Category: Sports

Local Sports coverage of your Warhorse and Arabians, Colts, Fillys, Lytle Pirates, Lady Pirates, Mustangs and Lady Mustangs

Lady Pirates 1-1 in district play after sweeping Cotulla

Lady Mustang Paige Key had 11 digs during Natalia’s thrilling 5 set match against Carrizo Springs. Photo by Mable Byrd.

Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports Editor
The Natalia Lady Mustangs have begun district play 0-2 after dropping some very close matches to Cotulla and Carrizo Springs. Despite the tough competition to start district, head coach Hannah Farruggia said every loss is a chance to cultivate a better understanding of the team.
“Losses show us what we need to work on,” Farruggia said. “They give us an opportunity to learn, grow, and come back stronger as a team.”
The Lady Mustangs have been on a bit of skid as of late, despite their immense talent. Farruggia has emphasized that in these tough times the message has been to stay focused and to stay together. They are very aware of what this team is capable of so the mindset is to continue to trust the process and “control what we can control.” 
“We have a lot of talent and we’ve shown flashes of what we can do. Our biggest…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Pirates look to bounce back in Legacy Bowl

Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports Editor
The Lytle Pirates took a tough loss to Bandera, falling 63-0. The Pirates now hold a record of 1-2 ahead of district play. Head coach Mike Trevino didn’t sugar coat anything, stating that it was a “tough night.” He credited Bandera for coming out prepared and taking advantage of the opportunities the Bulldogs created. 
“For us, it was one of those nights where adversity hit early and we never really found the rhythm we needed to respond. But I told our kids afterward that these moments reveal a lot about you. Winning can build confidence, but nights like this can build character if you respond the right way,” Trevino said. “We’ve intentionally challenged ourselves through this non-district schedule because we wanted to find out who we are before district play begins. We’ve been tested, bruised, humbled, and forced to grow. Now the question becomes: What are we going to do with everything we’ve learned?”
This was the second week in a row that the Lytle defense has given up 60+ points. Last week Trevino mentioned “self-inflicted wounds” as a cause for the defense letting their opponents run up the score. Even against the Bulldogs he said they had missed assignments, poor leverage, missed tackles, alignment issues. Mistakes like that add up very quickly against a good football team. 
“The biggest thing is continuing to understand that defense takes all eleven guys doing their job together. We have to get back to trusting our training. The encouraging part is those are things we can correct. We own it, we learn from it, and then we go back to work,” Trevino said. 
The offense was not at its best either that night, but every miss-step is an opportunity to grow and improve. The biggest lesson he wanted the offense to take away from…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Mustangs dominate Lions 50-6

Mustang Quarterback Leo Buentello went for 193 yards and one TD during Natalia’s 50-6 win over YMLA. Photo by Moose Lopez.

Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports Editor
There’s bounce back wins and there’s statement wins and the Natalia Mustangs happened to do both against the Young Men’s Leadership Academy Lions. The Mustangs took down Lions 50-6 in an epic homecoming win, ending their slow start to the season. 
“It was an exciting night for our guys. I thought we did a good job of staying focused through a busy week of homecoming distractions,” Head coach Jason Reynolds said. “I know our guys were really happy to be back home and it definitely showed on the field.”
Natalia was near perfect in every aspect of the game. Their offense was explosive and consistent while the defense was physical and inexorable. Reynolds said alot of their success in this win comes from the offensive and defensive line.
“Our O line did a really good job of being more physical up front and our defensive line was in the backfield all night, causing them a lot of problems and when you play complimentary football like that, good things tend to happen,” Reynolds said. 
On top of dropping a 50-piece, the defense stuffed the stat sheet just as much as the offense by forcing two fumbles and recovering four! Moreover, the Mustangs kept YMLA scoreless the entire second half, which speaks volumes to the team’s discipline and competitive tenacity. 
“They just played with relentless effort and when we do that, it can really demoralize a team,” Reynolds said. “At halftime the message remained the same, playing four complete quarters of physical football and our guys did that Friday night.”
With their…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

DHS Tennis remains undefeated in district, defeats Hondo 17-2

Warhorse Becker Byrd took his doubles match in straight games with his partner MJ Lawler. Photo by Jerel Beaty.

