Gonzales Cannon 2013 Fall Sports Preview

2013 Fall Sports Preview
Thursday, August 29, 2013
The Cannon
By CEDRIC IGLEHART
Following brief setback, Apaches look like a Lock to make playoffs

ter end, Lock said. They showed a lot of character by overcoming the injuries. Anytime you have players of that caliber missing, its tough. The good news for the Apaches heading into this new campaign is they have seven returning starters on both sides of the ball. Without a doubt, the strength of this years offense lies among the spectacular quintet of seniors manning the front line. Perez-Clack, Damien Airhart and J.T. Miller have started up front since they were freshmen. Those proven players will be joined once again by Filla and Johnson, who are three-year varsity starters in their own right. With this offensive line, we need to run at people, said Lock. If there are five better offensive linemen in the state in Class 3A, then I want to see them. Its nice to be able to run behind those guys. Lost to graduation was running back Cecil Johnson, who ran wild last season en route to racking up 2,021 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was the districts Offensive Player of the Year and was named First Team All-State. Stepping in to fill those big shoes this year will be the duo of sophomore Alays Ramirez and senior DJ Gonzales. Those are two capable guys who can carry the football, Lock said. We look for big things from them.
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Fall Sports Preview
newseditor@gonzalescannon.com
Expectations have been very high for the Apaches in the recent past, especially since the 2011 season when they went undefeated in the regular season for the first time since 1963. Gonzales took a step back last season during a year that will be remembered historically more for its four losses than its six wins. It really left a sour taste in our mouths because we lost three of those games by four points, said Gonzales head coach Ricky Lock. Of course, we lost to Bastrop on the road when we went for two at the end and didnt get it. We had a chance to beat La Grange then we fumbled on their two-yard line and lose by one. We had a chance to beat Smithville in the last game of the season and we lose by two. We very easily could have finished the regular season 9-1, so it was disappointing. Some of those losses were due to untimely injuries to key players. All-State safety Zack Lopez was lost to the team for the season after suffering an ankle injury in Week 7. Standout linemen Jordan Johnson, Tyler Filla and Zach PerezClack missed significant time during the crucial season finale at Smithville with a playoff berth on the line. Our kids never gave up, they fought to the bit-
Ramirez has made a lot of progress with his speed and hes always been a very talented runner. Gonzales runs with a lot of authority and I think Apache Nation is going to like what they see from those two guys. The biggest question mark facing the offense is which underclassman will be playing under center. Lock said the competition Alays Ramirez Alex Huerta Aaron Hunt Blake Cox Brant Philippus has been very close between juniors Brant Philippus and Grayson Meredith, and sophomores Blake Cox and Tyler Hendershot. Theyve all really improved over the course of a year, so were excited about those possibilities, said Lock. Our quarterbacks have some mobility so they should be able to run and put pressure on the defense. Clayton Wilkerson Dakota Stamport Damien Airhart Darrance James Were going to do some Cameron Horton things similar to what we did in 2011 when we had Jon Anthony Casares back there. Were going to be a little more wide open in what we do at the quarterback position. When the Apaches do throw the football, its more than likely the target will be junior wide receiver Darrance James, who caught 26 balls last year for nearly DJ Gonzales 500 yards and seven touchDylan Cantu Derek Hunt Ernan Hernandez Grayson Meredith downs. Lock said James has bulked up about 18 pounds in the offseason and greatly improved his upper body strength. Hes looked tremendous, hes an All-State caliber player, said Lock. Were going to use him in some Wildcat stuff so he
Good Luck Team
Jaime Tellez
Joe Irle
Joe Ryan Carrizales Jordan Johnson
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Kenneth Hernandez #62
Go Apaches! Drums Rule!
can touch the ball more than he did last year. Hes a hard-working young man and a really gifted athlete. He doesnt get enough credit for his athletic ability, but I promise you he can match anybody in this district as an athlete. The rest of the receiving corps will be rounded out by junior Derek Hunt, a part-time starter from last year; seniors Marco Rodriguez and Cameron Horton; and junior Nathan Burek. Battling for the starting spot at tight end are senior Joe Ryan Carrizales, junior Ernan Hernandez and freshman Wade Miller. Weve got some guys who have really stepped up so far, said Lock. Were real anxious to see what they can do. The play of the line will
also be the main story for the defense, where Filla and Perez-Clack will man the tackle positions with junior Jose Contreras also expected to be a main contributor. Johnson has nailed down the starting spot at one defensive end position while the other one will come down to either sophomore Trent Schauer, Wade Miller or Hernandez. Our inside guys are looking really good, Lock said. Theyve played a lot of football. Contreras has looked pretty good in there, but so has (sophomore) Clayton Wilkerson and (junior) Kenneth Hernandez. There are four or five guys who will get significant playing time there. While the line play will be crucial, the defense is highlighted by their two incredible senior linebackers
J.T. Miller and Airhart. Miller is a two-time AllState selection who made 142 tackles last year and was named as the districts Preseason Defensive MVP by Dave Campbells Texas Football. Airhart had 71 stops last season and was named Second Team AllDistrict in 2012. Weve got two of the best inside linebackers around, said Lock. Theyre as good as any weve ever had, right up there with Landon Lock and Hunter Noack when we had those guys. Theyve stood out since their first day as freshmen. The front runners to start at the outside linebacker positions are Gonzales and junior Jaime Tellez, but also in the mix are sophomore Zach Akers, junior TraAPACHES, Page D4
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Wk Scrim 1 Scrim 2 Week 0 Week 1
Intra-squad Scrimmage Tues, Sept 4th Home--TBA Home--TBA Somerset Somerset Week Thur, Sept 12th Thur, Sept 12th 2 Home(b) 6:30, (a) 7:15 Home-(b) 4:30 (a) 5:15 Austin Lanier Austin Lanier Austin Lanier LaGrange LaGrange Week Fri, Sept 20th Thur, Sept 19th Thur, Sept 19th Thur, Sept 19th Thur, Sept 19th 3 Away--7:30 Home--7:00 Home--5:00 Away-(b) 6:30 (a) 7:15 Away-(b) 4:30 (a) 5:15 College Station HS College Station HS College Station HS Navarro Navarro Week Fri, Sept 27th Thur, Sept 26th Thur, Sept 26th Thur, Sept 26th Thur, Sept 26th 4 Away--7:30 Home--7:00 Home--5:00 Away-(b) 6:15 (a) 7:00 Away- (b) 4:15 (a) 5:00 SA Sam Houston SA Sam Houston SA Sam Houston Cuero Cuero Week Fri, Oct 4th Thu, Oct 3rd Thu, Oct 3rd Thur, Oct 3rd Thur, Oct 3rd 5 Home--7:30(HC) Away--7:00 Away--5:00 Home-(b) 6:15 (a) 7:00 Home- (b) 4:15 (a) 5:00 LaGrange LaGrange LaGrange LaGrange LaGrange Week Fri, Oct 11th Thur, Oct 10th Thur, Oct 10th Thur, Oct 10th Thur, Oct 10th 6 Home--7:30 Away--7:00 Away--5:00 Home-(b) 6:30 (a) 7:30 Home- (b) 4:15 (a) 5:15 Giddings Giddings Giddings Giddings Giddings Week Fri, Oct 18th Thur, Oct 17th Thur, Oct 17th Thur, Oct 17th Thur, Oct 17th 7 Away-7:30 Home--7:00 Home-5:00 Away-(b) 6:15 (a) 7:00 Away-(b) 4:15 (a) 5:00 Yoakum Yoakum Yoakum Yoakum Yoakum Week Fri, Oct 25th Thurs, Oct 24th Thur, Oct 24th Thur, Oct 24th Thur, Oct 24th 8 Home--7:30 Away--7:00 Away--5:00 Home-(b) 6:15 (a) 7:00 Home- (b) 4:15 (a) 5:00 Cuero Cuero Cuero Cuero Cuero Week Fri, Nov 1st Thur, Oct 31st Thur, Oct 31st Thur, Oct 31st Thur, Oct 31st 9 Away--7:30 Home--7:00 Home--5:00 Away-(b) 6:15 (a) 7:00 Away-(b) 4:15 (a) 5:00 Smithville Smithville Smithville Smithville Smithville Week Fri, Nov 8th Thur, Nov 7th Thur, Nov 7th Thur, Nov 7th Thur, Nov 7th 10 Home--7:30 Senior Night Away--7:00 Away--5:00 Home-(b) 6:15 (a) 7:00 Home- (b) 4:15 (a) 5:00 AD / Head Coach: Ricky Lock Superintendent: Dr. Kim Strozier Assistant: Larry Wehde Ryan Harper(OC), Shannon Fink(DC),Larry Wuthrich,Raymond Lopez, Chris HS Principal: Dwight MacAllister Assistants: Ron Pekar, Michael Garcia King, Ryan Arellano,Michael Morrish,Cassius Starks, Jacob Bird, Joey JH Principal: Wanda Fryer Assistant: Hector Dominguez Carrizales,Willis Steward, Patrick Venson Cheer Sponsors: Lena Hernandez, Michelle Dolezal Athletic Secretary: Anita Dement Trainer: LaToya Hasette Flames Sponsors:Arthur Martinez, Janica Arellano Band Directors: Dennis Boucher, Grace Boucher, Jerry Scoggins
Junior Varsity Freshmen Hallettsville Scrimmage Sat, Aug 17th Away V/9am 9th/JV-11am Columbus Scrimmage Fri, Aug 23rd Away-5/6/7pm Victoria East Runge(Varsity) Runge(JV) Fri, Aug 30th Thur, Aug 29th Sat, Aug 31st Away--7:30 Away--7:30 Home--10:00am Bastrop Bastrop Bastrop Fri, Sept 6th Thur, Sept 5th Thur, Sept 5th Home--7:30 Away--7:00 Away--5:00 Open Open Open Fri, Sept 13th Thur, Sept 12th Thur, Sept 12th
Varsity
8th Grade
as of May 28, 2013 7th Grade
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Good Luck to everyone on a great season!
Intra-squad Scrimmage Tues, Sept 4th
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Fall Sports Preview
By MARK LUBE
Lady Apaches to rely APACHES: Expect to be on mental toughness tested by tough, challenging
non-district schedule
Gonzales head volleyball coach Sarah Moreno knows its probably going to be a rebuilding year, with the loss of about six seniors from last year and several more who were three or four-year starters. But Moreno feels the mentality and the heart of the players in the program this year will more than make up for the youth. I would love to make the playoffs but obviously it is a rebuilding year and it will be a challenge, she said. The girls we do have back have the heart and have the mind set to help us reach the playoffs. They have been working their butts off this summer to do what they need to do as a team and as an individual. The Lady Apaches won just a single district match in 2012 after making the playoffs in 2011, their first playoff appearance since 2007. Moreno said the teams mentality has already been developed. They just have the mindset of we are tired of losing, she said. We want to succeed and I am throwing a lot of changes, behind-the-scenes changes, and I think all the girls are on board. I believe if you are disciplined off the court, you will do well on the court. Gonzales returns just two starters, senior Danyelle Glass and junior Kendall Fougerat, along with two other players who saw
sportseditor@gonzalescannon.com
Alex Finch
Bailey Connell
Brianna Miller
J.T. Miller
Ken Hernandez
Marco Rodriguez
Marvin Lewis
Nathan Burek
Brittany Walker
Cassidy LaFleur
Danielle Flowers
Nestor Solis
Ross Hendershot
Travis Schauer
Trent Schauer
Tyler Filla
Continued from page D2
Danyelle Glass
Gretchen Singleton
Kendall Fougerat
varsity time last year in senior Cassidy La Fleur and sophomore Molly Barnick. Nearly all the players played two or three matches once a week throughout the month of June and the players also attended team camps the last part of July, working on individual and team skills.
As a whole, they got a lot of practice at those camps, Moreno said. Moreno was an assistant last year under then-head coach Kim Payne and was named as the interim late in the district season after Payne was dismissed as head volleyball coach. LADY APACHES, Page D5
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vis Schauer and junior Tyler Wells. The secondary will be anchored by Hunt and James at cornerback and Lock said the unit as a whole should be solid because of their abundance of speed. Weve got some very good corners, he said. Weve looked at the freshman Aaron Hunt there some and also Philippus, who is another good athlete that can run. Rodriguez also has a chance to play there. He hasnt played in a couple of years, but his brother Alejandro Hernandez starred for us in 2011 so its in his bloodline. We dont know how much depth we have at this point, but were excited about the possibilities. Before tackling district, the Apaches must navigate through a daunting non-district schedule that includes 4A teams Bastrop and Austin Lanier, and upstart 3A College Station. Gonzales begins the season by traveling to Victoria East, a 4A playoff team from last year. Theyre going to be very good, said Lock. They are very talented and theyre always very athletic. Theyve got huge numbers and the game is in Victoria, so its going to be real challenge for us. Last year was the first for the current configuration of District 26-3A, which La Grange ended up winning. APACHES, Page D8
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Brant, have a great season!
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Apache cross country looking to make waves
2013 GONZALES LADY APACHES

Date
Aug 9 Aug 10 Aug 12 Aug 14 Aug 20 Aug 22-24 Aug 27 Aug 30-31 Sept 3 Sept 5 Sept 6 Sept 7 Sept 10 Sept 13 Sept 17 Sept 20 Sept 24 Sept 27 Oct 1 Oct 4 Oct 8 Oct 11 Oct 15 Oct 18 Oct 22 Oct 25
Opponent
Luling Scrimmage Weimar Scrimmage Schulenburg Tournament Schulenburg Tournament Cedar Creek Schulenburg Tournament Luling Goliad Tournament Eastside Memorial Flatonia Tournament Lytle Flatonia Tournament Poteet GHS Alumni LaGrange Eastside Memorial Smithville Goliad Giddings Cuero Yoakum LaGrange Smithville Giddings Cuero Yoakum
Place
Times
Teams
F/JV/V F/JV/V F/JV F/JV F/JV/V V F/JV/V V F/JV/V F.JV F/JV/V F/JV F/ JV/V V F/JV/V F/JV/V F/JV/V F/JV/V F/JV/V F/JV/V F/JV/V F/JV/V F/JV/V F/JV/V F/JV/V F/JV/V
Luling 8am Weimar 10am Schulenburg TBA Schulenburg TBA Cedar Creek 5/6/7 Schulenburg TBA Luling 5/6/7 Goliad TBA Gonzales 5/5/6 Flatonia TBA Lytle 5/5/6 Flatonia TBA Gonzales 5/5/6 Gonzales 6pm LaGrange 5/6/7 Eastside Memorial 4:30/4:30/5:30 Gonzales 5/6/7 Gonzales 4:30/4:30/5:30 Gonzales 5/6/7 Gonzales 5:30/5:30/4:30 Yoakum 5/6/7 Gonzales 4:30/4:30/5:30 Smithville 5/6/7 Giddings 4:30/4:30/5:30 Cuero 5/6/7 Gonzales 4:30/4:30/5:30
Important Events: Sept. 10-Parents Night Oct. 1-Dig for the Cure (Breast Cancer Awareness Match) Oct. 11-Teacher Appreciation Night Oct. 25-Senior Night
By MARK LUBE
Gonzales head cross country coach Cully Doyle feels his team, especially the girls, will be a surprise to people this season. I am really impressed with our girls team this year.We have more female runners than last year and several of them have shown a great interest in becoming successful, he said. Doyle is looking towards Kendall Fougerat, Valeria Aguayo and Juana Sanchez to help lead the girls runners. Kendall is a blessed runner. Valeria racked up 130 miles this summer and Juana Sanchez has stepped up, he said. I think they are going to have a great year because of the work they put in over the summer. Fougerat said the hard work by the Lady Apaches will pay off for them. Hopefully, we can work hard enough to make regionals as a team, she said. In addition to Sanchez, Aguayo and Fougerat, there is Kristeney Magallanez, the lone Lady Apache to qualify for the regional meet last year, Briana Miller, Carla Torres, Kendra Cavit, Emily Eckols, Hannah Lorton, Gretchen Singleton and Ashleigh Haub. It is excited to see everyone do their best and get ready to go, Aguayo said.
She said doing 130 miles over three months was hard but possible because they took the miles slowly, and were relaxed and easygoing. Doyle said it was time for the Lady Apaches to return to the regional meet, where they have not been as a team in a while. The girls team will make regionals if we have seven girls willing to compete for the top spots. They have to have a strong mentality when racing, he said. Some runners for the Apaches are Max Moreno, Ashton Williams, Dalton Couch, Cody Oakes and Jesus Diaz DeLeon. Doyle said he feels the Apaches will be able to compete for a district title. The first goal is to increase everyones mileage the next couple of months leading up to Oct. 23 (district meet at Giddings). This is the first meet that counts, said Doyle.I do expect both girls and boys teams to qualify to regionals this year. I am excited about the kids and how hard they have been working this summer. Max, Ashton and Dalton Couch are returning from last years regional qualifying teamand I expect a lot out of these three runners. FreshmanCody Oakes has made an early impression on everyone. He is a very natural and God-gifted runner.I believe he will be
an impact on this teamthis season along with Jesus Diaz Deleon and several others. Doyle has lined up several challenging meets on the schedule with action in Lockhart, Pflugerville, Shiner, Giddings, Del Valle and Poth. Gonzales hosted a home meet on Aug. 24 and will hold a dual meet with Moulton on Sept. 5 I am excited about taking them to a couple of different meets this year to see a different level of competition than they are used to, he said.I am excited about going to Pflugerville and Del Valle this season as this will make us better in the long run. Our kids worked hard this summer and I thought they deserved to go and run against other programs that are running all year long so we can be pushed and also to see what we need to do to get better. The toughest one, by far, will be district. Kids are nervous and want to do well. They put so much pressure on themselves along with the pressure I put on them, Doyle said. Giddings boys and girls teams expect to be good again this year but I feel confident that we are as good or better than them if our kids will keep on this program until district and believe they have worked as hard or harder than anyone in our district.
LADY APACHES: Have to adapt to new coaching

