Press release from San Felipe Del Rio CISD
The DRHS Smokin’ Rams BBQ Club is headed to nationals after a strong performance at the Texas High School BBQ Association state competition in Burnet, where multiple teams earned bids to compete at the next level.
In just its third year of competition, the program sent seven teams to the state contest and came away with four national qualifiers for the National High School BBQ Association competition set for June 7–10 in The Colony.
The Smokin’ Rams fired up early Saturday morning in the Burnet High School parking lot, surrounded by family members and coaches, bringing both high school and middle school teams into one of the state’s top student culinary competitions.
Chef Adan Cortez led four high school teams — Smokin’ Queens, Calcifer’s Crew, Sparkle & Smoke, and The Rib Ticklers — along with three middle school teams: Del Rio Blue Crew (DRMS), Smokin’ Broz (SFMMS), and The Ram Country Grillers (GMS).
Teams competed across five categories: grilled cheese, ribeye, Dutch oven upside down cake, chicken lollipops and pork ribs. Each team also entered a jackpot category, pork butt, as part of preparation for a potential national run.
Beyond the cooking, teams brought energy and creativity to the event, showcasing school spirit with banners, posters, stickers, keychains, decorated clothespins and custom team apparel. On the pits, competitors focused on execution — managing fires, maintaining preparation stations and staying composed through the pressure of timed turn-ins.
When the final horn sounded, teams broke down their stations and awaited results that would ultimately send several Del Rio squads to nationals.
Top results
Pork Butt (High School)
- 3rd place — Calcifer’s Crew
Ribeye (Middle School)
- 8th — Smokin’ Broz
Upside Down Cake (Middle School)
- 6th — Ram Country Grillers
Upside Down Cake (High School)
- 6th — Calcifer’s Crew
Chicken Lollipops (Middle School)
- 2nd — Ram Country Grillers
- 7th — Blue Crew BBQ
Pork Ribs (Middle School)
- 7th — Ram Country Grillers
- 9th — Smokin’ Broz
Overall (Middle School)
- 8th — Ram Country Grillers
National qualifiers
High School
- Calcifer’s Crew: Ana Zapata, Vivian Zapata, Daniel Padroin and Emiliano Castro
Mentors: Chef Cortez, Gabriel Zapata and Gregorio Castro
Middle School
- Ram Country Grillers: Giana Rodriguez, Alexia Castillon, Fabian Jurado and Elliott Jurado
Mentors: Chef Cortez, Giselle Rodriguez and Mark Rodriguez - Smokin’ Broz: Reed Nebel, Canden Flores and Leeroy Almaguer
Mentor: Scott Nebel - Del Rio Blue Crew: Diego Hernandez, Olivia Hernandez, Adan Randez and Blaike Hughes
Mentors: Chef Jessica Fuentes and Chef Juan Fuentes
The Smokin’ Rams BBQ Club serves as the official Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) for the Culinary Arts Program at SFDRCISD and is open to students from sixth through 12th grade.
Students interested in joining the program are encouraged to speak with their campus principal or school counselor, or contact Chef Cortez at adan.cortez@sfdr-cisd.org.
