Power hitter Yaya Rodriguez has had 82 kills this season!
Jerel Beaty Staff Writer It is easy to say the Arabian volleyball team has had more time on the court together during actual matches then what they have timewise on the practice court. Devine has played 11 games through the first two weeks of the season, with two tournaments still to go. Do not let the 4-7 record fool ya, as Head Coach Leigh Anne McIver and her team always begin to gel around the time of the Arabian Roundup, which is just around the corner. “Overall, we are just inconsistent. Wednesday at Giddings was just not our best, but Thursday in Columbus, I saw a lot of fight in the girls.” With more practice time, some of the issues McIver mentions below will soon be a distant memory. “Friday we could not serve receive very well and beat ourselves. Saturday, we serve-received well but could not finish. Even though we are juniors and seniors we are very inexperienced with playing at the varsity level. We definitely need to work on serve-receive, defense and consistent on the offensive side. They have the ability, now it is putting it all together.”
Sam Smith presents the championship plaque and congratulates the Lady Mustangs after the Heart of Mustang tournament last weekend in honor of his wife, Trudy.
The Lady Mustangs won the championship at their “Heart of a Mustang” Volleyball Tourney again this year in memory of lifelong fan Trudy Smith. They really had to fight in most of the games to pull out the win, down in the second game several times and having to fight back to win the third set or overtime. “This tourney is really special to us. We host it in memory of Mrs. Trudy Smith, who was one of our biggest fans. I’m really proud of how our girls competed and defended the championship title,” said Coach Tara Cortinas. “We have 8 seniors, 5 juniors, and one sophomore on our team. Next up, Devine tourney!”, she said. Natalia will play on Thursday and Saturday in the pool tourney in Devine. On Thursday they will play at 11, 12 and 3pm in the DSAC.
The offensive line protects for the quarterback during their scrimmage. Photos by B Howard
Jerel Beaty Staff writer The JV Horses took care of business in their first action against unfamiliar foes in their initial scrimmage of the season. Devine romped to a 3-0 decision that could have been even more lopsided as an additional touchdown was negated by a penalty. According to Coach Lon Cozby, his squad had their running shoes going full speed as the core of running backs took advantage of good blocking by the big-guys up front to shred Cotulla’s defensive scheme. “Our running backs had a great night,” Cozby said to begin his post-scrimmage analysis. “Ryan Weinkam is fast and was able to show off his breakaway speed on our first score. Jeremy Steinbrunner and Enoch Hall both have excellent speed as well, and each had multiple runs over 30 yards. Steven Montes did really good things a fullback like blocking and he even added a few runs over 10 yards. Hayden Martin also ran the ball hard and added a couple carries over 10 yards. Alejandro Ramirez was able to use his speed to his advantage as well and he also added long runs.”
Jerel Beaty Staff Writer Devine volleyball head coach Leigh Anne McIver is putting her somewhat-young team to the test early and often this season. With highly competitive scrimmages against San Antonio Christian, Poth, and Navarro and games against San Antonio Southwest Legacy and San Antonio Wagner in the rear view mirror, upcoming games at Giddings and the Columbus Tournament provides a further look at who is ready for varsity competition and who may need a little more seasoning on the JV so they may be ready to step in as the season progresses. “Although the scrimmages against SAC and Poth may not have been our best, we ended on a good note on the last scrimmage against Navarro,” McIver stated. “We were not playing like we have been practicing but with lots of new girls against varsity level players for the first time, this was not unexpected.” Like any team, whether it be on a court or in a business office boardroom somewhere, coming together to make “presentations” look flawless takes time. “As we get more practices under our belts and a chance to gel with each other more often, we will become the team that Devine is used to seeing on the court.”
Towels, towels, & more towels needed for Arabians & Warhorses
Jerel Beaty Staff Writer Devine players finally have the opportunity to line up against someone in a different colored uniform as Cotulla makes their way to Warhorse Stadium this Thursday for the first scrimmage for each program. Start time is 5:30pm. August 22, the Warhorses parachute into Geronimo for their second and final tune-up against Navarro. Devine officially kicks off the 2024 season August 30 at Warhorse Stadium against Randolph at 7:30pm. Parent’s Night festivities proceed the ballgame. For the next week and a half, however, scrimmages and the purpose they serve to both players and coaches dominate round-table talk and water cooler conversations.
Jerel Beaty Staff Writer Back in the day, two-a-day football practices were just that—twice a day practices with a lunch break in the middle that lasted a minimum of two weeks if not longer. Players and coaches alike got the full scope of seeing the toughness, both physically and mentally, of what 10-14 days under the Texas sun could bring upon everyone battling the heat in preparation for a football season to begin. With Devine ISD setting their school calendar back in early Spring, Head Coach Paul Gomez and his staff knew then the following two-a-day schedule would be altered with practices kicking off on the first Monday of August (Aug5) and teacher in-service following two days later on Wednesday, August 7 for some, and Thursday, August 8 for others. Gomez stated it was “definitely a different week of two-a-days this year as we had two-a-days Monday thru Wednesday before starting teacher in service on Thursday” Coaches are creatures of habit so altering the schedule was more-than-likely met with a few grumbles last spring, but Gomez and his staff adapted and rolled with the punches without a glitch.
Warhorse Derek Traylor tackled by mom Theresa Traylor.
