2
August 2013 • ALICE, TEXAS SPORTS BLITZ
ALICE COYOTES
Coyotes look to build on last season’s success Stephen Garcia
stephen.garcia@aliceechonews.com
The 2012 Alice Coyotes finished as regional semifinalists with a 9-4 record following two playoff wins over Mercedes and Calallen. It was the most successful season under head coach Chris Soza, who is entering his fifth year with the team. Soza picked up his first playoff wins as the Coyotes coach last year, but he wants to make one thing clear this season: that success is now in the past. “We want the kids to understand that last year was last year, Soza said. “To get better, we have to work harder this year, and try to duplicate what we did last year.” The postseason run has set the bar high in Alice, but that is what Soza expects. “I think the expectations in Alice are always high,” he said. “Every place that I’ve been at, I want that to be the case. We want the community to expect our kids to do the very best they can. Last year, three rounds deep in the playoffs, that helps with the expectations and it helps with the confidence. It’s just a good thing overall to be successful.” In Soza’s eyes, a big part of the success last season was due to a strong chemistry the team had. During the early fall practices, the team is beginning to show that same togetherness. “Our kids have worked hard in the offseason. So far, the leadership
ALICE COYOTES
Head Coach: Chris Soza 2012 Record: 9-4 overall, (5-2 district) Returning starters O/D: 4/3 Players to Watch: FB Robert Ramos, OL Kevin McKelvey, DB Blake Starr, DL Michael Pena, DL Ariel Soliz, OL Isaul Arismendez, QB Jon Jaramillo, QB/DB Jared Jaramillo, LB Tim Garcia, DB Victor Soliz, OL Marcos Avila, TE BJ Gonzalez, K Alex Castillo
STEPHEN GARCIA
SEE COYOTES, 4
WWW.ALICETX.COM • AUGUST 2013
3
ALICE COYOTES
COYOTES
Continued from 3 has been there,” he said. “Like anything else, you can still improve upon the chemistry, but I’m pretty happy with where it is right now. I think we’ll just continue to get better there. The kids, as they work hard together, they’ll gel even more. I’m happy; it’s probably about where it was last year at this time.” Despite some key losses due to graduation, these Coyotes are expected to contend for a District 31-4A title along with 2012 playoff teams Flour Bluff and Corpus Christi Ray. The defense, which was stout down the stretch during a late six-game winning streak, suffered some of the biggest losses, especially at linebacker and defensive back. Honorable mention allstate Leo Adams and fellow first team all-district Brandon Garcia both graduated,
4
leaving big shoes to fill in the linebacker corps. Tim Garcia, Andres Soliz, and David De La Cruz are battling to see which two step in at inside linebacker. Another big position battle comes at the quarterback spot. Team Offensive MVP Oscar Resendez will be replaced by a Jaramillo for certain. Which one it will be is still being decided. Senior Jon Jaramillo and junior Jared Jaramillo are currently fighting for the starting gig. “Right now, we have two brothers, which is pretty unusual,” Soza said. “They’re both winners. They’re both great kids. Whichever one we decide on, the other’s going to play something else. They’re both good athletes…It’s a good problem to have…I think we can win with both of them.” Due to some injuries, the older Jaramillo got some SEE COYOTES, 6
AUGUST 2013 • ALICE, TEXAS SPORTS BLITZ
www.alicetx.com • August 2013
5
ALICE COYOTES COYOTES
Whoever is under center will be behind some experiContinued from 4 enced blockers, led by senior offensive linemen Isaul playing time at quarterback Arismendez, Marcos Avila, last year. That experience, Kevin McKelvey, and tight along with his shown leader- end BJ Gonzalez. Alice also ship, makes him the favorite returns first team all-district fullback Robert Ramos, who to start at this point. had more than 700 yards and “He’s not big and that seven touchdowns on the fast or that strong, but he’s ground last season. a leader,” Soza said of the The defense will be strong senior. “The kids believe in in the trenches as well, him; that’s a positive there. returning Co-Most OutSometimes you have those standing Defensive Lineman intangibles that you can’t really coach. The kids respect Ariel Soliz and first team all-district defensive tackle him and look up to him. For Michael Pena. The talent on those reasons, he’s leading in the line will help out the new that position right now…Jarlinebackers and secondary. ed is also pushing him, and I “Our philosophy on feel comfortable with either SEE COYOTES, 7 one of them.”
