Marble Falls football opens district against Vista Ridge
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — The second part of the season has descended on the Marble Falls High School football team.
The Mustangs (2-1) travel to face Cedar Park Vista Ridge (3-0) at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 in the District 25-5A opener at Gupton Stadium, located at South Vista Ridge Boulevard and East Park Street.
Marble Falls head coach Matt Green said there’s no reason to think the district will not be as challenging as it always has been.
The eight teams have a combined record of 17-7. Vista Ridge, Georgetown East View, Georgtown High and Leander Vandegrift are all undefeated.
“Our district is loaded,” Green said. “We’ll have to play very well because we’re going to play some good teams.”
The Rangers are averaging 200 yards on the ground and 146 yards in the air.
Junior quarterback Matthew Snow has 44 carries for 286 yards and four touchdowns on the year. He has completed 21 of 40 passes for 342 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Vista Ridge will lean heavily on the run game, in which five different Rangers have scored a rushing touchdown this season.
The coach noted the Mustangs defense has played well since suffering a Week 1 loss to Burnet, 51-45 in overtime.
The defense led the way to a 40-7 win against Boerne High on Sept. 12, he said.
“Our defensive line put pressure on them; our secondary used different coverages,” he said. “And we tackled. I’ve seen how much growth we’ve had.”
Marble Falls limited the Greyhounds to 285 yards of total offense. But what made the performance impressive was how the Mustangs defense created four turnovers and swarmed to the football on a botched field-goal attempt to keep Boerne off the scoreboard. Senior defensive back Bryce Fry returned his second interception 100 yards for a touchdown that was called back because of a holding penalty.
The Greyhounds’ only touchdown came in the final 10 minutes of the game, long after Marble Falls had scored 40 points. Five of the Mustangs’ six first-half drives resulted in touchdowns, while they hit pay dirt on their third drive of the second half.
After the game, Green said he realized the offensive numbers might not have been as impressive as the first two weeks of the season. Still, he noted junior quarterback Brennen Wooten and sophomore quarterback Cade Cool hit seven different receivers, and seven Mustangs had rushing yards.
“We didn’t have the gaudy numbers,” he said, “but it was still good.”
Marble Falls reserves took over in the final 10 minutes. Green said coaches believe giving them playing time is vital to the season’s success.
“Our kids who don’t play much need to play,” he said. “We gave them a couple of series.”‘
Listen to the Marble Falls football game against Vista Ridge starting at 6:30 p.m. on KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune or at KBEYFM.com.
jfierro@thepicayune.com