Head Coach: Sarah Moreno Girls Coordinator: Cully Doyle School: 830-672-6641 JV Coach: Jenna Philips Freshmen Coach: Superintendent: Dr. Kim Strozier Athletic Director: Ricky Lock Principal: Dwight MacAllister
She said there will be some changes to the way in which things are run, but other things will stay the same. I liked a lot of the stuff Coach Payne did, Moreno said. One of the changes will be to the alignment used by Gonzales on the court. Moreno said she was switching to the 6-2 system. We are going to use two setters because we lack height at the position and I want to make sure we have a good solid block on our right side, she said. Our serve-receive pattern is a little different, but we have been going with it since the offseason. The girls are familiar with it. Briana Miller joins teammates Glass and La Fleur as the teams seniors. Moreno described Glass as a powerhouse on the outside and said Gonzales will open things up on the right side, which is traditionally a weak spot for teams. I think we have some girls that can hit hard and throw up a good block, she said. We have girls that are willing to work hard and go after everything. That is going to get you somewhere. As of the opening week LADY APACHES, Page D8
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Fall Sports Preview

2013 Varsity
Dakota, be proud of what you have accomplished. Know that this is only the beginning. Always remember with God all things are possible. We will be with you every step of the way.
Congratulations
Love you Mom, Dad & Bradley
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Have A Great Season!

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Fall Sports Preview
Page D7
Apaches likely to finish at the top of District 26-3A

When the UIL realigned last year, District 26-3A instantly became one of the most competitive leagues in the state. Cuero, La Grange and Yoakum managed to overcome the attrition to advance to the playoffs in 2012, but this year could very well end with a whole new contingent of league representatives. Despite the return of a district-low 13 lettermen, Gonzales has a very good chance of claiming the district title this year. For starters, the Apaches have one of the best offensive lines in the state regardless of classification in their senior quintet of Damien Airhart, Tyler Filla, Jordan Johnson, J.T. Miller and Zach Perez-Clack. As long as the Apaches dont get too cute on offense, they should be able to ride those massive coattails all the way to a district championship. La Grange was the top dog in the district last year and they return 14 starters from that 2012 squad. Their roster boasts the districts top returning rusher in RB Rodney Fillmore (1,238 yards, 9 TD) and they also have one of the states top prospects in lineman Zachary Ledwik. Arguably the districts most intriguing team is Yoakum. Coach Brent Kornegay is welcoming back 19 lettermen, but is looking forward to seeing how much leadership he gets from his 22 seniors. The Bulldogs have great talent at the skill positions including QB Chase Hermes, WR T.J. Hights and FB Terrance Hall, plus they also have one of the districts most explosive athletes in TreVontae Hights, who will see time at both QB and WR. The big question this year in Cuero is whether or not they can put together a solid offensive line to block for All-State caliber RB DAnthony Hopkins, who was slowed down considerably last year due to injuries. Smithville was hit the hardest by graduation, losing a district-high 21 lettermen. The Tigers are expected to finish near the bottom, but they are not an easy out by any means because their roster includes talented players like DI prospect FS Khalil McCauthern (6-4, 212, 102 tackles). The Giddings Buffaloes were highly regarded early last year, but their weaknesses were exposed during a 43-23 rout at Gonzales. That game was the beginning of the end for Giddings, who ended the year with four straight losses. The Buffs have 21 lettermen back including LB Joe Mendoza (74 tackles) plus QB Kyle Jones, who led the freshman team to a perfect 10-0 record last year. Predicted Finish District 26-3A 1. Gonzales - Superb line talent will lead the way to a district title and possibly much more. 2. La Grange - Lots of pride and a bunch of returning lettermen. 3. Yoakum - Arguably the most talented group of skilled players in the region. 4. Cuero - Nice talent at running back. Could finish higher if the offensive line comes together. 5. Smithville - Too many losses due to graduation. In an obvious rebuilding mode. 6. Giddings - Talent is there, but its mostly unproven. Not worthy of the benefit of the doubt after last seasons collapse.
Lady Apache Junior Varsity Volleyball
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Wishing our Apaches a Great Season! J.T., Ashton, Wade, Caden & Jonah
Have A Good School Year!

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Page D8
Fall Sports Preview
Nixon-Smiley heavily eyeing playoff bid

By CEDRIC IGLEHART
Mustang Nation can look forward to seeing a new attitude at Nixon-Smiley. After suffering through a miserable season last year where the only win came from 28-21 defeat of Bloomington in Week 7, Coach Carlton McKinney said his charges are ready to deliver results in a fashion similar to what they did two years ago when they garnered six victories and narrowly missed the playoffs. Last year was difficult, especially after turning the corner in the previous year, said McKinney. To have the dropoff last year only because of lack of experience and (an abundance of) youth, we knew we were going to struggle. The positive from that is those same kids are back this year. We have an opportunity to build on last year and thats where we are now. The Mustangs return 19 letterman from last seasons team, which means varsity experience among the roster will be at a premium. We always lay out some expectations for our kids, McKinney said. These seniors have done a really good job and the good thing is all of them were part of that team that did well a couple of years ago so they understand what it
takes to win. Nixon-Smiley has several new additions to the team but the most prominent is Trey Alexander, who takes over as defensive coordinator after serving as head coach of Yorktown last season. Alexander has added a few new wrinkles and his own spin to the Mustangs version of the split defense. Our kids are very familiar with what we do, said McKinney. Even though we have a new defensive coordinator, its basically the same defense and the kids have taken to it really well. Nixon-Smiley returns nine starters on offense including quarterback Nick Pea, who started as a sophomore last year. He was one of the kids who struggled with the growing pains last year, McKinney said. I think hes one of our strong points right now at a key skill position in the backfield. When Pea is not at the helm, the offense will operate under the super athletic sophomore Sam Moore, a move-in from Gonzales. Right now, were playing him at quarterback and receiver, said McKinney. He will get some time at both of those positions. With no senior leadership to rely on in the backfield, the Mustangs will look to returning starters at RB Tristan Newman,
Jared Van Auken, Tom Palacio and Kevin Martinez to lead the way. Justin Ramos is slated to start at fullback with Michael Mills, a move-in from Hallettsville and Michael Scarbrough expected to see time in the Mustangs Slot-T offense. Those backs will give us a huge lift, said McKinney. Nixon-Smiley is extremely stout on their offensive line, where they return all of the starters from last year. That group consists of standout performer Logan McMain, Oscar Torres, David Miles, Phoenix Medina, and Jacob Perez. Darren Kaluza, a part-time starter from last year, and Riley Sampson, a call-up from the JV, are also in the mix. The only possible concern we could have with our offensive line is the depth because all of those guys play on the defensive line as well, said McKinney. Our front five is all returners, so were pretty solid there. If we can get eight to ten guys up to speed, then we should be able to rotate them and keep everybody fresh. Thats our goal right now. Among the nine returning starters on defense, the strength of that unit clearly lies in its front seven. The line will be anchored by McMain and Miles with Van Auken and Ramos manning the inside linebacker spots. Torres and
Coleton Trammell
Darren Kaluza
David Miles
Garrett Earlywine
Jacob Perez
Jared Van Auken
Jheson Palacio
Justin Ramos
Kevin Martinez
Logan McMain
Michael Mills
Mikel Scarbrough
Nick Pea
Oscar Torres
Riley Samford
newcomer Coleton Trammell will start at defensive end, with Mills and Scarbrough as the starting out-
side linebackers. The back four was a sore spot last year, but has been fortified in the offseason
with Newman starting at cornerback along with MUSTANGS, Page D9
LADY APACHES: Will be APACHES: Expect to be challenged in tourney play tested by tough, challenging non-district grid schedule
of practice, Moreno is still looking to find a libero. Fougerat and Barnick competed for a spot in the middle. Since offseason, they both have improved, Moreno said. Danyelle gets better every single day. La Fleur will man the setter spot along with Danielle Flowers. They are gelling real well, Moreno said. Three-year starter Glass is the anticipated leader of the team. She knows what to expect on varsity and is very
spirited. Danyelle will also be our big vocal leader, Moreno said. In non-district games, Gonzales will face Luling, Cedar Creek, Austin Eastside Memorial, Lytle and Poteet. The Lady Apaches play in the Schulenburg and Goliad Tournaments, both of which will be a challenge to the team. I think if we can get challenged early, the girls will understand they will need to rise to the occasion, Moreno said. In regards to district favorites, she said La Grange, who is ranked #2 in the Texas Girls Coaches Asso-
ciation preseason poll, is a powerhouse of a team and Smithville should be tough, even with a new coach. Moreno also revealed there will be fanfare at nearly every home game, including Junior High night, Parents night and Senior night. Assistant coach and Lady Apache volleyball alum Jenna Philips has come up with the idea of holding a 2013 squad versus Apache Alumni scrimmage. That game is scheduled for Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. We had an open day on that date and it is not only for support of the current team but to bring back former players, Moreno said. We want to get the word out to anyone who has ever played for Gonzales to come back and play again. Any former Lady Apache players should contact Philips at 830-672-6641 or at jenna.philips@gonzales. txed.net.
The other playoff representatives in 2012 were Cuero and Yoakum. This year, the University Interscholastic League altered the playoff format to allow four 3A teams from each district to make the postseason. Every Friday night, youve got to be ready to play in this district, Lock said. You have to say La Grange is the team to beat because they are district champs from a year ago and theyve got a lot of kids back. Yoakum has tremendous skill kids who are as talented as anyone in Region IV. Cuero supposedly has one of the best running backs around in the (DAnthony) Hopkins kid. Hes very gifted, but they lost a lot of linemen in-
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cluding three who signed to play college ball. Giddings has a lot of talent and they always have speed. Their subvarsity was very good last year especially that freshman team, they were unbelievable. Zack Akers Zach Perez-Clack Smithville was probably hit the and done. hardest by graduation, they Our district is going to lost 26 seniors. They do be very challenging. Itll have their free safety back be a dogfight every night, who is a D-I caliber player he said. Were going to in (Khalil) McCauthern, have a chance to win every hes like 6-4 and 215. game we play because of Despite the lack of cup- the young men we have in cakes on the league sched- the interior. We just have to ule, Lock feels like the keep our skill kids healthy Apaches will be right there and eligible, those are the pushing for a district cham- two biggest things. pionship when its all said
Good Luck to All the Area Teams!

PETEREK & ASSOCIATES
829 Saint Joseph St., Gonzales, TX 78629 Greg Peterek - 830-857-0233 Sherri Schellenberg - 830-857-6439 www.peterekre.com
Have A Great Season!
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Fall Sports Preview
Page D9
Payne takes reigns as new head coach at Nixon-Smiley

By CEDRIC IGLEHART
Its the dawning of a new day for Nixon-Smiley volleyball as Kim Payne takes over the head coaching duties after coming over from a three-year run at Gonzales High School.
Payne has spent most of the offseason acclimating herself to the Lady Mustang way of doing things and getting familiarized with her new charges. The whole process has been extremely positive, said Payne. The girls received me in the most
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caring and loving manner that Ive ever seen. I came over several times in the summer and got involved in their strength and conditioning program so I could watch over the girls. That was where it all
started. The first day they came into the gym for two-a-days was amazing. We just kind of clicked right away. Even though they have to adjust to Paynes new system, the Lady Mustangs dont have to worry about fielding veteran players. Nixon-Smiley returns three varsity athletes from last year including Savannah Martinez, libero Jordan Newman and Alena Alvarez. Obviously, Im looking for those girls to provide the leadership for this year, said Payne. Rounding out the rest of the roster for the Lady Mustangs are setter Megan Guerra, defensive specialist Tyhana Mejia, outside hitter Brooke Hester, middle blocker Miranda Carrillo, outside hitter Megan Stone, middle blocker Aliyah Moore, and outside
hitter Whitley Gonzales. We have some very strong points, but every team has its weaknesses, Payne said. We play very well as a team. We talk well on the court and weve got some good hitters. Defensive-wise is where we are struggling, weve got to work on that. The Lady Mustangs will be tested in their nondistrict schedule, which includes a pivotal home match against the Cuero Lady Gobblers on September 3. Cuero is a 3A school and thats going to be a challenge for us, said Payne. Weve got to be able to rise to the occasion against them. Weve also got the Pleasanton Tournament and my goal is to bring home some hardware from there. Every game we play will be getting us ready for our dis-
trict opener against Poth. Nixon-Smiley competes in the brutal District 282A, which also includes powerhouse teams like #1 Schulenburg, #10 Hallettsville and #13 Poth who won state two years ago, so winning enough games to earn a postseason will be a daunting task. Were going to have to tighten up our defense, said Payne. Ive got to find a way to get my hitters to get around blocks and place the ball so we can score points. Even if Payne is unable to lead the Lady Mustangs to their first playoff berth since 2009, this season will be memorable for no other reason than a nostalgic one. Im so excited to be at Nixon-Smiley, Payne said. Its a new beginning and Im excited about our girls.
830-582-1052
MANAGER GARY BUTLER
Mustangs definitely in the mix for postseason berth this year

Following up a 1-9 season with a playoff berth is about as rare an occasion as being struck by lightning twice, but the Nixon-Smiley Mustangs are in a position to do just that. Nixon-Smiley only lost four lettermen from last seasons young team, which means the majority of their starters have already gotten a taste of football at the varsity level. The backfield is very talented with quarterbacks Nick Pea and Sam Moore expected to see extensive time along with Tristan Newman, Jared Van Auken, Justin Ramos and Tom Palacio. Making matters all the better is the fact that those backs get to run behind an experienced offensive line which includes stud Logan McMain, David Miles, Phoenix Medina and Oscar Torres. Operating out of their classic version of the Slot-T, the Mustangs should be able to grind their way to a playoff appearance this year. The class of District 15-2A,Division II, are the Poth Pirates. They return 16 lettermen from last years area finalist squad including three-year starter CB Blake Lyssy, who will see some time at running back this year. Their seasons success will likely depend on how QB Thomas Krawietz fares in district play. Last year as a part-time starter, the junior threw for 322 yards and three TDs but also racked up 1,159 rushing for 15 other scores. Another team expected to vie for the district title is Dilley, who return seven starters on both sides of the football. The Wolves, who were bi-district finalists last year, will try to get the ball as often as possible into the hands of 6-2 WR Sabby Torres, who caught six TDs last year and possesses a 31-inch vertical leap. Leo Garcia moves under center after playing as a wideout last year so anticipate a learning curve, but he will be complemented by capable running backs in Jeremy Herrera and O.J. Perez.
830-582-1944
Perennially recognized once as the bully on the block, Karnes City should make strides toward regaining their past glory. The Badgers only return five starters from last years area finalist team, but among them is the districts returning passing leader in quarterback Dylan Lopez. They also have a legitimate breakaway threat in running back Paul Kinney. Last year, Karnes City boasted the districts top defense (125 yards per game) and DE Chayse Leal (51 tackles, 6 sacks) will do his part to make sure that trend continues. NIXON, Page D10
MUSTANGS: Anxious to turn the corner this season
Good Luck Teams!

