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Natalia Business Professionals of America students have advanced to State! Left to right are: Sofia Garcia, Kira Jimenez, Jerusalem Alvarado, Danica Torrez, Alaena Garza, Sarah Kanaguisco, Dominic De Luca, Juan Montez, Camila Mujica. BPA Advisor: Mrs. Stephanie Wiza. Story inside.
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Mustang powerlifter Daniel Corona prepares to squat in Dilley.
Jerel Beaty Staff writer The Mustang powerlifting team traveled to Dilley on January 22 to compete in the Wolves Invitational. Natalia placed 5th overall finishing with 20 points. Daniel Corona earned a gold medal in the 220lb division with a total lift of 1,115 pounds. Ethan Rodriguez took silver in the 242lb class with a total lift of 1,030 pounds while Joseph Lacy and Roger Najera each took bronze in the 148lb and 220lb divisions, respectively. Team standings 1st Dilley 48, 2nd Lytle 35, 3rd Devine 33, 4th South San Antonio 33, 5th Natalia 20, 6th Carrizo Springs 6. Mustang results (Lifter-Class-Place-Squat-Bench-Deadlift-Total) Joseph Lacy-148lb-3rd-195-100-240-535; Charlie Cisneros-165lb-7th-225-200-270-695lbs; Timothy Key-181lb-7th-355-225-385-965lbs; Caleb Guttendorf-198lb-6th-405-235-405-1,045lbs; Pilar Valadez-198lb-9th-335-210-345-890lbs; Dalton Scott-198lb-11th-275-215-350-840lbs; Fernando Bautista-198lb-12th-340-185-310-835lbs; Daniel Corona-220lb-1st-405-305-405-1,115lbs; Roger Najera-220lb-3rd-400-280-405-1,085lbs; Ethan Rodriguez-242lb-2nd-365-240-425-1,030lbs; Dominic De Luca-242lb-4th-360-215-365-940lbs.
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…
Jerel Beaty The Natalia Mustangs had seven representatives on the District 15-3A DII list as voted on by head coaches from Cotulla, Nixon-Smiley, Poth, Dilley, Stockdale, Karnes City, YMLA, and Natalia. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own player. With three of the four district team’s advancing past Bi-District, and Poth playing all the way until last weekend when they bowed out in the Regional Semifinals, the list of honorees had been kept under lock and key until this point. The sole First Team Offense honoree for the Mustangs was sophomore quarterback, Leonardo Buentello, while junior linebacker, Mosses Leija, was First Team Defense. Second Team Offense went to junior wide receiver, Damian Aguinaga, while Second Team Defense was awarded to senior defensive lineman, Adam Terrazas. Honorable Mention was sophomore defensive back, Andrew Monreal, and junior wide receiver, Juan Gonzales. Leija was a dual-honoree as he was tabbed at Honorable Mention Running Back.
Eric Smith Staff Writer The Natalia Mustangs saw their season end with a tough and disappointing loss last Friday night vs. the YMLA Lions. YMLA was able to score late in the game, following a controversial penalty on a missed field-goal to secure a 33-26 win over the Mustangs. Natalia finished their campaign under 1st year Head Coach Jason Reynolds with a 1-9 overall record. The season saw adversity, injuries and a youthful squad that battled hard ever game, but did not have many breaks go their way during Friday night battles.
“I felt like our kids came out fired up to play Friday,” Coach Jason Reynolds said. “Offensively, we did a great job of moving the football. Our offensive line had one of their best games of the season and our running backs did a great job of running the football. Defensively, we had our spurts where we played well and even had a couple of turnovers.” It was a close and competitive game throughout the night, but a young man by the name of Raishaun Conway, was the difference for the Lions as he rushed 24 times for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns on the night. Natalia struggled to slow him down all night. YMLA was able to use broken tackles and miscues by the Natalia defense to score first on a 31-yard pass from Matthew Kroger to Ty Burroughs to take a 7-0 lead. The Mustangs responded with a drive of their own, capped off by a 3-yard Leo Cortinas run. This was the first of 3 touchdowns of the night by QB Cortinas. YMLA was able to respond with a drive and touchdown by Conway to extend their lead to 13-6, prior to Cortinas scoring again, this time from 5-yards out. Juan Gonzales put the PAT up and good, allowing Natalia to tie things 13-13. In the second quarter, Natalia took the lead on a 3rd touchdown by their QB, but a late score allowed YMLA to tie things 19-19 at the half. The third quarter saw Natalia score the only touchdown of the quarter, thanks to a run by Monreal allowing for a 25-19 following another PAT by Gonzales. Unfortunately, YMLA owned both fourth quarter touchdowns. The first was on a 27-yard touchdown by Mason Pena on a throw from Kroger. The final was an 8-yard run by Conway, following a penalty on a field goal by YMLA. Natalia had appeared to tip a field goal that was “no good”. Natalia ended up running into the kicker, resulting in a penalty. Film would later show the ball, in fact, was not tipped, but the penalty gave the Lions new life, allowing the game winning touchdown on a fresh set of downs. This touchdown would allow the San Antonio squad to upset the Mustangs 33-26. The Lions finished with 21 1st downs, 32 rushes for 159 yards and 9 receptions for 203 yards on the night. Natalia finished with 22 1st downs, 48 rushes for 231 yards and 7 receptions for 49 yards on the night. Cortinas led the charge for Natalia with 23 rushes for 39 yards and 3 touchdowns, as Monreal had 6 rush….To CONTINUE READING PLEASE SUBSCRIBE at www.devinenewsmembers.com
Natalia Cross Country regional qualifer Yahdi Luhan with her coaches.
