Warhorse football graduates a ton of seniors

Devine’s 31-27 bi-district loss to Ingleside brought an end to high school football for ten Warhorse senior players. Brady Hackebeil, Xavier Contreras, Mason Martinez, Hayden DuBose, Gus Puente, Peyton Carr, Ryan Castro, Kannon Ramirez, Jared Fernandez, and Hadyn Brumage are set to graduate in May, but leave behind many enjoyable memories for all of Warhorse Nation, and themselves, to reminisce about.
“Our 10 seniors have been so good to work with during their time as a Warhorse football player!” Head Coach Paul Gomez said appreciatively. “They went above and beyond their expectations and I am going to miss them tremendously. I love each and every one of them, and they will forever be in my heart. I’ve learned so much from them and they have truly made me a better person.”
Coaches pay their respects
Evan Eads on running backs Xavier Contreras, Gus Puente, and Hayden DuBose–“Xavier was the epitome of a great teammate. He learned all three running back positions and both receiver positions. He wanted the team to win and gave all he could for that goal. He was a tough runner with great hands.
Gus is very competitive. He came to practice every day trying to win reps. He was always ready when his number was called.
Hayden had several goals for his senior year. He understood that to achieve those goals he would need to achieve personal growth. I am very proud of the way he has shown that with hard work and dedication he can achieve high goals.”
George Villa on middle linebackers Mason Martinez and Peyton Carr–“We had two very good middle linebackers in Mason and Peyton. Both are big, fast, and physical kids. We had to move Mason to MLB when Peyton was sidelined due to an injury. They both controlled the middle of our defense well. Both will be greatly missed as we will lose them to graduation.”
Villa on quarterback Brady Hackebeil–“First of all, Brady is one of the best character kids I have ever coached in the 19 years I have been in Devine. He’s a ‘yes sir/no sir’ young man. Brady is a very good athlete, and will be missed on both sides of the ball. I was privileged to have been able to coach him as a quarterback since his sophomore year. I joke with him all the time telling him he’s a darn good running back that can throw the ball a little. Brady was never a selfish player. All he cared about was the ‘W’!!!”
Scott Taylor on defensive ends Hayden DuBose, Kannon Ramirez and Jared Fernandez–“I want to thank all the seniors for making this a special year in what was a personally challenging year for me with losing my mom. She was a huge Warhorse football fan. Special teams played a huge part in most games and these seniors were a big part of making my job easier.
Hayden had a great year at defensive end. He was an explosive pass rusher off the edge and had several tackles for loss. Hayden also did many good things on special teams. He kicked off, kicked extra points, had several tackles on kickoffs and punts, and also had a couple of big returns for our special teams. Gonna miss this guy. He always made practice interesting.
Kannon gave every ounce of his ability on every play. He was quite a player in a position he was definitely undersized for. Talk about a coachable kid, he fit that to a ‘T’. Kannon was a smart player that used his size as an advantage by finding ways to get leverage. He did everything that was asked of him. He’s a great leader.
Jared was a solid fixture along our defensive line for the past two seasons. There were times this year that I switched him from one side to the other because I was pretty sure the other team was calling plays to run away from him. Jared was a very physically strong person and used that to his advantage. Many nights his jersey would be stretched from all the offensive lineman holding him throughout the entire game. I am not looking forward to having to start over with a new defensive end as Jared was a very solid varsity player. He was a quiet leader by doing his job full speed daily.”
Bart Oropeza on tight end Mason Martinez–“It was a pleasure to coach Mason Martinez this year. Mason’s work ethic was like no one else that I have coached in the past. He worked hard every day to get better. He was a verbal leader on both the practice field and on the game field. Mason is one of the best tight ends that I have seen come through Devine during my eight years here. I wish him many blessings in his future endeavors.”
Devin Rotramel on Kannon Ramirez, Hadyn Brumage, and Jared Fernandez–“I firmly believe the following two terms are often overused, but when speaking of Kannon Ramirez he definitely epitomizes both of them. ‘It’s not the size of the dog, but the size of the fight in the dog’ is one term and ‘hard worker’ is the other. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him on and off the field, and he’s just a wonderful young man. At center, Kannon was the captain of the o-line and he will be missed next year.”
“Hadyn Brumage, or ‘Brumy’, proved himself week in and week out as a great offensive and defensive tackle. Since his junior year he has been the anchor on the left side of the o-line. Defensively, he was hard to move and had great hands. His comical and sometimes witty humor always made practice enjoyable. Practices won’t be the same without him.”
“Jared Fernandez, the ‘Juggernaut’, was definitely a force to be reckoned with. He was tough to stop on defense and was an excellent right tackle on offense. Because of his size and strength, he had the ability to pancake kids twice his size which he did often. Jared has been a pleasure to coach, and I am looking forward to seeing him succeed in the military. He will be missed, but our nation is getting a true soldier.”
Gomez on Ryan Castro–“Our last senior Ryan Castro did not get on the field this season due to health and injury reasons, but he was still a great teammate. He contributed in ways that sometimes cannot be measured.”
The last time…
I saw this on the internet, but could not trace its origin. The words fit perfectly for the ten young men who suited up in their Devine Warhorse football uniform for the last time.
“If you have never played football, you could never truly understand what it means to put those shoulder pads and helmet on for the very last time. Football can never be duplicated, NEVER.
Most people, even parents, don’t really understand what it means when a senior football player’s season ends. They don’t understand the true finality of it for 95% of these kids. You can play baseball/softball in rec leagues forever. You can always play a game of pickup basketball. You can play golf and tennis as much as you want when you get older. You can run track and enter a 5K or marathons till you die.
But most high school football players will never ever put on a helmet and play the same game again. You go from being totally and completely immersed in a game you love to being totally and completely shut out from it. That is incredibly difficult.
Football is not a lifetime sport…but high school football IS a once in a lifetime experience.”
By Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer