Alamo Heights 49, Lockhart 20 October 25, 2013

AH Mules Declaw Lockhart Lions 49-20

            -Maintain tie for lead in district play

(Lockhart, Texas)—The Mule Fan editorial staff never takes for granted the meager travel budget our management provides for away games.  So when the Mules hit the road, we soak it all in and try to be keen observers of all the activity swirling around our wide eyes.  So here are a few honest observations about Lockhart if you please: 1) If one were to meet any vegans in Lockhart, know that these would be people made of strong stuff.  It would be danged hard to stay this way in Lockhart.  The barbecue is just phenomenal.  They well and truly put the “C” in carnivore. On this night we wondered, aloud at times, why Lockhart has this tradition and propensity to produce smoked meats of such high quality, 2) being asked to play receiver there is cruel, and 3) the Lions “old timey” (as Coach Norment put it last week) offense tugs so hard at the nostalgic heartstrings that it took a Sunbeam 350 to iron the lump out of our throat once we returned home.  Seriously, seeing all those kids in four point stances makes you think of the Texas Longhorns 1969 national champion wishbone backfield of Jim Bertelsen, Ted Koy and Steve Worster.  The Mule Fan editorial team hasn’t seen that many people on all fours since being forced to cover the International Olympic “Twister” Qualifying trials in Santa Clara in 1971. Or maybe it was when we interned as a key grip on the filming of the campy cult classic romantic comedy “A Crabwalk Summer.”   Heck even the coaches were in four point stances at times. 

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

            The Mules (6-2, 4-1) did take care of business on Friday and scooted out of Lockhart with a handy 49-20 victory to remain atop the district 27-4A standings with this week’s opponent, the Clemens Buffalos and Buda Hays.

Key to this night was the defensive preparation and execution, which kept the Lions’ chains anchored at key moments and forced Lockhart to punt seven times.  The Mules also forced four fumbles and recovered two.  Lockhart did amass 315 rushing yards on 50 carries but much of that yardage came late in the game when the Mules were trying to figure out what to order the traveling squad at Whataburger and the game was tucked away. 

           Heights put Lockhart in fourth and long a bunch in the first quarter and in particular on their first two possessions allowing the offense to pop two quick scores on their first two possessions.  Quarterback Dalton Banks kept for six yards and cashed in for a TD at the 5:03 mark in quarter one followed by Byron Proctor going over the top on the next possession to give the Mules a 14-0 lead at the end of one. 

Against an offense such as Lockhart’s, a two score lead is good but three is much better and the Mules mounted a very important drive late in the second period which ended with Byron Proctor romping 27 yards to put the Mules up 21-0 after Robert Carter put through his third extra point of the night.  But the Mules weren’t finished with the first half scoring.  After Alamo Heights stuffed the Lions attack one more time in the first half there was enough time to run a few more plays and pad that lead which the Mules did when Banks hit Robert Schuler on a 14 yard strike.  So the Mules enjoyed a 28-0 lead at the end of the first half.

Heights remained hot in the third quarter piling up three more unanswered scores to put the game out of reach for Lockhart beginning with a 40-yard tight end counter scoring run by Christian Lalinde.  The last scoring combo from starters came four minutes later when Banks found Jake Osborne for a four-yard touchdown pass.  Juan Pablo Olazaba tacked on the extra point.  Armando Tamez got a turn at quarterback and engineered a drive, which finished with him keeping it for a two-yard touchdown run.  Wesley Sparr knocked through the extra point.  That was the end of the Mules scoring for the night.  Lockhart picked up their 20 points in the fourth quarter on long TD runs of 34, 25 and 47 yards from running back C.J. McKinney. 

Alamo Heights held Lockhart to 12 first downs, which was an enormous blow to their ball control game plan, while picking up 19 of their own.  The Mules pushed out 260 yards on the ground led by another 100 yard plus night by Byron Proctor who had 115 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns.  Brandon Wasson added 53 yards on 12 carries.  Cameron Dawley had a productive night on defense recovering a Lion’s fumble along with a nice punting night belting three for a 42.3 yard average.  The Mules passing offense was balanced with Banks going 13 for 20, 142 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to add to his opening rushing touchdown.  Five Mule receivers hauled in passes led by Jake Osborne and Robert Schuler.

“His Inside Voice” 

A weekly discussion with Coach Mike Norment

Mule Fan:  Last week you spoke about the difficulty in preparing for Lockhart because of their unique style of offense and play overall. Lockhart was kept to many fourth and long plays and they were given nothing to work with. You had to be proud of how the defensive coaches prepared the team.

Coach Norment:  The defensive coaches did a great job of coming up with a great game plan to stop Lockhart.  Another thing is we got some people healthy and moved some people around to give ourselves a little more depth on defense and that helped.  And just as important is that we did a great job on scout team giving both the offense and defense a great look.  And that was tough.  We actually came up with a scout team with kids in different positions, certain positions and we had to practice that.  So we were able to somewhat simulate what Lockhart did which gave the defense a great look and got them prepared.  So basically it was all three of those things, which helped us have such a complete defensive game.

