Junior Jasmine Smith gets her kicks in.

The Lady Hawks (5-2-2) took care of business in beating Floresville (8-3-1) at Hawk Stadium last Friday night as all the points scored came in the first half of play.

Canyon Lake had four starters out with injuries while many of the other players were banged up. That is what made the MASH unit even more remarkable.

Head Coach Jeffrey Vaughn looked like a champion puzzle player as he fit the pieces around to come out with a well deserved win over a Floresville Jaguar club.

Moving the Freshman Goal Keeper to a starter, the Senior Goal Keeper to Defender, the Midfielder/Defender to Sweeper, you get the idea. The Hawks were playing positions that were not normal for this young but resilient team.

Young and old players was very evident throughout this contest. Freshman Christy Fowler scored the first goal at the 16 minute mark.

“I saw the ball coming and thought one thing….shoot,” Fowler interjected. “The time froze.”

Christy Fowler starting her break to Jaguars net.

Another Freshman, Mia Hernandez was playing sweeper for the first time ever and responded like she had been born there, which helped seal the end of the game.

“It was kind of hard because I had never played sweeper,” Hernandez said. “I new about where I was going to play this morning and my day had been horrible.”

After a corner kick that resulted in Floresville tying the score, Senior Danielle Carpenter responded at the 24 minute mark, which turned out to be enough points for the game.

“Perseverance…with all the injuries, we had to adapt and play with what we had,” Carpenter started.

Carpenter had moved to midfield after intermission because of another game injury to Andrea Jacobs as she limped off the field.

“Because Annie (Jacobs) got hurt it made the whole game different,” Carpenter hammered home.

Talking about how freshman had come to the rescue, Carpenter responded, “Mia (Hernandez) is an amazing ball handler.”

Another Freshman, Wynne Clark started as goal keeper and had a couple of anxious moments, especially as the game was closing.

With less than five minutes in the game, the Jaguars got loose with a point blank shot on goal. But Clark stayed her ground and the kick went wide.

“I was scared and we were lucky,” Clark said. “Annie hurt her leg last game and this became a confidence builder. I touched the ball and the game slowed.”

A game where players took there orders and performed at a higher than expected level of expertise, this game will go a long way as the team prepares for district play in two weeks.

“We are where we need to be,” Coach Vaughn said. “Tonight girls stepped up and played, we outplayed them and kept them from scoring (in the second half).”

Senior Danielle Carpenter getting ready to use the Hammer.

Coach Vaughn continued, “We had four starters out and we put 11 on the field and we were the best tonight and played as a team.”

The Hawks will have a full week after next week’s game before district play starts.

“That is why I scheduled a number of days before district,” Coach Vaughn finished. “Because of years past when we had injured players after tournaments, this break will allow us to rest and get healed. I’m a Praying man on injuries.”

The M.A.S.H. unit had everything but a Red Cross and tents, but the doctors inside can still perform miracles as they move to Pleasanton next Tuesday as the team prepares for more injuries to cure.

Head Coach Trent Dunavant

The Hawks were then hit with a slew of injuries and players moving to give the 2011 season a rebuilding campaign.

So now, one year later, Canyon Lake will now enter this season with only one returning Senior (Dylan Adams) and two strong classes that have the potential to surprise some district foes.

How about, Travis Walker in his third year on the varsity. The catcher/third baseman/pitcher will be wearing a lot of hats.

Walker will have a lot of records when this season comes to an end with another year still beckoning. Walker only needs 31 more at bats, 12 walks, one homerun, three doubles, 17 more hits, 10 rbi’s, and 25 more stolen bases, to be number one in all those categories.

Noted that the stolen base record still looks safe, but The ReSporter just wanted Walker to have something to chase (pardon the pun) this season.

The other Juniors will be in their second full year. Daniel Camarillo finished with a .360 batting average while Logan Felch finished at .340 last year.

Kyler Huff’s year was cut short with a broken jaw, but was a very important cog to last years team pitching and fielding.

Michael Brady finished with a .298 batting average playing first base/catcher/and pitcher in his first year of Varsity competition.

Head Coach Trent Dunavant mentioned all last season on how his team had Sophomores pitching and batting against teams dominated with Seniors.

Now this year the players will close the gap with age and the experience gained last season will help this Hawk team to compete on a more level field.

“We are going to see where the guys fit the best,” Coach Trent Dunavant said. “We have more speed and that should allow us to put more pressure on teams.”

Coach Dunavant mentioned another aspect that should help in CL to compete in District 26-3A.

