Pink was the theme between United Independent School District's oldest rivalry, Alexander and United, on Tuesday night.
A sea of blue and orange filled the United gymnasium in each team’s regular season finale, but it was the pink color that stood out.
The United volleyball team took the court with pink ribbons in its hair and pink t-shirts while the gym was filled with pink balloons in support of breast cancer awareness month.
Alexander (16-2 District 29-5A, 26-5 overall) beat United (13-5, 22-15) in a four-game thriller, 25-16, 22-25, 27-25 and 25-21. Both teams are headed to the Class 5A playoffs, with Alexander the No. 2 seed in 29-5A and United No. 3.
With the playoffs already determined in 29-5A entering the game, the rivalry, the seeding and a year’s worth of bragging rights took a back seat to the real winners of the game, the women Involved in the Nurturing Giving and Sharing organization.
Prior to the game, the United volleyball coaching staff and players presented the WINGS organization with a $2,000 check from all the proceeds off their t-shirt sales for the past three weeks.
Everything you need to know about the Alexander High School sports scene.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Week 7 Football: Alexander 35, C.C. Winn 0
Alexander's typically prolific offense didn't hit its usual highs on Thursday night, but the defense produced its first perfect game as the Bulldogs rolled to a 35-0 victory over the C.C. Winn Mavericks at the SAC.
The Bulldogs improved to 5-1 in District 29-5A play, 6-1 overall. The Mavs fell to 1-5 in district, 1-6 overall.
The Bulldogs scored on their opening two possessions with a pair of Brian Swain touchdown passes and the defense recovered a fumble for a score to make the lead 21-0 just seconds into the second quarter.
The cavalcade of points slowed during the final three quarters, but the outcome was never in doubt.
Swain's performance was a bit shaky as the talented junior quarterback completed 17 of his 33 passes for 272 yards with three touchdowns to one interception, in addition to rushing for 19 yards on six attempts.
Sophomore running back Xavier Skaggs put on an impressive performance, carrying the ball nine times for 60 yards and a score and catching six passes for 119 yards and an additional two touchdowns.
Receiver Alex Bryand also contributed two catches for 35 yards and a score. Daniel Ramos had a pair of receptions for 51 yards and Fernie Garza had four grabs for 50 yards.
The game ball clearly, however, belonged to the Bulldog defense that earned its first shutout of the season.
The defense forced four fumbles, one of which was recovered by defensive back Oscar Cabello at the Mavs' 10-yard line and run in for a score.
Other Bulldogs who had fumble recoveries were Josh Romero, with two, and Jose Sanchez, who also intercepted a pass.
The Bulldogs finished the night with 408 yards of total offense, dwarfing the Mavs' 97.
The Bulldogs improved to 5-1 in District 29-5A play, 6-1 overall. The Mavs fell to 1-5 in district, 1-6 overall.
The Bulldogs scored on their opening two possessions with a pair of Brian Swain touchdown passes and the defense recovered a fumble for a score to make the lead 21-0 just seconds into the second quarter.
The cavalcade of points slowed during the final three quarters, but the outcome was never in doubt.
Swain's performance was a bit shaky as the talented junior quarterback completed 17 of his 33 passes for 272 yards with three touchdowns to one interception, in addition to rushing for 19 yards on six attempts.
Sophomore running back Xavier Skaggs put on an impressive performance, carrying the ball nine times for 60 yards and a score and catching six passes for 119 yards and an additional two touchdowns.
Receiver Alex Bryand also contributed two catches for 35 yards and a score. Daniel Ramos had a pair of receptions for 51 yards and Fernie Garza had four grabs for 50 yards.
The game ball clearly, however, belonged to the Bulldog defense that earned its first shutout of the season.
The defense forced four fumbles, one of which was recovered by defensive back Oscar Cabello at the Mavs' 10-yard line and run in for a score.
Other Bulldogs who had fumble recoveries were Josh Romero, with two, and Jose Sanchez, who also intercepted a pass.
The Bulldogs finished the night with 408 yards of total offense, dwarfing the Mavs' 97.
10.12.10: Volleyball: Alexander 3, Cigarroa 1
The Alexander Lady Bulldogs' dominance of the Gateway City schools continued with a hard-fought victory over Cigarroa at Alexander on Tuesday night.
Alexander beat Cigarroa in four games, 25-10, 23-25, 25-22 and 25-13, to take a strong hold of second place in District 29-5A after United was upset by Nixon earlier in the night.
The Lady Bulldogs dominated every facet of the game with great net play that stopped any Cigarroa offensive momentum.
Alexander (12-2 29-5A, 26-5) came out with offensive firepower that found the holes in the Cigarroa (8-6, 21-14) defense.
While Alexander's season is making a march toward the postseason, the Lady Toros' season is slowly slipping away with the loss to Alexander and just four games remaining in the regular season.
Cigarroa entered tied with Nixon for the fourth spot in district, but now faces a tough climb after Nixon’s win and its loss. The two teams split their regular season series.
Alexander beat Cigarroa in four games, 25-10, 23-25, 25-22 and 25-13, to take a strong hold of second place in District 29-5A after United was upset by Nixon earlier in the night.
The Lady Bulldogs dominated every facet of the game with great net play that stopped any Cigarroa offensive momentum.
Alexander (12-2 29-5A, 26-5) came out with offensive firepower that found the holes in the Cigarroa (8-6, 21-14) defense.
While Alexander's season is making a march toward the postseason, the Lady Toros' season is slowly slipping away with the loss to Alexander and just four games remaining in the regular season.
Cigarroa entered tied with Nixon for the fourth spot in district, but now faces a tough climb after Nixon’s win and its loss. The two teams split their regular season series.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Week 6 Football: Alexander 62, Cigarroa 8
The Cigarroa Toros met with the Alexander Bulldogs Thursday night for what was supposed to be a great battle between teams with identical 3-1 District 29-5A records.
To the surprise of those in attendance, the battle looked a lot more like a Spanish bullfight, as numerous scuffles broke out during the night, culminating in a second half bench-clearing brawl that resulted in two players being ejected from the game.
While Alexander was victorious, 62-8, its dominating win was plagued by the turn of events late in the game at the SAC.
"All I can say is we’ve never, since we started this season, since my time began at Alexander, this is my fifth year there, I've never had anything like that happen to me," said Alexander head football coach Joel Lopez.
All told, there were 28 flags thrown over the course of the game, 12 of which were personal fouls. Each team picked up a roughly even number of flags over the course of the night.
"As soon as we went ahead, those things started happening … that's never happened to our guys," Lopez said. "I know they (Cigarroa) have had a scuffle in scrimmages … I don’t know! I don't know. We tried to hold our guys back and keep them out of that."
The biggest breakdown came near the end of the third quarter when Alexander junior quarterback Brian Swain scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to take a 56-8 lead over Cigarroa.
The players on the field from both teams began fighting each other in a skirmish that took place between the end zone and the 20-yard line on the side of the field closest to the Cigarroa bench.
Many Toros players ran past their coaches, who were trying to keep them on the sideline, into the brawl.
Bulldogs players, who were on the far sideline from the fight, mostly stayed off the field as coaches, referees and district personnel separated the two teams.
The results were the ejections of Cigarroa defensive back Jesus Sanchez and Swain.
"Both teams were playing emotionally high," Cigarroa coach Frank De Hoyos said. "It was on both teams. When the referees don't control the game, things get out of hand. When officials don't throw the flag and kids are hitting each other after the whistle, it creates a problem. It has to do with both sides, Alexander and Cigarroa. We don't teach that and I'm sure Mr. Lopez at Alexander doesn't teach that.
"I can’t speak for Mr. Lopez, but we will address it."
Each school district is responsible for the policing of its players following such an altercation.
The fighting was the lowest point of a night where just about everything went right for Alexander while everything went wrong for Cigarroa.
Cigarroa, which had thrived early in its season by forcing turnovers and earning defensive scores, accomplished neither against the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs punted only once on offense, scoring either touchdowns or field goals on every other offensive possession.
The Toros fell to 3-2 in district, 4-2 overall. The Bulldogs improved to 4-1, 5-1.
To the surprise of those in attendance, the battle looked a lot more like a Spanish bullfight, as numerous scuffles broke out during the night, culminating in a second half bench-clearing brawl that resulted in two players being ejected from the game.
While Alexander was victorious, 62-8, its dominating win was plagued by the turn of events late in the game at the SAC.
"All I can say is we’ve never, since we started this season, since my time began at Alexander, this is my fifth year there, I've never had anything like that happen to me," said Alexander head football coach Joel Lopez.
All told, there were 28 flags thrown over the course of the game, 12 of which were personal fouls. Each team picked up a roughly even number of flags over the course of the night.
"As soon as we went ahead, those things started happening … that's never happened to our guys," Lopez said. "I know they (Cigarroa) have had a scuffle in scrimmages … I don’t know! I don't know. We tried to hold our guys back and keep them out of that."
The biggest breakdown came near the end of the third quarter when Alexander junior quarterback Brian Swain scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to take a 56-8 lead over Cigarroa.
The players on the field from both teams began fighting each other in a skirmish that took place between the end zone and the 20-yard line on the side of the field closest to the Cigarroa bench.
Many Toros players ran past their coaches, who were trying to keep them on the sideline, into the brawl.
Bulldogs players, who were on the far sideline from the fight, mostly stayed off the field as coaches, referees and district personnel separated the two teams.
The results were the ejections of Cigarroa defensive back Jesus Sanchez and Swain.
