A Chance Encounter in Port Lavaca

Last month, I published a story about John Limon and his son Bobby who now reside in Port Lavaca, Texas after spending a number of months struggling with losing their rental home near Austin.

I met John in Cuero last fall while waiting for the second half to start of a playoff football game I was covering there and after talking for a bit, he shared his family's story of being homeless for the past year.

We met a few times over the course of the past few months and at some point during our conversations John told me about a "chance encounter" he'd had with a man at a Pizza Hut in Port Lavaca while visiting to check out the town. This mysterious encounter ended up being a vital part of the Limon family's decision to move their lives and begin again in Port Lavaca which immediately piqued my interest.

Listen to John and Bobby tell their story in a video I produced below:

Texas State Football Championships

Two teams (Refugio and Shiner) from the Victoria Advocate's coverage area played in the Texas State Championships in Arlington at AT&T Stadium on Thursday.

Fellow Advocate photographers Mason Trinca and Kat Duncan covered the action of both games while I worked the crowd and looked for more feature oriented photos to help diversify the coverage a bit.

Here are a few frames from the assignment:

Refugio vs. Rogers High School Playoff Football

Last Friday, I had the good fortune of being able to photograph perhaps the single most exciting game of football I have ever witnessed.

Watching Refugio High quarterback Travis Quintanilla break the all-time Texas State high school career passing yards record and then go on to win in a stunning 73-72 overtime finish was quite the spectacle.

"That was one of the best high school games I've seen in 30 years," said (legendary) Texas sports reporter Mike Forman after the game. We couldn't stop talking about it the whole way home from Houston.

Here are a few images from the game:

Refugio High quarterback Travis Quintanilla celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass against Rogers High at Ken Pridgeon Stadium in Houston, Texas on Nov. 29, 2013. Quintanilla passed for 712 yards, breaking the Texas State high school career passing yards record, on the way to a 73-72 victory in overtime. (IAN TERRY/ITERRY@VICAD.COM)

Rogers High quarterback Colton Maiorka jumps past Refugio High defenders at Ken Pridgeon Stadium in Houston, Texas on Nov. 29, 2013. Refugio High would go on to win 73-72 in overtime. (IAN TERRY/ITERRY@VICAD.COM)

Rogers High running back Brody Malovets, center, is tackled by Refugio High players J.B. Brown, left, and Alex Coronado, right, at Ken Pridgeon Stadium in Houston, Texas on Nov. 29, 2013. Refugio High would go on to win 73-72 in overtime. (IAN TERRY/ITERRY@VICAD.COM)

Refugio High players watch on the sidelines as the game winning extra point clinches their 73-72 victory in overtime against Rogers High on Nov. 29, 2013 at Ken Pridgeon Stadium in Houston, Texas. (IAN TERRY/ITERRY@VICAD.COM)

Refugio High band members, from left, Lizbeth Delgado, Krystal Garcia and Hannah Heard cheer as Refugio High scores a touchdown to tie the game at 66-66 late in the fourth quarter at Ken Pridgeon Stadium in Houston, Texas on Nov. 29, 2013. (IAN TERRY/ITERRY@VICAD.COM)

Refugio High kicker Adolfo Cordero, center, celebrates with teammate Julian Murillo, left, after kicking the game winning extra point to win 73-72 against Rogers High in overtime at Ken Pridgeon Stadium in Houston, Texas on Nov. 29, 2013. (IAN TERRY/ITERRY@VICAD.COM)

Refugio High defensive lineman Jonathan Cantu, bottom left, celebrates with teammates after defeating Rogers High 73-72 in overtime at Ken Pridgeon Stadium in Houston, Texas on Nov. 29, 2013. (IAN TERRY/ITERRY@VICAD.COM)

The Victoria Advocate | November 30, 2013

Single: Rain Delay

When it rains in Texas, it rains hard in Texas...

Hard enough to completely cancel the religious spectacle that is Friday night high school football. Friday night's game at Memorial Stadium in Victoria, Texas was the first I've covered for the Victoria Advocate, a newspaper I'm currently here completing a multimedia internship with.

I was expecting a pretty standard evening of shooting-- grab the first half, then transmit at halftime before heading back to the newsroom-- but the story quickly changed when lightning, thunder and a torrential downpour roared into the area and forced a cancellation of not only the game I was at, but also every other game going on that evening within the paper's coverage area.

In short, the story was no longer football, it was weather. I snagged this photo before scampering back to the press box to dry out:

Victoria East High School cheerleaders, from left, Anna-Ashley Spence, Kirsten Click and Sydney Warner huddle together in the rain at Memorial Stadium in Victoria, Texas on Sept. 20, 2013. Heavy rain and lightning would eventually cancel the game between Victoria East and CC King midway through the first quarter. (IAN TERRY/ITERRY@VICAD.COM)

Victoria Advocate | September 21, 2013