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Mustangs keep hopes high

Varsity Mustang #30 Andrew Monreal laces the corner three in front of Crystal City’s bench. Photo by Moose Lopez.

Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports editor
The Natalia Mustangs have had a rough two weeks as they battle to cement themselves as one of the top teams in the district. The Mustangs have dropped their last four games: Lytle they fell 30-81, lost to Hondo 56-58, lost to Crystal City 36-83 and then dropped their game to Cotulla 42-59. At time of press, the Mustangs are in sixth place in district with a record of 3-4. They are one game behind Cotulla who sits in fourth. With the season coming to an end, head coach Justin Welsh said the team is excited to climb back up the district standings and secure a spot in the postseason.  
“Our kids understand what’s at stake, but more importantly, they’re focused on competing the right way every night,” Welsh said. “If we take care of our preparation and play with energy and discipline, we like our chances to put ourselves where we want to be as we move into the final seven games of district.”
In their matchup against Lytle, Welsh said the Pirates played with more energy than they did and kept them out of rhythm.
“Lytle did a good job of jumping on us early and never really let us settle into the game,” Welsh said. “We rely on one end of the floor to build consistency on the other, and when you’re not getting stops or scoring, that can make it difficult to get anything going. This loss gives us something to learn from and the biggest thing is putting it behind us and attacking the next one with the right mindset.” 
During the matchup against Hondo, Welsh felt they had control over the game for…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 $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Natalia Basketball: Community is their identity

Varsity Lady Mustang #3 Ashley Lopez locks in defensively at the top of the key during Natalia’s game against Crystal City. Photo by Moose Lopez.

Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports editor
The Natalia Lady Mustangs fell to Crystal City 28-76 and then dropped one against Cotulla 19-37. The Lady Mustangs are currently seventh in the district ranking with an overall record of 9-22. 
Despite the outcome, head coach Steven Spangler said he was pleased with the squad’s performance against Crystal City. Spangler tipped his hat to the Javelinas, stating “they are just a really good team, and sometimes that’s what you face.”
“Cotulla however, I felt like we fell into a rut and couldn’t get out of it,” Spangler said. “Nothing would fall and that just turned into quick sand on the court.”
Despite the rough stretch of games, the Lady Mustangs have continued to elevate their overall skill level each week. Their ball handling and ability to initiate the offense has drastically improved compared to the beginning of the season. Spangler attributes the team’s development to their diligent work in practice stating the “harder they go” during practice, the more confident they will be in the game.” 
“We have them work on it every day and encourage them to get out of their comfort zone in practice so that they can understand their limitations in games.”
With high school basketball on its last leg of the season, the Lady Mustangs’ playoff hopes are dim. However, Spangler emphasized that…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 $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Lady Pirates fend off Wolves, 55-32

Varsity Lady Pirate #20 Zabella Garza brings the ball up during Lytle’s thrilling game against Natalia. During their win over Dilley, Garza dropped a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. Photo by Moose Lopez.

Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports editor
The Lytle Lady Pirates continued their resurgence through district, taking down the Dilley Wolves 55-32 on Tuesday, Jan. 20 then losing a close one to Poteet 38-35. At time of press, Lytle sits fourth in the district with an overall record of 7-19, but have a district record of 5-4. With the season coming into its final stretch, the Lady Pirates will continue to fight and punch their ticket to the post season. 
“We are so proud of all of the girls they keep stepping up when we need it the most,” Head coach Lori Wilson said.
Vs. Dilley
Although Lytle had control for most of the game, Wilson said they were off to a slow start, but…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 $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Warhorse offense stalls late in 60-58 setback

Varsity Warhorse #11 Bo Wheeler soars for the floater during Devine’s game against Pearsall. Photo by Brigid Howard.

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
While not flawless, the first 28 minutes of Devine’s game against district-leading Pleasanton saw the Horses getting the better end of the stick as they led 58-50 after Mason Beaver’s corner three with 4:08 to go in the final frame.
However, scoring went silent for Devine as those were the last points the Warhorses registered as the Eagles fought back for the 60-58 win.
The turnover bug hit Devine hard in this one as each player committed at least two miscues. The Horses finished with 20 as a team and the Eagles turned those mistakes into 16 points
Devine won the shooting percentage stat 47% to 40%, but the Eagles grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and turned those into 20 second chance points.
Mason Beaver had a team-high 23 points to go along with 5 steals while Christian Beaver chipped in 13 points. Tanner Davis led in rebounding with 9 and Karson Ray had 8.
Devine had an open date…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 $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

What’s coming in 2030?

See the listing of rural roads set to be worked on for Medina County as well as Frio and Atascosa along with maps on page 8 and 9. Note: projects at various locations are not shown on maps. The Public Comment meeting for each county is as shown below. Maps courtesy of TxDot.

TxDot to present 4-year plan for rural roadwork, Public Comments Welcome…

By Kayleen Holder
Editor
The community is invited to attend meetings in the following counties to participate and learn more about TxDot’s projects in Medina, Atascosa, Frio, Bandera, Kendall, Kerr, McMullen, Uvalde and Wilson Counties. The presentation outlines projects planned from 2027 through 2030.
Purpose: The purpose of this meeting is to provide information and receive comments on which transportation projects may be coming to your area.
You can also submit public comments by email or by mail as outlined below.

