Daniel Alvarado enjoying success with Lockney football, marching band

LOCKNEY — Daniel Alvarado has many responsibilities with the Lockney football team.

A receiver and defensive back, the sophomore also handles kicking and punting duties. His other extra curriculars have prepared him to juggle a heavy workload.

Alvarado hardly leaves the field, and that includes during the 20 minutes of halftime.

When most of his teammates retreat to the locker room, Alvarado picks up his trumpet and takes his place among the marching band. He played all the right notes Friday at Mitchell Zimmerman Field — helping the Longhorns to an important win over Ralls while preparing to chase more success the next day.

Alvarado caught a touchdown pass, snagged an interception and converted all five extra points in a 35-22 victory that puts Lockney in control of District 3-2A Division II. He'll chase a state-contest berth with his bandmates Saturday in hopes of continuing the memorable semester.

"I love doing both," Alvarado said. "Just being with this community, my friends. I just love it."

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The Lockney community loved seeing his play against the Jackrabbits. Alvarado's interception set up the Longhorns' third consecutive scoring drive late in the first half. Quarterback Dyllan Thiebaud picked a low snap off the ground and delivered a deep ball to Alvarado before being pummeled by a pair of Ralls defenders.

"I did not see the pass," Thiebaud said. "I just threw it. I was like, 'Daniel's out there somewhere.' He's a playmaker, and he made a play."

Soon after, Alvarado and four teammates performed their final run-through with the band before Saturday's area contest. Lockney is one of 26 Class 2A schools that earned a Division I rating at region competition to advance. The Longhorns, whose '80s rock-band-inspired show is titled, "A Space Odyssey," must finish in the top five to reach the top contest in San Antonio.

Band director Robert Rumbelow said Lockney was "a couple of places" from a state berth last year after advancing to the final 10.

Alvarado said weekends with back-to-back commitments are tiring but rewarding.

"It's just really fun marching with the band," he said. "I know we can go to state, so that's why I just keep on going."

The football team is in the middle of its own fortune — with eyes on a long-awaited achievement. Following consecutive wins over last season's co-champions, Lockney (6-1 overall, 3-0 district) is in prime position for its first district title since 2004.

"It feels absolutely great, but just like I tell the kids, we're one step at a time," Longhorns coach Jonathan Thiebaud said. "I haven't looked at the end of the season. This week we were 1-0, trying to be 1-0 next week."

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It's quite the turnaround from a 2-8 campaign.

"Losing sucks," Dyllan Thiebaud said, "and this feels really good. I think this feeling is what we want, and it's really motivating us to keep striving every week to be better and better."

Alvarado is happy he doesn't have to choose between the two thriving programs. The school aims to support well-rounded kids, Rumbelow said, and that's achieved through faculty communication.

"We want students who are talented in every discipline," Rumbelow said. "When they have a lot of talents, we want to make sure they're getting to use those."

It also gives the band reason to cheer a bit louder on Friday nights.

"It's a small school, so all our kids know each other really well," Rumbelow said. "There's just real good support for each other and really all the activities."

DISTRICT 3-2A DIVISION II

Lockney 35, Ralls 22

Ralls 6 8 0 8 — 22

Lockney 0 21 14 0 — 35

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

RAL — Caden Cargile 52 run (run failed), 3:34

Second quarter

LOC — Dyllan Thiebaud 55 run (Daniel Alvarado kick), 9:00

LOC — Eli Nunez 5 run (Alvarado kick), 4:44

LOC — Alvarado 53 pass from Thiebaud (Alvarado kick), 1:32

RAL — Aydan Villalba 43 pass from Gunner Hitt (Villalba run), 0:29

Third quarter

LOC — Xavier Jimenez 12 run (Alvarado kick), 5:27

LOC — Thiebaud 11 run (Alvarado kick), 2:11

Fourth quarter

RAL — Cargile 12 pass from Hitt (Justin Zavala run), 7:46

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: (R) 13; (L) 17

Rushes-Yards: (R) 43-278; (L) 46-300

Passing: (R) 98; (L) 74

Comp-Att-Int: (R) 5-8-2; (L) 2-4-0

Punts-Avg: (R) 2-29; (L) 3-44

Fumbles-Lost: (R) 2-1; (L) 1-1

Penalties-Yards: (R) 11-70; (L) 7-60

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Ralls, Caden Cargile 18-154, Aydan Villalba 12-89, Justin Zavala 8-18, Gunner Hitt 3-12, Evan Ybarra 2-5. Lockney, Xavier Jimenez 30-162, Dyllan Thiebaud 13-137, Eli Nunez 1-5, Team 2-(-4).

PASSING: Ralls, Hitt 5-7-1—98, Cargile 0-1-1. Lockney, Thiebaud 2-4-0—74.

RECEIVING: Ralls, Cargile 2-44, Villalba 1-43, Zavala 1-7, Andrew Morales 1-4. Lockney, Daniel Alvarado 2-74.

RECORDS: Ralls 6-2, 2-1; Lockney 6-1, 3-0.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Daniel Alvarado enjoying success with Lockney football, marching band