Marble Falls football looks to bounce back against Smithville after loss

[box]GAMETIME
Marble Falls Mustangs vs. Smithville Tigers
WHEN: Sept. 6 with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Mustang Stadium, 2101 Mustang Drive in Marble Falls
RECORDS: Marble Falls is 0-1; Smithville is 0-1[/box]

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

MARBLE FALLS — Two teams searching for their first victory of 2013 will converge at Mustang Stadium on Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m.That’s when the Marble Falls High School football team welcomes the Smithville Tigers. It’s the home opener for the Mustangs. Marble Falls lost 49-23 to La Grange in the season opener Aug. 30.

“Looking forward to the fans coming out and packing that home side and enjoying the band and drill team and the cheerleaders and, ultimately, our football team putting on a great performance for our town,” head coach Todd Dodge said. “And playing hard and having pride and being a Mustang and getting that community behind it.”

The Mustangs (0-1) utilize the Air Raid offense that emphasizes the pass. The Tigers (0-1) want to establish a power run game with the objective of wearing out the defense, controlling the clock and limiting the Marble Falls offense.

“We have the ability to throw the ball a little bit,” Tigers head coach Wayne Childs said. “We have two very good quarterbacks to run our offense.”

And both were on display during the Tigers’ 47-6 loss to Lampasas on Aug. 30. The starter is senior Khalil McCathern, who recorded 176 of Smithville’s 300 rushing yards and his team’s only touchdown.

“He’s their best player and a returning starter,” Dodge said. “He’s a safety that will play on defense when they need him. He’s a Division I type safety.”

The other quarterback is Garrett Mathis, who had seven carries for 45 yards.

Other runners include Desmond Bates, who rushed six times for 58 yards, and older brother Jamal Bates, who carried 13 times for 21 yards.

Against Smithville, Lampasas recovered two fumbles and used three big plays for touchdowns en route to the blowout including an 84-yard kickoff return and a 57-yard touchdown run, both by Steven Jazdyk, and a 61-yard pass and catch by Gary Spencer from Logan Irvin.

In its Aug. 30 game against Marble Falls, La Grange was methodical in its drives but had six plays of 20 yards or longer during the contest.

By contrast, Marble Falls only hit one out of 11 opportunities of plays 20 yards or more, Dodge said. In 2012, the Mustangs converted more than that against La Grange.

“That’s the biggest difference between one year to the next,” he said. “They’re a really good football team. They executed what they do a little better than they did the year before. The explosive plays when they presented themselves, and they did, we have to hit more of them.”

Now, Dodge wants to see his team limit mistakes such as penalties, complete more passes and avoid early protection breakdowns.

Childs said his defense has to understand one big point about facing the Mustangs: limit the yards after catch.

“We have to tackle,” he said. “We can’t let them get the ball and run in space. We know they’re going to complete the ball. We know they’re going to pass and catch. We can’t let them get by us.”

And the Tigers believe their best chance at winning is to have long drives with their running game.

“It’s a must,” he said. “Our best defense is to keep their offense off the field.”

Dodge said he was pleased with the practices throughout the week, especially the one on Labor Day.

“I thought the players came in very focused,” he said. “I thought our players came in with a little chip on their shoulder.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com