Public comments on the draft plan may be submitted in the following ways:
If you would like to have your feedback to be included in the official public meeting record, all comments must be postmarked or otherwise received by Friday, April 10, 2026.
• By Email: to Ivonne.delarosa@txdot.gov, Attention: Rural TIP.
• By Mail:
TxDOT San Antonio District
Attn: Rural TIP
4615 Northwest Loop 410
San Antonio, TX 78229
All comments must be postmarked or otherwise received by Friday, April 10, 2026.

In-person presentation meeting details
TX Dot’s San Antonio District will present the 2027 – 2030 Rural Transportation Improvement Program (Rural TIP) at the dates and local locations below:
Medina County Commissioner Court
Monday, Jan. 26, 2026
9 a.m.
Medina County Courthouse
Annex. 1300 Avenue M (Room 165),
Hondo, TX 78861

Frio County Commissioner Court
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026
3 p.m.
Frio County Courthouse
500 East San Antonio Street,
Pearsall, TX 78061

Atascosa County Commissioner Court
Monday, March 9, 2026
9 a.m.
Atascosa County Courthouse
1 Courthouse Circle Dr. Suite 203,
Jourdanton, TX 78026

According to…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 $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Medina County Jr. Livestock Show in progress

Check out the Medina County Jr. Livestock Show this week!

Hundreds of local students are seeing their hardwork come to fruition as they compete in the Medina County Jr. Livestock Show in Hondo this week.
The Premium Sale will be this Saturday, Jan.24. Buyer registration will start at 9:30am and the Sale will be at 11am. See schedule on page 3.

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 $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Sanchez All-State

Esai Sanchez, a senior Warhorse Band member earned his first trip to perform in the Texas All-State Symphonic Band.

Esai Sanchez, a member of the Devine High School Warhorse Band has qualified to rehearse and perform with the 2026 Texas All-State Symphonic Band. Esai will perform on Saturday, February 14, 2026, at San Antonio’s Henry B. González Convention Center, during the 2026 Texas Music Educators Association Clinic/Convention.
Esai was chosen for this prestigious honor through a competitive process held this year across the state at District, Region, and Area levels. Esai is a student of Bert Sanchez (his dad) and plays at school under the direction of Mr. Bert Sanchez, who is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, a 20,400+ member organization headquartered in Austin. This is Esai’s first time to perform as a member of a TMEA All-State organization. Esai is the child of Humberto (Bert) and Monica Sanchez.
High school students selected to perform in All-State concerts have competed through auditions to qualify at the state level. All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can achieve. Students are selected through a multi-level adjudication process that begins with about 60,000 students from around the state vying for this honor to perform in one of 18 ensembles. Texas Music Educators Association sponsors the Texas All-State competition.
This competitive process begins throughout the state in auditions hosted by 33 TMEA Regions. Individual musicians perform selected music for a panel of judges who rank each instrument or voice part. From this ranking, a select group of musicians advances from their Region to compete against musicians from other areas in eight TMEA Area competitions. The highest-ranking musicians judged at the TMEA Area competitions qualify to perform in a TMEA All-State music group.
Only the top 3% of musicians who initially audition become All-State musicians. Directed by nationally recognized conductors, All-State students participate in four days of rehearsals during the TMEA Clinic/Convention. Their performances for thousands of attendees bring this extraordinary event to a close.
For the All-State concert and conductor information, go to the Performances section of tmea.org/convention.

CAMPSEY TO LEAD WARHORSE FB

Former Warhorse QB, Campsey is happy to be wearing maroon and gold again. Coaching against the Warhorses was one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do, he said with a smile. Above are: Jacob Campsey, his wife Jenah and their kiddos Emerie and Levy.

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Devine ISD has turned to one of its own to guide the Warhorses forward, naming Jacob Campsey as the new Head Football Coach. The announcement reunites Campsey with the program he helped lead to three postseason runs during his high school career.
A 2006 graduate of Devine High School, Campsey was a standout athlete for the Warhorses, playing quarterback and outside linebacker and a vocal leader. Teammates and coaches recall his intense preparation, fundamental knowledge of the game, and on-field leadership that foreshadowed his future in coaching.
In 2003, Campsey and his team finished the regular season 5-5 before going on to win the first two rounds of the state playoffs before bowing out in the third round to finish his first full season on varsity at 7-6.
In 2004, Campsey’s junior year, the Warhorses finished the regular season at 9-1 then once again won the first two rounds of the playoffs before finishing that season 11-2.
At that time, everyone in Devine was beyond excited about what the 2005 campaign had in store for Warhorse football. The community’s expectations for excellence, including district championships and playoff runs, is something that is commonplace now.
Devine had an 8-2 regular season in ’05, two more playoff wins, and a final record of 10-3. With these three great, consecutive playoff runs, the high expectations of Warhorse Nation were now in full effect!
After earning a degree in…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 $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Valero recieves maximum possible sentence for beating, torturing multiple women

By Medina County District Attorney’s Office:
Dennis L. Valero, 33, of San Antonio was sentenced to twenty years in prison, the maximum possible sentence, following a Motion to Adjudicate on an Aggravated Assault Causing Serious Bodily Injury in the 454th District Court.
On July 9, 2022, Dennis Valero brutally beat his girlfriend at the time, A.L., causing two brain bleeds, and a broken nose and orbital socket. She required surgery and implementation of a metal plate under her left eye to restore her eye socket and cheek bone. He was driving her car at the time and engaged in an accident to attempt to make it seem as if her injuries were caused by the crash.
A Department of Public Safety Trooper, worked a crash. He identified the female…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 $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!