Category: Warhorses & Arabians

Showdown vs
Floresville this Friday in Devine

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Going out on a limb here, but the Arabians stand at 5-0 in District 29-4A after their presumptive victory over Pearsall last night. The big showdown for the District 29-4A lead is Friday night in Devine against Floresville, last year’s undefeated district champion.
“I thought we did some great things against Somerset,” Head Coach Leigh Anne McIver stated afterwards. “We started strong in each set but lost our focus/momentum in the middle of them which opened the door some for Somerset, but we got our focus back to finish off each set.”
vs Somerset
The Arabians took out early whatever bite the Lady Bulldogs may have had in them as they defeated Somerset in straight sets last Friday.
Devine won set one 25-18 before taking set two in similar fashion 25-17.
The Arabians did not let up, taking set three and the win 25-15.
Somerset stats
Kills Aimee Carr 17, Airyanna Rodriguez 11, Brooke Thompson 5…

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Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Devine won its fourth consecutive game to improve its record to 4-1 on the season as they took what turned out to be a decisive 21-10 victory over San Antonio Christian.
The Horses looked like gang-busters in their 46-19 crushing of rival Hondo a week prior. Coming into the SAC game with no true history between the schools, the atmosphere and great vibes did not really materialize until after the break.
Tied at 7 midway through the game, the Warhorse defense continued to keep the Lions caged offensively just as Devine’s offense warmed up to score two touchdowns in the tide-turning third quarter to take a comfortable two-possession lead into the fourth and final quarter.
“It was an ugly win,” Gomez began his postgame comments saying. “But we will take it!”
With only 10 games guaranteed in a regular season, there is no need to ever apologize for a victory. They are hard enough to get week after week anyway.
“Our boys will always play hard, just as they have in every game thus far. We did not execute as expected in the first half, and had some miscues that kept points off the board for us.”
Devine’s running game has evolved nicely around Brayden Reyes and Eli Contreras who carry most of the load. Friday was no different as the Horses rushed for 294 yards and three touchdowns.
Reyes torched SAC with 136 yards and 2 touchdowns while Contreras netted 52 on only 10 carries and added Devine’s other touchdown.
Anthony Saldivar got extended time and almost broke that 100-yard barrier as he netted 97 yards and an important two-point conversion. Edward Perez also…

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60 Derek Traylor hunts down a Lion. Photo by Brigid Howard. See tons more on Devine News Smug Mug!

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Hondo
All the energy and enthusiasm that was present through the entire 48-minute route of Hondo at Barry Field the week before was not as present in the early stages of Devine’s tough-fought victory against San Antonio Christian.
SAC was a formidable challenge, no doubt, and gave the Horses all they wanted for the first 24 minutes or so of this one.
However, Devine hit its stride scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter to roar to their 11-point victory.
Head Coach Paul Gomez on the shift from the raucous Owl thrashing to the sometimes uncomfortable tightness of playing in the Lions den.
“I think the emotions of that big rivalry game the week before kind of affected our energy and discipline a little in this game, especially at the start. It was an important lesson for us in that we have to learn to refocus and regroup every week, no matter the opponent.”
SAC busted
After San Antonio Christian got a lil divine intervention with an interception that provided them the opportunity to tie the score at the break, there was not much rejoicing from there on out as the Lions roar was calmed to a purr as they managed only a field goal the rest of the way.

Continue reading “Warhorse tidbits, stats, & scoring summary”

Warhorse “D” sticks it to Lions

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
San Antonio Christian should have prayed for a little more offensive success if they wanted any chance to upend the Horses on their home field. The Lions netted a mere 163 yards for the game in Devine’s 21-10 thumping of SAC.
The Lions managed a touchdown prior to the end of the first half, but that was thanks largely to an interception by their defense that put them in scoring position inside the 25-yard line with around three minutes to go.
SAC converted a field goal in the third quarter, and that was all she wrote in this one scoring-wise for the Warhorse opponent.
SanchoStats
SanchoStats are accumulated by Defensive Coordinator Danny Sanchez. The stats display with accuracy just how good the Warhorse defense was against the Lions, as it has in Devine’s previous three victories as well.
SAC netted 163 yards but also was the victim of several sacks that do not count against either the 72 yard rushing total or 91 passing yards.
The Lions only had…

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Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Hailey Montes led her Arabian Cross Country team to an 11th place finish in Corpus Christi last weekend as she placed 42nd among the 285 runners in the small school division. Devine scored 324 points as they now focus in a little more on their upcoming district competition.
Montes ran her two-mile race in 14:44, beating the next runner by just over a second at the finish line.
Charlee Rangel, Camila Sierra, Claire Atkinson, and Aimee Carr joined Montes in scoring for the team.
Rangel finished 57th with a time of 15:07, Sierra was 71st at 15:25, Atkinson 85th crossing at 15:36, and Carr 100th with a time of 15:56.
Darilynn Garcia (137th, 16:30) and Aaralynn Garcia (167th, 17:17) also competed.
Top 12 team rankings (of 35)
1st La Feria 86, 2nd Tilden 93, 3rd Lytle 120, 4th Poth 124, 5th Lago Vista 195, 6th Sinton 229, 7th Progreso 252, 8th Zapata 270, 9th Weimar 273, 10th Incarnate Word 301, 11th Devine 324, 12th Corpus Christi Tuloso-Midway 364.