6
AUGUST 2013 • ALICE, TEXAS SPORTS BLITZ
ALICE COYOTES COYOTES
Continued from 6 defense is to stop the run. That’s the first thing we want to do,” Soza said. “We feel good about the [defensive line]. We’re looking forward to hopefully a good year this year as far as the run game goes.” The secondary, while graduating its share of players, still has some experience coming back. Seniors Mark Alaniz, Victor Soliz, and Blake Starr will lead the defensive backfield. “Most teams we face run the spread offense, and they’re going to throw it downfield,” Soza said. “We got to cover some people. We have guys that maybe weren’t necessarily starters all year long, but they played a lot.” Another critical piece to the Coyotes this year comes at one of the most unsung positions, kicker. Senior Alex Castillo returns after his first team all-district selection. Castillo went 8-for-10 last season with a long of 45 yards. He did not miss an attempt shorter than 40 yards all year.
WWW.ALICETX.COM • AUGUST 2013
7
AGUA DULCE LONGHORNS
Agua Dulce aiming for playoffs Stephen Garcia
stephen.garcia@aliceechonews.com
The Agua Dulce Longhorns were a play or two away from the postseason last year, falling to Charlotte 20-14 in overtime in the regular season finale to decide the final playoff spot in District 16-A Division II. Not bad for a team that was under the direction of a new head coach. “We had a lot of positive outcomes out of last year,” Agua Dulce coach Robert Beard said. “We didn’t quite get to where we wanted to, playoff-wise, but we made a lot of strides in the right direction.” Beard now enters his second year with the Longhorns. With a year under his belt, he is excited about what this year’s group can do. “Our goal is to make the playoffs,” he said. “Our boys have been working extremely hard…They know they were so close last year, and they just want to get there this year.” With a seasoned bunch, Beard expects progress on both sides of the ball. “To tell you the truth, I think we’re both about even (on offense and defense) because on this level, the same kids play on both sides,” he said. “Our offense will be much improved over last year, and our defense will be improved from last year. That goes with the same kids playing those spots.” The Longhorns lost some big contributors at quarterback, offensive line, and linebacker among others, but the new starters may have what
8
AGUA DULCE LONGHORNS
Head Coach: Robert Beard 2012 Record: 5-5 overall, (1-3 district) Returning Starters O/D: 5/6 Players to watch: LB Trey Mann, LB Joe Baltazar, RB/DB AJ Jiminian, QB Homero Hinojosa it takes to step into those roles. “They’ve been working hard to try and reach their potential to help our team be the best it can,” Beard said of the new starters. “I think we’re going to be able to fill those shoes…The next man’s got to step up, or we’re not going to be very good.” Agua Dulce has some firepower coming back, however. The Longhorns return five starters on offense and six on defense, including a pair of linebackers that received all-state recognition last season. “The strength of our defense will be our linebackers with Trey Mann and Joe Baltazar returning,” Beard said. “…They’re going to be two very good football players for us. Most defenses rely on the linebackers – what kind of plays can those kids make.” Another defensive strength will be in the secondary, led by AJ Jiminian. Jiminian will also be the starting running back after rushing for more than 1,300 yards last season. “He’s going to be a focal point of our offense,” Beard said. “AJ is a key player on both sides of the ball for us. He does a lot of things.”
