Marble Falls faces No. 8-ranked Leander Vandegrift
Marble Falls High School junior running back Austin Pegues protects the ball as Cedar Park senior linebackers Ryan Franklin (40) and Augustine Tambe close in for the tackle. The Mustangs take on Leander Vandegrift at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 at Mustang Stadium, 2101 Mustang Drive in Marble Falls. Listen to the game on KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune or at KBEYFM.com starting with a 6:30 p.m. pregame show. Photo by Diana Cox
JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER
MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls High School football team closes out its home schedule with one of the top squads in the state Oct. 30.
Due to rain Oct. 30, Marble Falls (2-6 overall, 0-5 in District 25-5A) will host Leander Vandegrift at 1 p.m. Oct. 31 at Mustang Stadium, 2101 Mustang Drive. Listen to the contest on KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune starting with a pregame show at 12:30 p.m.
The Vipers (7-1 overall, 4-1 in district) are ranked No. 8 in the latest Associated Press Class 5A poll.
Mustangs head coach Matt Green has maintained that Vandegrift has the best offensive unit in the district and said studying them on film all week only confirmed that. One reason is because the Vipers average 49 points a game. Another is because of the heights of junior quarterback Alex Fernandes. senior receiver Paxton Segina and sophomore receiver Peyton Ausley. Fernades and Segina each stand 6 feet 4 inches, while Ausley is 6-3. Segina is committed to Rice University.
In all, the Vipers have 3,962 yards of total offense this season and average 230 yards rushing and 265 passing a game.
Fernades has completed 124 of 191 passes for 2,059 yards with 29 touchdowns and three interceptions. Segina has 48 receptions for 975 yards and 16 touchdowns, and Ausley has 19 catches for 283 yards and three touchdowns.
Senior running back Travis Brannan has 169 carries for 1,547 yards and 21 touchdowns. Green said Brannan, who is 6-0, might not look intimidating, but he simply gets the job done.
“He can run, he can make you miss, he’ll run over you, he’s powerful, he’s smart, he can catch the ball out of the backfield,” he said, “and they just have a lot of weapons at their disposal on the offensive side of the ball.”
Regina and Paxton were named to the 2014 all-state team.
The Vipers defense is led by junior linebackers Pete Cornell and Storm Wilson, who each have 76 tackles, senior defensive back Zak Schoonover with 65 tackles and sophomore defensive back Cole Walther with 67 tackles.
“They’re good. Their kids play hard. They’re well-coached,” Green said. “I’ve already told our kids (that) the offense has to move the ball. It doesn’t mean we have to score on every possession — certainly that’s what we want to do — but we do have to hold onto the ball. Because if we can move the chains, hang onto the ball and run that clock, we’re going to keep their talented offensive players on the sideline. So I’ve challenged our kids this week to have some good drives and timely drives.”
The Mustangs will honor seniors before the game. Green said he appreciates all the seniors have done to help improve the program.
“What makes this group way past special is how they approach every week,” he said. “They don’t quit, they don’t point fingers, they don’t give up. They trust their coaches, we trust them and we do have an unbelievable chemistry and family atmosphere here, and it’s because of our seniors.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com