Lightning delay does little to slow Alamo Heights in rout of Pieper in season opener

The thunderstorm that made its way through the San Antonio area wasn’t the only semblance of lightning at Pieper Warrior Stadium on Friday night.

Alamo Heights scored on its first two possessions and the Mules’ quick-strike offense was only slowed by a three-hour weather delay in a 43-14 victory over Pieper in their season opener.

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Quarterback Easton Stone and receiver Charlie Mitchell sparked the Mules as they connected for three touchdowns. Stone threw for 190 yards and four scores, with Mitchell catching scoring passes of 24, 25 and 2 yards. He finished with five catches for 53 yards.

Stone’s last scoring toss went to Landon Balldin on a 73-yarder in the third quarter, accounting for most of the latter’s 103 yards receiving on five catches.

It was Mitchell’s first taste of the sport in high school as the basketball player came out for the football team for the first time this season.

“I’m blessed honestly,” Mitchell said. “Easton has been throwing me perfect balls, and I just couldn’t be more grateful to my coach, everything and all the work I’ve put in. I was always playing basketball all my life, and I didn’t want to go to college regretting that I wouldn’t play high school (football). So, I just decided I would go out and try it. So, I’m really happy out here.

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“Me and Easton, we’ve been working on the field since 5 a.m. to late nights. It’s always the chemistry,” Mitchell added. “I was already friends with Easton before I started playing football, and I think that correlates. We’ve put in a lot of work, a lot of reps. It goes along way.”

The rout of Pieper was a good way to start the Rudy Nerio era at Alamo Heights. Nerio takes over for Ron Rittimann, who retired after spending the last six seasons leading Alamo Heights.

“We talk about controlling the controllables and not worrying about things like weather, and things like that and our guys have really bought in to what we’re selling,” Nerio said. “Unbelievably proud of how they started, how they responded after a weather delay and all the credit goes to our guys.”

Nerio was pleased with the start Mitchell had in his debut football game.

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“What an awesome debut today,” Nerio said. “Super excited about Easton (Stone) and the leadership he brings at that position at quarterback. I’m excited to see how that connection keeps growing.”

William Bishop capped a quick, five-play opening drive with a 40-yard touchdown run, powering his way into the end zone to put Alamo Heights up 7-0 with 9:32 left in the first quarter.

Lee Brockwell intercepted Pieper quarterback Chase Lyons near midfield to set up Alamo Heights’ next score. Stone then connected with Mitchell on his first scoring pass, a 24-yarder on a fade route to put the Mules up 13-0 with 8:22 remaining in the first after the point after kick was missed.

Officials delayed the game late in the first quarter because of thunderstorms in the area. Play resumed around 10:30 p.m., with the game ending early Saturday morning.

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The duo of Stone and Mitchell continued where it left off following the delay, as Stone found Mitchell open up the middle on a 25-yard catch-and-run and a two-yard scoring toss in the second quarter.

In between the two Mitchell touchdown catches, Wade Springer gave Pieper a glimpse of hope when he bolted on a 54-yard scoring run in the second quarter to get the Warriors within 20-7. Stone and Mitchell then answered the Pieper score with their two-yard scoring connection, and then Will Trevino had a pick six for the Mules, going 34 yards on an interception return to give Alamo Heights a 33-7 halftime lead.

Lyons finished with 216 yards and two scores, including a 65-yard touchdown pass to Luke Jordan, but the Alamo Heights defense pressured him into throwing four interceptions and sacked him twice.

Alamo Heights racked up 374 yards of total offense while Pieper managed 312 total yards in defeat.

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It was the first meeting between the two schools since Pieper defeated Alamo Heights 53-46 in the Class 5A Division II regional semifinal playoff in 2023.

The game was a rough start for new Pieper coach Eddie Salas, who took over the reins of the team after Nick Rogers stepped down after last season. It was also Pieper’s first game as a Class 6A program after playing their first five years in Class 5A.

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This article originally published at Lightning delay does little to slow Alamo Heights in rout of Pieper in season opener.