"Both teams were playing emotionally high," Cigarroa coach Frank De Hoyos said. "It was on both teams. When the referees don't control the game, things get out of hand. When officials don't throw the flag and kids are hitting each other after the whistle, it creates a problem. It has to do with both sides, Alexander and Cigarroa. We don't teach that and I'm sure Mr. Lopez at Alexander doesn't teach that.
"I can’t speak for Mr. Lopez, but we will address it."
Each school district is responsible for the policing of its players following such an altercation.
The fighting was the lowest point of a night where just about everything went right for Alexander while everything went wrong for Cigarroa.
Cigarroa, which had thrived early in its season by forcing turnovers and earning defensive scores, accomplished neither against the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs punted only once on offense, scoring either touchdowns or field goals on every other offensive possession.
The Toros fell to 3-2 in district, 4-2 overall. The Bulldogs improved to 4-1, 5-1.
10.09.10: Volleyball: Alexander 3, Nixon 0
The title of the best team in Laredo clearly belongs to Alexander, as it tightened its hold on second place in District 29-5A on Saturday with the district season winding down.
The Lady Bulldogs swept Nixon, 25-18, 25-22 and 25-14, to stay two games behind district-leader Eagle Pass.
Alexander (11-2 29-5A, 21-5 overall) displayed a well-balanced offensive attack at the net as four Lady Bulldogs combined for 30 kills, with Lizzy Prieto leading the way with nine.
Daisy Gonzalez, Daniella Gonzalez and Sam Gonzalez backed Prieto’s effort at the net with seven kills apiece.
The Lady Bulldogs took control of the match from the inception of the game and looked in playoff form throughout the first game, taking it 25-18.
Nixon (8-5, 18-15) never got into an offensive rhythm.
The Lady Mustangs had a hard time keeping the ball in play and had more balls hit out of play than not.
ALEXANDER STATS: Adriana Nino (16 assists, one kill, three digs, five points), Denisse Vela (13 digs), Klaire Kazen (one kill, one block), Alexa Salazar (seven digs, six points), Diana Scott (13 digs, four kills), Darian Canno (four blocks), Lizzy Prieto (nine kills, 16 assists, two blocks, nine digs), Sam Gonzalez (two aces, seven kills, three blocks, four digs).
The Lady Bulldogs swept Nixon, 25-18, 25-22 and 25-14, to stay two games behind district-leader Eagle Pass.
Alexander (11-2 29-5A, 21-5 overall) displayed a well-balanced offensive attack at the net as four Lady Bulldogs combined for 30 kills, with Lizzy Prieto leading the way with nine.
Daisy Gonzalez, Daniella Gonzalez and Sam Gonzalez backed Prieto’s effort at the net with seven kills apiece.
The Lady Bulldogs took control of the match from the inception of the game and looked in playoff form throughout the first game, taking it 25-18.
Nixon (8-5, 18-15) never got into an offensive rhythm.
The Lady Mustangs had a hard time keeping the ball in play and had more balls hit out of play than not.
ALEXANDER STATS: Adriana Nino (16 assists, one kill, three digs, five points), Denisse Vela (13 digs), Klaire Kazen (one kill, one block), Alexa Salazar (seven digs, six points), Diana Scott (13 digs, four kills), Darian Canno (four blocks), Lizzy Prieto (nine kills, 16 assists, two blocks, nine digs), Sam Gonzalez (two aces, seven kills, three blocks, four digs).
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
10.05.10: Volleyball: Alexander 3, Del Rio 0
The Lady Bulldogs swept, 25-6, 26-24, 25-22. Alexander improved to 10-2 in District 20-5A, 20-5 overall. Del Rio fell to 6-6, 11-10. Leading the way for Alexander was Adriana Nino (14 assists, six digs, four aces), Lizzy Prieto (19 assists, nine points, seven kills, two aces) and Daisy Gonzales (nine kills, two blocks).
Monday, October 4, 2010
Week 5 Football: Alexander 48, Nixon 14
Coming off an exhilarating victory over Del Rio last week, Alexander didn't miss a beat as it got back to work Saturday night at the SAC, dispatching the Nixon Mustangs, 48-14, in a game that was never.
The Bulldogs got off to a quick start, scoring on six of their first seven drives.
Their efforts were often aided by Nixon mistakes, as the Mustangs fumbled on two of their first three possessions to twice give Alexander short fields to work with.
Alexander's defense started strong and only improved as the night went on, forcing four turnovers and holding Nixon to negative yards in the second half.
The Bulldogs' defense harassed Mustangs quarterback Manny Martinez relentlessly, though they only reached him once for a sack. Martinez completed eight of 19 passes for 27 yards and a single interception, in addition to scrambling for nine yards on six carries.
Mustangs head football coach Tommy Ramirez again reached into his bag of tricks to produce his team's biggest play of the night.