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Devine High School Team Tennis is now a spotless 5-0 in district action after pounding the hoot out of Hondo 17-2 on September 9. The Warhorses and Arabians aim to keep that undefeated record intact on September 16 as they host Crystal City at the still-new tennis courts near the football stadium.
Head Coach Kandi Darnell was more than pleased with her players outing in Hondo but also understands there are difficult matches remaining as they make their run to a district championship. Part of that understanding is scheduling quality matches outside of district that will help each of her players as the season progresses.
“The Saturday nondistrict schedule we have are against some really good programs and those opportunities to improve on the weekend prepare us for big district matches. Every time we step on…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Touchdown!

Touchdown after touchdown, the Brown family, Brown Chevrolet, and Brown Dodge have been a part of the success of Devine ISD athletics and academics. Recently, they purchased a new digital scoreboard for Warhorse Stadium with all the bells and whistles to replace the last one which was at least 25 years old. The stadium was built around 1954. Brown Chevrolet has replaced at least three scoreboards for the field since its start in 1966.

Above, Devine Athletic Director/Head Football Coach Jacob Campsey, Supt. Todd Grandjean, and the Devine ISD School Board thanked Lanette Brown Cuevas, President of Brown Chevrolet, generations of the Brown family and Brown Auto staff at the first home game last Friday night at center field for the beautiful new scoreboard. And yes, Devine lit up the scoreboard multiple times for the Warhorses 35-17 win over Johnson City. Photo by Kathleen Calame.

Press Box Team

The press box team for the Warhorse home games for the 2026 season are Butch Cook and Scott Herring. Butch handles the microphone as the voice of the Warhorses, while Scott helps identify the players, yards gained, etc. This is the third season for Butch and first for Scott down under. Scott was the team videographer for 40 years, but his perch was from the very top of the press box where the best view could be taken.

Lady Pirates clicking at the right time as District play begins

The Lytle Lady Pirates know how to stuff a stat sheet. In Lytle’s win over Providence Catholic, Lillian Evans had 9 kills and two blocks. Pictured above is #6 Payton Devaney and #11 Lillian Evans. Photo by Moose Lopez.

Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports Editor
After months of training and countless tournament matches, district play will begin for volleyball and the Lytle Lady Pirates are primed and ready for the competition. In their last two matches Lytle took on Providence Catholic and Medina Valley Creek View. Head coach Margaret McOsker said both hard-fought matches “provided valuable experience heading into the most important stretch of the season.”
Vs. Providence Catholic
Lytle took down Providence Catholic 3-0 on Sept. 1, controlling the match from start to finish. 
The Lady Pirates’ scoring…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Arabian volleyballers now pursuing District Championship

Varsity Arabian Magarita Vizcarra had the ball on a string during Devine’s win over Somerset. The setter picked up the Bulldogs’ defense with every pass. Photo by Moose Lopez.

erel Beaty
Staff writer
Devine closed out its pre-district schedule with a convincing wins over Great Hearts Northern Oaks and visiting Somerset last Friday in the DSAC. The Arabians turned their attention to the Hondo Owls on Tuesday, September 8 and the rest of District 28-3A opponents as the push for a championship and the UIL playoffs is now fully underway.
The Griffins were home early on September 1 as Devine delivered a three-set knockout of Great Hearts Northern Oaks. The Arabians won set one 25-21 followed by 25-18 and 25-20 scores.
The Arabians…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

DHS Tennis raising a racket; hit 4-0 in district

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The Warhorse and Arabian Team Tennis squads continue turning in net-profits as they defeated Pearsall on September 2 to remain undefeated in district competition at 4-0. Devine did not drop a single match to the Mavericks, going a perfect 19-0 while winning all 38 sets in doing so.
Devine played perhaps their most impressive tennis overall Thursday, September 3 against visiting Southwest Legacy even though the final tally showed the Arabians and Warhorses dropping a 10-9 decision in matches that counted toward the actual scoring.
“I thought all of our players did an awesome job!” stated Head Coach Kandi Darnell. “The kids really turned it up a notch. Even though we lost by one, with extra matches included we tied at 11.”
Against state-ranked La Vernia a couple of weeks ago, Devine had some difficulty closing out close sets as they lost a few tiebreakers along the way. This time, Darnell’s squad used that previous experience against the Bears as motivation to be better in tight matches.
“We had six matches against Legacy go to tiebreak and we went 4-2 in those matches. The kids played hard and I am extremely proud of each one of them!”
Winners against the Titans included…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!