Devine High School Athletes Shine at Texas High School Indoor Championship

Devine High School Senior Donavan Dixon and Sophomore Rowdy Esparza participated in Texas HS Indoor Championship.

Senior Donavan Dixon and Sophomore Rowdy Esparza qualified for and participated in the prestigious Texas High School Indoor Championship track meet held on January 11th at Texas A&M University in College Station. This elite event showcases the top high school athletes from across Texas, all of whom have demonstrated outstanding performances in their qualifying events.
Dixon showcased his talent in the 800-meter race, while Esparza competed in both the Long Jump and Triple Jump events. Their hard work and dedication have earned them a spot among the best in the state, making Devine High School proud.

Arabians storm by Lady Mavs

Arabian Yaya Rodriguez sinks another basket. Photo by J DuBose.

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Talk about going from one extreme to the other. Devine defeated Pearsall easily 54-15 January 7 then had a 57-56 overtime thriller versus Floresville January 10 to keep their District 27-4A spotless at 6-0 prior to their January 14 tilt against Uvalde on Sessions Court inside the DSAC.
vs Pearsall
Um, this one was never close. Devine put away the Lady Mavericks early and often as the Arabians bolted out to an 18-2 lead after one and 32-7 at the break in their decisive 54-15 thumping in Pearsall on January 7.
Devine did not shoot the ball particularly well from the floor, but it did not matter. The Arabians 31% more than doubled the Lady Mavs 14% output as it appeared the nets did not warm up until the varsity boys put on their 98-90 offensive display.
The Arabian defense was…

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Pirate Powerlifting 3rd in Natalia

Pirate team photo from left to right: Rosendo Gonzalez, Jonah Ortiz Albarenga, Princeton Menchaca, Roel Cardenas, Jayden Motes, Jonathan Massiate, Christopher Garza, Andres Rodriguez, and Joshua Tschetter.

Massiate 1st in 165lb division

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Pirate Powerlifting was in their second meet of 2025, but with a completely new bunch of lifters in Natalia on January 7.
Lytle placed 3rd overall with 30 points. Dilley won the invitational by the slimmest of margins over host Natalia 53 to 52 in the final standings.
“Coach Armentrout and I took a group of brand-new powerlifters to Natalia to compete in their first meet of the season,” stated Head Coach Melissa Gomez. “A few had a rough start with commands/rules, controlling the bar, and nerves, but with guidance and support, they were able to overcome those challenges by their second lifts!”
Six of 9 lifters…

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Lady Pirates hoop report

Lady Pirate Luna Reyes goes up for a basket. Photo by Mayor Gonzalez.

Must-win games on the horizon

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The Lady Pirates hopefully found the win-column at home on January 14 against the visiting Dilley Lady Wolves. There is still an outside shot that Lytle can reach the postseason, but Round Two of District 28-3A must duplicate Round One victories they achieved against Dilley and Cotulla, plus pick up a couple of others along the way primarily against Poteet and Natalia in order to leapfrog those above them in the standings.
Healthy bodies and heating up from the floor and free throw line could be what gets Lytle into the postseason where they have become a staple in recent years.
vs Natalia
Shorthanded Lytle took one on the chin in Natalia as they lost 41-27 with only seven players dressed in uniform. Even with low number of varsity-ready players the Lady Pirates had several chances to close the gap, but their great…

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8th Fillys beat Uvalde, win home tourney championship

8th Fillys Tournament Champions: Hali Carroll, Jessa Mata, Amy Outlaw, Dresden Talamantes, Prezley Freeburn, Kalli Bedford, Olivia Taylor, Megan Miles, Emma McIver, and Karsyn Mann are pictured with their championship plaque.

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
It is understandable that a middle school basketball team would come out just a tad rusty after a long break off the court.
That is what Coach Leigh Anne McIver experienced with her 8th grade Fillys as they took on Uvalde January 9, which was her team’s first games since mid-December.
However, both the A team and the B team came away victorious in their initial games of 2025.
“It was great to get two wins even though we all could definitely tell it was first game back from a break!” a relieved McIver stated.
Ah, but those games against Uvalde set the stage for Devine to hoist the team championship in their own tournament two days later, defeating Hondo in Game One and then ousting Lytle in Game Two to end the Fillys perfect 3-0 week.
A team
In what looked like might be a battle to the end after Devine held a slim 7-6 lead after the first quarter, quickly turned into a blowout as the Fillys ran away with the 26-7 win.
Devine allowed only a single free throw to Uvalde the rest of the way in their 19-point win.
“We struggled with playing against a zone in the first half and making shots, but were able to make adjustments at halftime,” commented McIver.
Hali Carroll scored…