Caraway Nixon
Sam Moore
Tom Palacio
Tony Pea
Tristan Newman
830-582-2511
100 Hwy. 87 N., Nixon, TX 78140
Moore, along with the adjustment of moving Garrett Earlywine to free safety. Our secondary is much improved, which it needed to be, said McKinney. With the addition of Sam coming in and moving Garrett around, weve gotten a lot faster back there. It wont take long for the
Good Luck To All Athletes on a great year!
Mustangs to figure out how good they can be this year because their non-district schedule includes games against Flatonia and at Yorktown. The most important contest before district takes place on September 6, when they play host to Three Rivers. Im looking at the Three Rivers game because they are a team that is very simi-
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lar to a lot of the teams in our district, McKinney said. Those kids always play hard and its always been a very good barometer for us. Thats going to be a game where we can gauge where we are going into district. The Mustangs compete in District 15-2A, Division II, where there is no shortage of quality competition. Our district is very tough, said McKinney. Poth is perennial, so you know theyre going to be solid. Karnes City is returning several lettermen and Stockdale is going to be strong candidate to get into playoffs as well as Dilley. I think we will fare well in the district, but our biggest thing is staying healthy and to be more consistent across the board. With four teams going, our goal is to get to the playoffs. Any turnaround from last year will be positive for us and thats what were looking for, McKinney said, If we can eliminate the mistakes on Friday nights, then I think success is right around the corner.
Page D10
Fall Sports Preview
NIXON: In line for playoffs after fruitless 2012 season

Good Luck Dany! We are very proud of you!
Linebackers Dylan Wright and Jacob Janysek are also expected to serve as defensive lynchpins. Coach Jim Wood engineered an impressive turnaround for Karnes City in his second season when he took the Badgers from 3-7 to 9-2, so dont be surprised if he pulls off another coaching gem in 2013. In order for Stockdale to make the playoffs this year, they absolutely have to get another big year from running back Matt Valdez (1,518 rushing yards, 16 TDs). The shifty back averaged 8.6 yards a carry in 2012 and is the perfect complement to help inexperienced quarterback Jacob Cardenas grow as a field general. The Brahmas also return five starters on defense
including active LB Dylan Dunn (109 tackles) and DL Josh Carroll (66 tackles), which should help Stockdale improve on its 2012 average of allowing 248 total yards per game. The other fringe playoff team in the district is Natalia. The Mustangs have an A-1 receiver in Arturo Contreras (593 yards, 5 TDs), who should combine with WR Mario Bermea (536, 6 TDs) to form the leagues best pass catching tandem. Erik Villareal is adjusting to playing quarterback after being a receiver last year, but his learning curve should be made easier while being protected by a line that features Richard Pacheco and Marcos Castillo. The Mustangs led the district in passing yards last year by averaging 183.6 yards per game. Fighting for the title
of cellar dwellar this year will be Cotulla and Bloomington. The smart money to win this fight is on the Bobcats, who have lost 58 straight district games and havent been to the playoffs since 1999. Bloomington does return a bunch of starters (16 total), but its a lot to ask of Coach Layne Elkins in turning around a losing culture in just his second year. The Cowboys do have something to build on after winning their last three games of the 2012 season. After all, they finished with the second-ranked defense and managed to put up an average of 28 points per game. Running back Saul Garcia is a four-year, twoway starter and LB Johnny Perez has a good nose for finding the football.
Predicted Finish District 15-2A, Division II

1. Poth The Pirates have made a habit of not only qualifying for the postseason, but doing so by winning their district. With 14 returning starters, including 8 on defense, look for Poth to assume a familiar spot as league champions. 2. Dilley Sabby Torres is one of the best athletes in the district and the Wolves will do everything to make he touches the ball as often as humanly possible. That will make Dilley tough to beat. 3. Karnes City Dylan Lopez is the most experienced QB in the league and he has plenty of weapons to play with, plus LB/RB Dylan Wright is arguably one of the most underrated players in the entire region. 4. Nixon-Smiley All of the pundits have the Mustangs finishing near the bottom of this district, but anyone who sleeps on this team is just begging for a nightmare. Last years young pups are this years big dogs and Nixon is primed and ready for a return to the playoffs. 5. Stockdale The Brahmas barely missed a playoff berth last year and unfortunately for them, I see a repeat of that fate in 2013. 6. Natalia Lots of returning players, but too many of them are unproven. Arturo Contreras and Mario Bermea are talented receivers, but there are too many holes in the defense. 7. Cotulla Saul Garcia is a bright spot, but the rest of that starting cast has been either inconsistent or disappointing. Just not enough there to consider them as a serious threat to compete. 8. Bloomington Eleven head coaches in the last 14 years says it all. The Bobcats have consistently been the 21st Centurys version of the Bad News Bears. No reason to believe that trend will end.
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SPEECH LANGUAGE
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VOICE DISORDERS
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Phonological Process Sound Omissions Substitutions/Additions Disorders Fluency Apraxia/Oral Motor Cleft Lip/Palate
Physical Therapy
Services Provided
PHYSICAL THERAPY
Neurological Dysfunction Muscular Dystrophy Impaired Motor Abilities Tone Abnormalities Muscular Weakness
Contact Info: 322 St. George St., Gonzales, TX 78629, Phone: 830-672-7300, Fax: 830-672-7502
Hours: Mon.-Thurs. - 8:00-7:00 Friday - 9:00-6:00 Sat.,-Sun. Closed
Fall Sports Preview
Page E1
Nixon-Smiley Mustangs
Nixon-Smiley Mustangs Varsity
2013 Nixon-Smiley Mustang Football

Varsity Aug. 17 Shiner St. Paul scrimmage Aug. 22 Jourdanton scrimmage Aug. 30 Flatonia (Parents Night) Sept. 6 Three Rivers Sept. 13 Yorktown Sept. 20 Open Sept. 27 **Karnes City Oct. 4 **Dilley (Homecoming) Oct. 11 **Stockdale Oct. 18 **Bloomington Oct. 25 **Cotulla Nov. 1 **Natalia Nov. 8 **Poth (Senior Night) ** - Denotes district game Junior Varsity Aug. 17 Shiner St. Paul scrimmage Aug. 22 Jourdanton scrimmage Aug. 29 Flatonia Sept. 5 Three Rivers Sept. 12 Yorktown Sept. 19 Open Sept. 26 **Karnes City Oct. 3 **Dilley Oct. 10 **Stockdale Oct. 17 **Bloomington Oct. 24 **Cotulla Oct.. 31 **Natalia Nov. 7 **Poth ** - Denotes district game Middle School Sept. 12 Yorktown Sept. 19 Karnes City Sept. 26 **Karnes City Oct. 3 **Dilley Oct. 10 **Stockdale Oct. 17 **Bloomington Oct. 24 **Cotulla Oct. 31 **Natalia Nov. 7 **Poth ** - Denotes district game Home Home Home Home Away Away Home Away Away Home Away Home Home Home Away Away Home Home Away Home Home Away Home Away Home Home Away Home Away Away Home Away Home 10:00 6:00 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 10:00 6:00 5:30 5:30 7:30 5:30 5:30 5:30 5:30 5:30 5:30 5:30 5, 6:00 5, 6:30 5, 6:30 5, 6:30 5, 6:30 5, 6:30 5, 6:30 5, 6:30 5, 6:30
Nixon-Smiley Mustangs Junior Varsity
Good Luck to all Fall sports
athletes on a great season!
Nixon-Smiley Lady Mustangs 2013 Volleyball 2013 Nixon-Smiley Lady Mustangs Volleyball
Date Aug. 13 Aug. 15-17 Aug. 20 Aug. 23 Aug. 27 Aug. 30-31 Sept. 3 Sept. 13 Sept. 20 Sept. 24 Sept. 27 Oct. 1 Oct. 4 Oct. 8 Oct. 11 Oct. 18 Oct. 22 Oct. 26 Oct. 29 Opponent Shiner St. Paul Columbus Tournament Yorktown Bloomington Universal City Randolph Pleasanton Tournament Cuero Poth Stockdale Luling Karnes City Hallettsville Schulenburg Poth Luling Stockdale Karnes City Hallettsville Schulenburg Site Home Away Home Away Away Away Home Away Away Away Away Home Home Home Home Home Home Away Away Time 6:30pm TBD 7pm 7pm 6pm TBD 7pm 6pm 4:30pm 7:15pm 6:30pm 7pm 5pm 7pm 7pm 7pm 7pm 12pm 7pm
By CEDRIC IGLEHART
High expectations, lofty goals could be met this year in Luling

It was a pretty great way to start off a head coaching tenure for Colby Hensley in 2012. The Luling Eagles won seven games total, posted an impressive record of 5-1 in district play and ended their season in the area round of the playoffs. Hensley, who came to the program three years ago with former head coach Mike Waldie, said hes been pleased with the forward progress hes been seeing out of his kids. Looking back on our scrimmages and the first four games from last year, we were just trying to get a lot of the little things right, he said. There was a learning curve for me in terms of structure and organization, but once everybody got comfortable we started getting into a groove. Were a little bit ahead of last years team at this point. The combination of added knowledge and guys making more plays has us a step ahead of last years group. The Eagles averaged over 24 points per game last season and that figure is expected to increase with the return of quarterback Trayden Staton. The senior was named as the District 15-2A Division I Offensive MVP last year after completing 125-of-232 passes for 1,816 yards, 17 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also had 84 carries for 186 yards and four more scores. Its always exciting having a guy like that come back, said Hensley. Hes more comfortable with what hes doing and his composure is better. Hes much clearer on his reads now and thats exciting to see. Joining Staton in the backfield will be running backs junior Brendon Cubit, an All-District player on both sides of the ball, and sophomore Shaft Cubit, who showed flashes of brilliance on varsity last year as a freshman. Those guys are a year older and they look a step quicker, Hensley said. Theyve improved over a good offseason and theyve gained a little speed. The wide receiving corps is highlighted by Josh Alvarez (574 yards, 6 TD), the districts returning receiving leader. The rest of the group will include junior Taylen Moore (212, 4 TD) and senior Keeton Coe. Josh was outstanding last year so were hoping for some more good things from him, Hensley said. Hes improved his speed as well. Taylen is cat-quick, hes real fun to watch. At 6-1, Keeton is a nice, big target to throw to. The offensive line will be anchored by the massive Dontae Green, who comes in at 6-5 and 340 pounds. Dontae is a load, said Hensley. Hes like a house and hes extremely strong. The rest of the line consists of Roger Miles, a parttime starter last season, Clint Cantu at center, Travis Gibson and Eddie Ordonez. The Eagles were second in district in total defense last season but they had trouble stopping the run, allowing 1,962 rushing yards to their opponents. Luling will still operate out of the 4-2-5 and Hensley is hoping the return of Tyler Gibson at defensive tackle will remedy the defensive line troubles. Tyler was the most disruptive guy we had in our front four, he said. Tyler is faster and stronger than he was last year. Hes hard to block, he gets the job done for sure. The other three spots on the line are still up for grabs with Caleb Magallanez, Joel Sanchez, Kelvin Larkin, Roger Miles, Calen Coe, and Chris Sims all in the mix. Returning at linebacker for Luling is Derek Franco, Brenden Cubit and Zach Lawton. The nice thing about those guys is they know what theyre doing, said Hensley. The secondary was a bright spot for the defense last year and that should continue with Moore, Alvarez and Juan Ordonez at cornerback along with Shaft Cubit and Coe at safety. Luling went 1-3 in their non-district games last year and that same schedule is intact, featuring games at Universal City Randolph, against Blanco and at Devine. Hensley said he has taken particular interest in the Eagles September 6 matchup with Rice Consolidated, who beat Luling 39-13 in 2012. Thats the one game Ive got the most curiosBryan Swift ity about, he said. Theyre Brenden Cubit right next door to us as far as districts are concerned and theyre a good football team. It will be interesting to see how that game turns out. When it comes to evaluating District 15-2A Division I this season, most pundits believe the Eagles are the team to beat. Hensley said he is in agreement with that assessment. I hate to toot our own Cecilio Palacios Chris Sims horn, but I feel like we have the edge, he said. You hate to jump like that too quickly, but I feel like if our guys stay healthy we can do it. Theyve got some playoff experience now and some confidence, so the combination of those two things should hopefully give us a good shot at a district championship. The list of other teams who are expected to conColton Hajovsky Corey Bermudez tend for the district title include George West, Goliad, Jourdanton and Marion. I think the next team in the mix is probably Marion, Hensley said. The next three are kind of tossups and it gets really muddy from there. I would say number three is Goliad and then probably Jourdanton and George West. While a league title is definitely in the cards, Eddie Ordonez Hensley said the Eagles are Dontae Green working towards accomplishing bigger goald. They want to be able to matchup favorably with the current elite 2A teams in Region IV like Hallettsville, who thrashed Luling 43-12 in the area round last year, and defending state champion Cameron Yoe. If we get to clicking on all cylinders and playing good football, we have a Jordan Seelig Joel Sanchez chance to win against those guys, said Hensley. We need to bridge the gaps between us and those type of teams.
Page E2
Fall Sports Preview
Bryant King
Bryce Watts
Caleb Magallanez
Clint Cantu
Cody Stevens
Colton Aleman
Derek Franco
Desmond Cubit
Donnie Lancaster
Esteban Lopez
Jaret Sheffield
Jarred Zumwalt
Josh Alvarez
Juan Ordonez
Keeton Coe
301 St. Joseph Street, Gonzales, TX 78629 (830) 672-2851

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Fall Sports Preview
Page E3
Luling Eagles
Luling Eagles Varsity
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Luling Eagles Subvarsity
Varsity Aug 16 Schulenburg scrimmage Aug 23 Shiner scrimmage Aug 30 Universal City Randolph Sept 6 Rice Consolidated Sept 13 Blanco Sept 20 Devine Sept 27 *Marion Oct 4 *SA Brooks (Homecoming) Oct 11 *George West Oct 18 *SA Cole Oct 25 *Goliad Nov 1 *Jourdanton (Senior Night) Nov 8 District bye *-Denotes district game Junior Varsity Aug 16 Schulenburg scrimmage Aug 23 Shiner scrimmage Aug 29 Randolph (Freshmen combined) Sept 5 Rice Consolidated (Fr. combined) Sept 12 Blanco (Fr. combined) Sept 19 Devine Sept 26 *Marion (Fr. combined) Oct 3 *SA Brooks (Fr. combined) Oct 10 *George West (Fr. combined) Oct 17 *SA Cole Oct 24 *Goliad Oct 31 *Jourdanton Nov 7 District bye *-Denotes district game Freshmen Aug 16 Schulenburg scrimmage Aug 23 Shiner scrimmage Aug 29 Randolph (JV combined) Sept 5 Rice Consolidated (JV combined) Sept 12 Blanco (JV combined) Sept 19 Devine Sept 26 *Marion (JV combined) Oct 3 *SA Brooks (JV combined) Oct 10 *George West (JV combined) Oct 17 *SA Cole Oct 24 *Goliad Oct 31 *Jourdanton Nov 7 District bye
2013 Luling Eagle Football

