Wade Miller
The Uvalde Coyotes will take on the Crystal City Javelinas tomorrow night in football competition in the Honey Bowl.
Kick-off time for the contest is set for 7 p.m.
Prior to the ball game, players and parents will be recognized during a special Uvalde High School Parents’ Night program.
“Parents Night is always a big deal,” said UHS head football coach Wade Miller. “We appreciate the support of our parents. We look forward to recognizing and thanking them before the game Friday night.”
Desmon Battle is in his second season as head football coach at Crystal City High School. Coach Battle entered this season with 20 returning lettermen from last year’s 2-8 team.
They defeated the Lytle Pirates, 31-6, in their 2022 season finale.
The Javelinas are off to a slow start this football season, but they have played three tough opponents in Brackett, Devine, and Zapata.
“We have faced three good teams that are well-coached. We go up against another good team in Uvalde this Friday,” said Coach Battle.
“Our kids are up to the challenge that this week brings,” said Battle. “And as long as we continue to improve every day and every week that’s all I can ask for in my second season as their head coach.”
Three of Crystal City’s top players include team captains Jason Mendoza, Eric Sanchez, and Ramon Hernandez.
Mendoza is a junior running back and linebacker, Sanchez is a senior offensive and defensive lineman, and Hernandez is a senior running back and linebacker.
“Coach Battle has done a good job of establishing his program in a short period of time,” said Coach Miller. “He has a really good sophomore class and some other good, young players coming up.
“Crystal City lost some key seniors from their 2022 ball club,” said Miller. “As a result, the Javelinas have a younger football team this season. They have a lot of sophomores on their lineup.
“Defensively, the Javelinas have played well this season, but they have struggled a bit on offense,” said Miller. “But overall, they have shown progress and improvement with each game.”
Coach Miller’s Coyotes, 2-1 for the season, will enter tomorrow’s contest coming off an impressive showing last Friday night in their 36-0 win over the Poteet Aggies in their season home opener.
“Our kids played well last Friday,” said Miller. “They did what they were supposed to do.
“We scored the first two times we had the football and got off to a good lead. In the second half, we added to our lead and then played a lot of reserve players the rest of the way,” said Miller.
“Defensively, we shut Poteet down,” said Miller. “Our kids were flying to the football and did a good job on the way to recording a shutout.”
For the Coyotes the only bad thing in the game was 120 yards in penalties.
“Needless to say, the penalties, especially the personal penalties, are a concern,” said Miller. “When you are beating your opponent, you do not want hurt yourself by incurring senseless penalties.
“In a close game, those kind of penalties can mean the difference between winning or losing,” said Miller. “We have to play smarter and more disciplined football.”
After winning a lopsided game over Poteet, Miller said that a concern going to the game tomorrow is overconfidence.
“When you play well and win a game well, we as coaches always worry about getting the kids to prepare hard and to play hard in the very next game,” said Miller. “The key to becoming a good football team is to play well consistently.”