AUGUST 2013 • ALICE, TEXAS SPORTS BLITZ
BANQUETE BULLDOGS
Banquete again relying on seniors Stephen Garcia
stephen.garcia@aliceechonews.com
The Banquete Bulldogs enter the 2013 season after posting a playoff win before being bounced by the eventual Class 2A Division II State Champions, East Bernard. While the postseason win was nice, that is still not quite the ultimate goal for the Bulldogs. “Our goal is to win it all,” Banquete coach Kevin Hermes said. “We want to get deep in the playoffs. We want to give ourselves an opportunity to win the whole thing. It’s the first time in several years that we’ve made it to the second round, but I don’t think us as coaches and our players are satisfied with just making it to the second round. We’d like to continue to play on past that.” The Bulldogs return six starters on offense and five on defense, but Banquete must also deal with some significant losses. Three-year starter and first team all-district quarterback Ben Benavides is one of the key graduates that must be replaced. “Ben was a great athlete for us. He was a dual-threat quarterback,” Hermes said. “He could throw the ball well, and he could attack you on the run. He was dangerous at both. Obviously, it’s going to
be tough to replace him as a leader.” Two players entered fall practice vying for the spot under center. OJ Ramirez, the backup quarterback last year, and Cooper Wildman, last year’s junior varsity sig-
nal-caller, are looking to take over in Benavides’ departure. “We’re going to try to play to their strengths,” Hermes said of the quarterbacks. “Every player has their strengths. Ben had his, but these two guys have theirs. We’re going
to utilize their skills to the best of their abilities so we can help the team win.” While the senior Ramirez has more years on the sophomore Wildman, that doesn’t mean much to Hermes. “Like I told all of them today, ‘I don’t care what grade you’re in. Whoever’s going to produce, whoever’s going to give the best effort on Friday night or in practice, that’s the guy that’s going to get there,’” Hermes said. “They’re competing, and that’s a good thing.” More than 20 seniors graduated from the team, but
Senior WR/DE Roger De La Paz
WWW.ALICETX.COM • AUGUST 2013
a group of 14 seniors this year had significant contributions to last year’s 10-win season. Hermes is counting on those veterans to lead the team. “A majority of those got a lot of quality reps last year,” he said. “That leadership is going to pay off for us this year…Most of these guys played a big part in our success last year, and we’re going to lean heavily on them this year as well.” The defense looks to be the strength of the team this year as the Bulldogs enter the second year running a base 50 scheme.
Senior OL/DL Marcos Suarez
BANQUETE BULLDOGS
Head Coach: Kevin Hermes 2012 Record: 10-2 overall, (6-1 district) Returning Starters O/D: 6/5 Players to Watch: OL/DL Marcos Suarez, WR/DE Roger De La Paz, RB/DE Ricky Benavides, LB/RB Ross Sullivan, OL/DL Brendon Breland, OL/DL Christian Leal “We got some key kids back at some crucial spots,” Hermes said. “I think with a year under our belt, we’re going to be more versatile. We’re going to be able to do some more things.”
Senior RB/DE Ricky Benavides
9
10
August 2013 • ALICE, TEXAS SPORTS BLITZ
BENAVIDES EAGLES
Small Benavides roster must stay healthy Stephen Garcia
stephen.garcia@aliceechonews.com
The Benavides Eagles had a rough go last season, finishing 0-10. But you would never believe it from the team’s attitude. While 2013 will be another challenging year for Benavides with a roster of just 20 players, the Eagles are not going to lay down.