Mule Fan:  We also talked about how getting Lockhart down by two scores was going to be tough on them.  How big of a deal was it to get that third score with a couple of minutes left in the half after coming two turnovers and then to add a fourth score a couple of minutes later?

Coach Norment:  We definitely wanted to go in a minimum of 21-0 at half.  And then when we were able to stop them and get the score to make it 28-0, I knew it was going to be difficult for Lockhart to get back in the game.  At halftime we preached that we can’t let them even think about getting back in.  One of our goals this year has been to get better each day, each play, each half so we stressed trying to get better in the second half and in a lot of ways we did.

Mule Fan:  Did you find some extra defensive weapons on Friday night?

Coach Norment:  We moved some people around.  The good news is that we got some added depth with people who have gotten playing time that probably wouldn’t have if people would have stayed healthy.   At the same time we were fortunate enough to get a big lead so we got some other people in the game.  That’s going to hopefully pay dividends down the road when they’re going to have to step in for a play, a series or maybe even a game because of injury.  So we were fortunate to get some more people some playing time.

Mule Fan:  Many people were thinking that it was nice to be able to empty the bench and get some kids into the game that work hard all week.  But the fact of the matter is you’re already deep into your roster.  How important is getting all those kids quality minutes at this point?

Coach Norment:  We’re getting young players playing time for next year.  But talking about this year, we’ve already felt the situation where it is not unheard of for a third or fourth stringer or even someone from the JV one week to get playing time on the varsity the next week.  So getting them playing time in a game is so much different than just getting reps in practice.  So that was a great thing about getting that lead to get some of those guys into the game and get quality reps.

Mule Fan:  So now to Clemens, which in our mind has come a long way it seems.  They’ve played in recent years in the shadow of Cibolo Steele during the Mike Jenks/Malcom Browne era.  What has given them that lift?

Coach Norment:  People forget that Clemens was a powerhouse in San Antonio in the 80’s and 90’s and even in the 2000’s before Steele came around.  Even when Steele opened up, Clemens was still the big dog.  We’ve had many battles.  Every year that I’ve been here we’ve either played them or scrimmaged them.  So we have a history going back with Clemens.  One thing that’s really helped them is with the head coaching change and they’ve changed a little of their philosophy.  But the big thing is that they’ve started shifting people back from Steele back to Clemens and they are growing.  In fact, they’ll be moving up in classification next year because the school has grown.  With more numbers they get more athletes and more athletes have helped them in the program.   So they’re a very good football team.

Mule Fan:  As you told us in Film Night, they lead with their defense which is their strength?

Coach Norment:  Their coach even mentioned that they were going to put special people on defense.  Their defense is the heart of their team.  Their front seven is as good as anybody we’ll probably see this year.  Their two defensive ends that are fraternal twins, are very, very good returning starters.  A lot of those guys played last year.  They were very young last year.   A lot of those guys played and got lots of playing time.  They’ve gotten better.  They’ve only lost one game so it’s going to be a challenge for our offense to move the ball against them.  Offensively they’re not conservative but they’re not going to make a lot of mistakes.  They’ll try and get first downs and if they can’t get the first downs they’ll punt the ball and let their defense hopefully get a turnover so they have a short field to work with.

Mule Fan:  Does moving back into an opponent who has a more commonly seen style of offense, after working so hard at the out-of-the-ordinary Lockhart offense, present any challenges?

Coach Norment:  In some way it helps us because we had to be so disciplined last week I think that’s going to carry over.  To realize that you still have to be disciplined even though it is not the same kind of offense.  At the same time, all offenses will give us challenges because Clemens will line up in an “I” and try and run the ball and spread you out and try to throw the ball.  They’re not “super multiple”.  They are definitely run heavy but they will throw the ball around some so our defense once again is going to have to come and be able to play to stop them. At the same time, offense and defense are going to have to work together along with the special teams to hopefully get a win against Clemens.

 

Clemens Buffalos Got Next

This one will get some attention this week around town.  Clemens will show up on the Mules Homecoming Night at 7:30pm Friday November 1 at Harry B. Orem Stadium.  The Mules come into the game ranked third in the Express News Sub-5A rankings and the Buffalos hold down the second spot.  It is a matchup of two of the three teams tied for first in district 27-4A.  Clemens is coming off a home district win over Boerne Champion 34-21.

Mules Notes:  Alamo Heights is averaging 40.6 points per game and allowing 29 per game…Dalton Banks is ranked 11^th in total offense with 1999 yards and fifth in passing yardage with 1,724 yards and pass completion percentage of 60%...Robert Schuler is in a four-way tie for fourth with 44 receptions…Byron Proctor is tied for the lead in city scoring with 12 points and 19^th in rushing yardage with 904 yards.