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Seay win Top Performer in All Americna Bowl and Combine

Jake Seay’s hard work paid off, he won TOP PERFORMER in the freshman All American Bowl and Combine. He was also awarded the Leadership Award for Team Grey and named Captain as a freshman in the under classman game. Jake’s Team, Team Grey won the ALL AMERICAN BOWL 14 to 7 in a nail biter. Enoch Hall had an outstanding week as well and represented Devine Texas extremely well. Devine youth football program and Jack Zimmerle have produced some amazing athletes. Thank you Devine and Jack Zimmerle, God bless y’all. Coach Hank Seay

SA Sports All-Star Football Game

Senior Warhorse football player Matthew Gomez poses for his All-Star Game media picture.

this Saturday in the Alamodome
Devine’s Matthew Gomez, Lytle’s Luke Estrada set to play

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The 47th San Antonio Sports All-Star Football Game will be played on Saturday, January 11th at the Alamodome. The area’s top seniors take the field at 5pm following the All-American Bowl which kicks off at noon.
A couple of those “top seniors” are Matthew Gomez of Devine and Luke Estrada of Lytle. Gomez and Estrada were two of 118 seniors selected to participate and will compete on the Blue Team.
According to the San Antonio Sports website, since 1978, the San Antonio Sports All-Star Football Game has been a showcase of the area’s top high school football talent with a goal of shining a light on local players and enhancing their opportunities for college scholarships.
The game was originally formed by the Kiwanis Club and later operated by Kids Sports Network until 2013. Since 2014, the game has been managed by San Antonio Sports and held in the Alamodome following the All-American Bowl, which features more than 100 of the nation’s best players and is televised on NBC.
The 2024 game featured 116 seniors representing 67 San Antonio area high schools.
Players are nominated by their high school coaches and chosen by a selection committee featuring…

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Pirate senior football player Luke Estrada with his All-Star game jersey.

Jaw-dropping 4th quarter comeback by JV Horses

Byrd scores 20, 14 during decisive 28-13 run
Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
In one of the better games in recent JV basketball memory, Devine rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to claim the exciting 52-20 win over visiting Somerset on January 3.
“Picking up this game was a morale booster for the team and a perfect way to kick off the new year,” stated Coach Zac Valenzuela prior to adding this next tidbit of humor. “Facing Somerset, we found ourselves trailing the entire game, but in true JV fashion, we had them exactly where we wanted them—down 14 points in the fourth quarter.”
Somerset bolted out to a 21-13 lead halfway through, building as much as a 10-point lead in the first half before Becker Byrd and his Warhorse teammates put their exclamation mark on the game with a 39-point second half.
“We rose to the challenge in spectacular fashion. Becker Byrd became unstoppable, pouring in 14 of his 21 points in the final quarter alone. Freshman Dylan Hinnant nailed two clutch three-pointers, adding to our incredible 28-point fourth quarter. Freshmen Brody Lane and Nick Vasquez, who were called up for this game since Tuesday was our bye, contributed greatly to the team’s success and proved they were more than ready for the spotlight as well!”
Devine snatched 39 rebounds, many of which led to some much-needed second-chance points. Hinnant pulled down 7 boards and also hit two three-pointers in route to his 10 points.
Every point mattered in this one. Others scoring were Vasquez with 8 points, Lane 4 points, Jace Martinez 3 points, Shawn Lowe 3 points, Jacob McKee 2 points, and Zane Fritz 2 points.
Setting the stage
The final game-deciding ticks off the clock began with a Becker Byrd floater with about 10 seconds left.
Somerset transitioned..

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Fulton, Velasquez lead Lady Mustang Powerlifting

The Lytle boys Powerlifting team got 2nd place at their first meet. From left to right: Isaiah Delgado earned 2nd in the 242 class, Jaden Araujo earned 1st in the 123 class, Evan Syma earned 3rd in the 114 class, Luke Estrada earned 2nd in the 148 class, Christopher Jacques earned 2nd in the 181 class, and Noah Smoot earned 3rd in the 181 class.