streak…They average 44.82 points per game on
offense and yield 17.73 ppg…LBJ has only been over .500 in three of the last
six seasons and were 4-6 in 2012 and 2013…this weeks playoff game against Alamo
Heights is only LBJ’s third playoff game in seven years…their best year in
recent years was 10-3 in 2007.
Second Round
Playoff Tickets on Sale: This
time of year, one must go to the mountaintop and speak to Patty Juarez, the
guru of neutral stadium ticket sales info. She has spoken. This week, as we return to Bobcat
Stadium, we will face a tariff of $7 for adults and $4 for students. Once Saturday rolls around, we are all
equal in Texas State eyes and therefore will be assessed $10 each at the gate regardless of age or maturity level. Make sure and go see Patty before 4:00
Friday or prepare to give another $3-$6 to the great State of Texas.
The guru will accept American currency only during these
times this week:
Tuesday-Friday
8:30pm-12:00pm and 1:30pm-4:00pm
We know that some of you still have to put in your Winter
Wheat and Saturday was going to be when you did that. But rest ye and come out and cheer on your little blue and
gold laddies as they try to push through to the next round!! Fan support is really a big deal. The bandwagon is cleared for jumpers
and they are welcome!
To The Winner: The winner of the upcoming game on
Saturday will play the winner of the game between Victoria West and Edinburg
Vela. Expect that the next game would be played on Saturday November 29th.
Area Leaders: Since most of the games were
area vs. area last week, this will probably be the last week the SA Express
News shows these statistics…Dalton Banks ranks 6th in amongst area
quarterbacks in total offense with 3,236 yards and 6th in passing
with 2,598 yards…Greer Shetler is 9th in receiving yards with 901…In
the category of receptions, Colten Courtney is 11th with 48 catches
and Greer Shetler is 14th with 46 yards. Congrats to these Mules for populating these categories most
of the season!
District 27-5A Playoff Results November 14-15
Kerrville Tivy 54 Sam Houston 7
Boerne Champion 57 Edison 14
Lockhart 42 Brackenridge 21
Mules Playoff
Radio:
STATION CHANGE!!!! The Mules game this Saturday will be broadcast on KEDA 1540 AM. Spread the word. There is conflict on our traditional outlets but thankfully TSRN Sports has found us a home. Of course, you can also listen online at www.tsrnsports.com. This week it’ll be Mark Kusenberger shouting the play-by-play and the steady Albert Gonzales providing colorful commentary and analysis as well as ciphering all the statistical data.
STATION CHANGE!!!! The Mules game this Saturday will be broadcast on KEDA 1540 AM. Spread the word. There is conflict on our traditional outlets but thankfully TSRN Sports has found us a home. Of course, you can also listen online at www.tsrnsports.com. This week it’ll be Mark Kusenberger shouting the play-by-play and the steady Albert Gonzales providing colorful commentary and analysis as well as ciphering all the statistical data.
Playoff Pork: The Canned Ham (from the Latin
origin Piggus Tastius) finds a home on the shelf of Mitchell Abramson. This guy has a nose for the football,
often coincidentally referred to as the pigskin. He collected an interception and the 22-yard return we
described in hopefully colorful handcrafted prose above and also electrified
the home crowd on the opening kickoff with a return of 34 yards. In both cases, he put the Mules in
excellent field position. Perhaps
#25 was motivated by the possibility of the porcine prize that was squealing
his name. Hammarable mention to defensive linemen Cody Pfeiffer and Rocky Tips.
No comments:
Post a Comment
The Mule Fan would like to hear your thoughts and comments!