Other District 27-4A Results October 25, 2013

Clemens 24, Boerne Champion 21

Kerrville Tivy 36, Kyle Lehman 7

Buda Hays 25, Seguin 18

District 27-4A Standings

Alamo Heights        4-1

Clemens                    4-1

Buda Hays                4-1

Boerne Champion   3-2

Kerrville Tivy          3-2

Lockhart                   1-4

Seguin                       1-4

Kyle Lehman           1-4

Upcoming District 27-4A Schedule 11/1/13

Seguin at Kerrville Tivy

Lockhart at Kyle Lehman

Buda Hays at Boerne Champion

Clemens at Alamo Heights

Mules on Radio and Online

If you can’t get out to the stadium, follow the Mules on KBUC 92.5/93.3 FM or www.TSRNsports.com.  Ed Suarez, Dave Parker and Albert Gonzalez will call the action and keep the numbers straight.

We appreciate the job they do.  We’ve had a tour of the Mules radio booth on game night and we can tell you it is a complex operation.  How complex?  Try this on.  Dave Parker announces all the vowels.  Ed Suarez handles the consonants.  And Albert Gonzalez calculates the numbers.  But it doesn’t stop there.  Parker advises on whole numbers and Suarez sorts out the integers.  Gonzalez ciphers through all of this and it comes out on the radio in easy to understand denominations.  These guys put it in one end and it comes out as Mules Football on the radio. 

Don’t forget to patronize the broadcast sponsors and tell ‘em thanks!  

Cliché Corner – Cuz learnin’ is gud!

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

Choose the football cliché.

A.  They put hats on the ball  B. Wax teeth

Answer:  A.  Defense making a tackle in hopes of also causing a fumble

10^th Annual Fenley Trophy Golf Tournament Successful

A salute to the organizers, sponsors and participants in last Friday’s scramble fundraiser at the Quarry Golf Club.  By all accounts it was a big success and a good time was had by all.  There was good food and the expected amount of cheating and smack talk.  The weather was cool enough that the snakes were hibernating which is good because this golfer observed that many, like himself, spent time in the deep weeds looking for sporting goods. The proceeds of the tournament support all sports at Alamo Heights.  Thanks to all who made it happen.

Mary Candee didn't take this one but she should have! Umm!
454 grams of clove-pierced perfection…..

What Would Homecoming Be Without Ham???

Pork for everyone!  The defensive coaching staff gets our nod for the Canned Ham Award for this week. They prepped our lads well to defend against the Lockhart Lions.  Their preparation and execution last week really put our team in a position to win.  Mules offensive tackle Ronnie Rogers also put in some time on the defensive line and his overall play stood out particularly on his first go-round on defense.  So he gets a ham slung his way as well.  Good going guys!

 Go Mules!!!  Beat Clemens!!

Kerrville Tivy 32 Alamo Heights 28 October 18, 2013

Mules Drop a Close One to Kerrville Tivy

            -Alamo Heights part of a crowd at top of District 27-4A

This one had everything but weather even though at the beginning of the night you would have thought that was also going to be in the mix.  Thankfully the rain stopped early so a wet field did not complicate matters. What did challenge the Mules was a run-pass total offense coming out party of 493 yards for Kerrville Tivy that handed Alamo Heights its first district loss 32-28 at Harry B. Orem Stadium last Friday night. Tivy also had to overcome an institutional sized order of penalties themselves as they were flagged 14 times for 145 yards. 

Tivy’s sophomore quarterback Cade Dyal connected 18 times in 28 attempts for 227 yards while giving the Mules fits with his scrambling and running back Adrian Medran broke loose for 184 yards in 27 carries and four TD’s.  Medran’s last two scores were for eight yards each and some collective gut-sizzle for the Mules in a frenzied fourth quarter in which the Mules were unable to score or stop Kerrville.  As one dad at Film Night said, “if we could have banked a couple extra minutes or cut it short three or four, who knows.”  A last minute drive to get the Mules close enough to at least try a field goal went to ground before they had the chance. 

For the Mules, a mixture of turnovers and penalties, and the timing of same, didn’t help their cause along with more chasing on Tivy first downs than they are comfortable doing.  Still, a resiliency was evident as they retained the lead going into the late stages of the game.  The Mules passing game shined through the loss.  For the most part, it was an effective night from the offensive line giving protection for quarterback Dalton Banks to connect on 21 of 47 passing attempts for 266 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions.  Banks and running back Byron Proctor connected nine times for 116 yards and a touchdown.  Scotty Uhl, Christian Lalinde, Jeffrey Dubrof, Robert Schuler, Jake Osborne and Noah Hernandez all made some impressive grabs for Alamo Heights in the loss.  Defensively the Mules produced three interceptions from Mitchell Abramson, Cameron Dawley and Jay Hargrove.