Devine, Lytle, & Natalia all sending representatives
Jerel Beaty-staff writer The University Interscholastic League along with Texas A&M University Corpus Christi host the 2024 State Cross Country Meet October 21 and 22. Top teams and individuals representing Devine, Lytle, and Natalia high schools vie for the opportunity to run in Round Rock at the State Meet which is held inside Old Settler’s Park. The top four teams and top 10 individuals not on a qualifying team will qualify for the UIL state meet. The top 3 teams and the top 10 overall individuals in each race will receive an award 30 minutes after results have been posted to allow times for protests, approximately 1 hour after each races start time, awards will be handed out to the top three teams and the top 10 individual finishers in each race. The fourth-place team, which has qualified for state will also be recognized but will not receive an awards. The awards stage is located on the south end of the track. Once results are official, they will be posted behind the track stadium stands. Allow time to pick up a commemorative t-shirt that will be on sale until the conclusion of the last race on each day. Schedule Monday, October 21 8:00am 2A Girls 8:30am 2A Boys 9:15am 4A Girls (Arabians) 9:45am 4A Boys (Warhorses) 10:30am 6A Girls 11:00am 6A Boys Tuesday, October 22 8:0 am 1A Girls 8:3 am 1A Boys 9:15am 3A Girls (Lady Pirates, Lady Mustang) 9:45am 3A Boys (Pirates) 10:30am 5A Girls 11:00am 5A Boys The location is Dugan Track and Soccer Stadium which is on 701 E. Nile Dr. Corpus Christi, 78412. Parking is across the street from the stadium in an open grass lot. It is $10 per vehicle that should be paid through ParkMobile. Alternate parking will be available if poor weather dictates. Spectator Parking: Spectator parking is located at the grass parking lot across the street from the stadium.
Eric Smith-Staff Writer First half miscues proved costly for the Natalia Mustangs (1-5, 0-3) vs. Nixon-Smiley (2-4, 1-2)) last Friday night in Gonzales County. The dagger came with one second left on the clock, as Nixon’s Garet Gonzales caught a 30-yard pass over the middle from Eric Rodriguez as time expired to take a 16-0 lead into the half vs. Natalia. This fueled the red and blue Mustangs to a 45-20 win over Natalia. Natalia did show some positives in the first half prior to that second touchdown including a few good drives. Unfortunately, turnovers continued to hurt the Mustangs as they finished with one fumble and two interceptions on the day. “Offensively, we did a good job of moving the ball most of the night, we just had some critical errors that stalled out a few drives,” Natalia Head Coach Jason Reynolds said. “We have to do a better job of not turning the ball over.” In the second half down 16-0, the Natalia Mustangs surrendered..
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…
The Mustangs take down the opponent in a recent game.
Eric Smith-Staff Writer The Dilley wolves used a huge second half push to run past Natalia in the 15-3A (Div.II) opener last Friday night in Frio County 64-19. Natalia trailed the Wolves just 20-13 at the half, after showing promise in the first half. “After a good job of responding in the first half with a late touchdown to cut the deficit, we had too many mistakes and turnovers in the second half and the game got away from us,” Coach Jason Reynolds said. It was a competitive first quarter of action at Gosch Field, as the Wolves struck first on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Johnny Rodriguez to Jacob Lopez. This allowed Dilley to take a 7-0 lead following a PAT by Santiago Cruz. The Mustangs were able to strike back before the end of the quarter, as Zach Peralta capped off a nice Natalia drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown. Juan Gonzales put the PAT up and through allowing for a tied game 7-7. Dilley was able to strike with two touchdowns in a row including on following a turnover. One was a 13-yard Bubba Reyes run and one was a 20-yard Rodriguez pass to Isaiah Lamber allowing for a 20-7 lead. Natalia was able to strike right before half on a Peralta touchdown getting the Stangs within 20-13 at the half. This is as close as the game would be. Dilley outscored Natalia 18-6 in the 3rd quarter and 26-0 in the 4th quarter courtesy of a potent rushing attack and a slew of Natalia turnovers thru the air and on the ground. Natalia’s 3rd quarter touchdown was thanks to a nice Mason Giera pass down the visitor sideline to…