Donovan Dixon 4th individually

Donovan Dixon and the rest of the Warhorse Cross Country team got a little preview of what is to come if they make it to Regional in Corpus Christi later this month as Dixon placed fourth individually of 206 runners and the team came in fourth as well among 23 in competition at Saturday’s Islander Splash which was rescheduled due to Mother Nature a few weeks ago.
Dixon ran his 5K in 17:27, only four-seconds behind the third place runner and four-seconds ahead of the fifth place finisher at the Islander Splash.
Scoring Devine’s 180 points along with Dixon were Ryan Botello, Brody Lane, Jake Riou, and Zane Fritz.
Botello finished 36th with a time of 19:20, Lane was 55th at 19:56, Riou came in next at 56th and a time of 19:59, and Fritz crossed at 63rd with a time of 20:12.
Shawn Lowe (68th, 20:19),Zac Guerra (72nd, 20:23), and Jesus Cisneros (94th, 21:04) also ran.
Top 10 (of 23)
1st Lytle 33, 2nd Del Rio 123, 3rd Tilden McMullen County 128, 4th Devine 180, 5th San Diego 199, 6th Rockport-Fulton 210, 7th Premont 224, 8th Sinton 278, 9th Alice 298, 10th Robstown 299.

Warhorses defeather Owls 46-19

32-point 2nd half ambush too much to swallow for Hondo

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
A narrow first-half Battle of the Creek between Devine and Hondo in Barry Field last Friday quickly and thoroughly shifted the Warhorses direction during their 32-point surge in the game’s final 24 minutes. The Warhorses won 46-19.
A nail-biting 14-7 Devine lead at the break inflated to 28-7 with three minutes to go in the third quarter. Hondo struck quickly to pull within two scores, but the true onslaught was just beginning for the Warhorses.
Devine’s 18-point fourth quarter put to rest which team owned the “Creek Rights” for 2024. Hondo took that honor a year ago with their 44-6 win.
Oh, but what a difference a year makes!
Devine was in complete charge of this one as their defense never let the Owl offense breath while the Warhorse offense continually put drives together that, even if they did not end in a score, put Hondo in long-drive situations just to even be able to sniff the end zone.
Head Coach Paul Gomez on his team’s victory.
“It was definitely a good win against a really solid Hondo football team this past Friday! I am certainly proud of the effort and discipline that our boys played with. More importantly, we played as a team and, together, we knew we could be successful.”
‘Successful’ is quite an understatement as this is one of the bigger Devine wins over Hondo in recent memory. Coming into the game, the Horses had reason to “fear” the Owls as Hondo had three impressive victories prior.
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquering of it” and the Horses definitely conquered any fear they may have had before the opening kickoff even hit the air.
“We were physical, and aggressive from the beginning. Our offensive line, tight ends and running backs did a great job blocking all night. Everyone committed to being their best, even when the ball was not in their own hands.”
Quarterbacks are the only skill position guaranteed to…

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Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The Arabian volleyball team is hitting their stride at just the right time of season as Devine began District 29-4A with three straight wins to open at 3-0, which puts them in a tie for first with Floresville, early in league action.
Devine handled the Lady Wildcats easily in four sets on September 17 while turning into the “Cardiac Kids” against Pleasanton on September 20 as they rallied from an 0-2 set-deficit, to win in five thrilling sets.
Pleasanton
Many fans in attendance at the Arabians vs Lady Eagles match in Pleasanton last Friday may have wandered out of the gym just a tad early to get to the football stadium their respective towns were playing in that evening.
For those that hung around, especially Arabian Nation fans, they were treated to a miraculous comeback by Devine that saw them rally to the 5-set victory.
“What a night! We started off real slow, not playing like us,” Head Coach Leigh Anne McIver stated after her team’s sluggish, error-prone start. “It was not until the third set that we came alive and started playing to our true capabilities.”
Pleasanton got off to a torrid start, dropping Devine 25-15 in the first set. At that point, it looked like it could be a quick Lady Eagle winning night.
The Arabians picked up their game in the second set, barely coming out of set two on the short end with a 25-23 final score.
“We started slow in the second set as well, but…

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