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Life on JV hoops is a learning experience

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The JV Horses have not had the opportunity to play as many games a week as their varsity brethren over the last couple of weeks. While the varsity was playing tournaments in Decatur and Yorktown, the JV sat idle waiting on district to guarantee their games happening every Tuesday and Friday…well, at least after the Christmas break anyway.
JV and assistant varsity coach Zac Valenzuela understands the trials and tribulations of being a “sub-varsity” player in basketball, especially in Devine where hoop expectations are always high regardless level of competition.
“Playing sub-varsity basketball for Devine is tough,” Valenzuela stated after tough games versus Bandera and Davenport. “We appreciate that so many student-athletes tryout, but we can only keep so many on each of the teams.”
Early game times, small crowds, and most of the time hitting the court without cheerleaders pumping up the people who are in the gym makes it a daunting task at times to keep even those that make the squad.
“Even after we make cuts to get a manageable number of players to practice and play games with, some who survive tryouts often wind up cutting…

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Natalia HS Boys Basketball Game Recaps

12/17-12/20/2024

By Coach Justin Welsh
Varsity Boys Basketball @ Jourdanton – 12/17/2024
The Mustangs hit the road Tuesday to face the Jourdanton Indians in the District 28-3A opener. A slow start on both ends of the floor put the Mustangs in an early hole, as the Indians came out firing on all cylinders. Jourdanton outscored the Mustangs 14-6 in the first quarter, with Dominic San Miguel contributing 4 points and David Rodriguez adding 2 for the Mustangs.
The second quarter saw a surge in offensive production for the Mustangs. After falling behind 25-12 with 4:50 remaining, the team responded with a 14-2 run sparked by San Miguel, Rodriguez, and Peyton Alderete. This rally trimmed the deficit to just 3 points, 27-24. However, the Indians closed the half strong, extending their lead back to 9 points at 35-26.
The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams finding success offensively. Alderete led the Mustangs with 9 points in the quarter, including two clutch three-pointers. Despite their efforts, Jourdanton slightly edged the Mustangs in the period, taking a 54-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the final frame, the Mustangs found themselves trailing by as many as 13 points but refused to back down. A three-pointer by San Miguel narrowed the gap to 10 with 3:38 remaining. With two minutes left, the Mustangs turned up their defensive intensity, forcing…

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Warhorses open District 27-4A

66-59 road win in Pleasanton
Ray, Davis, M. Beaver combine for 57 points

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The first and fourth quarters were huge for Devine in their District 27-4A road opener in Pleasanton last Friday afternoon. The Horses shot a combined 15 of 28 (54%) from the floor in those bookend periods that helped secure their 66-59 victory over the Eagles.
Karson Ray had a monster game for Devine as he smacked down 26 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Tanner Davis also came up big, getting a double-double with 18 points and 12 boards and Mason Beaver tacked on another 13 points and dished out 7 assists.
Ray’sean Beaver has been dealing dimes all year long and this night was no different as he finished with 7 assists. Christian Beaver cleaned the glass for 10 rebounds, gathering 5 on each end of the court.
As good as Devine was from close range (25 of 50 for 50%), they were just the opposite from beyond the arc as they connected on only 2 of 19 attempts (11%).
Stats
Karson Ray 26 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Tanner Davis 18 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocked shots; Mason Beaver 13 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 deflection, 1 steal; Gavin Williamson 5 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal; Ray’sean Beaver 4 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 deflections; Christian Beaver 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 deflections; Cecilio De La Garza 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Yes, Santa, there is a JV Arabian hoop team

Devine downs Lady Cats 44-21 to open district

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Thank you, Nancy Martin, for sending in pictures of the scorebook in the Arabian JV team’s 44-21 victory over visiting Carrizo Springs on December 17.
Karsyn Mann made nine field goals and was a perfect 3 for 3 at the free throw line to lead her team with 21 points. Nine of those 21 accounted for all of Devine’s first quarter points in their taking of a 9-1 lead early in the game.
Caroline Suhr added 7 points, including a three-pointer in the second quarter. Calleigh Schneider scored 4 of her 6 points in the second quarter while Greeley Malone scored 4 of her 6 points in the fourth quarter.
Lilly Owen and Payton Appling each added 2 points and Ariel Ottinger contributed in ways other than in the scoring column.

Forensic auditexplored by ESD2 in Devine VFD missing money

By Anton Riecher
Medina County Emergency Services District No. 2 is seeking proposals from auditing firms to conduct a “forensic audit” of the Devine VFD’s financial records following the arrest of Devine Volunteer Fire Department office administrator Heather Schultz on a charge of tampering with evidence.
The arrest amounted to an controversial “elephant in the room” for the MCESD2 commissioners during the Dec. 17 meeting at the fire station – an obviously contentious issue that no one was comfortable discussing.
“Obviously, we have to be very careful about what we say here,” board president Todd Summers said.
Schultz, who served as an office administrator and accounts manager, went unnamed during the portion of the meeting open to the public. The meeting concluded with a closed executive session at which Devine VFD Chief Greg Atkinson present along with two other firemen.
“If the fire chief decides he has additional information he wants to share with us, being that it is personnel, we’ll have to go into executive session for him to share that with us,” Summers said.
A forensic audit is a detailed examination of financial records intended to identify any potential fraud, misconduct or other irregularities.
On a motion by board commissioner Kenneth Nighswander, seconded by Jerry Lee Stevens, the board voted unanimously to move ahead with the forensic audit. Summers said the audit was necessary “especially in light of what has been going on.”
“One of the things we have to determine is what funds were touched,” he said.
Schultz was arrested by the Medina County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 5 after a search warrant was executed for her home, authorities report. The sheriff’s office is working with the county Criminal District Attorney office in the investigation.
According to Sheriff Randy Brown, Devine VFD chief Greg Atkinson reported monies missing several weeks before the arrest.
Atkinson told MCESD2 commissioners that he could not deliver the routine Devine VFD financial report presented at monthly board meetings.

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Local man reels in 250-pound Ray,over 6 ft!

Local Fisherman Thomas Ventimiglia Jr (20), recently reeled in a 73-inch 250+ pound Roughtail Stringray down in Matagorda Bay.

The Ray took 1 hour and 30 minutes to reel in and took 5 people to help to land and surface it. It was caught on Blue Crab on a Penn Battle 3 5000 reel with an 8-foot battle rod.

Who would like to “adopt” Heart Gallery kid’s for January?

By Kayleen Holder- We still need several more businesses and churches to come on board. So far signed up to display Heart Gallery photos in January, we have: Charlie’s Daughter On the Green Restaurant, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Mag’s Place, The Devine News, Alamo Truck, Napa, Chayito’s, and ???? Please let us know if you can display 2 or 3 or maybe even 5 or 6 of the 30 photos featuring children who are in complete care of the state of Texas, and need adoptive homes. Being featured in a heart gallery increases their chances of being adopted by 60% according to statistics!!!!

We also want to say a Huge THANK YOU to all of the churches, businesses, and organizations for who have been displaying photos this past December! Y’all are the best!!! See page 3 for more info if you want to help with this important effort!