Defense impressive in Marble Falls football scrimmage

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

MARBLE FALLS — It didn’t take long for Mustangs fans to see the seriousness of the Marble Falls High School football’s intersquad scrimmage Aug. 8.

It happened when senior defensive back Bryce Fry intercepted a tipped ball then kept the starting offense from scoring in its first 10 plays against the starting defense.

“Unbelievable,” head coach Matt Green said. “We have players on the defensive side who know what they’re doing. For the defense, I love it. On the interception, credit our defense.”

Simply, the defense was better at anticipating the pass, which might explain why it looked quicker to the ball.

Green said the defense has to make plays and get off the field. The Mustangs can’t just outscore opponents for wins.

The scrimmage’s first score came when quarterback Brandon Duggins found receiver Cade Cool for a 60-yard touchdown.

Then, when the first-string offense came back on the field, junior quarterback Brennen Wooten hit senior receiver Eric Cauble for a 7-yard touchdown. Before that, Wooten completed a screen pass to sophomore running back Davin Manning that was good for 40 yards and found him on the next play for another 7-yard pass.

The next touchdown didn’t take long. Senior running back Royale Brown scored from 25 yards out.

The starting offense took no more than 10 plays on the second series to record two touchdowns.

Wooten found Cauble a second time for a 15-yard touchdown.

Green said the most important part of the scrimmage was that no player was injured. The second was that coaches saw players in different positions on both sides of the ball.

Offensive coaches have installed the base scheme, he said.

“(The players are) having to digest a lot of material,” the coach said. “We’re trying not to help them much. Obviously, we had to help them some.”

Green noted the fast pace of his offense might have played a factor in the consistency of drives. Still he was pleased with the number of times the Mustangs hit paydirt.

“We were in the end zone three times,” he said. “I love that our offense came out and had to face adversity.”

He also complimented the subvarsity teams, noting all athletes played well on both sides of the ball.

Offenses on all three teams dropped too many balls, he said.

“That has to stop,” he said, “and it will.”

The Mustangs travel to Lampasas on Aug. 15 for scrimmages against the Badgers and Wimberley at 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at Badger Field, 190 E. Ave. B in Lampasas.

jfierro@thepicayune.com