“We’ve had a lot of positive stuff the first week,” Benavides coach Celso Oliveira said. “Our numbers are real low, but the kids we have are real positive. They’re working hard, and we’re just going to try and see what we can do. If we can stay healthy, we’ll win some games.” A problem for schools in the state’s lower classifications, the number of athletes
WWW.ALICETX.COM • AUGUST 2013
will not allow the Eagles any leeway with injuries. “The goal is pretty much to stay healthy through the non-district, try to get to district and try to make the playoffs,” Oliveira said. “I think we can get there if we stay healthy.” Running back Israel Cavazos, who tore his ACL last year as a freshman, returns this season and will
be a key cog in the Benavides offense. Scott Sanchez also returns to quarterback the team following his second team all-district selection. The offense will be relied upon to chew up the clock and give the small Eagle roster as much rest as possible. “We’re going to have to control the ball and use the clock in our favor,” Oliveira said. “With our numbers, if
our defense is out there long, there’s going to be major problems.” Wins this season will not be the ultimate barometer of success for Benavides. Oliveira simply wants to see his team compete every week. “The outcomes of the games are not the big deal,” he said. “The big deal is if we have fun, we play ball, and we never give up no matter
BENAVIDES EAGLES
Head Coach: Celso Oliveira 2012 Record: 0-10 overall, (0-4 district) Returning Starters O/D: 6/5 Players to Watch: RB Israel Cavazos, QB Scott Sanchez, ATH Noe Guzman what. Just keep good sportsmanship no matter what the score is and stay healthy. That will be good enough for us. Making the playoffs would be just that much more if we can get there.”
11
BEN BOLT BADGERS
Young Badger squad looks to contend Stephen Garcia
BEN BOLT BADGERS
stephen.garcia@aliceechonews.com
The number of seniors you lose to graduation is not as important as the talent level of those you lose. Unfortunately for Ben Bolt, the Badgers were hit hard in both aspects. Players such as District 16-A Division I MVP Ivan Gonzalez, district Defensive MVP Eric Salinas, and first team all-district quarterback Albert Gonzalez are just a few of the holes that head coach Jeff LeFevre now has to deal with. “This year, we got hit pretty hard by graduation,” LeFevre said. “We lost tailbacks, we lost some good linemen, linebackers, defensive players, and we had a two-year quarterback. Really, this year was a really hard group because we graduated so much.” The Badgers have four returning starters on offense and six on defense. First team all-district Matt Garcia and honorable mention Christian Del Real return to anchor the offensive line that will have to find new starters at both tackles and center. Ben Bolt must also choose a replacement at quarterback after the graduation of Albert Gonzalez. Ricky Galvan and
12
Head Coach: Jeff LeFevre 2012 Record: 8-3 overall, (2-1 district) Returning Starters O/D: 4/6 Players to Watch: OL/DL Matt Garcia, OL/DL Christian Del Real, QB Ricky Galvan, QB Bobby Mejia, RB/CB Erik Aguilar, RB David Rojas, DL Louie Lopez, CB Scott Gafford
Bobby Mejia are currently in the mix for the job, both of whom LeFevre has supreme confidence in. “Both of them are capable of starting for any school in South Texas, or down here in this area,” LeFevre said. “Quarterback’s really not a
spot that’s going to worry me right now because both of those kids, I guarantee, can go into any school in this area and start.” Erik Aguilar and David Rojas will split time at running back in place of the district MVP, but the Badgers are
going to rely on a team effort more than any individual player on this young squad. “We’re going to try and do things as a team,” LeFevre said. “We’re trying to keep it to where we don’t have to have so many kids go both ways, especially whenever you’re
dealing with so many sophomores having to be on your team. You don’t want to have to make those sophomores go both ways if you don’t have to.” While there is still a lot to be determined about the team, LeFevre is hoping he
can lean on his defense. “Right now, we’re still in the process of getting everything going,” he said. “We’re Ben Bolt – our defense is supposed to always be our strongest point. That’s what we push. We push defense. I know we’re up there as one of the most prolific offenses, but really we push defense.” Having a team of young, inexperienced players can be hard, especially during the early part of the season. LeFevre knows this, and all he wants to see out of his Badgers each week is progress. “I want to see growth every week,” he said. “I want to get better every week. Our goal is a state championship. Before you get that, you got to get to the playoffs. So we’ve got to be ready to play, and playing on all cylinders, by the time we hit La Villa…We’ve got six games to prepare for that.”