Schulenburg Luling Universal City Luling Luling Devine Marion Luling George West Luling Goliad Luling 7:00 6:00 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30
Schulenburg Luling Luling Altair Blanco Luling Luling San Antonio Luling San Antonio Luling Jourdanton
6:00 5:00 6:00 5:30 6:00 6:30 6:00 6:00 6:00 6:30 6:30 6:30
Schulenburg Luling Luling Altair Blanco Luling Luling San Antonio Luling San Antonio Luling Jourdanton
6:00 5:00 6:00 5:30 6:00 5:00 6:00 6:00 6:00 5:00 5:00 5:00
Page E4
Fall Sports Preview
Bulldogs optimistic about upcoming season

By MARK LUBE
The Yoakum Bulldogs are bursting at the seams waiting for the 2013 season to start. We have some young kids that need to step up but who also have playing time on the varsity, so it will not be a total shock to them, Yoakum head coach Brent Korengay said. I was pleased with our early workouts. They went in and bought into what we are trying to accomplish early on. The positive energy by the younger players will help boost the efforts of Yoakums 22 seniors. This is one of the biggest senior groups we have had, Korengay said, adding that the usual range is around 19-20. Nine starters return for the Dogs this year. Yoakum was able to qualify for the playoffs in 2012 and lost in a shootout to Wharton in the bi-district round, 48-34. Playing in District 26-3A, which also includes Gonzales, Cuero, La Grange, Smithville and Giddings, and making the playoffs is a huge accomplishment for any of the teams. We were pleased we got in last year but at the same time, we want to take it a step further this year, Kornegay said. We strive to play two, three, four, five rounds in the playoffs. We have talked to the kids about this. He said the team did well in its summer workouts. We are further ahead at this point than we were a year ago, Kornegay said. Yoakum will be counting on the linemen to guide the team this year and help the loads of skilled positions reach their full potential. We have been stressing to our linemen they will be the ones leading this team, Kornegay said. Yoakum will keep the same offense and defensive systems it ran last year. Junior TreVontae Tre Hights and senior Chase Hermes are quarterbacks for the team. Both got considerable playing time last year. Kornegay said Hights will play at another position on the field when Hermes takes the snaps. In the offensive backfield will be junior Hunter Lauer, senior Hunter Smith and junior Zach Rodriguez at the fullback spot. Set to play tailback will be senior Terrence Hall and junior Dantey Eldridge. Z-back will be junior Miguel Resendiz and senior Reagan Jacobs. The Y-back will be senior T.J. Hights and wideouts will be YOAKUM, Page E5
Austin Villareal
Austin McCoy
Caden Fishbeck
Chase Hermes
Clay Morris
Dantey Eldridge
DaQuan White
Edgar Maravilla
Gabriel Garcia
Gilbert Dominguez
Hunter Lauer
Hunter Smith
Jacob Linn
TreVontae Hights
Jacob Long
Jared Garza
Jesse Maturino
Karl Kaiser
Krystian Brzozowski
Marvin Davis
Matt Zimmerman
Miguel Resendiz
Nathan Thiry
Neal Formolo
Reagan Jacobs
Ricky Camarillo
Ricky Canseco
Trent Bridges
Robbie Whitley
Sam Patek
Spencer Brandt
Terrance Hall
Tim Blakeney
T.J. HIghts
Tristan Caballero
Stoney Herchek
Options abound for Lady Bulldogs at nearly every volleyball position

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It may be a challenge for the Lady Bulldogs volleyball team to settle on one lineup because of all of the flexibility among the players. We have a lot of diversity on the team, Lady Dogs head coach Alisha Boysen said. We have a lot of different options for each position. We have two players that can play the same position and players that can play multiple spots. Boysen said the lineup could change from game to game to accommodate situ-
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ations, available personnel and injuries. If we have one player that gets hurt, we have others that can step in and fill that role, she said. Yoakum has about five returning starters from last years playoff team including three seniors. The returning starters are Callie Witte, Latrice Brown, Faith Hagan, Shelby Pesek and Jaccari Hights. Witte, Hights and Pesek are the seniors who are returning starters on the team. The other seniors are Rachel Murdock, Haley Lorke, Ashley Carroll and Reagen Renken. All-around, Yoakum appears to be a solid team good in most fundamentals. We are a well-rounded team. We hit well. We block well,Boysen said. The passing and serve-receive need a little work. Boysen said she is going with a 6-2 formation but may change that to the 5-1 if needed. Witte and Hagan are slated to play the setter spot for Yoakum.Pesek or Murdock will play as the Yoakum libero this season and the outside hitters will be Latrice Brown, Renken and Carroll. Celine Markert, Lexi DeBord, Hights and Lorke will play as the Lady Dogs middle blockers. Boysen said with the
Ashley Carroll
Callie Witte
Celine Markert
Faith Hagan
Haley Lorke
Jaccari Hights
Latrice Brown
Lexi DeBord
Rachel Murdock
exception of the libero, the positions are all interchangeable among the players.
I think I will be able to go to my bench and get another player to play one of LADY DOGS, Page E5
Fall Sports Preview
Page E5
YOAKUM: Will use more variety on defensive side

junior Will Thurmond, senior Casey Morrow, senior Timmy Blakeney, junior Austin McCoy and junior Caden Fishbeck. Offensive line players will be Will Thurmond junior Spencer Trysten Muehlstein Brandt at center, senior Clay Morris at left guard, left tackle will be senior Daquan White, right guard is junior Krystian Brozozowski and right tackle will be senior Gabriel Garcia. Kornegay said the defense is going to have a few more variations than last year in the defensive line. Defensive line players are junior Trenton Bridges, junior Marvin Davis, senior Matt Zimmerman and senior Jacob Linn. Playing at the linebacker spots will Zach Rodriguez be junior Ricky Camarillo, T.J. HIghts, Lauer, Smith and Jacobs. At cornerback will be senior Karl Kaiser and Resendiz. Playing strong safety will be Tre Hights and Fishbeck will be at free safety. Thurmond will back up HIghts or Fishbeck. Yoakum will have two placekickers Jacobs and junior Edgar Maravilla. Jacobs did some kicking last year but battled some injuries. Yoakum has Columbus, Sinton, Hallettsville, Edna and Rice Consolidated on their non-district schedule. Kornegay said all of them are good quality, playoff-caliber teams. He said he thinks there is not a clear-cut favorite in 263A since all of the teams are talented and competitive. Each team has quality athletes, Kornegay said. In district, you have to come and play every Friday night.
Continued from page E4
Yoakum Bulldog Varsity
Varsity Aug 17 Bellville scrimmage Aug 23 Refugio scrimmage Aug 30 Columbus Sept 6 Sinton Sept 13 Hallettsville Sept 20 Edna (Homecoming) Sept 27 Rice Consolidated Oct 4 Open Oct 11 *Smithville Oct 18 *Cuero Oct 25 *Gonzales Nov 1 *La Grange (Parents Night) Nov 8 *Giddings Junior Varsity Aug 17 Bellville scrimmage Aug 23 Refugio scrimmage Aug 29 Columbus Sept 5 Sinton Sept 12 Hallettsville Sept 19 Edna Sept 26 Rice Consolidated Oct 3 Open Oct 10 *Smithville Oct 17 *Cuero Oct 24 *Gonzales Oct 31 *La Grange Nov 7 *Giddings Freshmen Aug 17 Bellville scrimmage Aug 23 Refugio scrimmage Aug 29 Columbus Sept 5 Sinton Sept 12 Victoria St. Joseph Sept 19 Edna Sept 26 Kenedy Oct 3 Open Oct 10 *Smithville Oct 17 *Cuero Oct 24 *Gonzales Oct 31 *La Grange Nov 7 *Giddings *-Denotes district game
2013 Yoakum Bulldogs Football

Bellville Yoakum Yoakum Sinton Hallettsville Yoakum Altair Yoakum Yoakum Gonzales Yoakum Giddings Bellville Yoakum Columbus Yoakum Yoakum Edna Yoakum Smithville Cuero Yoakum La Grange Yoakum Bellville Yoakum Columbus Yoakum Yoakum Edna Yoakum Smithville Cuero Yoakum La Grange Yoakum 10:00 7:00 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 9:00 6:00 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 9:00 5:00 5:00 5:00 5:00 5:00 6:00 5:00 5:00 5:00 5:00 5:00
LADY DOGS: Have a chance to win during district

the non-libero positions in place of the regular if need be, she said. I have a set six in mind that will start matches but if someone is not doing their job, I can put someone Sheyanne Chumchal Shelby Pesek else in. Boysen mentioned Witte and Pesek as being leaders through their communication and speeches. They talk a lot and help guide each other, she said. Yoakum will take part in the Columbus and the Sinton tournaments. Other action on the non-district slate is El Campo, Rice Consolidated, Calhoun, Columbus, Industrial, Beeville, Goliad and Navarro. Yoakum will play an endof-regular season match in late OctoRachel Renken ber against Shiner. Boysen said the Columbus and Sinton tournaments each have over 20 teams, so they will be competitive. Our non-district, non-tournament schedule will be tough as well, she said. Boysen said she feels Yoakum has a chance to finish in the top two spots in District 26-3A.
Lady Bulldogs Varsity
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Page E6
Shiner Comanches
Fall Sports Preview
Shiner Comanches Varsity
Good Luck on a Great Season!

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Varsity Aug. 16 Karnes City scrimmage Aug. 23 Luling scrimmage Aug. 30 Industrial Sept. 6 Hallettsville Sept. 13 Schulenburg Sept. 20 Universal City Randolph Sept. 27 Thrall (Homecoming) Oct. 4 Weimar Oct. 11 Kenedy Oct. 18 Open Oct. 25 Three Rivers Nov. 1 Ganado (Parents Night) Nov. 8 Yorktown Bold denotes district game Junior Varsity Aug. 16 Karnes City scrimmage Aug. 23 Luling scrimmage Aug. 29 Industrial Sept. 5 Hallettsville Sept. 12 Schulenburg Sept. 19 Universal City Randolph Sept. 26 Thrall Oct. 3 Weimar Oct. 10 Kenedy Oct. 17 Victoria St. Joseph Oct. 24 Open Oct. 31 Ganado Nov. 7 Yorktown Home Away Home Away Away Home Home Away Home Away Home Away Home Away Away Home Home Away Away Home Away Away Away Home 6:00 6:00 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 Date Date 7:30
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2013 2013 Shiner Shiner 2013 Lady Shiner Lady Comanche Comanche Lady Comanche Volleyball Volley
Date Opponent Opponent Opponent Site Site Time Aug Schulenburg Schulenburg 9 scrimmage scrimmage Schulenburg scrimmage ThereThere 8:30 Aug Hallettsville Hallettsville 10 scrimmage scrimmage Hallettsville scrimmage ThereThere 9:00 Aug Schulenburg Schulenburg 12,14 Tourney Tourney Schulenburg Tourney ThereThere TBA Aug Bloomington Bloomington 13 Bloomington Cuero Cuero 12:30 Aug Columbus Columbus 15-17 Tourney Tourney Columbus Tourney ThereThere TBA Aug Sacred Sacred 20 Heart Heart Sacred Heart ThereThere 5:00 Aug Schulenburg Schulenburg 22-24 Tourney Tourney Schulenburg Tourney ThereThere TBA Aug Giddings Giddings 27 Giddings Here Here 5:00 Aug Goliad Goliad 29-31 Tourney Tourney Goliad Tourney ThereThere TBA Sept Flatonia Flatonia 3 Flatonia Here Here 5:00 Sept Flatonia Flatonia 5,7 Tourney Tourney Flatonia Tourney ThereThere TBA Sept Hallettsville Hallettsville 6 Hallettsville ThereThere 4:30 Sept Weimar Weimar 10 Weimar Here Here 5:00 Sept Prairie Prairie 13 Lea Lea Prairie Lea ThereThere 4:00 Sept Louise Louise 17 Louise ThereThere 5:00 Sept Open Open 20 Open Sept Ganado Ganado 24 Ganado ThereThere 5:00 Sept Waelder Waelder 27 Waelder Here Here 4:00 Oct Flatonia Flatonia 1 Flatonia ThereThere 5:00 Oct Weimar Weimar 4 Weimar ThereThere 4:00 Oct Prairie Prairie 8 Lea Lea Prairie Lea Here Here 5:00 Oct Louise Louise 11 Louise Here Here 4:30 Oct Open Open 15 Open Oct Ganado Ganado 18 Ganado Here Here 4:30 Oct Waelder Waelder 22 Waelder ThereThere 6:00 Oct Yoakum Yoakum 29 Yoakum Here Here 5:00 Nov Bi-district Bi-district 4,5 Bi-district TBA TBA TBA Nov Area Area 7-9 Area TBA TBA TBA Nov Regional Regional 11,12Quarterfinals Quarterfinals Regional Quarterfinals TBA TBA TBA Nov Regional Regional 15,16Tournament Tournament Regional Tournament Brenham Brenham TBA Nov State State 21-23 Tournament Tournament State Tournament Garland Garland TBA Time Teams Site Teams 8:30 JV,V There JV,V 9:00 JV,V There JV,V TBA JV There JV 12:30 V Cuero V TBA V There V 5:00 Fr,JV,V There Fr,JV,V TBA V There V 5:00 Fr,JV,V Here Fr,JV,V TBA V There V 5:00 Fr,JV,V Here Fr,JV,V TBA JV There JV 4:30 JV,V There JV,V 5:00 Fr,JV,V Here Fr,JV,V 4:00 V There V 5:00 JV,V There JV,V 5:00 Fr,JV,V There 4:00 V Here 5:00 Fr,JV,V There 4:00 JV,V There 5:00 JV,V Here 4:30 JV,V Here Fr,JV,V V Fr,JV,V JV,V JV,V JV,V
Aug Aug 99 Aug Aug 10 10 Aug Aug 12,14 12,14 5:00 Aug Aug 13 13 5:00 Aug Aug 15-17 15-17 Aug Aug 20 20 6:00 Aug Aug 22-24 6:00 22-24 Aug Aug 27 27 6:00 Aug Aug 29-31 29-31 7:30 Sept Sept 33 7:30 Sept Sept 5,7 5,7 Sept Sept 66 7:30 Sept Sept 10 10 7:30 Sept Sept 13 5:30 13 Sept Sept 17 17 Sept Sept 20 20 7:30 Sept Sept 24 24 7:30 Sept Sept 27 27 Oct Oct 11 Oct Oct 44 Oct Oct 88 Oct Oct 11 11 Oct Oct 15 15 Oct Oct 18 18 Oct Oct 22 22 Oct Oct 29 29 Nov Nov 4,5 4,5 Nov Nov 7-9 7-9 Nov Nov 11,12 11,12 Nov Nov 15,16 15,16 Nov Nov 21-23 21-23
4:30 JV,V Here JV,V 6:00 V There V 5:00 V Here V TBA V TBA V TBA V TBA V TBA V TBA V TBA V Brenham V TBA V Garland V
Shiner Lady Comanches Varsity
District Districtgames gamesDistrict are in inbold bold games are in bold Varsity Varsitywill willplay play Varsity first firston on will Fridays Fridays play first on Fridays
New season brings Alum hoping to guide Lady Comanches back to regionals new goals for Shiner
By MARK LUBE By MARK LUBE
The Shiner Comanche football team has had great playoff runs over the last several years, and last season they were a game away from the state title as they fell in the Class 1A semifinals to Mart. However, that was 2012 and the calendar reads 2013. New year and new expectations.
Our playoff run is a tribute to hard work and we dont set our expectations on doing what we did the year before, head coach Steven Cerny said. It is a new year. We start off with the scrimmages and try to get better each and every week. We do not worry about our wins and losses until we get to district. Then we want to be ready to compete for a district champi-
onship. Shiner has 13 seniors and 13 returning starters from that 13-2 state semifinal team. Cerny said most of the position changes are going to be in the backfield, receiving corps and the secondary. Senior Jacob Stafford, who has played both quarterback and running back during his time at Shiner, will be back in the backfield SHINER, Page E7
With all that she has coming back, new Lady Comanche head volleyball coach Desiree Nitsch is ready to guide the team to the next step -- the Region IV Tournament. Shiner made the regional quarterfinals last year under then-head coach Megan Klimitchek, who has since departed Shiner to take a job at her alma ma-
ter Hallettsville. Nitsch, a 1995 Shiner High graduate, will have seniors Amanise Coleman, Julianna Rankin, Meagan Chumchal, Kristin Schacherl and Sara Lauer to help guide the squad this season. They work together as a team. They push the younger players, Nitsch said. Having been on varsity level, they know what it takes to reach the next level. Schacherl returns as the
Lady Comanches setter and Rankin will once again be one of Shiners outside hitters. Chumchal was the libero from last season, but could be switched to the front line and Coleman will play in the middle. Nitsch is looking to bring in the 6-2 system, switching up from the 5-1 formation that Shiner ran last year. Kristin is very effective on the front line and I think we could use her on ALUM, Page E7
Fall Sports Preview
Page E7
SHINER: Starts off with a brutal non-district schedule