The loss for the Mules dropped their season record to 5-2 and district to 3-1, which along with other district 27-4A developments resulted in a Saturday morning four-team crowd at the top of the standings.  The road calls again this week as Alamo Heights will trek up to Lockhart which is 3-4 on the year and mathematically still alive for the playoffs with a 1-3 record and has won eight of their last nine home games.  Lockhart runs an old school offense, which Coach Norment talks about in his section.  Bottom line is it wouldn’t be much fun to be a receiver up there and the quarterbacks never have to ice their arm.  They’ve thrown 28 passes all year!   The Mules do that in a half.  It’ll be an important district clash for Alamo Heights and all are encouraged to attend.

 

Mule Notes:  Lockhart has a natural grass field, which will be the only time in the regular season the Mules play on grass.  They barely practice on it.  Hope  nobody has allergies…Sub-5A area rankings have Alamo Heights at #3 behind Clemens at 2 and ahead of Boerne Champion at 4 with Brennan undefeated and #1…Bryon Proctor moved into the lead in area scoring this week with 108 points…Dalton Banks is ninth in total offense with 1,837 yards, 6^th in passing with 1,583 yares (just a notch or two away from a kid at Somerset named Detmer-yep same bloodlines)…Robert Schuler is 6^th in area receiving with 38 catches…Byron Proctor needs to average 70.33 yards in his remaining three regular season games to achieve 1,000 rushing yards for the season.

“His Inside Voice” 

A weekly discussion with Coach Mike Norment

Mule Fan:  Coach, the Antlers probably put up their best game of the year in terms of total offense.  Match that with four Mule turnovers, penalties and a banged up defense yet they still had to make a time consuming 4^th quarter drive to pull ahead and make plays to win the game.  Yet we still had a chance to win it and it came down to the last portion of the game.  How did you see this one on balance?

Coach Norment:  You have to take your hats off to Tivy because they played very well.  Their backs were against the wall and they came out.  We had our chances in the first half.  We played really well overall in the first half and had our chances to get a big lead, at least a two or three touchdown lead, and we weren’t able to do that.  With that, the longer Tivy hung around, the more confidence they got and by the end of the game they were playing with a lot more confidence and lot more intensity than the Mules were.  We had our chances but it wasn’t to be.  So we’re going to have to regroup and get ready for Lockhart.

Mule Fan:  You talked about confidence and a lot of things happen in a game to swing that back and forth.  At the end of the second quarter the Alamo Heights turnover at the end of the long drive had to require some psychology in your locker room while Tivy was using it to their advantage in theirs. But you still had the lead.  What did you say to the guys at halftime to make sure they kept it in perspective?

Coach Norment:  Well we reminded them that in the first half, Tivy hadn’t done anything to stop us.  The Mules stopped themselves.  Now in the second half Tivy played a lot better.  But we played better in the first half and we just needed to continue to do that offensively.  Our defense came up with some big stops in the first half. They had one drive that we had opportunities to stop them and they ended up scoring.  But we still had a lead. So we were playing well enough and at halftime we were better off than when we started the game so we were feeling very confident at halftime.

Mule Fan:  In the end they were the making plays and had an intensity that was difficult to overcome?

Coach Norment:  They had an opportunity to win the game and they took it. The Mules had an opportunity and weren’t able to take it.  Like I told the kids it was a team effort from the coaches down to the scout team and that we needed to do a better job.  So this week that’s what we’re planning on doing.

Mule Fan:  You’ve talked a lot this year in these chats about the kids facing adversity and what that prepares them to do.  Well here’s a little bit of adversity coming off a loss at home to a district rival. How will the earlier experiences of this season help them bounce back?

Coach Norment:  Well we’re going to find out.  That’s what I told them.  I think having faced that adversity throughout this year, and we’re still going through it, it can’t do anything but help.  We’re not going to be surprised.  We’ve had a lot of players that have had to step into positions that aren’t natural to them.  We’ve had to move some people around.  We’ve had second and third string people moving up and getting a lot of playing time.  And overall they’re getting better.  So if nothing else, we have a lot more depth. When we start getting some of these hurt players healthy and back, we’re going to have a lot more depth at the end of the season than we started the season with.

Mule Fan:  Let’s talk about Lockhart. This is an important game for them. They play a traditional offense.  This is a team that is difficult to prepare for during the week and it is also difficult for them to prepare for us.  They don’t run anything like the Mules do so it is foreign territory for them.  What is your preparation like for Lockhart?

Coach Norment:  It’s going to be challenging because they really DON’T run a traditional offense.  It’s an “old-timey” offense in the fact that it is a run offense with a slot T and a wing T and basically all 22 players are going to be right there by the football.  It is a running offense.  It’s a ball control running offense. Their goal is to get three and a half yards per play.  If they only get three and a half yards, they’re happy.  If they get close, they’ll go for it on fourth down.  It’s a challenge to recreate that because it is something so foreign to our kids.  We actually had to sit down and come up with two scout teams and pick players that we wanted to play certain positions.  Whereas what we usually do is get the guys out there with basically our offense and we make a few changes. These are wholesale changes that we have to do.  The first day we did it was Monday and overall it looked pretty good.  Our kids gave the defense a good look. The challenge for them is we are a true spread offense that runs and throws the ball.  We do both and we’ve checked it. We are basically a 50-50 pass to run. Not exactly but real close.  So that poses a challenge for them because they have to recreate our offense.  So it’ll be a challenge for both teams of trying to do a good job getting the defenses prepared to face each other.

Mule Fan:  Just on that, you’ve got a team in Lockhart that tries to keep its offense on the field for a long time.  What does this do for your planning in terms of substitution and personnel?

Coach Norment:  We just have to realize that we’re going to try to stay fresh.  We can’t let them make a lot of yardage on first down because that’s the key.  If they make a lot of yards on first down then they’re ahead of the sticks.  If we can get them for a loss or no gain then they’re behind the sticks and they can’t average their three and half yards per carry and get the first down.  So that’s going to be key.  The defense needs to get as many three and outs as they can.  The disadvantage of this offense is that if we can get a lead, a two touchdown or three touchdown lead, they have a hard time catching up.

 

Other District 27-4A Results October 17 & 18, 2013

Buda Hays 38 Clemens 28

Kyle Lehman 24 Seguin 21

Boerne Champion 50 Lockhart 13

District 27-4A Standings

Alamo Heights        3-1

Clemens                    3-1

Buda Hays                3-1

Boerne Champion  3-1

Kerrville Tivy          2-2

Lockhart                   1-3

Seguin                       1-3

Kyle Lehman           1-3

Upcoming District 27-4A Schedule 10/25/13

Alamo Heights at Lockhart

Buda Hays at Seguin

Kyle Lehman at Kerrville Tivy

Boerne Champion at Clemens

Management Tricks Writers into Halloween Assignment

Union bosses who led our recent negotiations with management to get us back into these grimy and squalid offices and generally miserable working conditions to write for you each week, surprised us with a “little detail” about our new deal.  We were “asked” by management to crank out some “holiday pieces” whenever our schedule coincided with a major holiday.  They liberally included such trivial Hallmark events such as Arbor Day, Bosses Day and National Donut Day amongst other more easily recognized ones like Salamander Appreciation Day and Fun with Velvet Week.  Well, since we missed Bosses Day, we are already in breach.  We were basically tricked into this.  We would have gladly agreed to writing something Thanksgiving week since we all know that means the Mules would still be playing and fingers are crossed for that!  So in order to take some heat off of a worn out writing staff, we agreed to write Halloween stuff starting with emotionally moving, but scary and spine-tingling poems.

There once was a Mule Fan named Mary,

            whose armpits were hairy and smelly.

But loudly she cheered in spite of a beard that was sticky

            and filled with grape jelly.

Alternate Halloween version….

There once was a Mule Fan named Sean,

            Who spent too much time in the john

From there he cheered loudly, and shouted out proudly,

            My love of the Mules is just scary!

Halloween trivia:

Worst all time Halloween themed song:  “The Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt Kickers

Best Halloween song that also has reference to the economy:  “Gouls Just Want to Have Funds” by the Alfred Hitchclock and His Digital Timer Band

           

What is the one thing that can scare a Mule?  A saddle

What is the most misunderstood part of a candy bar:  The nougat

Happy All Hallows Eve from the Editor and staff of the Mule Fan.  Remember to brush your teeth.

  

Cliché Corner – Cuz learnin’ is gud!

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

Choose the football cliché.

A.  Shut down corner  B. Bargain Hunter

Answer:  A.  Skillful defensive backfield player

   

Dulce Designs Snaps ‘Em

When there are Mules in motion, Mary Candee is not far away.  We appreciate all the wonderful photos that Mary provides for the Mule Fan.  The Mule Fan would draw pictures of all the action but photos seem so much better and we just don’t have enough pens.  But truly great photos come from the keen eye and 750 pound lenses that Mary hauls around.  There is a shot of every movement at a game and not just players.  There are photos of the band, cheerleaders, bus drivers, grandparents sneezing, and more.  Check out all her shots each week at www.dulcedesigns.photreflect.com.  

Mules on Radio and Online

If you can’t get out to the stadium, follow the Mules on KBUC 92.5/93.3 FM or www.TSRNsports.com.  Ed Suarez and Dave Parker will call the action.  And don’t forget to patronize the broadcast sponsors and tell ‘em thanks!

Ticket Office Hours for the road trip week of 10/21 are Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30am-12:00pm & 1:30pm-3:00pm and Friday from 8:30am-3:00pm.  Tickets are priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students.  Tickets are $7 from kinder and up if you buy them at the gate.   

Offensive Line Collects Ham

After looking at game film with Coach Norment, it was clear that the offensive line had a pretty nice night against Kerrville.  We know they'd like to have a few series back for a do-over late in the fourth quarter to make it a spotless effort but we'll still toss them a ham.  They'll have to share it.  Notably this won't be easy when you consider the caloric capacity of your typical offensive lineman.  Just look at the main course that Big Lou's Pizzeria served up to the Mules offense last Thursday night.  It would take two schools of anchovies to cover those things.  Big Lou's features small, medium, large and man-hole cover sized pizzas.  Worth noting that to-go boxes were not necessary.  These had to be lowered in by crane.

