By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
A part of Del Rio’s history will finally be seen on the silver screen.
Several media outlets including Deadline and Variety reported Thursday that “The Long Game,” a film based on the book “Mustang Miracle,” that chronicled San Felipe High School’s improbable 1957 state golf championship, would hit theaters April 12.
According to the article, the movie made its premier at the 2023 South by Southwest Film Festival. It won the Narrative Spotlight Audience Award, but little had been announced since then.
Surviving members of the Mustangs golf team and their families were able to attend the screening.
Then in December Humberto Garcia, a San Felipe High alum and author of “Mustang Miracle,” announced on Facebook that the film was expected to be shown in theaters in the first quarter of 2024.
The film was directed by Julio Quintana and was produced by Dennis Quaid who also stars in the film. Other actors involved in the film include Cheech Marin, Jay Hernandez, Julian Works, Paulina Chavez, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Brett Cullen and Oscar Nunez.
Garcia’s book tells the story of the 1957 San Felipe High golf team – Gene Vasquez, Felipe Romero, Lupe Felan, Joe Trevino and Mario “Mike” Lomas. The group dominated the golf season that year and won the Class A Texas State High School championship by 35 strokes. Their story was lost to time until Garcia’s book was published in 2010. It helped reignite interest in the team and even led to its induction into the Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame and the National Hispanic Heritage Hall of Honor. The team was also recently memorialized in a mural located off South Main Street that highlights some of Del Rio’s sports legends. The mural was painted by Cris Escobar and funded by the Casa de la Cultura.
According to a story published by the Del Rio News-Herald detailing the 1957 state golf tournament, the San Felipe squad trailed by one after nine holes, but by the end of the first day Friday, the team was up by 14.
Midway through Saturday’s final round, San Felipe had extended its lead to 15 strokes, but then the rains came. That’s just what the Mustangs golfers needed. The rains in Austin actually helped the San Felipe team as they had become accustomed to playing in the wet conditions after it rained in Del Rio for 10 days straight and turned the San Felipe Country Club course into “many little lagoons” in the days leading up to their appearance at state.
By the time the final round was over, San Felipe’s gap over runners-up Shamrock High was 35 shots.
San Felipe finished with a 643. Shamrock High was second, and coming in third was defending state champion Ranger, which finished with a 691.
Treviño, a junior, won top individual honors after rounds of 73-77 for a 150. Romero, a sophomore, was second overall with a pair of 79s for a 158. Lomas, also a junior, took third overall with an 80 and 79 for a 159. Vasquez, a freshman, shot a 90 and an 86 for a 176.
In all, the team won seven medals – gold for each team member, a gold medal for Treviño, a silver medal for Romero and a bronze medal for Lomas.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