but could still take a snap or two. We want to try to get the ball in Jacobs hands more, Cerny said. He is getting reps as the third-string quarterback in case we have to go to him at that spot. He has the best arm on the team. Junior Tyler Patek will be the starting quarterback for Shiner. Patek has varsity experience at wide receiver and started in the secondary last year. The quarterback spot will be a little new to him but up to this point he has always been a quarterback, in his junior high and junior varsity years, Cerny said. Junior Marcus Coleman will also line up in the backfield, after seeing some carries last year before being injured. Sophomore Chad Neubauer will also play running back. Neubauer started as a freshman in the secondary and saw time at running back last year. Left guard Joey Overton has been moved from the offensive line into the backfield. He has seen time at running back on JV. Shiner has returning tight end Caleb Kalich, and also Bryan Kloesel and Caleb Murrile in the mix. Wide receivers are juniors Blake Michalec, the current backup quarterback, and Ernie Egan. Both had extensive time on JV from last year. Offensive lineman are center Micah Morkovsky, left guard Tanner Pietsch, left tackle Dillon Kalina, right guard Nathan Schneider and right tackle Craig Kneifel. Most of those guys are
returning from last year and we feel like that is the strength of our team, Cerny said. We will have to lean on these guys early in the year to give us the punch we need until our backfield gets rolling, and get the kinks and timing worked out. The defense will be anchored by Stafford at middle linebacker, one of top 1A defenders in the state. Kloesel will be strong side linebacker and Schneider will be playing weak side linebacker for the first time. Pietsch, Michael Lawrence, Kalich and either Kneifel or Murrile will make up the defensive line. All these guys have a lot of size and quickness, Cerny said. The secondary will have the most changes on the team. Neubauer will return as a safety while Michalec and Egan will play as cornerbacks. Patek will man the other safety spot. Cerny said Overton is another possibility because of the depth at skilled positions. Shiner will have to be solid on conditioning because most of the players will be going both ways. The Comanches have three challenging game to start the season Industrial, at Hallettsville and Schulenburg, who are both 2A programs. These are teams that are strong and have speed, Cerny said. I am not real concerned with the outcome but with improvement and competitiveness. We have to get through those early games without injuries. Shiner will then face Universal City Randolph and Thrall at home then away to Weimar to conclude non-
Blake Michalec
Caleb Murrile
Craig Kneifel
Ethan Zissa
Joey Overton
Matthew Foster
Nathan Schneider
Tyler Patek
Brian Kloesel
Chad Neubauer
Dillon Kalina
Hunter Mraz
Marco Rodriguez
Michael Lawrence
Rigo Baray
Weston Roller
Caleb Kalich
Chad Rihke
district. Cerny expects a tough fight in district. Ganado has almost their entire team back and Three Rivers came on strong at the end last year, he said. Yorktown is rebuilding and Kenedy returns a lot from a solid 2012. Our kids Michael Morkovsky Marcus Coleman Tanner Retsch Jacob Stafford Ernie Egan are up for the chalteam concept down each They help each other they did wrong. It is like lenge and hopefully out. After a practice rep, I having extra coaches out we can be in one of those year. There are no egos and see Stafford talking to the there. three playoff positions. Cerny said Shiner has the no selfishness, he said. younger players about what
ALUM: Lady Comanches working hard for new coach

Team members include Shanan Pardy, Jodi Rogers, Maggie Grosenbacher, Tabitha Blaschke, Keely McCarthy, Stevie-Nicole Peters, Colby Jahn, Ethan Berger, Kyle Caldwell, Jacob Tousek, Coy Mathis, Ethan Zissa, Wyatt Rankin, Jenna Berkovsky, Whitney Williams, Kristin Schacherl, Darian Herchek and Victoria Veit. (Photo by Mark Lube)
The Shiner High Cross Country Team
Comanches expected to vie for District 15-A,DI title

Its looking like a two-man race for the District 15-A, Division I championship. Shiner is the favorite after returning 14 starters from last years state semifinalists. AllState linebacker Jacob Stafford is the preseason Defensive Player of the Year, but he also ran for over 700 yards and 15 touchdowns, which could mean he is the districts most lethal weapon. The Comanches lost a lot of firepower from their offensive backfield, but their line is mostly intact and running back Marcus Coleman has some real ability. Offense is not going to be a problem for Ganado. The Indians return seven starters on that side of the ball including the district top returning rusher (Clay Vesely, 1,405 yards, 16 TDs), passer (Ray Salazar, 745, 11 TD) and receiver (Kameron Smith, 635, 6TDs). Running back Billy Jones (736, 7TDs) was also productive last year. Ganado has two All-State players on its defense in DL Will Malek and DE Branden Andel, running against them will be a chore. The rest of the district will be battling to earn that third playoff spot and its hard to determine which school has the edge. Im going with Three Rivers because QB Hagan Johnson has a mastery of the Slot-T
offense. He also has very capable weapons in running backs Jesse Perez and Paul Almendarez. Yorktown has a new coach in Ty Robinson, the former defensive coordinator at 3A Palestine. The Wildcats needed improvement in that unit, but the offense should be fine with QB Jacob Garcia pacing the running game. Kenedy has 11 returning starters, but they had the most porous defense in the district last year when they allowed an average of 272 yards per game. The Lions werent that great at scoring either, finishing last in the district with a 21.9 average. Predicted Finish District 15-A, DI 1. Shiner - Getting Jacob Stafford more involved should pay off. 2. Ganado - Lots of great talent coming back at the skill positions. 3. Three Rivers - The Bulldogs play hard for Randy Palmer. 4. Yorktown - The Wildcats are stout on defense. 5. Kenedy - The Lions have a fighting chance.
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the outside to get us some points. I am trying to develop another setter, she said. Junior Tabitha Blaschke will also return to the middle. Tabitha is tall and quick, Nitsch said. She can get some good blocks. Nitsch said no one has been penciled in for the libero position. I have a couple of players in mind but we will see (in the scrimmages and early part of the season) who can fill that role, she said. Shiner has a good work ethic teamwise. From senior to freshman, they work hard, Nitsch said. They get in the gym and they go at it. They help and encourage one another. They have a positive attitude. Its like they are one big family. Appearing on the nondistrict schedule for Shiner will be Bloomington, Hallettsville Sacred Heart, Giddings, Hallettsville and an end-of-the-season match against Yoakum. Shiner will also be playing in the Columbus, Schulenburg and Goliad tournaments. Hallettsville and Giddings are strong teams that always seem to make the playoffs, Nitsch said. We play a lot of big schools and have good competition to help us advance down the line. Shiner wants to win district, reach the regional tournament and battle to advance to the state tournament. Nitsch said she expects both Weimar and Ganado to be very tough district matches for the Lady Comanches and is looking for Louise and Flatonia to pro-
Amanise Coleman
Julianna Rankin
Samantha Natal
Tabitha Blaschke
April Lauer
Kristin Schacherl
Sara Lauer
Tamara Hajek
Jayde Kurtz
vide a good match. Other teams in the district are Prairie Lea and Waelder. Our girls are ready to do anything we ask them to be successful, she said. They switched defenses and learned other new things in backto-back years. They Meagan Chumchal are working hard for me.
Sarah Koenning
Page E8
Fall Sports Preview
Bulldogs to concentrate on playing smarter

By MARK LUBE
The 2013 Bulldog football team may not be big, fast or have a lot of depth but they will be wily, determined and have a positive attitude. I think we are going to be competitive. It is a smart group, Flatonia head coach Chris Freytag said. We are going to be very young on the offensive line. Our skilled guys are experienced and our defense will be good. Like in 2011, injuries took their toll on the Dogs last year. We lost (Zane) Ponder in just the second game of the season and the first district game, we were down to our fifth and sixth string running backs, Freytag said. We need to avoid injury in every season but more so in this one. The Dogs will field 11 seniors this year Jesus Segoviano, Will Bruns, Mitchell Mica, Aaron Manzano, Dalton Griffin, Reed Rightmeer, Frank Guerrero, Fernando Guerrero, Jigar Patel, Brandon Perez and Zach Velasquez. It is a good senior group and the core of our football team, Freytag said Flatonia will run the triple option in a way that will be slightly different than last year. Bruns is the projected starter at quarterback after playing the position last year and his backup will be sophomore Casen Novak. We are putting a lot on Wills plate this year with audibles and things like
that, Freytag said. He has struggled throwing the ball but we are only going to throw about three times a game. If we throw 10 times a game, we are in trouble or we are behind. We need to have a ball-control offense. Running back will be a strength for Flatonia as the team has a lot of depth at the position. Junior Gus Venegas, wide receiver, could also play running back. Marcus Mica will play some running back when not lined up as Flatonias tight end. The other backs are junior Eddie Manzano, Mitchell Mica, Griffin and Aaron Manzano. Freytag said the backs are not quick as a group but are rather bruising backs especially Mitchell Mica and Aaron Manzano. Joining Venegas out wide will be junior Jose Manzano, Rightmeer and Velasquez. Mitchell Mica, Rightmer and sophomore Matthew Kozelsky will all see time at the tight end spot. On the offensive line, center will be sophomore Lane Janecka and backup will be sophomore Tyler Kellis. Guards will be Frank Guerrero and junior Abraham Centeno. Tackles will be Kellis with Perez, freshman Julio Castellano and freshman Jesus Rodriguez all competing for the other spot. Other players in consideration are junior Ty Ponder, Fernando Guerrero and Patel. As young as our offensive line is, I have been impressed with their work, Freytag said. If we can stay BULLDOGS, Page E9
Aaron Manzano
Abraham Centeno
Brandon Perez
Casen Novak
Cesar Castillo
Dalton Griffin
Eddie Manzano
Fernando Guerrero
Frank Guerrero
Gus Venegas
Jesus Rodriguez
Jesus Segoviano
Jigar Patel
Jose Manzano
Julio Castellano
Lane Janeka
Marcus Mica
Matthew Kozelsky
Mitchell Mica
Reed Rightmer
Ty Ponder
Tyler Kellis
Will Bruns
Zach Velasquez
Experienced Lady Bulldogs hungry for a playoff return

By MARK LUBE
The Lady Bulldogs volleyball team has reason to be optimistic about the 2013 season. They have most of the 2012 varsity team back to help lead them to the postseason. I am glad we have all this experience back on varsity, head coach Kaylyn Boenish said. It will give us a better chance of making the playoffs this season so we do not have a repeat of last year. The Lady Dogs have eight returning starters in seniors Crystal Rodriguez, Chandler
Fike, Katie Steinhauser and Brooke Migl; juniors Alanis Ribera, Kimberlyn Michalec, Kylie Mica; and sophomore Savannah Flood. Rounding out the roster is junior Maecie Mikulenka, sophomore Rachel Steinhauser and senior Dana Luck. Rodriguez is the returning libero. Migl started at defensive specialist last year and Luck will also see time at the spot. Ribera was at setter, Flood is back at outside hitter and could play middle blocker, and Mikulenka will contribute as right-side hitter. Fike and Katie Steinhauser
both return as outside hitters, Michalec will play either right side or middle, Mica will also play at defensive specialist and Rachel Steinhauser is expected to provide some big blocks on the right side. Katie Steinhauser can also play as setter during the season. Boenish said the team is good at performing fundamental skills, but is struggling at putting them together. Flatonias last playoff appearance was 2011, when they made the regional tournament and set the school record for most wins in one season. FLATONIA, Page E9
Alanis Ribera
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Brooke Migl
Dana Luck
Kylie Mica
Savannah Flood
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Fall Sports Preview
Page E9
FLATONIA: Loading up for a postseason run