Mule Fan Mail Bag:  As part of our community outreach program, the Mule Fan would to like to always remind the Mule Nation that we will consider your input from story and topic suggestions to cruel criticism.  We bend but don't break.  The person who suggested that we write using all emoticons and no vowels we say thanks but the little emoticons make us laugh too hard to write productively. They're so silly, right? Especially the ones where the little eyes are winking.  Cracks me up! So we cannot do it.  But it was a good idea.  Please feel free to make any suggestions to make your Mule Fan experience a pleasant one to bobcohen@sbcglobal.net.  After all, you've paid the subscription which line the pockets of our disgustingly greedy publisher and board of directors who have not even attended a game this year. 

Go Mules!!! See you in Lockhart.

Alamo Heights 42 Kyle Lehman 35 October 11, 2013

Mules Step on Gas to Take Care of Business in Kyle in 42-35 Drama

- Alamo Heights remains unbeaten in district play to maintain share at the top of the table

www.dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com

(Kyle, Texas)—It took a half to sort out the combination, but the Mules cracked the code last Friday at Bob Shelton Stadium against a scrappy Kyle Lehman Lobo team with a gritty 42-35 performance ran their win streak to five games and kept them atop District 27-4A.  A halftime regroup and a jolt of second half voltage from the Mules proven formula of execution in the “three phases” of the game put a stop to Lehman’s surge. 

Photos courtesy of Mary Candee-Dulce Design Photography

The Lobos’ offense woke up for the first time this season in the first half against the Mules as they put up tough rushing yardage from quarterback Jeremy Schilhab and running back Malcom Turner en route to 21 first half points which was a touchdown more than their game average to that point of the season.  It didn’t start that way as Mules defensive back Tommy Tyng stopped the Lobo’s opening drive with an interception.  A short time later the Mules got on the board as special teams collected another merit badge when Robert Schuler returned a Lobo punt 79 yards for the Mules first score.  AH’s QB Dalton Banks and receiver Scotty Uhl linked up for an 18-yard post route TD early in the second quarter.  Lehman capitalized on three grinding first half drives out of an offensive set, which the Mules had not seen in scouting film, and a recovery of a muffed punt to take the halftime lead. 

Mary Candee doesn't use an iPhone for these shots!

A collection was taken up from the Mules’ faithful in the stands at Bob Shelton Stadium for a quick run to the firefighter supply store to buy some flame-retardant suits for the players in anticipation of a ‘not so festive’ halftime Alamo Heights locker room.  This is a textbook example of how armchair quarterbacking can get you into trouble.   What the Mules had encountered in this first half was a sneak attack from the Lobos who ran out of defensive AND offensive sets that they had not used all season.  So Alamo Heights had to adjust on the fly to knuckle balls and splitters out of what had appeared to be an “all fastball staff.” (Sorry for the mixed sport metaphors.  It’s MLB playoff time and it leaks into our every move.) This was not easy to spot for the average fan let alone people who had been tailgating for an hour and a half.  Indeed it took a fascinating Monday Film Night to enlighten us all. Alas, (Note: Mule Fan editors have never been permitted by management to use the word ‘alas’ in our writing just after using an ‘indeed’ so there is some risk now of punitive action up to and including suspension from these dumb yutzes for whom we toil.) a quick survey of the players was conducted which revealed a rare case of “bus lag” and “what the…” after the arduous journey up IH 35 and high jinks and trickery from these near-Austinites.

Clearly the AH coaching staff made the right adjustments and any Mules’ cobwebs were shooed away for some field level lightning in the second half.  Lehman successfully game planned a way to close off Byron Proctor’s running productivity in the first half.  However Proctor dialed up four second half touchdowns including runs of 30 and 45 yards on his way to another triple digit rushing night of 112 yards on 10 carries.  One of Proctor’s short touchdowns came after a breathtaking deep throw and catch from Banks to Scotty Uhl that finished on the Lobos 2-yard line.

The second half was an impressive air show for Alamo Heights.  The offensive line provided good protection as Banks used an array of underneath routes mixed with some sneaky deep balls to push out big yardage and controlling drives.  Banks finished the night with an impressive line of 18 for 23 attempts for 364 yards and a TD.  Big receiving nights were had by Scotty Uhl with seven catches for 131 yards including the aforementioned second half dazzler, tight end Christian Lalinde four catches for 117 yards and Robert Schuler’s four for 69.

Defensively the Mules got a lot of players into the game particularly in the second half including some young fresh faces. Defensive end Ben McSween had a huge second half sack coming off the edge with Lehman facing 3^rd & 6 late in the game which preceded one of the Mules big offensive drives. Rocky Tips was in on many stops.  Mule Fan observers were also impressed with defensive lineman Juan Alvarez and a less than gentle body slam of a Lobo runner. We don’t remember which half it occurred in but this is why mouth guards were invented-we are sure of it.   Jacob Clifone was an ingredient in many pileups. 

