On Thursday, I was at the Alamodome for a 4A D-II Bi district playoff game between the Alamo Heights Mules and the Austin Vandegrift Vipers.
The Alamodome is one of my favorite stadiums to work a High School football game!!!
I worked for the Spurs from 1999-2002 when they played at the Dome so I know the Dome like the back of my hand. It is also very very loud!!! The press-box for our broadcasts is very spacey (not Kevin Spacey, although that would be cool cause then I could talk movies with Kevin)!! Parking and entering is very easy (my TSRN media pass helps, but when I didn’t have that, they always took my word)!! Oh, there are bathrooms everywhere and the ones on the Club Level (4th floor) are always clean (yep, I got high standards when it comes to bathrooms).
Only thing I don’t like is there is no food or drink for the press and the concessions at the Dome are way over priced!! My solution…I stashed a bottled water and a package of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies in my backpack so my stomach wouldn’t grumble throughout the game. It helped a little bit but when I arrived home, I was starving so I made a cheese omelet and bialy with tuna fish (yummy)!!!
The last time I worked a Mules game at the Dome was in 2006 when the Mules won the 4A D-I state championship against the Copperas Cove Bulldawgs. The quarterback for Copperas Cove was Robert Griffin III and I have no memory of anything he did, probably because the Heights quarterback, Giovanni Vizza out-performed RG3.
State championships don’t come often for San Antonio teams and to be a part of that one was amazing. I am spoiled as I was also at the Judson Rocket state championship in 2002 (at the Dome), the Steele Knights state championship in 2010, and the Steele Knights again in 2011 (they lost). Maybe I will add number 4 in a few weeks.
It was an absolute pleasure to work with the TSRN broadcasters Ed Suarez and Dave Parker. I have worked with them many times in the past but this was the first time this season. They are extremely appreciative of me and my stats and always give me (and even the BLOG) lots of kudos on the air!!!
Bobby Stautzenberger, the TSRN Boss, did sideline reporting. Besides Bobby, I have the most years with TSRN at 17…Ed and Dave got 12 years!! WOW!!!
Alberto Gonzales joined Ed and Dave on the call and I do believe this was my first time working with him and he was the one who read my stats to the world.
Funny thing about my stats…when I unzipped my backpack, I didn’t have my two normal stat-boards as they were in my laptop bag. But, not to worry, I carry one back-up old stat-board (but I needed two). So, I was very clever and somehow managed to get both teams on one board and it was actually better than using two!!! Just very glad it wasn’t a blow-out where everyone gets to play and touch the ball because I have no clue where I would’ve written all those extra players.
Running out of markers is worse though!!! Yes, that happened to me a few years ago and I had everybody running around the press-box looking for dry erase markers. I ended up using my netbook and excel to keep track of some of the stats. Now, I carry lots of extra markers.
Since this was my first time seeing both of these teams this season, I printed out the individual offensive stats so I could be prepared for what they like to do and not go in blindly.
Austin Vandegrift Vipers (9-2, 5-1) — They like to run the ball with quarterback Jamie Hudson and sophomore running back Travis Brannan. Between those two players, they got 296 carries for 1,746 yards and 22 touchdowns. WOW!!! Passing, Jamie Hudson, is 59 for 120 for 1,044 yards with 11 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Nine of those touchdowns are to Luke Peterman who also leads the team in receptions and yards. So, basically they got 3 main guys who get the bulk of the touches.
San Antonio Alamo Heights Mules (8-3, 5-2) — They are much more balanced on offense than the Vipers. Quarterback Dalton Banks is 212 for 347 for 2,654 yards with 22 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Four receivers (Jake Osborne, Robert Shuler, Christian Lalinde, and Scott Uhl) have more than 400 yards and each of them also has more than 3 touchdowns. Gosh, they spread the wealth!! Byron Proctor is the running back and he has 116 carries for 948 yards and 18 touchdowns. Dalton Bank, the quarterback is pretty efficient as a runner…he has 86 carries for 308 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Just by reviewing the stats I listed above, I would have to give the advantage to Alamo Heights because they are more balanced on offense. And, I know the Heights defense is good as they beat the Clemens Buffaloes earlier in the season by a score of 31 to 10. The Buffaloes were defeated last week by probably the best defensive team, the Brennan Bears, in the state of Texas by a score of 56 to 0.
Well, folks, it was a great nail-biting game as the last 5 minutes were unbelievable!!
After Vandegrift scored to give them a lead of 21 to 17 with 5:05 in the 4th quarter, the Mules drove 70 yards on 11 plays in 3:19and scored on a 15 yard touchdown run with 1:46 left in the game. They sealed the win with an interception a few plays later and took a knee!!! WOW!! The Alamo Heights Mules won 24 to 21.
The Vandegrift Vipers ran 55 plays for 320 yards. Quarterback Jamie Hudson had 20 carries for 134 yards and 1 touchdown and was a very impressive 11 for 17 passing for 130 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Receiver Luke Peterman had 4 receptions for 54 yards and 1 touchdown. Travis Brannan, a running back, had 12 carries for 39 yards (majority coming in the 2ndhalf) and 2 receptions for 16 yards and 1 touchdown.
The Mules ran 100 plays (yes 100 plays) for 456 yards. I have never seen a team run 100 plays, not even Judson this year!! WOW!!!
Byron Proctor, the running back, had 31 carries for 171 yards and 2 touchdowns (his 2nd gave Heights the lead and also the win). Brandon Wasson, his back-up, had 8 carries for 32 yards and 1 touchdown.
Quarterback, Dalton Banks, was 22 of 42 passing for 264 yards and 2 interceptions (one was returned 90 yards for a touchdown, but it was called back at the 20 yard line because of taunting. A few plays later, Vandegrift scored and that gave them lead of 21 to 17).
Wide receivers, Christian Lalinde had 8 receptions for 125 yards and Robert Shuler also had 8 receptions for 90 yards.
Man, it seems like every year, Alamo Heights has a really good quarterback (Giovanni Vizza, Chase Clement, Steven Elder, and Drew Allen) and a group of receivers who have a knack for running routes and catching balls!! Throw in a running back like Proctor and a solid defense and this is a team to be reckoned with that could end up playing in Arlington in Week 16 for a state championship.
The Alamo Heights Mules will play the Corpus Christi Calallen Wildcats on Friday, November 29th at 7:30 pm in Victoria. Man, Heights and Calallen have played each other a lot!!! Should be a great game.
This afternoon, I will be at the Alamodome again for the Madison Mavericks and the O’Connor Panthers. If the game lives up to the hype of last year’s quarterfinal game, then get ready for an offensive explosion!!! Maybe I will use 3 stat-boards!!!