Turnovers hurt Marble Falls in loss to Vista Ridge

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

CEDAR PARK — The Marble Falls High School football team lost 49-21 to Cedar Park Vista Ridge on Sept. 19 to begin District 25-5A play.

The Rangers (4-0, 1-0) took advantage of opportunities en route to the win, Mustangs head coach Matt Green said.

“They’re just a good team,” he said. “They were physical, they were aggressive, they were big, they were strong.”

The Rangers got a hot start. They scored on five consecutive drives with touchdowns of six, 35, 40, 92 and then 18 yards for a 35-0 advantage with nine minutes left in the first half. The 92-yard touchdown was a catch by senior running back Delonte Singleton from junior quarterback Matthew Snow.

Meanwhile, the Mustangs (2-2, 1-1) scored on their sixth possession of the contest, a 16-yard touchdown catch by junior receiver Eric Cauble from junior quarterback Brennen Wooten.

But Vista Ridge answered with a 77-yard touchdown run by junior receiver Jeremiah Chambers.

Marble Falls only needed three plays to score its last first-half touchdown, a 31-yard catch by sophomore receiver Cade Cool from Wooten.

On that touchdown play, the Rangers were called for personal fouls, allowing the Mustangs to kick off on the Vista Ridge 15. The Mustangs tried an onside kick, but Vista Ridge’s Snow fell on the ball. He ran two plays to end the first half.

Green said he saw an opportunity in trying an onside kick, noting that a quick score at the end of the first half and receiving the kickoff to start the second half might have meant points for the Mustangs before the Rangers’ offense took over. But it didn’t happen.

As for the first half, Vista Ridge averaged 10 yards a carry while running for almost 270 yards. The Rangers finished the game with 375 rushing yards (unofficial) while using 11 different ball carriers.

“Their running backs,” Green said, “they were huge. We had trouble tackling them. They’re a very good team. They’re 4-0 for a reason.”

Marble Falls fumbled twice inside the Vista Ridge 20. The first was on the 12-yard line and came with the Mustangs trailing 14-0.

“We helped them,” Green said “Those are momentum swings.”

The second fumble was on the Ranger’s seven-yard during the Mustangs’ opening drive of the second half.

Wooten completed 15 passes for 328 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on a tipped ball. Marble Falls junior receiver Jacob Metcalf caught five passes for 114 yards. The Mustangs ran for about 50 yards, all unofficial.

Marble Falls welcomes Dripping Springs (2-2, 1-0) at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 to Mustang Stadium, 2101 Mustang Drive in Marble Falls. The Tigers defeated Cedar Park High 23-0 on Sept. 19.

jfierro@thepicayune.com

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Marble Falls: 0-14-0-7 – 21

Vista Ridge: 28-14-7-0 – 49

FIRST QUARTER

VR – Tyler Haris 6-yard run (Tanner Lambert kick), 7:34

VR – Delonte Singleton 35-yard run (Lambert kick), 4:41

VR – Matthew Snow 40-yard run (Lambert kick), 1:41

VR – Delonte Singleton 92-yard pass from Snow (Lambert kick), 1:03

SECOND QUARTER

VR – Jamil Pittman 18-yard pass from Snow (Lambert kick), 9:07

MF – Eric Cauble 16-yard pass from Brennen Wooten (Melvin Sanchez kick), 2:08

VR – Jeremiah Chambers 77-yard touchdown (Lambert kick), 1:47

MF – Cade Cool 31-yard pass from Wooten (Sanchez kick), :53

THIRD QUARTER

VR – Snow 5-yard run (Lambert kick), 6:08

FOURTH QUARTER

MF – Royale Brown 5-yard run (Sanchez kick), :09

TEAM STATS

MARBLE FALLS

First downs: 19

Total net yards: 382

Rushes-yards: 21-49

Passing: 333

Interceptions: 0

Comp-att-int: 15-25-2

Fumbles-lost: 2-2

VISTA RIDGE

First downs: 22

Total net yards: 622

Rushes-yards: 50-439

Passing: 183

Interceptions: 2

Comp-att-int: 7-10-0

Fumbles-lost: 0-0

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING – (Marble Falls) Daven Manning 6-(-2), Tyler Ryan 4-23, Jacob Metcalf 1-2, Royale Brown 3-5-1 touchdown, Ethan Leagch 1-11, Brennen Wooten 5-9. (Vista Ridge) Delonte Singleton 9-73-1 touchdown, Da’Quan Patton 3-18, Matthew Snow 13-152-2 touchdowns, Drew Fannie 1-2, Tyler Harris 1-6-1 touchdown, Isaiah Vilaire 10-30, Bryce Doll 6-49, Gannon Reiswig 5-20, Jeremiah Chambers 1-77-1 touchdown, Jayvion Cameron 1-12

PASSING – (Marble Falls) Brennen Wooten 16-29-338-2 touchdowns-1 interception. (Vista Ridge) Matthew Snow 7-10-70-2 touchdowns

RECEIVING – (Marble Falls) Brown 1-12, Manning 2-55, Ryan 1-45, Eric Cauble 3-56-1 touchdown, Metcalf 5-114, Cade Cool 3-45-1 touchdown, Peyton Emery 1-11. (Vista Ridge) Singleton 3-100-1 touchdown, Chambers 1-12, Jamil Pittman 3-71-1 touchdown