So a gutsy fifth straight win under some challenging circumstances and the Mules move to 5-1 on the season and 3-0 in district play. 

“His Inside Voice” 

A weekly discussion with Coach Mike Norment

Mule Fan:  The Mules pulled off an impressive come from behind win last Friday.  You told some of us at Film Night that what Lehman presented to you on the field from the very start of the game was different than what you had seen in film and prepared for all week.  How so?

Coach Norment:  You get film and prepare for a team based on what they have done in their five previous games.  Offensively they lined up differently lining up foot-to-foot.  They put all of their big guys on the offensive line and they decided they were going to pound the ball, which is a little bit different from what they had shown.  It took the defense a while to adjust to that.  On defense they ran a 4-3 with four down lineman and three linebackers and had been playing more zone and they come out basically a 3-4 playing man defense and it took us a while to adjust to that.  So it took the coaches and the kids a few series to figure out what was going on and get the adjustments.  Definitely in the second half we did a much better job of making those adjustments and both offensively and defensively played much better.

Mule Fan: With only 25 seconds in between plays, how hard is it to make those changes on the fly while you’re in the middle of a half of football and they’ve put different sets out on the field than what you’ve prepared for?

Coach Norment:  Well you don’t do a whole lot of that while you’re on the field.  When you get them off to the sideline you’re trying to draw up some things real quick and really until you see a lot of different things you’re thinking “okay this is what they showed just then”.  You’re not sure.  So that’s why we’re making the big bucks because we can make the adjustments on the sideline and the coaches did a great job of conveying that to the kids.  We’re fortunate here at Alamo Heights that we have some smart kids that can pick it up pretty quick.  We were able to make those adjustments and come back and play much better.

Mule Fan:  For those of us in the stands, we were envisioning a different atmosphere in the halftime locker room than what was really probably happening which were more discussions, coaching and just catching up with what was going on out there in the first half.  Talk about what went on at halftime to make these changes.

Coach Norment:  At halftime, I didn’t need to get loud.  We had to get their focus back.  We’re also dealing with 16, 17 and 18 year olds.  They read scoreboards and they see that maybe Lehman wasn’t as highly thought of.  I’d been reminding them all week that these guys were good and you’d better not take anybody for granted.  I think there was a little bit of that.  You’ve got to take your hats off to Lehman.  They had a great game plan and they executed it pretty well in the first half and even parts of the second half.  What I like is that the kids did figure it out.  They did learn.  They played much harder with better technique in the second half.  It was a great win and a come from behind victory on the road.

Mule Fan:  Just to add to what you said about the game plan, clearly they were not going to let Byron Proctor beat them with the running game.  How did you finally break him loose in the second half because they had success shutting off the running game?

Coach Norment:  They were sending a lot of people to the outside.  So we decided that we were going to kick out their defensive ends and run inside.  We ran that a couple of times in the second half and had great success.  Also we just spread the ball out.  We went to a no back offense and spread them out a little bit and were able to throw and catch pretty well and move the ball up and down the field.

Mule Fan:  You’ve talked about overcoming adversity and to make these kinds of adjustments in a hard fought game against a team that was a lot bigger than the Mules.  How does a game like this help their confidence and what did you say to them after the game?

Coach Norment:  At halftime I said we were going to find out a lot about this team in the second half.  And I meant it.  I was insinuating that we were going to find out if you are able to suck it up and make the adjustments that we had been talking about and they did.  So they learned that they could when they have to.  Defense can “bow up” and get some stops even though they had a hard time doing that in the first half.  And offense was struggling a little bit and they did a great job in the second half, with the exception of one series, of going down the field and scoring and scoring quickly since we were behind.  So it can’t do anything but get their get their confidence up so that if we’re faced with a situation like this in the future we won’t feel apprehensive because we’ve been there before.

Mule Fan:  Let’s look at Tivy now.  Everyone knows our history with Kerrville as being one of our rivals.  We’re at home.  A win for the Mules will go a long way towards setting us up for a stretch to the playoffs.  They’ll be trying to get back to .500 in district.  What do the Mules need to do to keep them in the bottom half of the standings?

Coach Norment: We’re going to have to continue to get better and not make mistakes on offense. We were fortunate to get a win last week.  There were a couple of series we didn’t execute very well on offense.  Defense we’ll have to do a much better job on first down than we did against Lehman.  We got a touchdown on the kicking game, which was huge.  We’re going to have to continue to win the kicking game.  We’re just going to have to play hard because Tivy is going to come in here and probably give us their best game because they’re fighting of their playoff life so we’ll have to expect their best game and we’ll have to match their intensity. 

Photos by Mary Candee-Dulce Design Photography
Buy some pictures of your kid from her!

Mule Fan:  They have a lot of experience coming back on defense.  Is that their strength?

