Throw out records and stats when Marble Falls and Burnet meet

JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER

BURNET — Athletes, coaches and fans hope the 101st meeting between the Marble Falls and Burnet high school football teams doesn’t involve an uninvited player.

Last year, Mother Nature sent rain minutes before kickoff, forcing both teams into the locker rooms. After a 75-minute delay, the two teams kicked off, and the Bulldogs won a wild contest 51-45 in overtime to take a 49-41-10 edge in the series that dates to 1898.

This year’s game is 7:30 p.m. Aug. 28 at the newly renovated Bulldog Field, 1000 The Green Mile in Burnet. At 7:05 p.m., members of the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District board of trustees, Superintendent Keith McBurnett and athletic director and head football coach Kurt Jones will participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the new synthetic turf and eight-lane track at the stadium.

In last season’s contest, Burnet led 45-17 with less than eight minutes left in the game. The Mustangs scored a touchdown and an extra point, recovered an onside kick that led to another touchdown, and turned a Burnet interception into another touchdown, though the Bulldogs blocked the extra point.

After a Burnet punt, Marble Falls went 98 yards for a touchdown and then converted the two-point play to tie the contest at 45-45 with 50 seconds remaining in regulation.

Burnet won in overtime when former Burnet running back Eric Walker leapt over a pile of linemen for the game-winning score. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak to the Mustangs.

The Bulldogs went on to capture a share of the District 13-4A Division I crown and won three playoff games. The Mustangs posted a 4-6 overall record and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

The results of 2014 illustrate several important points for both squads.

First: Records, streaks and accomplishments mean very little when these teams meet. Second: Both squads are more alike than some might think. And third: As always, both will bring out the best in each other.

“Oh, I think anytime you have a big rivalry game like this, both teams are going to show up ready to play,” Jones said. “So I expect it to be a great battle between two really great programs and two really great schools and communities. And that’s what everybody wants to see. There’s no reason to believe there’s not going to be another epic battle out there. I hope it doesn’t end as late as it did last year — I think we were well past midnight when it all came to an end last year — but it’ll be a great football game.”

Prognosticators made the Bulldogs, a top No. 15 team in the state in many polls, a six-point favorite. That doesn’t surprise Marble Falls head football coach Matt Green.

“Burnet’s good,” he said. “Burnet has tons of kids back. They had a deep run last year. They’re a fantastic football team. They’re well coached.”

One reason for giving Burnet the nod is senior quarterback Austin Moore returns as the undisputed starter. He completed 254 passes for 4,020 yards with 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions. In the offseason, he dropped from 205 pounds to 185 to help with his quickness and agility.

His favorite targets also return. Senior receiver Joel Johnson caught 71 passes for 1,629 yards and 13 touchdowns. Junior receiver Steven Gallardo had 53 catches for 602 yards and six touchdowns and 28 carries for 147 yards and five touchdowns.

Bulldogs senior athlete Brock Foster will continue to be used in a variety of ways: as a running back, a slot receiver and could even spend some time as a defensive back.

Foster had 118 carries for 717 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 23 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns last season.

Burnet coaches will divide the running back duties between a number of players, including senior Keedrick Hill and junior Preston Reeves, a newcomer who joined the team after his father, Justin Reeves, was named the offensive line coach in May.   

“Offensively, you got to call it what it is,” Green said. “At the skill positions, they’re loaded; they have players across the board. Get the ball to anybody, and all those kids can score at any moment. And that’s a nice luxury to have as a football coach. And I think that Burnet has that.”

Marble Falls will counter with what might be the best defense the Mustangs have featured since they qualified for the playoffs in 2010.

The Mustangs will be led by senior linebacker Jeff Ramey, who had 89 tackles last year; senior defensive back Jackson Cox, who had 49 tackles; and senior defensive end Alex Roman with 44 tackles. 

“They have good size up front,” Jones said. “You look at their down linemen and linebackers. They have some good-looking kids in there who’ll play firm and make it tough to run the ball. The secondary has a little experience back there.”

Offensively, the Mustangs will start a new era at quarterback. Though Green stopped short of naming junior Cade Cool the full-time starter, he did say Cool will be the starter against the Bulldogs. Cool was receiver last year and took some snaps in mop-up duty. In six games last year, he completed two passes for 10 yards. Although, don’t be surprised if junior Robert Atkinson spends time at quarterback.

But the team’s top two receivers are back. Senior Jacob Metcalf caught 44 passes for 1,028 yards and three touchdowns last season, while senior Eric Cauble had 38 catches for 652 yards and four touchdowns.

The Mustangs will split carries between senior Dalton Mayberry, who had nine rushes for 54 yards in 2014, Atkinson and Harkins, who is being used in the position for the first time on the varsity level.

The offensive line will be led by senior left tackle Ryan Becker, who committed to Southern Methodist University in July, sophomore Daniel Sparks and juniors Wesley Moyer, Aaron Kohutek and John Winn.

“You hate to say typical, but over time, we look up to watch (Marble Falls) year to year, there are some big old bodies up front,” Jones said. “On the offensive line, they look physical. Cool is an athlete back there who can handle the football and throw it. Looks like he can take off as well. There’s definitely a threat there. They got wide receiver weapons as well. They’re not going to have a problem moving the football this year I don’t think. They’re well-coached.”

The Bulldogs will counter with senior defensive backs Peyton Utsey, who had 36 tackles last year, and Darius Johnson, who recorded 36 tackles, junior cornerback Michael Lindley, who had 19 tackles, and senior defensive lineman Oscar Perez with 13 tackles.

Senior linebackers Drake Hall, Mason Campbell and Cullen Ferrill combined for 114 tackles last season.

“(The Mustangs) play hard, they fly to the football, they swarm,” Green said. “When you look at them on film, they have lots of guys getting to the ball, they tackle well, and that’s because they get a lot of people there. If the first guy misses, there’s more guys coming.”

To Jones, this game, much like most contests, comes down to blocking and tackling.

“We’re hoping we can block their guys with our offensive front,” he said, “and they’re hoping to do the same with what they’re doing.”

Tune in to KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune or at KBEYFM.com for the live play-by-play action with a pre-game show at 7 p.m.

jfierro@thepicayune.com