“The bats,” Dunavant hit away. “The batter will have to square up and hit the sweet spot because the UIL has deadened the bat this season. That will also cause the balls to hang in the air more and slow the ground balls in the infield.”

Coach Dunavant has always accentuated defense, but many times with the live bats of yesteryear, all defenses could do is watch as good pitches were hit in the gap or over the fence.

“The new bats will help us out,” Dunavant repeated. “It brings baseball back to where it was meant to be.”

Those same bats will also improve the pitching and bring scores down.

Canyon Lake will have to be on their game defensively and pitching in order to put them above their district competition.

“Our pitchers will need good pitches in and out,” Coach Dunavant said strategically. “Our pitchers will need to throw strikes and let the defense do the rest.”

District 26-3A will have a different schedule this season as each team plays a three game series. Each team plays at least one home or two home games with each district opponent.

“The three times will allow us to see the number two and three pitchers,” Head Coach Dunavant said.

With the old system a team would only need two pitchers to dominate the district and now three pitchers or more depth will help level teams and records.

Last season the Hawks finished with nine or 10 players to start a game. Decisions would be based on how many players were on the bench or how many pitches had been thrown.

To interview Coach Dunavant after a game last year was greeted with frustration, as he looked down into the dug out and seeing one reserve to help in any given situation.

Now, Canyon Lake will start with a full compliment of players and a Freshman team to work with for the next season.

“This gives us a lot of options and a large majority (of Freshman) have been in our camps,” Coach Dunavant said gleefully.

Now the fun begins as CL finishes their first week of practice and this team readies for their first scrimmage, Monday February 6th. First pitch will be 5pm against Llano at the Hawk Diamond.

Amber Ramsey taking control of the Paint

parents crying in the loss to Wimberley, 56-47.

Canyon Lake started the pre/season with an idea of play the games with as much effort as possible and make the games respectable.

After starting district play with two losses, with what turned out to be the two district front runners, this team had other thoughts about how they might be able to push the envelope.

Amber West, Emily Moore, and Caitlin Gillum had a pretty impressive line score for that last home game for Canyon Lake.

Shots   Free Throws    Reb.   Assists    Steals    Blocks   Points
7/14      12-23                     10          3            4             1            26

The Hawks needed a win to keep their chance for a playoff game to be a reality. Canyon Lake had a 46-45 lead with three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

During that time of the quarter, the Hawks had already lost two players to fouls and then another three other  players were escorted off the court carrying five fouls.

A loss of depth was something CL could not overcome as Wimberley increased the final lead to nine points from the line.

Emily Moore getting royal treatment for Senior Night

The game had 12 lead changes along with five ties in a game both teams were treating like a playoff.

Wimberley could of survived with a loss, but Canyon Lake did not have that luxury.

Looking at Canyon Lake when Coach MaryBeth Gallagher was forming the first practices, this team would not have had a resume that might throw a scare into many teams.

As the season matured, so did the players as the future starts to look much brighter.

Amber West was the last player that started two years ago for the playoffs against Lytle. West wore more floor stains than many players would want to subject themselves to.

Emily Moore might not have started or played as many minutes, but don’t ever discount players that come off the bench and put in tons of sweat in practice every week for the betterment of the team.

Caitlin Gillum was a transfer, but her basketball savvy helped rise the Hawks to the doorstep of playoffs on a year that might not of been thought as being possible.

Canyon Lake will end there season this Friday in Fredericksburg, but next year will be a new season with a great ground work coming from this group and of course the Seniors.

 Varsity Girls   1   2   3   4   Final
 Wimberley       8  17  13  18    56
 Canyon Lake    14   8  15  10    47

                Total    3PT.                Rebounds
 Name          FGM-FGA FGA-FGM FTA-FTM  PTS OR  DR  TOT  A  S  B  TO
 Amber West      4-9     0-0     2-6    10   1   2   3   1  1  1   5
 Hannah St John  1-5     0-1     2-4     4   0   0   0   0  1  0   4  
 Amber Ramsey    4-11    0-0     0-0     8   3   5   8   0  0  3   3
 Katie Williams  2-9     0-0     0-3     4   3   5   8   2  4  1   2  
 Marissa Ellis   0-5     0-0     0-2     0   5   2   7   1  0  1   0
 Tammy Dean      0-0     0-0     1-2     1   0   0   0   0  0  0   1    
 Kelsey Long     0-0     0-0     1-2     1   1   0   1   0  1  0   0
 Emily Moore     0-2     0-0     0-3     0   0   0   0   0  0  0   0
 Katy Platt      0-1     0-1     0-0     0   0   0   0   0  0  0   0
 Caitlin Gillum  3-5     0-0    10-14   16   4   3   7   2  3  0   6
 Olivia Flores   1-2     1-1     0-0     3   0   0   0   0  1  0   3

