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JV1 Horses bid for perfect season falls short

JV Warhorses take on Marble Falls. Photo by Brigid Howard.

District begins Thursday with 5pm kickoff

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Dag Burn It! The JV1 Horses had a perfect 5-0 record going into their road game in Marble Falls last Thursday but came out 5-1 after the Mustangs escaped with a 28-20 win.
Devine was down but definitely not out even facing a 22-8 deficit at the break. The Horses closed to within a two-point conversion at 22-20 but could not tie it up nor take the lead before the final horn sounded.
“We kept battling all game long, even after Marble Falls had three first half touchdown passes” said Coach Lon Cozby. “We had a few injuries set us back a little, but we still had a chance late in the game and that is all I could ask for.”
Late game magic was possible, but it would have taken more than a good share of it as starting running back Ryan Weinkam exited the contest in the second quarter, and other Warhorses also were unable to continue as Devine finished the game with only seven healthy players standing on the sideline.
Marble Falls connected on their first of three first half touchdown passes to take a 6-0 lead. Weinkam intercepted their two-point attempt near the goal line and returned it 99 yards the other direction to make the score 6-2.
“Ryan was able to show off…

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Natalia suffers tough Homecoming set-back

2024 Royal Couple King Carlo Alonso and Queen Kira Jimenez

Eric Smith
The Natalia Mustangs(1-4, 0-2) suffered a tough Homecoming loss last Friday night at the hands of the Karnes City Badgers (4-1, 1-1). Three Natalia turnovers combined with missed tackles, injuries and an explosive KC offense resulted in a 50-14 Badger victory. In the end, this continues to be a work in progress for a group of youthful, hard working young men and a 1st year staff in Natalia.
“We did not make enough plays on offense early in the game to keep us in it,” Natalia Head Coach Jason Reynolds said. “We have to do a better job of playing complimentary football against good teams like KC.”
The Badgers may have been picked dead-last by Dave Campbell Texas Football, but they came out playing like a top-3 district teams last Friday in Natalia. They showcased a beefy line with a lot of talent in the back-field and a stringy defense that did not make a lot of mistakes.
Natalia struggled to establish their line of scrimmage offensively as starting QB Leo Cortinas came back from injury. Unfortunately, he went back down with a tweak to his injury resulting in back-up QB Mason Giera coming in. 
Giera had a number of bright spots with success thru the air…

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8th Grade Filly play Bandera

8th Grade Maroon Team took the Gold in Medina Valley.

Shana Beaty-Staff writer
The Devine 8th grade volleyball B-team faced Bandera at the end of their first round on Monday, September 23rd, winning another District game this season. Devine beat Bandera in two sets as the first set was a close win, 28-26. The second set, the Fillys came out victorious, winning 25-9. After Devine had a day off from school, Coach Julie Oropeza felt like her girls got off to slow start, saying, “We were able to break Bandera’s momentum and pull out a first set win. In the second set, this group came out strong and never let up.”
B-TEAM STATS
District Record: 3-1
ACES: Mallory Geries-5, Rozlyn Courtade-4, Megan Miles-3, Claira Gulley-2, Nayeli Munoz-2, Kaytie Klein-1
ATTACKS: Maya McElwee-3, Prezley Freeburn-3, Brooklyn Hinnant-2, Jillian Brumage-2, Miles-2, Courtade-1
KILLS: McElwee-1, Miles-1
ASSISTS: Courtade-1
DIGS: Munoz-2, Klein-1
In the second set, Devine’s B-Team came out strong, and never let up. Coach O commented, “This was a true team effort as each player…

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Pirate XC Perfect Score at District 28-3A Meet

The Lytle Pirates and Lady Pirates crusied to district championships in Cross Country! Photo by L Wilson.

Alvarez individual champ; Salazar, Montes-Rodriguez, D. Reyna, Esquivez, & Garza top 6
7th Straight District Championship!

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The Pirate Cross Country team pitched what would be considered a perfect game by baseball standards as they swept the first six places in Monday’s District 28-3A Meet in Dilley.
Although the first five runners to cross the finish line are the only scores to go into the counting of a team score, Lytle earned the sixth individual place as well on their way to another District Championship.
The Pirates claimed their 7th straight District Championship and their 15th overall since 2003.
Johnny Rey Alvarez, Lucas Salazar, Bryan Montes-Rodriguez, Diego Reyna, and Yandel Esquivez accumulated the lowest score possible, 15, as they finished one through five in the standings. Nathan Garza was the sixth and final runner to toe the line for Lytle.
The whole Pirate team was well ahead of their competition throughout the entirety of the race as each finished between 16:14 and 17:04.
The 7th place runner from Dilley did not come into the picture frame until the 17:22 mark, as most of the Pirates were already smiling for a team photo by that time.
Alvarez led the Pirate-parade as he finished his 5K in 16:14.06.
Thirteen seconds later Salazar and Montes-Rodriguez were fighting it out for that runner-up spot as a small sunray is all…

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Lady Pirate XC waves Championship flag
F. Scotello individual champ; Lopez Cortinas, Wagner, & Galindo top 8
5th Straight District Championship

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The Lady Pirates outran Hondo to capture their fifth straight Cross Country District Championship Monday in Dilley. Lytle scored 24 points to the Lady Owls 36 and also claimed five of the top eight spots in the field of 44 runners.
Frances Scotello, Svetlana Lopez, Elyse Cortinas, Addison Wagner, and Kaycee Galindo were in the top 8 spots and accounted for Lytle’s point total. They were joined on the championship stage by Annika Robles and Klayre Cook who had nice outings as well placing in the top 15.
Scotello continued her amazing season by winning the individual championship with a time of 12:02.50, which was nearly 22-seconds better than teammate Lopez.
Lopez was the only other runner in the competition who timed…

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Pirates vs Aggies Friday night in Poteet

Lytle has reeled off four consecutive victories to sit at 4-1 going into this Friday’s District 14-3A opener in Poteet. Photo by Brianna Paredes.