Coach Norment:  Defense does have a lot of people coming back.  Offense has struggled at times but in the last two games they’ve put up a lot of points. They beat Hays in a close game and lost to Boerne in a close game.  So they’ve put up some points in the last two weeks since they settled on a quarterback.  We’re going to have to play good defensively to slow them down.

MULE HOST KERRVILLE TIVY ON OCTOBER 18  7:30 P.M. 

These folks were missing from our schedule for a few years but it is our duty to remind the Mule Nation that we don’t like these hill country people too much either.  Your aging Mule Fan staff was around for some tasty wins including a big smash up here at home (maybe the last time we had them here in the big city) and a 2-0 record over that Heisman winner that plays for Texas A & M and is quick on the draw with a Sharpie.  Oh yes, and we haven’t forgotten the ripening dead animal strategically placed underneath our visitor stands one Halloween evening at their place and the band blaring at our offense from their end zone seats while former Mules QB Drew Allen stuffed a game winning drive down their gullets.  But that is all behind us and this is a new era and this game is a biggie.  Let’s be inclusive and welcoming to our guests with a large cheering throng and let the boys take care of the dirty work.

Freshmen will be playing Kerrville Tivy at 5:00 and 6:30 at Harry B. Orem on Thursday.  JV will be up at Antler Stadium in Kerrville at 5:00p.m.  Please drive safely.

Mule Notes:

Sub-5A area rankings have the Mules at #3 this week with 27-4A mates Clemens second and Boerne Champion at #4.  Brennan maintains the top spot…Running back Byron Proctor is 17^th in area rushing with 712 yards averaging 9.6 yards per carry and is second in area scoring with 15 touchdowns and 90 points…QB Dalton Banks is 15^th in total offense with 1,541 yards…Receiver Robert Schuler is 7^th in total receptions with 33 and 10.9 yards per reception.

Tivy Notes:

The Antlers are 2-4 overall and 1-2 in district.  Their wins have been against Hays and Del Rio. But they have taken on some tough 5A opponents like Steele and Madison.  So that record may be somewhat misleading.  They will be looking to stay in the playoff chase.

Shaw Urges Mule Fans to Cheer Louder on First Down:

Mules PA announcer Rick Shaw has expressed some concern that his signature “first down” calls are not getting appropriate participation from the home crowd.  After the last game, Mule Fan staff caught Shaw rubbing his temples with frustration while sipping his rheumatiz medicine (as Granny Clampitt used to say on Beverly Hillbillies).  We can do better.  We must do better.  Rick gets paid either way but we can’t let doubt seep into his world after all these years.  He’s done these calls for the Queen after all.  He knows only excellence.  Step up Mule nation.  If Shaw walks out on us now, only nuclear winter awaits.

Other October 11 District 27-4A Results

Buda Hays 38 Lockhart 37

Boerne Champion 25  Kerrville Tivy 23

Clemens 24  Seguin 13

District 27-4A Standings

Alamo Heights        3-0

Clemens                    3-0

Buda Hays                2-1

Boerne Champion  2-1

Lockhart                   1-2

Kerrville Tivy         1-2

Seguin                       1-2

Kyle Lehman           0-3

Upcoming District 27-4A Schedule

Seguin at Kyle Lehman (October 17)

Clemens at Buda Hays (October 18)

Lockhart at Boerne Champion (October 18)

Kerrville Tivy at Alamo Heights (October 18)

This Week’s Canned Ham Award(s)

- Three hams shipped this week

Time to pass around some pork.  This week we have multiple winners because after all, we make the rules around here so we can have more than one winner if we wanna.  Mules offense is in the pink this week.  Senior receiver Scotty Uhl was impressive in the win as detailed above along with his battery mate QB Dalton Banks who also was cool and collected in victory.  So both of these boys need to stand at ready with a ring of pineapple and some cloves. In the brief 12-day history of the Alamo Heights Canned Ham award, nobody has ever won more than one.  Until now.  Sometimes, too much sodium is not so good.  Unless it is not really being consumed.  So we threw away caution to bestow another Canned Ham on Mules running back Byron Proctor who overcame a straight-jacketed first half and put up another 100 yard game and four scores.  Congratulations boys and don’t forget to refrigerate after opening!

Cliché Corner – Cuz learnin’ is gud!

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

Choose the football cliché.

A.  Pay Dirt    B. Poodle Skirt

Answer:  A. The end zone

10th Annual Fenley Trophy Golf Tournament

An important fundraiser takes place on Friday, October 25 at the Quarry Golf Club with an 8:00am start.  Proceeds of the four-person scramble tournament support AHHS sports including football, golf, basketball, tennis, volleyball, swimming, track, cheerleading, baseball, softball and soccer.  Winning teams have their names etched on the Fenley Trophy and will be recognized at an upcoming varsity football game.  A variety of support levels await you if you contact one of many tournament directors for more details.  There are seven different people we could tell you to call but to make it easier we'll just list the guy to whom checks must be delivered which is 

Carter Thurmond 889-6259...carter@cometsigns.com

Go Mules!!!!!