 TOTAL          15-49    1-3    16-36   47  17  17  34   6 11  6  24
 Percent        30.6%   33.3%   44.4%

Amber West celebrating Senior Night

Caitlin Gillum getting Assist for Senior Night

Two of the last three games, the Hawks have scored over 25 points in the fourth quarter and both time have resulted in the same outcome, a loss.

The Tuesday night game did have Canyon Lake close enough for a one possession game, but never could get to the top of the mountain.

Matt Magness started the fourth quarter with a five point spurt and after two made free throws from Brandon Belcher, the Hawks were down only 11 points with over six minutes left in the game.

Magness brought the home team within single digits, 51-43 a minute later and Wimberley Coach could be seen checking for a towel to wipe sweat off his brow.

Canyon Lake was not finished closing the gap to four points as the Hawks finished with a 10-0 run during the span.

Wimberley responded with a five point run to increase the lead back to nine, but CL out hustled the Texans and found themselves needing just one shot for a tie with 1:42 left on the clock, 56-53 and 58-55 thirty seconds later.

Often times when a team has such a long road for a comeback, everything needs to fall into place. Wimberley closed the game with six free throws in a row to close the game to the final score.

The 26 point fourth quarter almost matched the 29 points scored earlier in a game against Bandera. Unfortunately, the Hawks found their stroke to late to change the outcome in both games.

Magness finished with 16 points and was joined by Ancel Morel and Matt Noyola with, 13 and 12 respectfully.

Morel continued to finish the season strong making six of seven shots while Noyola was all over the court finishing with three steals and causing multiple turnovers that helped contribute to the comeback.

 Varsity         1   2   3   4   Final
 Wimberley      14  13  19  18    64
 Canyon Lake    10   8  11  26    55

                   Total    3PT.                Rebounds
 Name             FGM-FGA FGA-FGM FTA-FTM  PTS OR DR TOT  A  S  B  TO
 Kevin Nolan        0-1     0-0     0-0     0   0  1  1   0  0  0   0
 Tavion Pearson     1-4     0-1     0-0     2   1  2  3   1  1  0   1
 Paul Davis         0-0     0-0     0-0     0   0  0  0   0  0  0   1
 Matt Magness       6-15    2-8     2-3    16   2  1  3   7  5  0   6
 Ancel Morel        6-7     1-1     0-2    13   1  4  5   0  1  1   0   
 Brandon Berger     1-5     1-1     0-0     3   2  1  3   1  0  0   1
 Doug Hubnik        0-1     0-0     2-2     2   1  2  3   1  0  1   4
 Matt Noyola        4-7     1-2     3-6    12   0  1  1   3  4  0   4
 Carl Cook          0-2     0-1     0-0     0   2  1  3   2  1  0   2
 Branson Belcher    2-4     0-0     3-4     7   0  0  0   0  1  0   0
 Jason Wiggington   0-0     0-0     0-0     0   1  0  1   0  0  1   0
 Ryan Bustamante    0-0     0-0     0-0     0   0  0  0   1  0  0   0
       TOTAL       20-46    5-13   10-17   55  10 13 23  16 13  3  19
       Percent     43.5%   38.5%   58.8%
 

 Quarter First       Second      Half   Third      Fourth     Half   Game
 2Pt FG  5/12..42%   3/10..30%   36%    4/10..40%  8/14..57%  50%    44%
 3Pt FG  0/2...00%   1/3...33%   20%    3/5...60%  1/5...20%  40%    39%   
 FT      0-2...00%   1/4...25%   17%    0/0...00%  9/11..82%  82%    58%
 TO      5           5           10     3          6          9      19
 

The Hawks scored 24 points from the bench and never let SA Hawkins get control of the game.

Luke Curry took the game over in the fourth quarter during a mini run from Hawkins. Curry scored eight of the nine points CL scored in the fourth quarter, after the Wolf Pack closed the game after a 12 point run that closed the gap to, 45-33.

“I felt ‘it’ during the warm-ups,” Guard Curry said. “I had been training and could not hit the side of a barn…but I kept my intensity up and came out with 110% off the bench.”