2013 Flatonia Lady Bulldog Volleyball

Teams JV,V JV,V JV, F JV, V V JV,V JV,V JV,V V JV,V JV,V JV, F JV,V V V V JV,V JV,V JV,V JV,V V V JV,V JV,V JV,V V V V V V V
Date Opponent Site Time Aug 9 Cedar Creek scrimmage Bastrop TBA Aug 10 Smithville scrimmage Smithville TBA Aug 12,14 Schulenburg Tourney Schulenburg TBA Flatonia Lady Bulldogs Varsity Aug 13 Rice/Sealy Altair TBA Aug 15-17 Stockdale Tourney Stockdale TBA Aug 20 Schulenburg Flatonia 5:00 Aug 22-24 Schulenburg Tourney Schulenburg TBA Aug 27 St. Paul Flatonia 5:00 Date Aug 29-31 Opponent Site Time Teams TBA Rice Tourney Altair Aug 9 Cedar Creek scrimmage Bastrop TBA JV,V Aug 30 Nixon-Smiley Nixon 4:00 Aug 10 Smithville scrimmage Smithville TBA JV,V Sept 3 *Shiner Shiner 5:00 Aug 12,14 Schulenburg Tourney Schulenburg TBA JV, F Sept 5,7 Flatonia Tourney Flatonia TBA Aug 13 Rice/Sealy Altair TBA JV, V Sept 6 Sacred Heart Flatonia 4:30 Aug 15-17 Stockdale Tourney Stockdale TBA V Sept 10 *Prairie Lea Prairie Lea 5:00 Aug 20 Schulenburg Flatonia 5:00 JV,V Sept 13 Burton Burton 4:00 Aug 22-24 Schulenburg Tourney Schulenburg TBA JV,V Sept 17 *Waelder Waelder 5:00 Aug 27 St. Paul Flatonia 5:00 JV,V Sept 21 *Louise Louise 11:00 Aug 29-31 Rice Tourney Altair TBA V Sept 24 *Weimar Flatonia Aug 30 Nixon-Smiley Nixon 4:00 JV,V 5:00 Sept 27 *Ganado Ganado Sept 3 *Shiner Shiner 5:00 JV,V 4:30 Oct 1 *Shiner Flatonia Sept 5,7 Flatonia Tourney Flatonia TBA JV, F 5:00 *Prairie Lea (Homecoming) Flatonia Sept 6Oct 4 Sacred Heart Flatonia 4:30 JV,V 4:00 Oct 8 Open Sept 10 *Prairie Lea Prairie Lea 5:00 V Oct 11 Burton *Waelder Flatonia 4:30 Sept 13 Burton 4:00 V Oct 15 *Waelder *Louise (Parents Night) Flatonia 5:00 Sept 17 Waelder 5:00 V Oct 18 *Weimar Weimar Sept 21 *Louise Louise 11:00 JV,V 4:30 Oct 22 *Ganado Flatonia Sept 24 *Weimar Flatonia 5:00 JV,V 5:00 Nov 2 *Ganado District Playoffs Ganado TBA Sept 27 4:30 JV,V TBA TBA Oct 1 Nov 4,5 *Shiner Bi-district Flatonia 5:00 JV,V TBA Nov 7-9 Area TBA TBA Oct 4 *Prairie Lea (Homecoming) Flatonia 4:00 V Nov 11,12 Regional Quarterfinals TBA TBA Oct 8 Open Nov 15,16 Regional Tournament Brenham TBA Oct 11 *Waelder Flatonia 4:30 V Nov 21-23 Tournament Garland Oct 15 *Louise State (Parents Night) Flatonia 5:00 JV,V TBA Oct 18 *Weimar Weimar 4:30 JV,V Oct 22 *Ganado Flatonia 5:00 JV,V Nov 2 District Playoffs TBA TBA V sity Nov 4,5 TBA TBA V Varsity Bi-district Aug Boling (Scrimmage) Away Nov 7-9 Area TBA TBA Away V 9:00 17-Aug Boling (Scrimmage) Aug Hallettsville (Scrimmage) Away Nov 11,12 RegionalHallettsville Quarterfinals TBA TBA Away V 5:00 22-Aug (Scrimmage) Aug Nixon-Smiley Nov 15,16 RegionalNixon-Smiley Tournament Brenham Away TBA Away V 7:30 30-Aug Sept Sacred (Lil Bulldog Night) Home Nov 21-23 StateHeart Tournament Garland TBA Home V 7:30 6-Sept Sacred Heart (Lil Bulldog Night) Sept 13-Sept Somerville Somerville Away Away7:30 Sept 20-Sept Schulenburg (Parents Night) Home 7:30 Schulenburg (Parents Night) Home Sept 27-Sept Ganado Ganado Away Away7:30 Oct Burton (Homecoming) Home 7:30 4 -Oct Burton (Homecoming) Home Oct Holland* Holland* Home 7:30 11-Oct Home Oct Weimar* Weimar* Away 18-Oct Away7:30 Oct Thorndale*Thorndale* Home 7:30 25-Oct Home Nov Open 1-Nov Open Nov Thrall* Away 8-Nov Thrall* Away7:30 Denotes * district games - Denotes district games ior Varsity Junior Varsity Aug Boling (Scrimmage) Away 17-Aug Boling (Scrimmage) Away9:00 Aug Hallettsville (Scrimmage) Home 5:00 22-Aug Hallettsville (Scrimmage) Home Aug Nixon-Smiley Home 5:30 29-Aug Nixon-Smiley Home Sept Sacred Heart Away 5-Sept Sacred Heart Away5:30 Sept 12-Sept Somerville Somerville Home 7:30 Home Sept 19-Sept Schulenburg Away Schulenburg Away7:30 Sept 26-Sept Ganado Ganado Home 7:30 Home Oct Burton Away 3-Oct Burton Away7:30 Oct Holland Holland Away 10-Oct AwayTBD Oct Weimar Weimar Home TBD 17-Oct Home Oct Thorndale Thorndale Away 24-Oct AwayTBD Nov Open 31-Nov Open Nov Thrall Home TBD 7-Nov Thrall Home ior High Junior High -Sept 12 -Sept Somerville Somerville Home 5:00 Home Sept 19-Sept Schulenburg Home 5:00 Schulenburg Home Sept 26-Sept Ganado Ganado Home 5:00 Home Oct Burton Away 3- Oct Burton Away5:00 Oct Holland Holland Away 10-Oct Away5:00 Oct Weimar Home 5:00 17-Oct Weimar Home Oct Thorndale Away 24-Oct Thorndale Away5:00 Nov Open 31-Nov Open Nov Thrall Home 5:00 7-Nov Thrall Home
2013 Flatonia Lady Bulldog Volleyball
The girls are hungry to get back to the playoffs, Boenisch said. We had a really good first week of two-a-day practices. They are eager to show up and play well in district. On the tournament schedule for Flatonia is Stockdale, Schulenburg and Rice Consolidated. Boenisch said all are tough and competitive. Flatonia also plays Rice Consolidated, Sealy, #2 Schulenburg, St. Paul, Nixon-Smiley and Sacred Heart. We will get a good run in before district starts, Boenisch said. I just hope we end up in the top three. Our motto is to do better than we did Chandler Fike the previous day.
Katie Steinhauser
Maecie Mikulenka
Thorndale, Weimar the top teams going in District 13-1A, Division I

Not since 1995 when they won a state title has the buzz around Thorndale been this loud. The Bulldogs were regional semifinalists last year and they return seven starters from an outstanding defense led by Lorenzo Llana (90 tackles, 19 tackles for loss). They are also stocked up in the weapons department where they feature QB Riley Schaefer (2,070 passing yards, 26TDs) and RB Darius Brooks, who ran for 1,090 yards and 15TDs. If anybody can keep Thorndale from claiming the crown, its defending district champ Weimar. The Wildcats have a new coach in former assistant David Husman and an abundance of experience with a league-high 18 lettermen returning, nine of them defensive starters. Fouryear starter LB Ortis Newhouse (96 tackles) and DL Jose Nino (65 tackles) anchored the unit last year. Couple that with the return of preseason Offensive MVP RB Jakyle Harris (1,603, 15TDs) and dual threat QB Juwan Almeida and it wouldnt be surprising if the defending champs win district again. Flatonia is most likely to come away with that third playoff spot. The Bulldogs have 15 returning starters and hard-nosed running game led by running backs Mitchel Mica, Dalton Griffin and Aaron Manzano. The defense is a hard-hitting, physical crew so as long as health is at a premium it should lead to a trip to the postseason. Thrall and Holland will be competing to see which one of them can stay out of the district cellar. The Tigers have the edge in experience and a better cast of skill players led by all-district RB Alex Kyner.
20132013 Flatonia Bulldog Football Flatonia Bulldog Football

9:00 5:00 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 9:00 5:00 5:30 5:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 TBD TBD TBD TBD 5:00 5:00 5:00 5:00 5:00 5:00 5:00 5:00
Predicted Finish District 13-A, DI 1. Thorndale - Great winning tradition and skill players means another district title. 2. Weimar - New coach might be a step backwards, but the Wildcats are loaded on defense. 3. Flatonia - The Bulldogs fell victim to the injury bug last year, but staying healthy could be an issue again due to lack of depth. 4. Thrall - Came apart at the seams late season and their offense needs to produce more. 5. Holland - Lots of lettermen back, but unfortunately not enough at the skill positions.
BULLDOGS: Staying healthy crucial for success

healthy by the middle or end of the year, we will be strong on the line and that will develop the offense. The defensive ends will be Mitchell Mica, Aaron Manzano, Ponder, Fernando Guerrero and Janecka. Playing defensive tackle will be Perez, Rodriguez, Kellis, Centeno and Frank Guerrero. Marcus Mica will be at the middle linebacker spot and Bruns will play as outside/strong side linebacker. Weak side linebacker will be Eddie Manzano, junior
Cesar Castillo and Kozelsky. Cornerbacks will be Venegas, Jose Manzano and Velasquez. One of last years cornerbacks, Novak, has been switched to free safety and Rightmer will play the strong safety position. Griffin will back up Novak. Our defense can potentially be a pretty solid group, Freytag said. Jose Manzano and Marcus Mica will handle placekicking for Flatonia while Venegas will punt with Bruns as the backup. Novak will be the holder on point-
after kicks and field goals. Flatonia has a tough non-district schedule with Schulenburg, Ganado and Burton back-to-back-toback and also their game against Sacred Heart. Freytag said he feels Thorndale is the district favorite with Weimar potentially for second place. I think we can make the playoffs if we are able to stay healthy, he said. This group is competitive and they are hungry. Last year, we were two or three plays away from making the playoffs. It comes down to making plays.
Flatonia Bulldogs Varsity
Page E10
Fall Sports Preview
Cardinals talented but inexperienced

By MARK LUBE
The defending TAPPS 1A/2A champions, St. Paul Cardinals, have a lot of young players who do not have a lot of experience. This is mainly due to the lost of 13 seniors who took the field for the Cardinals during that run. Despite the young players inexperience, St. Paul could do very well with the quality of those players. Our younger players are very talented, St. Paul head coach Jake Wachsmuth said. They did not get on the field much last year because of our senior class but they are learning. I think it is not going to matter where we start but where we finish at the end of the year. We want be able to be the kind of team at the end that we have had the last couple of years. Definitely will be a different approach than last year. Wachsmuth said the depth of both lines, despite losing starters, is a strength for the Cardinals. We have a lot of possibilities but some of those are young kids, he said. They are physically able to perform the job. St. Paul also has talent at the skilled positions. We are not as deep at the skilled positions but we have players who are very talented, Wachsmuth said. He added that the youthful players will need some time to develop into solid varsity players. We have about 10-15 kids that can play (first week of practice), he said. We have another group of five to seven kids that could be able to play very quickly. Then we have some younger kids that will need some time. We need that second group where they can contribute and then we will have around 20 players that can help. At the quarterback spot
will be sophomore Marco Ynclan and freshman Austin Barton. Both players are talented and will play somewhere, Wachsmuth said. One will play quarterback and the other will play wide receiver. We may use them both at quarterback. Sophomore T.J. Bell is the frontrunner at the tailback position. He started some last year, but had some injuries. Other players slated as possible weapons in the backfield are sophomore Ryan Geiger and sophomore Jed Janecek. Tight ends are sophomore Colton Machart and freshman Noah Leist. Senior Ben Janecek is also a tight end candidate. Ynclan or Barton will play wideout when the other one plays quarterback to go alongside sophomore Nathan Pilat and junior Kurt Chunda. The offensive line will be led by senior Travis Raabe and junior Connor Pruett. Wachsmuth said he is looking at sophomore Reagan Beal as the center with the rest of the unit being comprised of sophomore Dylan Mills, junior Kolten Knesek, Ben Janecek, junior Kyle Chunda and freshman Nick Ritchie. We will probably end up having a rotation, Wachsmuth said. We have to get more players on the field rather than telling several they have to go both ways. The above players will also play roles on the defensive line. At linebacker will be Beal, Ben Janecek and Machart. Bell, who may play in the secondary, could also play linebacker. Sophomore Derek Kapavik is also in the linebacker pool. Defensive back spots will be manned by Ynclan, Bell, Geiger, Jed Janecek, Barton and Chunda. Raabe and Ben Janecek are the Cardinals lone seniors on the team. Those two have been in the program since about the seventh grade, Wachsmuth
Alex Hull
Colton Machart
Dylan Mills
Josh Haynes
Kyle Chunda
Nathan Pilat
Reagan Beal
Ryan Malinovsky
T.J. Bell
Austin Barton
Connor Pruett
Eudosio Garza
Kolten Knesek
Kurt Chunda
Marco Ynclan
Nick Ritchie
Ryan Bell
Sam Morrow
Travis Raabe
Ben Janecek
Derek Kapavik
Jed Janecek
Max Patek
Noah Leist
said. They have a chance to be part of something special. They have played in three state title games and won it two times. That is a lot of football because of those years when the team went far in the playoffs. We have told those two, they will be the leaders for this team. In St. Pauls non-district schedule, Pettus will be improved, Weimar is tough and Fort Bend Christian has 80-90 players on the roster. Cypress Christian will also be solid. We do not have the ideal schedule for what we have
player-wise and it was not ideal for us last year, he said. Our goal is to get ready for district. Our non-district games are not very important for the big picture and we were not that good in them last year. Wachsmuth said Bryan Brazos Christian and Hallettsville Sacred Heart are two of the toughest teams in the district. St. Gerard was improved last year and John Paul II is well-coached. Bryan St. Joseph will also be a better team. A good thing for St. Paul is that the toughest district
Ryan Geiger
Sam Wenske
Weston Davis
contests are home games. With a senior-filled team, you do not mind going to Brazos, Bryan St. Joseph and Sacred Heart, Wachsmuth said. With a young
team, it is nice those teams come to us. That should help us. With our team, I think we can become as good as we have been but that will depend on a lot of things.
Lady Cardinals looking to stand out in tight district
Abby Irvin
Christina Squyres
Elise Patek
Jacey Pawelek
Jordan Pawelek
Kymberlie Malatek
Melanie Wagner
Samantha Siegel
Victoria Kusac
By MARK LUBE
The St. Paul volleyball team might not be perceived as the district favorites this year. Last year, we dominated the district and there were some teams that were young last year. They were wellcoached and they have potential, Lady Cardinal head coach Dana Beal said. I do not think we are going to be able to walk in and take over. Everyone knew last year they had to beat us. We lost some players, so they might feel we will not be as good as we have been in the past. St. Paul is okay with not
being considered the district favorite. We are excited by the fact that people may not think we are going to be good, she said. We always like that challenge. Having been here for 11 years, I can know our players will step up to the challenge of carrying on the tradition. Beal has five seniors on the team Christina Squyres, Kymberlie Malatek, Samantha Siegel, Jacy Pawelek and Melanie Wagner. The Lady Cardinals have six total returning players. Our early challenge will be finding the right combination of players and what chemistry is going to work,
she said. We have several kids that could play multiple positions on the floor. What we are trying to do is find out who we have where and who we can transform to that position. The Lady Cardinals have intense personalities and are extremely goal-driven, which Beal feels is a big plus for the team. They are goal-oriented and are not happy with how last year ended in several sports, she said. That will provide some fire and motivation for us. We have the right attitude, the drive and the desire to succeed. We have to have the skilled people get the work they need to in order to accomplish our goals, she said. Beal said the team will be looking for who can play setter, middle and libero the best. We are not going to get those positions fully established until later in the season, she said. Malatek and Victoria Kusac are two players competing for the setter spot. Melanie Wagner and Squyres are among the players for libero. Players at middle blocker include Jacy Pawelek, Abby Irvin and Jordan Pawelek. These players can go either outside hitter or middle, so we will have to make a decision based upon where they best benefit the team, Beal said. On the non-district schedule for St. Paul is Nixon-Smiley, San Marcos Country Hill, Fayetteville, #9 Yorktown, Flatonia, Pettus, Ganado tournament and the Rice Consolidated Tournament. New wrinkle to the schedule this year is the Ganado Tournament. We do not change our schedule whether we graduate a lot of players or not, she said. Whatever challenges we face will be learning opportunities.
St. Paul Cardinals
Fall Sports Preview
Page F1
Shiner St. Paul Cardinal Varsity
2013 St. Paul Cardinals Football

Shiner St. Paul Lady Cardinals Varsity
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Aug 17 Nixon-Smiley scrimmage Aug 22 Open Aug 30 Pettus Sept 6 Fort Bend Christian (Homecoming) Sept 13 Open Sept 20 Weimar Sept 27 Cypress Christian Oct 4 *Bryan Brazos Christian Oct 11 *John Paul II Oct 18 Open Oct 25 *Bryan St. Joseph Nov 1 *St. Gerard Nov 8 *Sacred Heart *-Denotes district game St. Ludmila Elementary Aug 29 Nazareth Sept 4 OLV Sept 11 Sacred Heart Sept 25 Nazareth Oct 3 OLV Oct 10 Sacred Heart
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2013 St. Paul Lady Cardinals Volleyball