AUGUST 2013 • ALICE, TEXAS SPORTS BLITZ
www.alicetx.com • August 2013
13
CALALLEN WILDCATS
Defense to lead the way for Calallen Stephen Garcia
stephen.garcia@aliceechonews.com
If the old adage about defense winning championships is true, the Calallen Wildcats are off to a good start toward their goal of a state title. After all, when you have made the playoffs 28 straight years, anything less than a state championship may seem like falling short. Even so, longtime Calallen coach Phil Danaher is not thinking that far ahead just yet. “Every year, that’s our goal,” he said of a state title. “It’s hard to say right now if we’ll make the playoffs or if we’ll get very deep in the playoffs. We’re still developing a new team. We take every year at a time and every game one at a time. We don’t really try to look ahead. That’s our ultimate goal, but we know one thing: you can’t win them all without winning the first one.” With the high expectations tradition has created at Calallen, last season’s second-round loss feels like an early exit from the postseason. The team returned with a renewed focus as they attempt to greatly improve upon that performance. “They came back, to me, with a new conviction,” Danaher said. “They worked harder in the spring. They worked hard this summer. We’ve got good leadership from this group. Leadership is very important. You’ve got to have good leaders to be successful.
CALALLEN WILDCATS
Head Coach: Phil Danaher 2012 Record: 9-3 overall, (5-1 district) Returning Starters O/D: 4/7 Players to Watch: LB Kade Young, LB Trevor Moses, LB Austin Revels, LB Sheldon Bammert, DL Dakota Cooksy, DL Creyton McDermett, DB Remington Strickland, OL Sean Vickers, OL Zach Roussel, WR Robert Maldonado, WR Triston Crossland
STEPHEN GARCIA
SEE CALALLEN, 15
14
AUGUST 2013 • ALICE, TEXAS SPORTS BLITZ
CALALLEN WILDCATS CALALLEN
football team.” Some of the names that will be in charge of turnContinued from 14 ing around the offense are “You can have good athrunning backs JD Savanich, letes, but if you don’t have Caleb Pacheco, and Chris any leadership, then you’ve Price. Robert Maldonado, got a very important ingredi- the starting back in 2012, will ent missing.” move to receiver to team up One problem with the with Triston Crossland. Wildcats a year ago was the On offense, the lineoffense, which could demen took the biggest hit termine how successful the due to graduation. Many team is this season. of last year’s starters have “Going into this year, we’ve departed, including West got to be better offensively,” Texas A&M signee Dillon Danaher said. “We were not Vaughan. very productive last year of“We’re pretty much refensively. We made too many building the entire offensive mental mistakes. We’ve got line,” Danaher said. “The to execute better than what only one we have returnwe did last year to be a good ing from last year is Sean
WWW.ALICETX.COM • AUGUST 2013
Vickers. So you can see, offensively is where we’re rebuilding and we’ve got to get better at.” Seniors Vickers and guard Zach Roussel, who started some last season, will be the leaders of this year’s group. The new starters up front are already doing their best to soften the blow from losing so many players. “They’ve really come back in pretty good shape,” Danaher said of the offensive linemen. “They’ve worked hard.” The starting quarterback going into the season is currently a three-man competiSEE CALALLEN, 16
15
CALALLEN WILDCATS CALALLEN
Continued from 15 tion, but that’s the way it always is for Danaher. “It’s always open,” he said of the quarterback battle. “Whoever comes back and performs and executes the best, they’re the one
16
who gets the job.” The defense will be the stalwart for the Wildcats this season, returning seven starters. “The defense is pretty sound,” Danaher said. “We got quite a few back from last year. They play hard. They’ll keep us in ballgames, but we’ve got to do our part on offense. We were three-and-out
too many times last year. That’s very uncharacteristic of us.” The strength of the defense will be its linebackers, which feature four all-district honorees and even one that was honorable mention all-state, Kade Young. Joining Young are Sheldon Bammert, Trevor Moses, and Austin Revels to make up one of the best start-
ing groups in the area. “Our linebacker group is probably the heart of our defense,” Danaher said. “We have four linebackers that all started last year that are back, so four very good linebackers…That’s probably as solid a four linebackers that we’ve had in a while.” Seniors Dakota Cooksy and
Creyton McDermett will anchor the defensive line to add to Calallen’s strong front seven. The questions on defense come in the secondary, with only Remington Strickland returning as a starter. The group is inexperienced, but Danaher feels the defensive backs are athletic and will improve with more playing time.
