Billy was born in Corpus Christi, Tx. He attended and graduated from Pearsall ISD 1981. After graduation he worked in the oilfield for several years until his enlistment in the US Coast Guard. He retired from the USCG and moved to San Antonio for a few years then was in Springfield, IL for several more years until moving back to San Antonio, Tx.
He is survived by 2 sons William Austin Cole (Sarah)and Travis Cole and 1 daughter – Kali Cole. His mother – Linda Cole and Sister – Margie (Randy) Zinsmeyer, Nephews – Beau (Sierra) & Tyson Zinsmeyer. Grandchildren – Makenna , Michael and Abeline Cole as well as multiple Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. He was predeceased by his father William James Cole, Sr. He had a large group of friends in Pearsall and surrounding areas he cherished from his high school days.
His final resting place will be Feb 2, 2026 at 2:30 pm in Ft Sam Houston Memorial Cemetery with full military honors.
Memorials can be made in his honor to a benefit of your choice.
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Q&A w/ Warhorse Head Football Coach Jacob Campsey
Devine’s new Head Football Coach, Jacob Campsey, stopped by to visit with his Uncle Bobby Campsey, a long time Warhorse fan. Put simply, Bobby said, “I was born in 1952, and I’ve been a Warhorse fan since 1952.”
“I remember watching Jacob play, and I am really happy to have Jacob back in Devine. I always thought he should coach here,” Bobby added with a smile.
Jacob Campsey is a 2006 graduate of Devine High School where he played Quarterback for the Warhorses. He helped coach the Rockdale Tigers to a State Championship in 2017. He and his college sweetheart Jenah, and their children, Emerie and Levy, moved to Bandera in 2023 where Campsey coached three seasons. He is excited to be back in the Warhorse maroon and gold!
Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
New Warhorse Head Football Coach Jacob Campsey discusses the significance of returning to Devine to lead his alma mater’s football program. Campsey shares insights from his championship-winning coaching experience, emphasizes the core values and culture he aims to instill and build upon, and highlights immediate priorities centered on trust, authenticity, and his “5 Golden Rules.”
Campsey also explains his approach to balancing Warhorse football traditions with his own coaching philosophies, underscoring the importance of honoring the past while building for the future.
Q: As a Devine graduate (2006), what does it mean to you personally to return home and lead the Warhorse football program?
A: You know, it is honestly hard to put into words because being a Warhorse was all that ever mattered to me from when I could first walk to when I graduated. More than anything I am proud and honored to have the opportunity to build impactful relationships at home like my coaches did with me and go to battle again with that DW on the helmet!
Q: How has your experience winning a state championship as an assistant coach shaped your approach to building a successful program here in Devine?
A: I truly feel like I learned from the best during those years with Coach Jeff Miller who leads the Cy Fair program now. I have been a part of and seen what it takes to play well into December multiple times which has greatly shaped my approach. A major component is learning how to be flexible, adapt, and adjust to needs as the season unfolds in order to play for a long time. I always felt like we did a really good job of having our players ready to play their best football in November and December, which is an intentional piece of our program.
Q: What are the core values and culture you want to establish or strengthen within the Warhorse program?
A: I think in this organization, it is paramount that we clearly define to our players who we are, what it takes, and HOW we will do what we do. We must eliminate the gray area in everything we do. Our program outlines 5 Golden Rules that we talk about defining us and the program and must take place daily regardless of the circumstance we are in. Relentless effort all the time, be a great teammate, trust your coaching, details matter, and at all costs protect this program.
Q: What immediate priorities do you have for the team—on the field, in the weight room, and in the classroom?
A: Immediately I want all of our players to learn and practice applying our golden rules as standards to everything we do. From the classroom to the community, how we go about our business is a standard that is unchanging regardless of the circumstance. I told them today that my immediate priority is doing everything in my power to show them through action that they can trust me to lead this program. Everything we do has to be built on a foundation of authenticity and trust, so they need to see through my actions that they can trust me.
Q: How do you plan to balance honoring Devine’s football traditions while implementing your own coaching philosophies and systems?
A: You know I really think the two can go hand in hand. Ultimately Warhorse football is a tradition of toughness and togetherness. Our standards are in lock step with the storied past of this program. How it looks day to day may be different but ultimately we believe the program results will build on this great tradition. I also believe honoring and involving proud alumni is vital.
Q: What key lessons or strategies from your state championship experience at Rockdale do you feel can translate effectively to Devine High School?…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!