Jerel Beaty Staff Writer It must have been a dream come true for some as Warhorse Head Coach Paul Gomez and Lytle Head Coach Mike Trevino allowed individual players to be tackled by their own momma in one of the best team-building exercises out there. Many high school football moms secretly dream of having the opportunity to tackle their son on the football field, although the moms may envision it as them flying across the living room in their nightgown and lifting their son’s feet off the ground as they go tumbling over the couch. And wanting the opportunity to tackle is not because they do not love them. No, not at all. It is, however, that therapeutic opportunity to return some of the frustration that comes with raising a teenage boy. When Gomez and Trevino announced this type of team-building exercise was coming to fruition, the excitement was palpable.
Jenni Hagdorn tackled her son Jackson before planting a kiss on his forehead.
Mom’s lined up one by one facing their son, as their son stood in front of a landing mat with a pad held to their chest in order to soften the blow they were about to absorb from their biggest fan. Players and coaches alike lined each side of the approximate 10-yard running lane, whooping and hollering while hoping to see the player get laid out by their sweet, dear momma. One could see the years of ignoring curfews, dodging chores, mumbling underneath their breath, and numerous “but other kids are doing it” references when their way was not granted were clearly visible in several mother’s faces as those moments came rushing back, if only for a short few seconds. Many players underestimated the power that lies inside their mom, as many mom’s laid the wrath of pent-up exasperation on their unsuspecting offspring. And, boy, was it glorious! In the end, there were no hard feelings but a newfound appreciation for a mom and son to share for the rest of their lives together. Something to keep in mind as you are watching a game under the lights this fall is if a player from a team that you are rooting for happens to make an outstanding play on an opposing team’s ball carrier, maybe, just maybe, the most appropriate thing to yell would be, “You tackle like your mom!” Videos/Pics If you want to see pictures and videos of Lytle’s Gridiron Gals, visit Mike Trevino on Facebook. To see Football 101 with Warhorse Moms, check out Warhorse Nation on Facebook or Warhorse_Nation on X (formerly Twitter).
Natalia Mustang football players work on offense and defensive skills during week two of work outs.
Eric Smith Staff Writer The Natalia Mustangs will wrap up week two of work-outs with the first scheduled scrimmage of the season at home Friday vs. Bandera. Natalia new Head Coach Jason Reynolds is excited for his squad to square up vs. the blue and white squad from the Cowboy Capital at Mustang Stadium. “We had a great first week of practice,” Coach Jason Reynolds said. “I felt like our kids picked up where we left off from our off-season. Our effort and energy was through the roof all week and that is a testament to them and our staff.” This Friday the Natalia JV and Varsity will battle Bandera in a scripted scrimmage with the JV set for a 6:00 p.m. start and a varsity start time set for around 7:15 p.m.
This Friday the Mustangs will host Bandera in a scrimmage at home starting at 6:00 pm and 7:15 pm. Natalia new Defensive Coordinator John Eakin and other coaches work with players as they run through drills during workouts this week. Photos by A. Loza
“Our kids have done a great job of taking all of the things from our off-season and building on them,” Reynolds said. “We are further along on offense and defense than I originally thought we would be and that is thanks to the hard work by all involved.” Reynolds was asked what areas of concern he had going into week two. He stated the following: “We have a lot of inexperience at the varsity level,” Reynolds said. “We graduated a large senior class and we have a lot of young guys filling voids.” Looking at the varsity format for this Friday, both squads will open with 15 play sets followed by a water break. There will be two 12 play sets followed by a water break and they will conclude with two 10 play sets by each squad. “Our kids are excited for the opportunity to see a different jersey line up across from them,” Reynolds said. “As a staff, we are looking forward to getting live reps on film, so we can evaluate and correct.” Head out to Mustang Stadium and support the boys in blue from Mustang Country this Friday!
The Lady Pirate cross country team participated in the Pieper Ranch Relay Invitational this past weekend coming in 7th as a team.
Jerel Beaty Staff Writer The Lytle Cross Country teams got their feet wet this past weekend as they participated in the Pieper Ranch Relay Invitational. There were plenty of success stories from this one as the varsity Pirates finished 4th of 31 teams while the Lady Pirate varsity came in 7th of 20. The JV Pirates took top honors as they were the team champs amongst 31 teams while the JV girls placed runner-up as 24 teams took the line in their race. The JV Pirate2 group placed 16th overall. “It was a good way to start our season as we begin our long journey to try and get back to the UIL State meet and on that medal stand,” Head Coach Gilbert Ruiz stated afterwards. “Pieper was a relay style meet with 4 runners running a 1.5 mile loop and we look forward to our first traditional style meet in Floresville this Saturday.”
Jerel Beaty Staff Writer Sometime in the middle of July the Arabian and Warhorse Cross Country runners laced up their sneakers for the first official time for the 2024 season. August 17 in Floresville, they’ll lace them up once again but this time for real as they go against some stiff competition in Jaguar and Tiger Land. Head Coach Hannah Thompson stated that runners “have been working on getting our lungs and legs back into Cross Country shape with long runs, fartleks, hill workouts, and much, much more.” Thompson is bussing 30-plus kids to Floresville, which will provide her a further glimpse of what her teams could shake out to be over the course of the next three months. “We are very excited to see what the season has in store for us and have very big goals to accomplish!” Best of luck to all runners this season!