Date Aug 10 Aug 13 Aug 16-17 Aug 20 Aug 22 Aug 23 Aug 24 Aug 27 Aug 29-31 Aug 30 Sept 5,7 Sept 9 Sept 12 Sept 19 Sept 21 Sept 23 Sept 24 Sept 26 Sept 30 Oct 3 Oct 8 Oct 10 Oct 15 Oct 17 Oct 21 Oct 24 Oct 29 Nov 2 Nov 5 Nov 8-9 Opponent St. Joseph/Edna scrimmage Nixon-Smiley San Marcos Hill Country Fayetteville Ganado Tourney Yorktown Ganado Tourney Flatonia Rice Consolidated Tourney Pettus Flatonia Tourney Bellville Faith Academy Hallettsville Sacred Heart New Braunfels Christian Academy Cuero Tournament Universal City First Baptist Academy Veritas Academy John Paul II Austin Waldorf BYE Hallettsville Sacred Heart Universal City First Baptist Academy New Braunfels Christian Academy Veritas Academy John Paul II Austin Waldorf Bi-District Area Regional Playoffs State Tournament Site Victoria Nixon San Marcos Fayetteville Ganado Yorktown Ganado Flatonia Altair Pettus Flatonia Shiner Shiner New Braunfels Cuero Shiner Shiner Shiner Austin Hallettsville San Antonio Shiner Austin Schertz Shiner TBA TBA TBA TBA Time 9:00 4:30 TBA 5:00 TBA 5:00 TBA 5:00 TBA 5:30 TBA 5:30 5:00 5:30 TBA 5:00 5:00 5:30 5:30 5:00 5:00 5:30 5:30 5:30 5:00 TBA TBA TBA TBA Teams 9,JV,V 9,JV,V V JV,V V V V 9,JV,V 9,JV,V V 9,JV JV,V 9,JV,V JV,V 9,JV Fr,JV JV,V JV,V JV,V 9,JV,V JV,V JV,V JV,V JV,V JV,V V V V V
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District games are in italics
By DAVE MUNDY
Hallettsville looking to build on very successful campaign in 2012

HALLETTSVILLE The Hallettsville Brahmas were just about perfect last season, sporting a 10-0 regular-season record and advancing to the Class 2A Division I quarterfinals before bowing out to eventual state champ Cameron Yoe. The first take on the 2014 season for coach Tommy Psenciks crew? They could be even better this year. The Brahmas have a wealth of talent and experience returning from last years 12-1 club, and Psenciks main worry as summer workouts drew to a close was whether his kids were physically ready for the grind of Friday nights. The Brahmas return 24 of 35 lettermen, seven offensive starters and eight defensive regulars from last years club. Nine of those players were all-district a season ago. The biggest reason for optimism is that quarterback Nate Kowallik is back, healthy, and has his favorite targets available. Kowalik began last season as the starter, but suffered a season-ending injury in the second game turning the quarterbacking duties over to Casron Schindler. Hes fully recovered now, and Psencik said hes very confident in the junior trigger-puller. Part of that confidence no doubt comes from the fact that the Brahmas have an array of weapons for Kowalik (5-11, 200) to utilize. The Brahmas have a corps of very talented, speedy wideouts in the rangy Jimario Grounds (6-3, 185, 4.6 speed) and Trenton McGee and Dalton Herrington (6-3, 190, 4.6), although hes scheduled to be the bellcow of the defensive backfield. They team up with fullback Tim Sheppard (5-11, 185 with blazing 4.5 speed) to form a very potent receiving quartet. Herrington, Grounds and McGee were all-district both ways last year and the four combined for 115 receptions and a whopping 22 scores. Herrington snagged 36 catches for 462 yards and four scores, while McGee had 34 for 692 yards and six TDs, Sheppard snagged 25 balls for 84 yards and six scores and Grounds had 20 catches for 354 yards and six scores. The wide-open Brahma attack will also likely see contributions from junior QB Brad Motal and several solid senior wideouts: Courtland Janak, Dailon Soto, Drayton Kolachny, Eric Kleker and Kaylon Massey, and juniors Garrison Powell, Brannen Caraway and Landon McAfee. The Brahma staff is also high on sophomore Logan Drozd. The biggest offensive question for the Brahmas will be replacing the production of multi-talented graduate Teidrick Smith. Sophomore Kaden Hardt (5-11, 220) may be the toughyardage man Psencik is looking for after earning a job on the varsity last year as just a freshman. Pushing Hardt for time lugging the ball will be Drew Haas, while fullbacks Justin Reeves and Seth Grasshoff are also back to give the Brahmas a threat out of the backfield. The O-line is solid, with the Leopold boys senior Kyle and junior Reid and the Steffek boys senior Tyler, junior Clayton and sophomore Dillon headlining a big, experienced crew. That bunch will include Kade Khanek, Elondre McAfee, Eddie Lopez, Brett Garner, Dyllan Kerr, Alex Bludau, Jesse Morales, Tyler Skelton and Hunter Mican.
Page F2
Fall Sports Preview
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Alex Bludau
Brannen Caraway
Brent Motal
Brett Garner
Cale Shimek
Clayton Steffek
Courtland Janak
Dailon Soto
Dalton Herrington
Dillon Steffek
Drayton Kolacny
Drew Haas
Dylan Kerr
Eddie Lopez
Eric Klekar
Garrison Powell
Hunter Mican
JaKree Porter
Jesse Morales
Jimario Grounds
Justin Reeves
Kade Kahanek
Kaden Hardt
Kaylon Massey
Kyle Leopold
Landon McAfee
Nate Kowalik
Reid Leopold
Defensively, the Brahmas have to replace district defensive MVP Quinton Wright, Smith and Troy Murphy on the left side but not to worry, theres plenty of talent remaining. The strength for the Brahmas wil be the linebacking corps, where Reeves was a unanimous all-district pick and Kerr also claimed all-league honors. Reid Leopold makes the linebacker group a three-man
BRAHMAS, Page F3
Seth Grasshoff
Tim Sheppard
Trenton McGee
Tyler Skelton
Tyler Steffek
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First-year Lady Brahmas volleyball coach Megan Klimitchek is very excited about the upcoming prospects for her volleyball team. The girls have been giving more than I ever could have expected, said the 2005 Hallettsville graduate and former Lady Brahma spiker. All of them are coachable and are buying into what I am doing, what my philosophy is. You cannot ask for a better team than that. A coach comes in that they know nothing about and they completely turn their volleyball careers over to that coach. Hallettsville will return six seniors from a team that was bi-district finalists in 2012 Alicia Grahmann, Cassidy Targac, Morgan Mitchon, Lana Hickson, Heather Henneke and Madison Schindler. Klimitchek said making the state tournament is the
Alicia Grahmann
Emma Wick
Kenzie Etzler
Morgan Mitchon Camille Grahmann
Heather Henneke
Lana Hickson
Sara Busselman
Cassidy Targac
Kendall Delvige
goal set by the Lady Brahmas for the 2013 season. First we have to get through district and put ourselves in a good position to ride the playoffs all
the way to state, she said. neke will play the setter; I think I have got the girls Mitchon and Grahmann to get us to the state tourna- will play defensive specialment. ist; Hickson will play midFor the seniors, Schindler dle blocker and Targac will is an outside hitter; Hen- LADY BRAHMAS, Page F3
Fall Sports Preview
Page F3
Hallettsville Brahmas Varsity
Lady Brahmas Varsity
LADY BRAHMAS: New coach leading playoff charge

Continued from page F2
also line up at outside hitter after her recovery from a pre-season injury. Rounding out the roster will be Emma Wick, Kendall Delvige, Sarah Smith, Kenzie Etzler, Sarah Busselman and Camille Grahmann. Klimitchek said the positions assigned to the other players have not been fully decided on following the first week of workouts. The nice thing is, I have multiple players who can play multiple positions and I also have depth so when one player cannot do it, I can bring in another one, Klimitchek said. Our junior varsity is stout and our freshman team looks pretty good. She said with so many possibilities at each spot, players are going to be rotated in and out until a suitable combination is found.
I told them to be ready to play a position that they did not play last year, Klimitchek said. The Lady Brahmas are a close-knit group, having taken part in athletics together for several years. When we break out of a team huddle, we yell family, she said. We are trying to teach other what that means. They are starting to understand what that means. The team leadership role will fall to the team as a whole. Everyone is going to help each other out, Klimitchek said. Hallettsville plays in the Columbus and Schulenburg tournaments, and faces Giddings, Bastrop, #9 La Grange (3A), Waller, #2 Round Top Caramine (1A), Ganado, #7 Burton (1A), Shiner and Columbus in other non-district action. It is going to be tough. We have Round Top in there, they went to state
last year, she said. So did La Grange and Columbus is always a good team. The Columbus Tournament has a variety of teams that you typically do not play in this area. Hallettsvilles District 28-2A will be c omp e t it ive with state finalist and secon d - r a n k e d Schulenburg and #6 Poth, who has a very strong volleyball tradition. A competitive district is good for us because it will put us in a really good position for the playoffs, Klimitchek said.
It was a season of firsts for Hallettsville in 2012. The Brahmas went 10-0 in the regular season and one their first outright district title since 1979. Head coach Tommy Psencik is looking to build on that success and he has a whopping 24 lettermen back to help out. Hallettsville will set the tone on defense, where they will be led by preseason Defensive MVP DB Dalton Herrington. Also steadying that group will be LB Justin Reeves and DL Tyler Steffek. The Brahma offense was wide open last year and QB Nate Kowalik will have plenty of targets to throw to in WRs Tim Sheppard, Trenton McGee and Jimario Grounds. Replacing Teidrick Smith as the primary running back is Kaden Hardt, who saw time as a freshman last year. Revenge will be the driving force behind Hempsteads effort to derail the Brahmas. The Bobcats lost four games last season, including two to Hallettsville and one to DII state champ East Bernard. Hempstead sent four Sarah Smith players into the college ranks from that team, but back to lead the offense is Will Smith, the districts returning leader in passing (1,588, 16TDs) and rushing (1,724, 18TDs). He will operate behind a steady offensive line, anchored by Josh Roberts and Desmond Mayes. The Bobcats know how Madison Schindler to get the job on defense. That unit is highlighted
Brahmas have real chance to dominate in District 14-2A,DI

by the secondary, which includes talented player Deondre Lee and DeMario Perez. Altair Rice promoted offensive coordinator Gary Zeinert to head coach and hes hoping for a quick turnaround from last years 4-6 campaign. Any new results will be based on the improvement of QB Jordan Johnson (1,040 passing, 8 TDs, 806 rushing, 11 TDs). The Raiders have three returning starters on the offensive line in Dylan Ferguson, Ron McGrew and Bobby Alonso. Todd Nicholas was the districts Newcomer of the Year and he will see time at WR along with Jaquad McGrew. Rice should be much improved on defense, where they are led by Nicholas at DB and LBs Luther Cole and Greg Roy. The other team expected to claim a postseason berth is Edna. The Cowboys were solid last year when they went 7-4 before bowing out in bi-district. Graduation was unkind to Edna, who lost a league-high 24 lettermen. Most of their returners are on defense, where they have seven starters back including LB David John Kallus (133 tackles), DE Guy Dodson (6 sacks) and FS DeOntae Jones (5 INT). The Cowboys are lacking on offense and that could prove costly in this talented district. OL Anthony Norman has been described as punishing blocker, but the majority of the skill
players are unproven. Vanderbilt Industrial could also make a strong push for the playoffs. After winning just one district game last year, the Cobras have seven starters back on both sides of the ball. The best unit for Industrial is their defensive line which is led by productive DE Evan Gregg (79 tackles, 7 sacks), DE Mason Davis (57 tackles), and DT Dustin Hempel (84 tackles, 4 sacks). Also good are DB Trenton Thedford (68 tackles) and LBs Jack Perry and Brady Karl. QB Jay Rubio (1,209 passing, 8 TDs) returns under center, which is manned by the reliable Eli Milner. If he is much improved, then so will the chances be that the Cobras can win five games for the first time since 2010. Generally when a school drops down a class in realignment, it results in a good season. Didnt happen that way for Palacios last year. The Sharks won their first five games, but they couldnt even sniff a victory in district save for their close 21-19 loss to Industrial in the season finale. New head coach Brad Bowden comes over from Early to retool and hopefully revitalize a moribund program that has qualified for the postseason just once since 1964. Among the bright spots for Palacios will be returning starters RB Chris Garcia, and linemen Anthony Holbrook and Jordan Sanchez.
Predicted Finish District 14-2A, Division I

1. Hallettsville - Tons of returners and momentum from last year will propel the Brahmas to the top of the district heap once again. Could lay the ground work to establishing Hallettsville as a perennial threat. 2. Hempstead - The best 9-4 team in the state of Texas last year, the Bobcats have revenge on their minds in 2013. They have the leagues most dynamic athlete in Will Smith, who made the Bobcats explosive on offense. 3. Altair Rice - Defensive-minded new coach Gary Zeinert should help shore up the Raiders on that side of the ball. Graduation hit Rice some, but theres enough back to make a strong push for third place. 4. Edna - The Cowboys lost 24 seniors and will have to rely on its solid defense to provide leadership. Should be enough there to get them back to the playoffs. 5. Industrial - The Cobras struggled mightily last year, but they have seven solid returners on a defense that was better than expected in 2012. They havent had a winning season in three years, so if they plan on reversing that trend it needs to be done sooner rather than later. 6. Palacios - The Sharks dropped down from Class 3A, but still failed to win a district game. Brad Bowden from Early is looking to lift the downtrodden program out of the doldrums and make this season a competitive one.
BRAHMAS: Could be even better than they were

operation, and the Brahmas are also counting on Bludau to step in and see significant time. The defensive backfield, led by Harrington, may be the prime area of competition. Sheppard will see
a lot of double duty in the secondary, along with Caraway and McAfee. The defensive front, like the O-line, is big and mobile. Kyle Leopold is the anchor, and expect to see Steffek and Elondre McAfee in on a lot of tackles.
The Brahmas have come a long way after going 1-9 and 2-7-1 a few years ago. The 2012 club made the playoffs and went 7-6 before last years team plowed through the regular season unbeaten.
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Fall Sports Preview
Depth issues could be problematic for Indians

By MARK LUBE
The 2013 Hallettsville Sacred Heart football team will have its share of youth with just 13 juniors and seniors are varsity, but they return some solid skilled players. Indians head coach Pat Henke said depth will be an issue. We have to avoid injuries, he said. Tailback Jonathan Vanek will pace Braden Jansky the Indian running game as he did last year with nearly 2,000 yards rushing. Evan Wick returns at wide receiver and another receiver, Scott Stoner, will make the change to quarterback for Sacred Heart. Dylan Jahn is the returning fullback from last season and Trent Janak also saw time at the spot before his transfer to the offensive line, which will be anchored by Danson Bludau and center Trent Malaer. Joining them will be Nolan Orsak, Kyle Jahn and Luke StefScott Stoner fek. Janak is slated to play tight end this time around. Henke said the strong point of the defense will be the secondary with returning players Stoner at free safety and Wick as the strong safety. Other than Bludau, Henke is not sure of who else will be starting on the defensive line. At linebacker will be Janak and possibly Braden Jansky. Sacred Heart lost their first three games of 2012 and were shutout in the first two contests. Sacred Heart then ran the table the rest of the season and got to the state semifinals, losing to eventual state champion Shiner St. Paul. Sacred Heart will need to produce on offense early in the season and be consistent on the defensive side of the ball. We need to get into the end zone and score early, Henke said. Last year, we would get inside the red zone and then turn the ball over or get assessed a major penalty. We simply must take care of the football. He also said having Vanek remain healthy would be a key for the Indian offensive scheme. The district should be on even grounds this year. It is going to be wide open,Henke said. Bryan St. Joseph has the most returning players. Shiner St. Paul is well coached and Brazos Christian is right up there as well. San Antonio St. Gerrard has a new coach and bigger numbers while John Paul II will be the surprising team. It will be interesting.
Carson Brewer
Dusty Woytek
Hunter Janak
Kyle Jahn
Luke Steffek
Nolan Orsak
Tyler Kraatz
Braden Papp
Cullen Wick
Dylan Jahn
Jacob Janak
Landon Leopold
Marc Raphael
Prayton Henneke
Trent Janak
Walter Leopold
Caleb Krischke
Danson Bludau
Evan Wick
Jonathan Vanek
Luke Harper
Nick Hadark
Scott Huser
Trent Malaer
Senior quartet to lead the way for youthful Indianettes