Lytle opens quest for District 14-3A championship

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
After dropping their season opener to Llano, it has been all Pirates since opening night as Lytle has reeled off four consecutive victories to sit at 4-1 going into this Friday’s District 14-3A opener in Poteet.
Pirate Nation hopes the gig is up for the Aggies as they enter the game on a small roll of their own. After starting their 2024 season losing three straight, Poteet put together consecutive wins against Pearsall 35-34 and Marion 35-28.
Gone for the moment for Aggie fans are the 29-22 loss in Bandera, the 27-7 loss versus Karnes City, and the 26-8 thumping by George West in Poteet.
Lytle has done everything right since their Yellow Jacket loss as they defeated Natalia 30-14 before battling three consecutive Class 4A schools in a row…all of which ended in “Ws” for the Pirates.
Back-to-back thrilling…

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ONE FOR THE AGES!

Warhorse #8 Enoch Hall on the carry against Marble Falls. Photo by Brigid Howard.

Devine rallies for 28-27 win over Marble Falls

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
WOW! What a show at Warhorse Stadium last Friday night!
Freshman running back Enoch Hall scored from two-yards out to even the game at 27, then EJ Gonzalez delivered a perfect point-after snap to holder Jacob Sollock who swiftly put it down on the black tee for super-composed placekicker Teotimo Stafford to boot through the winning extra point, giving Devine a dramatic, one-for-the-ages 28-27 comeback victory over the Marble Falls Mustangs.
Warhorse players, coaches, managers, trainers, and cheerleaders all burst into celebration after Riley Gutierrez sacked the Mustang quarterback to end the game as he prepared to let a desperation “Hail Mary” attempt fly from his fingertips on what was the last play of a ballgame that was entertaining in every way possible.
The Horses ride a 5-game winning streak into Carrizo Springs Friday as District 14-4A DII action is set to begin.
Prior to Hall’s touchdown, Devine, already trailing 24-21, could not afford to let the Mustangs offense complete a drive that ended in the end zone or the chances of the Warhorses picking up their fifth win in a row would be severely hampered.
Instead, although the defense bent a couple of times on that Marble Falls drive, it came up with huge stop necessary on a Mustang fourth down and five to go on the six yard line that gave Devine…

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Varsity Warhorse #42 Gavin Socarras makes a flying tackle.

Records go out the window as Warhorses travel to Carrizo

District 14-4A opener Friday night

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Preseason schedules are now completed for all District 14-4A DII football programs which allows for the real part of the season to kick off as the battle for the top spot begins.
Devine claimed the runner-up spot in 2023 as Bandera took the top honors, but the Warhorses are taking quite the roll that hopefully not only continues into their district opener Friday night in Carrizo Springs but through their remaining guaranteed games of 2024.
The Wildcats are looking to get a piece of that playoff-pie, and they know an upset on their home turf of the Warhorses would go a long way to getting them at least to the bi-district round of the state playoffs.
Devine currently sits at 5-1 on the season. After dropping their opener to Randolph in overtime, the Warhorses have reeled off consecutive wins against Jourdanton, Natalia, Hondo, San Antonio Christian, and Marble Falls.
Carrizo Springs may feel like that have a little momentum on their side after their 66-24 win over Robstown last Friday, Even with the win, the Wildcats are 2-4 on the year with their only other victory coming against Hebbronville September 13 as they took the 36-0 win.
The Wildcats opened the season with a 13-8 loss at Uvalde before Hondo blitzed them in their home opener a week later 40-6.
Following their Hebbronville win, Lytle defeated the Wildcats 19-12 as did Crystal City 23-20.
After Devine…

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Local War Hero Finds Peace in Painting

After serving in the Vietnam War, local painter Juan A. Frias found says he found his true calling when he picked up a paintbrush. Frias is preparing for an exhibit soon.

Meet Juan A. Farias…

“You don’t pick art,” he said.
“Art picks you.”

By Catherine Richard
Art is not for the faint of heart. It is a dynamic and often unsure career, pulled by the currents of artistic inspiration, marketability and passion. However, artists like the Devine resident, Juan A. Farias, have sailed on these currents for decades, gaining recognition as they make art a way of life.
Farias has worked as an artist ever since he retired from the military after serving in Vietnam. His work can be seen in murals throughout Texas with multiple pieces in the University of Texas at San Antonio art collection, and a few books on Chicano movement. Whether it is sculpture, photography, curating art for exhibits or writing, he is always searching for new ways to create art.
Today, Farias creates art at his home on the outskirts of Devine. He moved from San Antonio around 20 years ago to be near his sister.
Large canvases covered in moody colors hang all over the walls of his house, barn, and more can be found set up in his living room…some finished or still in progress.
However, living out this dream is “no walk in the park,” Farias said. “You have to hustle.”
When he was a young man, Farias had planned on being a soldier. Right after graduating high school in 1969, he enlisted and was deployed to Vietnam. He served as a…