Early in the second quarter and down 27-7, Martinez threw a backward pass to Jesus Perez, who then launched the ball downfield to a wide-open Jesus Hinojosa.
Hinojosa ably caught the ball and reached the end zone just ahead of the pursuing defense for a 56 -yard touchdown.
Nixon running back Ritchie Rendon led his team in rushing despite having zero carries in the second half. The sophomore running back gained 41 yards on nine attempts, including a 17-yard touchdown run, in the first two quarters of play.
Alexander's offense slowed to a crawl in the second half, scoring only once in the final 24 minutes on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Brian Swain to Xavier Skaggs with six minutes left in the game.
Swain put up impressive numbers as he completed 20 of 33 passes for 243 yards and five touchdowns while being intercepted only once.
The junior quarterback also had an impressive 67-yard touchdown scramble when a play broke down on third-and-long.
Nixon’s defense spent most of the night focused on containing the Bulldogs running game and rushing the quarterback and they succeeded, sacking Swain six times.
Alexander sophomore running back Xavier Skaggs had only 50 rushing yards on 11 attempts, but contributed 108 receiving yards on 10 catches, three of which went for touchdowns.
Bulldogs wide receiver Bobby Bowen emerged as his team's primary threat in the second half, accounting for half of Alexander's second-half yards by bringing in four catches for 66 yards.
Alexander’s offense dwarfed Nixon's as the Bulldogs registered 389 total yards compared to the Mustangs' 140.
Worse news than the final score for Nixon was a severe lower leg injury to linebacker Robert Rocha suffered in the second half.
Rocha suffered the injury while covering a Bulldogs punt return and it wasn't clear exactly what happened to cause it.
The stretcher was called out to the field and Rocha was taken away by an ambulance for further treatment.
The game pitted two familiar friends against each other. Ramirez, in his first year at the helm of Nixon, and Alexander coach Joel Lopez grew up in Zapata together and attended the same high school.
Ramirez was also Lopez's defensive coordinator from 1999-2003 when Lopez was the head coach at Nixon then. Together, they won three consecutive district championships.
The Bulldogs got off to a quick start, scoring on six of their first seven drives.
Their efforts were often aided by Nixon mistakes, as the Mustangs fumbled on two of their first three possessions to twice give Alexander short fields to work with.
Alexander's defense started strong and only improved as the night went on, forcing four turnovers and holding Nixon to negative yards in the second half.
The Bulldogs' defense harassed Mustangs quarterback Manny Martinez relentlessly, though they only reached him once for a sack. Martinez completed eight of 19 passes for 27 yards and a single interception, in addition to scrambling for nine yards on six carries.
Mustangs head football coach Tommy Ramirez again reached into his bag of tricks to produce his team's biggest play of the night.
Early in the second quarter and down 27-7, Martinez threw a backward pass to Jesus Perez, who then launched the ball downfield to a wide-open Jesus Hinojosa.
Hinojosa ably caught the ball and reached the end zone just ahead of the pursuing defense for a 56 -yard touchdown.
Nixon running back Ritchie Rendon led his team in rushing despite having zero carries in the second half. The sophomore running back gained 41 yards on nine attempts, including a 17-yard touchdown run, in the first two quarters of play.
Alexander's offense slowed to a crawl in the second half, scoring only once in the final 24 minutes on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Brian Swain to Xavier Skaggs with six minutes left in the game.
Swain put up impressive numbers as he completed 20 of 33 passes for 243 yards and five touchdowns while being intercepted only once.
The junior quarterback also had an impressive 67-yard touchdown scramble when a play broke down on third-and-long.
Nixon’s defense spent most of the night focused on containing the Bulldogs running game and rushing the quarterback and they succeeded, sacking Swain six times.
Alexander sophomore running back Xavier Skaggs had only 50 rushing yards on 11 attempts, but contributed 108 receiving yards on 10 catches, three of which went for touchdowns.
Bulldogs wide receiver Bobby Bowen emerged as his team's primary threat in the second half, accounting for half of Alexander's second-half yards by bringing in four catches for 66 yards.
Alexander’s offense dwarfed Nixon's as the Bulldogs registered 389 total yards compared to the Mustangs' 140.
Worse news than the final score for Nixon was a severe lower leg injury to linebacker Robert Rocha suffered in the second half.
Rocha suffered the injury while covering a Bulldogs punt return and it wasn't clear exactly what happened to cause it.
The stretcher was called out to the field and Rocha was taken away by an ambulance for further treatment.
The game pitted two familiar friends against each other. Ramirez, in his first year at the helm of Nixon, and Alexander coach Joel Lopez grew up in Zapata together and attended the same high school.
Ramirez was also Lopez's defensive coordinator from 1999-2003 when Lopez was the head coach at Nixon then. Together, they won three consecutive district championships.
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