Despite defensive effort, Marble Falls drops district match to Leander Rouse
The Marble Falls defense tackles Leander Rouse senior quarterback Wesley Geisler. Senior cornerback Aidin Parnell led the Mustangs in tackles with 19 followed by senior linebacker Zuri Buchanan, who had 12. Before the Raiders, Marble Falls' opponents averaged 47 points a game. Photo by Virgil Belk/Hill Country Sports Images
JARED FIELDS • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — Trailing 22-14 midway through the fourth quarter, the Marble Falls defense forced a needed fourth down from the Leander Rouse offense.
However, on a night when the defense forced turnovers and made crucial stops, the Rouse offense converted on fourth down on a screen pass to Bill Ray McCrary. Then, with 4:46 left on the clock, McCrary sealed the District 25-4A victory with a one-yard touchdown run for the 29-14 final over Marble Falls.
“I was really, really encouraged to see our kids on defense play the way they played,” Mustangs head football coach Todd Dodge said. “The best thing our defense did tonight was they didn’t give up a bunch of explosive (plays). Tackling was so much better.”
Rouse (6-1, 3-0) had to climb out of an early hole for the win.
Marble Falls (2-4, 0-2) jumped out to a 14-0 lead after its first two possessions in the first quarter.
Senior Keith Jerome scored the Mustangs’ first touchdown on a four-yard run just 1:02 into the game. Senior Carson Bowen intercepted a Rouse pass at the Mustangs’ 16-yard line that led to a 38-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Brennen Wooten to senior Garrett Gray.
Wooten finished with 193 yards on 13-of-28 passing with one touchdown and one interception at the end of the game. Jerome rushed 13 times for 62 yards and the touchdown. Gray led all receivers with six catches and 117 yards receiving.
Rouse, however, scored its first touchdown on a Kevin Cole five-yard run. Cole scored again on a 37-yard run to tie the game at 14 with 5:26 remaining in the half.
Two incomplete deep passes on drives for the Mustangs led to empty Mustang possessions. Then, a fumble by Gray with 3:35 left in the first half led to a 28-yard field goal by Rouse’s Zach Ramirez as time expired in the first half.
“The defense played their tails off, too. To be at 17-14 at the half after the last two weeks where we didn’t give ourselves a chance, we were right in the hunt,” Dodge said.
Second-half miscues, such as fumbles, dropped passes and high snaps, kept the ball in Rouse’s hands.
The Raiders capitalized on a Marble Falls safety on a high snap, kicked two more field goals and finished with McCrary’s run to slowly pull away from the Mustangs.
As a team, the Raiders rushed 69 times for 358 yards.
Marble Falls travels to Vandegrift on Oct. 18.
jared@thepicayune.com