AUGUST 2013 • ALICE, TEXAS SPORTS BLITZ
www.alicetx.com • August 2013
17
FREER BUCKAROOS
Hofstetter to bring ‘grittiness’ to Freer Stephen Garcia
stephen.garcia@aliceechonews.com
Some may say that every new season is a new start in high school football. That could not be more true for the Freer Buckaroos, as the team enters 2013 with a new leader at the helm. Jake Hofstetter takes over as head coach and athletic director for Freer after spending the last 13 years with Port Isabel, 11 of which as the offensive coordinator. It is his first head coaching position. Hofstetter, who faced the Buckaroos during his playing days, remembers playing a tough, physical team when Freer was on the schedule. He hopes to bring back that mentality as head coach. “I played against Freer when I was in high school, and Freer used to be a tough, gritty, real aggressive type of football team. That’s what I’m planning to bring as well,” Hofstetter said. “When we were in Port Isabel, we always thought that we were the most physical team on the field and most aggressive, and that’s what I’d like to bring here. “After the game, we want the opponent to know that they played a game against Freer.” Along with an emphasis on physicality, Hofstetter is bringing his offensive scheme. A multiple-I offense, look for the Buckaroos to have a “ground and pound” attack. “We will get into spread (offense) SEE FREER, 19
18
FREER BUCKAROOS
Head Coach: Jake Hofstetter 2012 Record: 5-5 overall, (4-3 district) Returning Starters O/D: 5/4 Players to Watch: QB Jacob Cantu, ATH Jeremy Alaniz, OL Joseph Tamez, LB Aaron Serrato, DB/WR Orlando Balboa
PHOTOS BY STEPHEN GARCIA
Freer Buckaroo Seniors
AUGUST 2013 • ALICE, TEXAS SPORTS BLITZ
FREER BUCKAROOS
FREER
picked up on some positive attitudes. “I think the kids underContinued from 18 stand that I’ve come in here with one plan, and that’s to a little bit, but we’re going come in here and win footto hang our hat on being ball games,” he said. aggressive and getting after The Buckaroos enter the you with our running game,” year attempting to break a Hofstetter said. There are some challenges six-year playoff drought. Hofstetter, who describes that come with taking over himself as “goal-oriented,” a new program. One being getting his players to believe has that at the top of his list. Freer finished in fourth place in what he is teaching. “The kids are going to have in District 16-2A Division II in 2012, which this year to buy in,” Hofstetter said. “If they don’t believe in what would give them the final playoff spot. me and the coaching staff Freer will have a new quarare trying to put in, we’re not terback under center with the going to be successful. The kids are going to have to buy graduation of Junior Cadena. in and be willing to sacrifice.” While Hofstetter said it is While the new coach is still an open competition for the getting acclimated to his new starting job, he admitted sesquad, Hofstetter has already nior Jacob Cantu, a first team
WWW.ALICETX.COM • AUGUST 2013
all-district wide receiver and safety last season, is in the early lead. “He’s probably the leading candidate,” Hofstetter said. “Now is he going to win the start? That’s yet to be seen, but he’s going to be our leading candidate at the quarterback position.” Cantu displayed a level of leadership that impressed Hofstetter during the spring and summer. His athleticism, along with that ability to lead, is what Cantu’s coach is looking for. “Watching film, he shows some toughness and grittiness,” Hofstetter said. “He has that intangible of being a leader. I need my quarterback to be a leader and my field general and go down the field and lead us to success.”
19