Marble Falls heads to Leander for ‘must-win’ game
Marble Falls High School junior quarterback Robert Atkinson hands off the ball to junior running back Sam Harkins during the Mustangs’ 45-7 loss to Georgetown on Oct. 9. Photo by Diana Cox
JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER
MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls High School football team travels to Leander High School in another District 25-5A contest Oct. 16.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Bible Stadium, 3301 S. Bagdad Road in Leander. Tune in to KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune or KBEYFM.com starting with a pregame show at 6:30 p.m.
Marble Falls head coach Matt Green called this a must-win game, noting the district race is so close that teams fighting for a playoff spot can’t afford to lose a contest to an opponent that isn’t Cedar Park Vista Ridge, Leander Vandegrift or Cedar Park High.
The Lions (2-4, 1-2) are led by junior quarterback Parker McNeil, who has completed 63 passes for 944 yards and six touchdowns with five interceptions and has 28 carries for 747 yards and a touchdown. McNeil stands 6 feet 4 inches and weighs about 220 pounds.
“He looks like a Division I quarterback and probably will be when he graduates,” Green said. “There’s not a throw he can’t make.”
Senior running back Raymond Gibson has 48 rushes for 195 yards and a touchdown, and senior running back Matthew Long has 30 carries for 190 yards and four touchdowns. Senior receiver Gabriel Sanchez, who is the backup quarterback, has 31 catches for 426 yards and a touchdown. Senior tight end Michael Berry, who is 6-6 and was an all-district selection in 2014, has 12 catches for 228 yards and two touchdowns.
“(Berry) can run, make plays and again just a very, very talented corps of receivers,” Green said. “But I’ll tell you where their strength is, it’s the running backs. They’ve got running backs who can go, in my opinion, two or three who can move forward and play at some next level. They’re a run-first team, and what kills you about that is they can run the ball and then they have a corps of receivers who just kill you in play action and can run wide open.”
Defensively, the Lions run a base 3-4 look with the goal of bringing pressure to make the quarterback and running backs uncomfortable.
“They believe they can cover you in the secondary because (the front seven) gets to you so fast,” Green said. “And they have been effective against most teams.”
The defense is led by defensive back Long and senior linebackers Malik Jones and Levi Boeck.
The Mustangs will counter with new starting senior quarterback Robert Atkinson, junior running backs Sam Harkins and Dalton Mayberry, and a slew of receivers.
During the 45-7 loss to Georgetown, Atkinson completed 15 passes for 126 yards and ran 13 times for 18 yards and a touchdown. Senior receiver Eric Cauble caught five passes for 61 yards, while senior receiver Cade Cool added seven receptions for 53 yards.
Even before this season, Green said he told Leander head coach Tim Smith that the record didn’t reflect the kind of team the Lions fielded.
“I laughed and joked last offseason with all the coaches in the district, including the Leander head coach, and said that was the most talented 0-10 team I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said. “I don’t understand how they went 0-10. They had a lot of bad breaks. But they were very talented. They return a lot of quality players this year. That’s why you’re seeing them have a lot of success they’re having.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com