Caleb Kreiger also finished with 13 points with a dunk thrown in for an exclamation point. Oh, by the way Kreiger’s four blocks intimidated the opposition too.

“This team keeps grinding and plays hard throughout the game,” Head Coach David Bentzen implied. “The bench was nails in the fourth quarter.”

The second quarter was the quarter that put distance between Hawkins and the Hawks.

CL made eight of 12 shots, thanks in part with Isaac Mendez feeding the ball underneath to Kreiger. That combination was unstoppable and Canyon Lake went into halftime with a, 30-15 lead.

Canyon Lake continued to play within their capabilities and that resolve helped put the Hawk in Hawkins.

JV Boys       1   2   3   4   Final
SA Hawkins    8   7   6  14    35
Canyon Lake  12  18  15   9    54

                   Total    3PT.                Rebounds
Name              FGM-FGA FGM-FGA FTM-FTA  PTS OR  DR  TOT  A  S  B  TO
Chandler Faulkner   3-6     0-0     1-1     7   1   0   1   0  0  0  4
Thomas McIntire     0-0     0-0     0-0     0   0   0   0   0  0  0  0
Luke Curry          5-10    2-6     1-2    13   1   1   2   0  2  0  1
Isaac Mendez        1-2     0-0     2-3     4   2   2   4   3  2  0  1
Robbie Ferris       1-7     0-1     0-2     2   0   3   3   2  1  0  2
Andrew Riali        2-6     0-0     0-1     4   1   1   2   0  0  0  1
Caleb Kreiger       6-7     0-0     1-2    13   2   4   6   0  1  4  2
Tyler Clark         2-5     1-1     0-0     5   2   3   5   2  3  0  1
Ray Dailey          1-2     0-0     0-0     2   0   1   1   0  0  1  0
Erik Ibarra         1-4     0-0     2-4     4   0   2   2   1  0  0  2
Chris Biediger      0-0     0-0     0-0     0   1   0   1   0  0  0  1
TOTAL              22-49    3-8     7-15   54  10  17  27   8  9  5 15
Percent            44.9%    37.5%   46.7%


Quarter  First       Second      Half   Third      Fourth     Half   Game
FG       5/14..36%   8/12..33%   67%    5/11..45%  4/12..33%  39%    45%
3Pt FG   1/3...33%   0/1....0%   25%    1/3...33%  1/2...40%  30%    38%
FT       1/4...25%   2/4...50%   38%    4/7...57%  0/0...00%  57%    47%
TO       1           5           6      3          6          9      15

Kevin Nolan outstretching the Wolf Pack

Canyon Lake could not finish as turnovers and rebounding in the fourth quarter finally put the game away for the Wolf Pack from San Antonio Hawkins, 48-38.

There was six ties and lead changes in the contest as both team found themselves without an advantage with the score knotted up at the six minute mark at 31 all after a nice Matt Magness pass to Carl Cook shot.

For the next four minutes the game was with Hawkins as the Hawks could not get a rebound, as 77 seconds came off the clock while the CL could not get a rebound after several  missed free throws from the visitors.

The result was four point deficit, 35-31 to 42-31 game, taking Canyon Lake out of contention.

Earlier this week the Hawks had 14 offensive rebounds and in this game that stat went to single digits with five.

Canyon Lake also had seven turnovers in the fourth quarter almost matching the game total for the first three quarters.

Magness once again finished with a team leading 17 points while dishing three assists.

Canyon Lake will finish out their three game home stand against Wimberley next Tuesday with games starting at 5pm.

 Varsity         1   2   3   4   Final
 SA Hawkins     10   5  12  21    48
 Canyon Lake    10   8  11   9    38

                   Total    3PT.               Rebounds
 Name             FGM-FGA FGA-FGM FTA-FTM  PTS OR DR TOT  A  S  B  TO 
 Kevin Nolan        0-1     0-0     0-0     0   1  3  4   1  2  1   1
 Tavion Pearson     1-3     0-0     0-0     2   0  1  1   1  1  0   4
 Paul Davis         0-1     0-1     0-0     0   0  2  2   0  0  0   0
 Matt Magness       6-13    3-8     2-3    17   0  2  2   3  3  0   5     
 Brandon Berger     2-6     0-1     0-0     4   2  3  5   0  1  0   2
 Doug Hubnik        1-2     0-0     2-4     4   0  2  2   0  0  0   0
 Matt Noyola        1-6     0-2     4-6     6   0  3  3   0  2  0   2
 Carl Cook          2-7     0-3     1-1     5   0  3  3   1  0  0   1
 Branson Belcher    0-3     0-0     0-1     0   1  4  5   0  0  0   0
 Jason Wiggington   0-1     0-0     0-0     0   1  0  1   0  0  0   0
 Ryan Bustamante    0-0     0-0     0-0     0   0  0  0   1  0  0   0
       TOTAL       13-43    3-14    9-15   52   5 23 28   7  9  1  15
       Percent     30.2%   21.4%   60.0%