Arabians smash Uvalde 56-31 in Thompson’s return to sideline
Varsity Arabian Karsyn DeLeon strips the ball away during Devine’s win over Pearsall. Photo by Brigid Howard.
Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The Arabian volleyball team gave head coach and first time momma Hannah Thompson a terrific return to the sideline moment in Uvalde last week as Devine bounced the Lobos 56-31. Thompson has been away from her team on maternity leave since before Thanksgiving break.
Devine fell behind early 13-6 but went on a nice second half run, outscoring Uvalde 39 to 12 over the last two periods of action to pull away for the 25 point win.
Kenadi Marek had a monster night, especially during…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 cling to fourthspot in district
Varsity Lady Pirates #23 Loudynn Perez and Varsity Lady Mustang #12 Kaylee Uviedo battle for the rebound during Lytle’s win over Natalia. Photo by Moose Lopez.
Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports editor
The Lady Pirates continue their rejuvenated district run as they race to secure the fourth and final spot in the district post season. The Pirates won the rivalry game against Natalia 47-31 then fell to Jourdanton, 86-17. The Lady Pirates have a district of 4-3 and an overall record of 6-18.
Vs. Natalia
Whenever Lytle and Natalia matchup, in any sport, it’s sure to be a show. This game between the Lady Pirates and the Lady Mustangs was grimy, tough and physical. Every player on the court poured their heart and soul into this game.
The first half was back and forth with both teams looking to separate themselves from the other. Landynn Guzman made a crucial three, then hit a buzzer beater at the end of the first half. Using that momentum Lytle outscored the Lady Mustangs 31-16 in the second half led by Aliana Cardenas’ season high 21 points.
Head coach Lori Wilson said this win was built on defense.
“We scored 17 points off their turnovers and we grabbed 14 steals,” Wilson said. “So proud of this team, they have came through on the games we need to [get through] this first round of district.”
Available stats:
Aliana Cardenas had 21 points 8 rebounds 1 assist and 2 steals
Landynn Guzman had 9 points 6 rebounds 3 assists and 7 steals
Zabella Garza with 7 points 10 rebounds and 1 assist
Loundyn Perez with 5 points 4 rebounds 1 assist and 2 steals
Lilly Gallegos with 4 points 3 rebounds and 1 steal
Lila Cortinas with 1 point 1 rebound and 2 steals
Vs. Jourdanton
The Lady Pirates took a tough loss to the number one seeded…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!
Warhorses roll past Uvalde, Carrizo Springs; Round 2 begins Jan. 27
Varsity Warhorse #30 Jace Algeria drives into the paint as #0 Christian Beaver backs up to space the floor during Devine’s dominant win over Pearsall. Photo by Brigid Howard.
Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The Warhorse basketball team won four consecutive games by an average of 21 points prior to last night’s highly anticipated contest against the Eagles in Pleasanton. After dropping their first district game 45-42, the Horses downed Pearsall 74-40 and Floresville 55-45 before bouncing Uvalde on the Coyotes home floor 67-49 on January 13 and Carrizo Springs 77-57 on Sessions Court last Friday.
Balanced scoring, rebounding at a high rate, and limiting costly turnovers had the Horses sitting in second place in District 27-4A with a 4-1 record prior to Tuesday’s tipoff against the top of the standings 4-0 Eagles.
vs Carrizo Springs
Devine got off to a terrific start against Carrizo Springs, going up 20-11 early then cruising to the 77-57 win at home. Devine was up by as much as 25 points in the late in the second half.
Mason Beaver scored 24 points, snagged 5 steals, and took a defensive charge to lead the Horses.
Christian Beaver and Tanner Davis combined for 26 points, scoring 15 and 11, respectively while Christian added a team-high 8 rebounds. Davis tied Mason for the team-lead in steals with 5 of his own. Ray’sean Beaver dished out a game-high 8 assists.
Devine did not shoot the ball at a high percentage (40%) but grabbed 20 offensive rebounds for 13 second chance points. The Horses defense also played well, deflecting 17 Wildcat balls and translating some of those into some of their 16 steals.
The Horses also forced 32 Carrizo Springs turnovers and turned those into 32 points of their own. Devine only had 17 turnovers, a number up from recent games but still within the confines of playing good basketball.
Stats vs Carrizo Springs
Mason Beaver 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 8 deflections, 5 steals, 1 charge taken; Christian Beaver 15 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 deflections, 2 steals; Tanner Davis 11 points…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 powerlifting 2nd place in Natalia as Rodriguez, Garcia, Iglesias win gold
Warhorse Rolando Garcia grits his teeth as he squats at the Natalia powerlifting meet. Garcia totaled 800 pounds during this meet. Photo by Brigid Howard.
Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The Warhorse powerlifting scored 33 points to place second among five teams in attendance at the January 14 Natalia Meet. Jaden Rodriguez, Roland Garcia, and Ivan Iglesias each won their respective weight divisions.
Cotulla took the team title with 68 points while the host Mustangs scored 33 points to place third after the tiebreaker.
Rodriguez won…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!
Pirate lifters Smoot and Aguilar medal in first meet of ‘26
Pirate Powerlifters Noah Smoot and Ezekiah Aguilar pose with their medals from their first meet of the 2026 season.
Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Opening their 2026 season in Natalia on January 14 were Head Coach Melissa Gomez and 10 of her Pirate athletes. Senior Noah Smoot and junior Ezekiah Aguilar each finished in the top of their respective weight divisions to take medals on their shot bus trip home.
“We took a group of primarily new powerlifters to Natalia to compete in their first meet,” Gomez stated. “A few had a rough start with commands/rules, controlling the bar, and nerves, but with guidance and support from their team, they were able to overcome those challenges by their second or third lifts.”
Smoot earned second place in the 181 weight class with a total of 1,265 pounds while the new-to-the-sport Aguilar earned third place in the 165 weight class with a total of 805 pounds.
“It was a great learning experience for the new powerlifters. This young team is full of potential, and we are excited to see them grow this season,” Gomez said in closing.
With five freshmen…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 Mustangs battle Lady Pirates and Owls
Varsity Lady Mustang #2 Leyla Saenz lets it fly from three as varsity Lady Pirate Aliana Cardenas closes out. Photo by Moose Lopez.
Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports editor
The Natalia Lady Mustangs fell to the Lytle Lady Pirates after a heated rivalry matchup, 47-31 then dropped the game to the Hondo Owls 53-26. The Mustangs are 1-6 in the district and have an overall record of 9-20.
Vs Lytle
No matter the sport, Lytle versus Natalia is always going to be an entertaining matchup. In the first half, both teams displayed hard-nosed defense and fought for every point on the other end. After closing the first half 15-16, Lytle would pull away in the second to secure the win over the Lady Mustangs.
Head coach Steven Splangler felt their match up with the Lady Pirates left a lot to be desired but knew a loss like this would invigorate the team and spark a renewed sense of purpose.
“I felt like we had a good heart to heart the next day at practice and worked out a lot of our issues,” Spangler said. “I think it showed in our next outing versus the #10 ranked Hondo Owls.”
Stats:
Scoring: #0 Jade Mata- 6 pts, #1 Aryanna Ramirez- 8 pts, #2 Leyla Saenz- 10 pts, #3 Ashley Lopez- 1 pt, #22 Alexys Rodriguez- 6 pts
Rebounding: #0 Mata- 5 rebs, #1 Ramirez- 2 rebs, #2 Saenz- 6 rebs, #3 Lopez- 3 rebs (all offensive), #10 Keyla Velasquez- 3 rebs, #12 Kaylee Uviedo- 6 rebs, #15 Lilliana Vasquez- 1 reb, #20 Selyene Gallegos- 1 reb, #22 Rodriguez- 4 rebs
Assists: #0 Mata- 1 ast, #10 Velasquez- 1 ast, #22 Rodriguez- 1 ast
Steals: #0 Mata- 1 stl, #1 Ramirez- 1 stl, #2 Saenz- 2 stls, #15 Velasquez- 2 stls, #22 Rodriguez- 1 stl
Vs Hondo
Spangler was extremely proud of the way his team performed against the Owls. Despite the score, Spangler said this felt like a bounce back game.
“We played hard the entire game no matter what the score was or if our shots were falling or not,” Spangler said. “We didn’t give up at any point and got back to playing hard defense which is what we have become known for.”
Spangler highlighted how keen the team was on the finer details of the game. Spangler noted that the Lady Mustangs offense flowed better than it had in previous games as they looked to share the ball and set up their teammates in a merit of ways. Spangler hopes this game can catalyze a strong finish to the season.
“The Girls focused more on the things that they could control and looked for each other offensively more than in previous games,” Spangler said. “We are going to continue to work at finding different ways to score as…”…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!
Freshman Horses hoops recap
Freshman Warhorses #24 Bryan Martinez and #15 Phoenix Snider guard the two-man action during their game against Davenport. Photo by Moose Lopez.
Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
A sick and injured Devine freshman team dropped both of their recent games as the Horses took losses in Uvalde on January 9 and at home against Carrizo Springs on January 16.
vs Uvalde
Uvalde defeated Devine 60-51 despite three players hitting the double figure mark for the Warhorses. The Horses trailed by 17 points going into the final quarter but kept competing all the way to the final whistle (most of which went against Devine).
CesarTroy Vidaurri scored 11 points in the loss followed by 10-point outings by both Collier Paige and Kash Esparza.
Brian Martinez had a monster night on the boards as he grabbed 12 rebounds to go along with his 8 points. Joe Balderrama was next with 4 rebounds.
Paige and Esparza each had a team-high tying 2 steals while Vidaurri was the team leader with 4 assists.
Stats vs Uvalde
CesarTroy Vidaurri 11 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists; Collier Paige 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals; Kash Esparza 10 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals; Brian Martinez 8 points, 1 rebounds; 1 steal; Charlie Stricker 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists; Steven Caballero 4 points, 1 rebound; Phoenix Snider 2 points, 1 rebound; Joe Balderrama 1 point; 4 rebounds; Thomas Steffens 1 steal.
vs Carrizo Springs
An early 17-15 first period lead…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!
Pirates prevail over Natalia and Jourdanton
Varsity Pirate Diego Reyna sets up for three during Lytle’s dominant win over Natalia. Reyna finished the game with eight points but played incredible defense. Photo by Moose Lopez.
Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports editor
The Lytle Pirates had an excellent week on the court, taking down their local rival the Natalia Mustangs, 81-30 and then outlasted Jourdanton in an overtime thriller, 77-75. The Pirates advance to 4-1 in district play, holding firmly onto the second seed.
Vs. Natalia
A rivalry that spans generations, Pirates vs Mustangs always brings a packed house and an entertaining game. However, the Pirates had no interest in making things “interesting”, they came to handle business. After out-scoring Natalia, 28-7 in the first quarter, Lytle never looked back.
“Our defensive pressure was full throttle from everyone who stepped on the court, making it tough on the Mustangs all over the floor,” Head coach Arturo Vela said.
Vela credited the dominant win to the Pirates executing on both ends of the court. Vela said they came out with strong defensive pressure and knocked down early shots, which helped them take control of the pace.
“Diego Reyna knocked down a few early three-pointers that got us going, and the pace set by Chase [Guevara], Weston [Jackson], and Seth [Pierce] pushed the tempo and helped us score over 80 points,” Vela said. “The defensive effort from everyone who stepped on the court, especially Lee Mills, Ethan [Elizondo], Jalen Roudriguez and Clayton Jopling, turned the game into a track meet that the Mustangs couldn’t keep up with.”
Available stats:
Scoring: #1 Darius Garcia- 14 pts, #2 Chase Guevara- 21 pts, #3 Weston Jackson- 7 pts, #4 Jalen Rodriguez- 7 pts, #5 Lee Mills- 4 pts, #12 Seth Pierce- 14 pts, #14 Ethan Elizondo- 6 pts, #21 Diego Reyna- 8 pts
Rebounding: #1 Garcia- 3 reb, #2 Guevara- 1 reb, #3 Jackson- 3 reb, #4 Rodriguez- 2 reb, #5 Mills- 3 reb, #12 Pierce- 12 reb (five offensive), #14 Elizondo- 4 reb, #21 Reyna- 8 reb
Assists: #1 Garcia- 1 ast, #2 Guevara- 1 ast, #3 Jackson- 3 ast, #4 Rodriguez- 1 ast, #11 Clayton Jopling- 2 ast, #12 Pierce- 1 ast, #14 Elizondo- 1 ast, #21 Reyna- 1 ast
Steals: #1 Garcia- 4 stl, #2 Guevara- 5 stl, #3 Jackson- 3 stl, #4 Rodriguez- 3 stl, #5 Mills- 3 stl, #11 Jopling- 1 stl, #12 Pierce- 2 stl, #21 Reyna- 3 stl
Vs. Jourdanton
One of the most entertaining games of the season came in the form of the matchup of Lytle and Jourdanton. The whole town seemed to slip away and the only thing that ever existed was the game on Friday night.
“Although we struggled shooting the ball on Friday, we showed a lot of effort and toughness to stay in the game,” Vela said. “It was a game of runs, and neither team was able to truly separate. Our guys never gave up, continued to defend and stayed committed to the game plan.”
As the game came winding down, Guevara, Pierce and Reyna each…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!