Marble Falls football picks up first district win vs.Vista Ridge
Marble Falls High School receiver Garrett Gray catches the ball inside the Cedar Park Vista Ridge 10-yard line en route to helping the Mustangs get a 45-41 win against the Rangers on Oct. 25. Photo by Virgil Belk/Hill Country Sports Images
JENNIFER FIERRO * PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — For the second consecutive week, the Marble Falls High School football team found itself clinging to a narrow lead with more than a minute remaining in the game.
Except this time, the Mustangs (3-5, 1-3 in District 25-4A) came through thanks to the defense forcing its third turnover on downs to seal a 45-41 victory against Cedar Park Vista Ridge (4-4, 1-3) on Oct. 25.
“We came up big in the fourth quarter,” Marble Falls head coach Todd Dodge said. “Hat’s off to Vista Ridge. What a great high school game. Our kids are starting to believe. I told them this week, ‘At some point, you have to stop letting people bring you down. You got to go and earn it.’ And the kids earned it.”
On the final fourth-down play for Vista Ridge, Marble Falls junior linebacker Tyler Ryan dropped back into coverage and jumped the pass route. He almost hauled in the interception.
“We came out and we knew we had to do it this week,” he said. “We learned from last week. I was just doing what my coaches told me to do.”
The Mustangs trailed 41-39 when they got the ball back with 3 minutes 8 seconds left in the contest. They drove 70 yards in seven plays, scoring on a four-yard touchdown run by senior running back Keith Jerome. The key play of the drive was a circus catch by senior receiver Garrett Gray, who was bumped just as the ball got to him. As he was falling to the turf, he tipped the ball to himself to haul it in for a 41-yard completion.
“I thought I was going to drop it just for a second,” he said with smile. “But it was just right.”
On the opening drive of the contest, the Mustangs went 78 yards and scored on a 21-yard reception by Gray from sophomore quarterback Brennen Wooten. The kick was blocked, leaving the score at 6-0.
Not to be outdone by the offense, the Mustangs defense stuffed Rangers senior running back Stedman Mayberry on fourth-and-1 on Vista Ridge’s first possession.
Five plays later, on Marble Falls’ next possession, Wooten found senior receiver Zuri Buchanan on a 20-yard touchdown catch. Senior kicker Marcos Marichalar added the extra point to bring the Mustangs’ lead to 13-0.
Vista Ridge came right back, covering 72 yards in six plays and scoring on a one-yard run by running back Isaiah Vilaire.
After a Mustangs fumble, the Rangers took the lead when quarterback Matt Snow found Vilaire on a 13-yard touchdown pass. The drive covered 60 yards in eight plays.
Marble Falls came right back with a 64-yard march in 11 plays. Gray lined up in the shotgun, took the high snap and lowered his shoulder for a two-yard plunge to give the Mustangs a 19-14 lead at the half. The key play of the drive was a 38-yard completion to senior receiver J.T. Watson from Wooten on third-and-27.
“We worked on the same drills all the time in practice,” Watson said. “We’ve gotten to know each other and know how we run our routes. We work together. (Wooten) is a fighter. Last week (in the 31-27 loss to Vandegrift), we started to come together.”
The Rangers got a five-yard touchdown from Vilaire to complete their opening drive of the second half. They covered 46 yards in six plays for a 21-19 lead.
After the Mustangs turned the ball over on downs, Snow hit receiver J.D. Hill on a 64-yard pass for a touchdown to increase the Rangers’ lead to 28-19.
Gray simply wasn’t going to let his team down. He returned the kickoff 94 yards (unofficially) for the touchdown to make it 28-25.
“I was watching for it,” he said. “We have a kickoff return to the left. I was watching for the hole.”
Vilaire answered with a kickoff return of his own for a 35-25 advantage.
On the ensuing Mustangs possession, Gray would not be denied. On third-and-11, he caught a ball in the back-right corner of the end zone in double coverage to trim the deficit to 35-32 in the third quarter.
The Mustangs forced a turnover on downs, and Wooten and Gray made the Rangers pay. The two hooked up for a 49-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter, giving the Mustangs a 39-35 lead.
Vista Ridge took 5:31 off the clock on its drive to regain the lead when fullback Da’Quan Patton scored from one yard out. The extra point was missed, making it 41-39. It was a short-lived lead with the Mustangs winning it on their final drive of the game.
Jerome rushed 25 times for 117 yards. Wooten completed 21 passes for 336 yards, and Gray caught 10 passes for 189 yards, all unofficial.
Marble Falls travels to Dripping Springs with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Nov. 1 at Tiger Stadium, located on Bell Spring Road.
jfierro@thepicayune.com