 Quarter First       Second      Half   Third      Fourth     Half   Game
 FG      2/11..18%   4/12..33%   26%    4/11..36%  3/9...33%  35%    30%
 3Pt FG  0/2....0%   0/3....0%    0%    1/5...20%  2/5...40%  30%    21%   
 FT      6/9...67%   0/2....0%   55%    2/2..100%  1/2...50%  75%    60%
 TO      1           2           3      5           7         12     15

The game kept fans on the edge of their seats as the final seconds ticked down and smiled on the Warriors.

“Exciting for the fans but nothing either coach will be using as a training aid for future teams,” Head Coach James Johnson said. “We had a very good effort defensively but not much of anything positive to say about the offensive execution.”

With a halftime deficit of seven points, the Warriors came out with a defensive effort Coach Johnson spoke of, “I thought we defended well and that was what saved us.”

Marble Falls Flames could only muster 11 points in the second half which allowed the comeback to be complete for Bracken Christian.

Senior Jordan McDaniel finished with 18 points leading the way with help from Ty Zunker scoring seven points.

The win might not have been a thing of beauty, but it certainly helped with the long bus ride home for BCS.

“Any win on the road against a team you already lost to is huge,” Coach Johnson finished. “We will take it, but we still have a long way to go in the next few weeks.”

 Varsity Boys    1   2   3   4   Final
 BCS Warriors    9   7   6  13    35
 Marble Falls   11  12   3   8    34
 Scoring:
 Jordan McDaniel 18, Ty Zunker 7, Jordan
 Rohlmeier 4, Austin Johnson 2, Donald
 Loving 2, Jonathan Wright 2. 

Canyon Lake garnered more points in the fourth quarter (27) than they had in the first three quarters combined (25).

“We finally knew we could play with these guys,” Senior Matt Noyola said. “That is what gave us the confidence.”

The Hawks missed 15 free throws which should let you know what could of been done to get in the win column.

Noyola finished with 15 points and contributed 12 points in the second half. Noyola made his last eight free throws that help close the gap.

Shooting guard Matt Magness also had double digit scoring night, finishing with 12 points.

Canyon Lake stormed into the fourth quarter to pull within range to smell the Bulldogs, but could not climb the fence to put the ‘dog on a leash.

The 52 points scored matched a district high against Wimberley four games ago. In between the Hawks had been marred with a 36 point average in the last three games.

Next game will be Friday, January 27th, after the Junior Varsity game against San Antonio Hawkins in the Canyon Lake gym.

“We are going to finish it (season) out right,” Noyola finished. “We are going to give it 110% and start as a team and finish as a team.”

 Varsity         1   2   3   4  Final
 Bandera        16  18   8  15   57
 Canyon Lake    11   8   6  27   52

                   Total    3PT.                Rebounds
 Name             FGM-FGA FGA-FGM FTA-FTM  PTS OR DR TOT  A  S  B  TO 
 Kevin Nolan        0-1     0-0     0-0     0   0  1  1   0  0  0   0
 Tavion Pearson     1-4     1-3     0-0     3   0  3  3   0  1  0   2
 Paul Davis         1-4     0-1     0-0     2   1  1  2   0  1  0   1
 Matt Magness       4-15    1-7     3-8    12   2  3  5   3  1  0   5
 Ancel Morel        2-3     0-1     3-6     7   2  4  6   0  0  1   0     
 Brandon Berger     1-5     0-1     3-4     5   1  2  3   1  1  0   4
 Doug Hubnik        1-4     1-1     0-0     3   1  0  1   0  2  0   1
 Matt Noyola        3-10    0-4     9-11   15   3  3  6   3  1  0   2
 Carl Cook          0-1     0-0     0-3     0   2  2  4   0  1  0   0
 Branson Belcher    2-3     0-0     1-2     5   2  0  2   0  0  0   1
       TOTAL       15-50    3-18   19-34   52  14 19 33   7  8  1  16
       Percent     30.0%   16.7%   55.9%