Battling it out at the net Arabian #9 Brooke Thompson and Lady Mustang #7 Emilee Martinez as their teammantes back them up.
Jerel Beaty Staff writer Devine volleyball head coach Leigh Anne McIver and her squad went through a rough patch last week as they went 2-4 over that period of time, picking up their two wins over Three Rivers and Natalia in their home tournament. McIver and the Arabians were in “puzzle-making mode” as they had to mix in a couple of new players with their existing group as injuries sidelined more than one starter at various times. Preseason and tournament games lay the foundation for the rest of the season, and with their third and final tourney of the season this weekend in Seguin and their final two preseason games against McMullen and Navarro, the time is now for the kinks to be ironed out and Devine to begin its usual march toward a district championship.
The JV Arabians come together to celebrate a great kill by Kyrie DuBose against San Antonio Wagner! Coming in to celebrate are Brooke DuBose, Jane Outlaw, MargaritaVizcarra, and Jayme Moralez.
Jerel Beaty Staff Writer New Devine JV volleyball coach Alejandra Mora has her team off and running with a smashing 3-0 record through the early part of the season. The JV picks up in their number of games soon as they host an upcoming tournament before District 29-4A gets underway. “We were all anxiously excited to get the season started, and we got it started the right way winning in two sets over Southwest Legacy,” Mora stated. The anxiousness quickly turned to confidence as the Arabians won set one 25-15 before shaving off a Titan point on the second set by winning 25-14 to claim the first victory not only the team this season, but also Mora’s first in what will be many as an Arabian coach. “Margarita Vizcarra had awesome assists to set up our front for some kills and our back row players made some outstanding plays as well. Jayme Moralez also held serve eight times in a row at one point. San Antonio Wagner came knocking on the DSAC door in game two of the season. Devine was once again up to the task as they thwacked the Thunderbirds in straight sets 25-15, 25-8.
Devine Warhorse Cross Country runners line up for a snapshot.
Jerel Beaty Staff Writer Devine Cross Country teams got the best of both worlds Saturday as the Warhorses competed in Cibolo at San Antonio Steele’s meet while the Arabians went into Comal County Fairgrounds to run in the Unicorn Meet hosted by New Braunfels High School. Donovan Dixon led the varsity Horses placing 23rd in a field of 95. Brody Lane, Shawn Lowe, Jesus, Cisneros, Jake Riou, Ryan Botello, Zane Fritz, Jonathan Moralez, Caleb Maxwell, and Ian Rodriguez also competed. The Arabians had tons of competition as there were 126 runners in the varsity girl division. Hailey Montes and Kourtni Geyer each finished in the top 100 while Camila Sierra, Angelina Garcia, Aaralynn Garcia, Emily Morris, Lexi Perez, Jovianne Gomez, and Madison Saenz also made the trip. Urijah Velasquez finished in the top 10 in the JV division as he placed 8th of 71 runners. Zach Guerra cracked the top 20 at 20th place. Daniel Ballesteros, Christian Ross, Rylan Cortinez, and Carlos Jimenez also ran. The teams travel to San Antonio Saturday, August 31 to compete in the FEAST Patriot Invitational.
Sam Smith of Natalia who celebrated his golden anniversary last season and embarks on his incredible 51st year of calling Mustang Football.
Jerel Beaty Staff Writer Public address announcing at a small-town high school football game is a unique experience, no doubt. To the chagrin of many, it is not just about simply calling plays to inattentive audiences. Oh, if it were, that job would not be in such high demand. In small towns like Devine, Lytle, and Natalia, everybody knows everybody. And those “everybody’s” all expect their PA-guy to know them, their children, and their family history, as well. When a player’s name is fumbled or the ill-fated call-out of the wrong jersey number that was in on the unbelievable sack of the other team’s quarterback is articulated, it may seem the miscommunication coming out over the loudspeaker was premeditated when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. There is so much going on inside a packed stadium at any given time each Friday night. Heck, parents of multiple children, listen up; how often do you call one your own kids by the wrong name? And you live with them! Multitasking while in the moment can be grueling.
Tobey Tomblin of Devine who celebrates his silver anniversary behind the mic at Warhorse Stadium this fall. The PA is not only expected to remind everyone that that week’s you-name-it-fundraiser-of-the-week-bake-sale ends at halftime, or to get the attention of the correct individual that once again a lost set of keys or a misplaced cell phone has been turned into the press box, and to list the achievements and outcome of not only that night’s hometown-team’s volleyball contest but is to also include every high school organization’s upcoming meet schedule and itinerary without skipping a beat. Trying to make a smooth transition from a boisterous call of “#49 John Smith with the incredible run around the outside that moves the chains to keep the drive alive!” to introducing one-by-one the slew of mini-cheerleaders from this past summers camp is a challenging task that even the most seasoned professional announcer may find a bit taxing. Parents. Everyone loves and respects parents that attend in person their son’s football game, or their daughter’s halftime flag-corps-routine, or watches the local mascot pull off their fun and gimmicky routines. However, if the exact pronunciation and emphasizing of their child’s name is not articulated exactly right, eyes will surely roll, no matter the side of the stadium that person happens to sit. Calling a high school or even a middle school game for that matter is not just about calling the game at all. It is about surviving the three-plus hours of weirdness that is sure to happen, the static and cutting out of the microphone and decades-old speakers, and the more-than-occasional need to exercise extreme diplomacy in thought and expression after a tough play on the field, or worse yet, to have to calm the band, the cheerleaders, and the crowd after a player remains on the field due to injury. While many may believe that being perched at the 50-yard line in the stadium’s press box and “the privilege” of sitting behind a live microphone is all glit and glam, I dare say, the opposite is actually usually the case. Most do it, and continue to do it, because they were simply asked to help out in order to fill a need. And, fortunately, they said, “Yes.” A high school football stadium with no PA? Unthinkable. Thank You, Mark Fender of Lytle who begins his first full season manning the middle seat of a stadium that is named after previous announcer and legend the late Walter Joyce. Thank You, Tobey Tomblin of Devine who celebrates his silver anniversary behind the mic at Warhorse Stadium this fall. And Thank You, Sam Smith of Natalia who celebrated his golden anniversary last season and embarks on his incredible 51st year of calling Mustang Football. Take the time to not only thank those that choose to do what they do, but also appreciate what they do and how they deliver the message all the while managing a copious amount of stressors and distractions going on around them. Otherwise, you might just be the next in line for a job that not many are willing to accept, and you, too, will be expected to say, “Yes.”
Mark Fender of Lytle who begins his first full season manning the middle seat of a stadium that is named after previous announcer and legend the late Walter Joyce.
Devine Warhorse Cross Country team competed at Floresville this past weekend.
Jerel Beaty Staff Writer The 2024 season is officially underway for Devine Head Coach Hannah Thompson and her boys and girls teams as they ran in Floresville this past Saturday, Donovan Dixon led the Warhorses with his 9th place finish among 147 contestants. Shawn Lowe (69th), Jesus Cisneros (72nd), Brody Lane (74th), Jake Riou (99th), Ryan Botello (103rd), Jaime Rodriguez (114th), and Jonathan Moralez (126th) also competed. Hailey Montez paced the Arabians as she came in 45th of 134 runners. Kourtni Geyer (73rd), Claire Atkins (80th), Camila Sierra (81st), Darilynn Garcia (101st), Angelina Garcia (112th), and Lexi Perez (114th) also toed the line at the start of the race.
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.”
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.