By MARK LUBE
Having a young team may not always be a bad thing. The Hallettsville Sacred Heart Indianettes volleyball team only have four seniors on the roster for 2013, which could be a good thing. With only four of them, there will be less arguing and you are able to play younger kids and its okay, Sacred Heart head coach Wanda Orsak said. The seniors have already accepted the challenge of
leading the Indianettes to a successful year. We have leadership from those four seniors, Orsak said. They have always been ready to step into that role. The younger players want to be led and to be listened to. They are ready to fulfill their role and let the seniors do their job. The seniors are Jaycie Orsak, Megan Harper, Stephanie Sykora and Rachel Saulnier. Others on the roster are sophomore Julie Brown, junior Emily Harper, freshman Kaylin Dworsky, sophomore Ellen Machicek, junior Kristen
Ellen Machicek
Jaycee Orsak
Kristen Popp
Olivia Bohuslav
Emily Harper
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Popp, sophomore Madison Etzler, sophomore Jamie Shimek and junior Olivia Bohuslav. There is motivation and energy among the younger players. They want to be successful, she said. They are serious and want to work.
They dont play around. They want to be good. The Indianettes are quick on the court and are well-skilled in the passing game as a result. Sacred Heart does not have a lot of height with Shimek being the tallest player at 5 feet, 10 inches.
Not a big deal because we have some talent and the girls can jump, Coach Orsak said. She said with the inexperience on the team, being consistent in everything is going to be a little bit of a challenge. The setters will be Saul-
nier and Machicek is an option off the bench. Jaycie Orsak and Sykora will play as libero/defensive specialists. Outside hitters will be Emily Harper, Dworsky, Popp and Megan Harper. Shimek, Etzler and Bohuslav will man the middle blocker spots for the team.
Good Luck Apaches!
Hallettsville Sacred Heart Indianettes Varsity
Fall Sports Preview
Page F5
Gobblers will rise or fall with play in the trenches

By MARK LUBE
For any football team, the offensive and defensive lines are always crucial. The Cuero Gobblers graduated a lot of players from their lines and new faces will need to step up and fill the shoes. Not always an easy task. Linemen-wise, we lost most of our kids to graduation, Gobblers head coach Travis Reeve said. The new guys on the line are really doing a good job of learning what we are doing. Once the players were allowed to hit in pads, it was a different deal, especially for the linemen, Reeve said. On offense, Cuero had a preseason battle at quarterback between Hunter Fales and Jared Vernon. Cuero has to replace a linebacker and defensive back on the flip side of the ball. Our kids are responding well to what we are doing and I feel like they are excited for this season, Reeve said. Cuero will field around a dozen seniors on this years team. We will rely on all of them, regardless if they are a starter or a backup, he said. Cuero will keep its multiple prostyle system on offense. Quarterback will be either Fales or Vernon, depending on who performs better. Vernon was the junior varsity quarterback from 2012. Lane Balfanz will be the main fullback for the Gobblers with a couple of other players. At running back, DAnthony Hopkins will be in the Cuero backfield after missing a lot of 2012 with some injuries. Other players who will get some carries are Zach Hopkins, Trey Miles and JKelvin Johnson. Those guys are competing to be the backup, Reeve said. Wed like to have a couple of guys to rotate in. Colby Ebrom will play tight end, replacing returning player Tel Holland, who has moved to the offensive line. At wide out, DAndre Gallagher is the returning starter and will be joined by Grant Diebel, Brendan Pupi, Pearson Reese and Cole Liendo. Joining Holland on the offensive line will be Darren Martin, Colton Oglesby, Andrew Munoz, Hunter Dogget and Brandon Trevino. Cueros defense will line up in the 4-2-5 formation. Defensive line players will be Holland, Oglesby, Martin, Munoz, Dogget and Trevino. Balfanz and Zach Hopkins are the projected starters at linebacker. Wesley Roberts is also in the mix. Defensive backs are DAnthony Hopkins, Gallagher, Tristan Barfield and Fales. Grant Diebel and DMond LaFond could also play in the secondary. Reese and Pupi are
Aidan Pompa
Butch Warren
Cole Liendo
DAnthony Hopkins
DMond LaFond
Fred Harrington
Hunter Fales
JKelvin Johnson
Layne Balfanz
Peyton Martin
Rodrick Engebretson
Tristan Hays
Wesley Roberts
Andrew Munoz
Claudio Gonzales
Colton Oglesby
Darren Martin
Emmanuel Lucio
Grant Diebel
Jared Venor
Jonas Harvey
Michael Hopkins
Phillip Thamm
Tel Holland
Triston Barefield
Zach Hopkins
Brandon Trevino
Colby Ebrom
DAndre Gallagher
Dmitri Palacios
Eric Pena
Hunter Doggett
Jareed Edwards
Justin Hernandez
Pearson Reese
the returning kickers . Reeve expects the nondistrict setup of Wharton, Victoria West, Beeville, Somerset and Ingleside to be very challenging. Cuero will be prepared for fireworks in the district. I think the district race is going to be exciting because it a competitive dis-
trict, Reeve said. Right now, everybody feels good about themselves. Any team can end up being the district champion and anyone can end up out of the playoffs. It will depend on who can play the best and most consistent week to week.
Pierce Darshad Tre Miles Tyler Gravees Zachary Farmer
Lady Gobblers young but eager and optimistic

By MARK LUBE
Like a lot of other teams, the Cuero Lady Gobblers volleyball team is going to be somewhat young this season. Head coach Rebecca Riojas-Fryer has just a trio of seniors Tiffani Schellenbarger, Brennan Sager and Emmarie Johnson. During the first week of practice, Sager was recovering from minor injuries she sustained in a recent accident. She was able to work out for a day and then next day she could not continue, Riojas-Fryer said. But the team does have several juniors and sophomores and one freshman player who are going to need to help the seniors guide the team to a successful season. This group pushes each other, she said. With this group, I can have one girl play a certain position or play one or two rotations
and then move her to a different position, and she will still be strong. The Lady Gobblers know that just because they played on varsity last year does not mean they are guaranteed a starting role or a lot of playing time this year. There will always be someone behind you at a spot, pushing you and making you better, Riojas-Fryer said. I think that is going to make us better overall as a team. Cuero has an even amount of varsity-experienced and new-to-varsity players. Riojas-Fryer said she has seven returners from her squad from last year and six of the non-varsity players took part in summer volleyball, gaining valuable experience. The experienced girls will push the younger girls to get better, she said. Riojas-Fryer said the preseason scrimmages helped the younger players get a better grasp of what it feels like to play a varsity-level match.
At the setter spot, Shellenbarger and Mia Knetig are both returning players. New varsity player Mary Kay Krueger could also see some time at the posiAutumn Means tion. Playing the libero position for the Lady Gobblers this season will be Justyce Turner and Jaslynn Mathis. Options at the outside hitter spot include Johnson, Autumn Means, Mathis, Missy Odom, Mariah Rodriguez and Krueger. Middle blockers are Martina Stavinoha and Kaelen Sievers. Cuero battles Bloomington, Palacios, La Vernia, Calhoun,Industrial, Edna, San Antonio Cole, Ingleside and Nordheim in non-district. They also play in the Sinton and Rice Consolidated tournaments. Riojas-Fryer said Yoakum and La Grange will be tough teams in District 26-3A. The district will take four teams into the playoffs this year, and Riojas-Fryer said this makes all the hard work worth it.
Jaslynn Mathis
Mariah Rodriguez
Mia Knetig
Tiffani Shellenbarger
Brennan Sager
Justyce Turner
Martina Stavinoha
Missy Odom
Emmarie Johnson
Kaelen Sievers
Mary Kate Krueger
Summer Choate
Page F6
Cuero Gobblers
Fall Sports Preview
Cuero Gobblers Varsity
Life is always difficult for footballs forgotten scrubs

Daves Note: I first wrote the column below in 1974, when I was a sophomore in high school; Id just discovered, to my chagrin, that 120-pound defensive tackles arent destined for stardom in Class 5A football in the state of Texas. Over the years, Ive touched it up here and there, but the premise of the piece remains the same to this day: a salute to all those anonymous faces who toil in obscurity, but whose competitive spirit remains forever unquenchable. Its
From the Cheap Seats
beginning of every football season. There are two entirely different types of people who play football. Everyone knows about one type: call em Friday Night Heroes, Saturday Afternoons Collegiate Conquerors or Sundays Gods of Football. Each team has at least 11 of them the guys who get to play. But few recognize the trials, tribulations and travails MUNDY, Page F7
Dave Mundy
something of a personal tradition for me to run it at the
Cuero Lady Gobblers Varsity
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Adan Davila, Store Manager
Fall Sports Preview
Page F7
New Waelder coach cant wait to start dream job

WAELDER New Waelder volleyball coach Savannah Richter has several connections to the small community of Waelder and the surrounding area. Her great-great grandparents, the Konchabas, lived in the area many years ago and a lot of her family is from the Flatonia and Hallettsville areas. Richters oldest brother, John Marrs, attended high school in Temple with current Waelder athletic director David President. As soon as I heard Waelder was hiring, there were no questions about me coming here, she said. I love the town. I love the kids. It is a perfect school for a first-year teacher. The administration is helpful. After landing a job as a seventh-grade teacher, Richter got the opportunity to serve as a coach on Presidents staff. Coach President is extremely supportive of everything, Richter said. He is right there to help if you have questions. I could not have built a better first opportunity for me. I had not previously met Coach President. It was one of those six degrees of separation things. Richter said it has been a dream of hers to coach volleyball, which she did compete in while in high school. While at Texas A&M University, Richter roomed with Aggie volleyball player Kelsey Black, who is now on the staff at the University of Arkansas as an assistant coach. Richter said Black helped her develop her passion for volleyball. Coach President will help me, someone who has never coached before, with just about every little detail, Richter said. He is always there with encouragement and feedback but he is also letting me build my own program. Richter graduated from Central Texas Christian in Temple in 2008, attended Texas A&M and graduated in December of last year with a degree in Agriculture Journalism and Communication. She was substitute teacher at Waelder last school year and currently teaches sixth and seventh grade writing, and seventh grade Texas history. Richter said she has a passion for writing and Texas history, making her teaching position a perfect fit. Due to a medical issue, Waelder almost did not field a team. On the first day of school, we were down to five girls but we got the numbers up to 12, Richter said. We had more than enough to play. The situation put some fire under our seniors to step up and hold everyone accountable. Richter is very adamant about her players learning the fundamentals correctly. Move your feet, get those hits in, get those digs in, she said. I am focusing on the basic fundamentals. Richter also stresses to the Waelder team the importance of being a leader on and off the court. I feel that is important in life as well as sports, she said. Richter also teaches her players how to hustle but still play smart. You have to read your opponent and respond accordingly, she said. Waelder faced Faith Academy and played in the Nordheim Tournament earlier in the season. The Lady Cats kick off their formidable district schedule next Tuesday when they travel to Weimar and to Ganado on Friday. Waelder will then host Flatonia on Sept. 17 and host Prairie Lea on Sept. 20. They have road games at Louise (Sept. 24) and Shiner (Sept. 27). Weimar will make the return trip to Waelder on Oct. 1 and the Lady Cats have an open day on Oct. 4, host Ganado on Oct. 8, visit Flatonia on Oct. 11, head to Prairie Lea on Oct. 15 and end the regular season with two home matches, Louise (Oct. 18) and Shiner (Oct. 22).
Chelsa Nichols
Head coach Savannah Richter
Julissa Avila
Marissa Ramirez
Monica Bracamontes
Leticia Martinez
Nashai Thompson
Yasmine Porter
MUNDY: Scrubs are every squads truly unsung heroes

of the other type of football player. He rarely wins respect, rarely wins the praise, rarely wins the adulation heaped on his more popular counterpart; in fact, he rarely wins, period. The life of a scrub is a harrowing one, filled with danger. But the scrub is necessary to any football team, for without him, who would the first string practice against? Injuries in practice have been known to destroy many a budding superstars career, so it is imperative to find someone for the superstar to hit who cant hit back. The scrub is typically shorter, lighter, slower and weaker than the gifted superstar, which makes him the perfect choice for refining the latters superior skills. The first task most scrubs have to face on the practice field is to hold the blocking dummies while the first-stringers vent their frustrations. This is where the scrub first meets the teams Lurch-lookalike offensive tackle that 6-foot-7, 275-pounder with 4.5 speed the college scouts are so hot on. This is also usually the first place the scrub learns to moan in a weak voice after being exhumed once the tackle has flattened him and shredded the blocking dummy. The scrub is also responsible for training his teams defense, by repeatedly taking the ball on a handoff from the scrub quarterback and running directly into the maw of the teams ravenous defenders the ones with nicknames like Jaws, Hit Man, Doctor Doom and Terminator. He rarely finds blockers to
accompany him on these little excursions, since the linemen assigned to defend him are scrubs, too. Training luxuries are rarely part of a scrubs regimen. While the first-stringers ease their aches in the whirlpool, spend hours each day with massage therapists and have a handful of trainers begging for the chance to wrap their ankles, the scrub counts himself lucky to get five minutes in a cold shoer, two bandaids and a couple of aspirin. The scrub also has to be more careful with his equipment than other players. Being shorter, weaker and more gullible than a first-stringer, he is a prime target for the teams practical joker, who is almost always one of the first-stringers. Finding out that Ultra Thermonuclear Hot Rub is smeared all over ones jock strap can make for a long day at practice. Practice and the training room are hazardous for the scrub, but nothing can compare to a real game. Hours before the contest, the scrub has reached the plateau of motivation: his fingernails are chewed to nubs, his teeth are chattering and his knees are wobbly. As the team runs onto the field for the big game, it is the scrub who will become entangled in the huge paper poster the cheerleaders hold up in the end zone (provided he doesnt hit the goalpost). It is the scrub who will anchor the wall of players as the first-stringers secretly practice one last time that play the coach has introduced specifically for this game.
It is also the scrub who will turn beet-red when that plaintive little voice wafts from the stands: Mommy, is that little skinny guy really Harvey? As the game begins, the scrub sets up at right end right at the end of the bench. For most of the first half, he will scream himself hoarse along with the head coach, following in the latters footsteps until both become hopelessly entangled in the coachs headphone wires. But by late in the game, if his team is either hopelessly behind or winning by a landslide, the scrub might finally get his chance. Trotting confidently onto the field, hes already considering what hell say at the post-game press conference when they ask him about that incredible twisting, turning touchdown run. Even as the quarterback calls a flop play in the huddle to kill the final five seconds, the scrub still envisions every possibility especially the one in which the ball somehow miraculously pops loose and winds up in his arms and hes forced to do it on his own. But the final gun sounds on time and the scrub is, more often than not, forgotten and trampled in the ensuing melee as both benches empty, the pretty girls mob the superstars and some wag pulls the plug on the stadium lights. Somewhere amid the mud, blood and hubbub, though, a weak smile crosses the face of the scrub as he nestles the forgotten game ball to his chest. He has found true satisfaction.
Page F8
Fall Sports Preview
Waelder Lady Wildcats
Good Luck Students, Have a Great School Year!
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2013 Fall Sports Preview

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Following brief setback, Apaches look like a Lock to make playoffs

Fall Sports Preview

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Good Luck Team

Joe Ryan Carrizales Jordan Johnson

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Go Apaches! Drums Rule!

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Intra-squad Scrimmage Tues, Sept 4th

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Gonzales High School Mighty Apache Marching Band

Lady Apache Varsity Volleyball