Marble Falls football facing unfamiliar Slot-T offense vs. Medina Valley

JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER

MARBLE FALLS — Marble Falls and Castroville Medina Valley enter their District 26-5A contest Sept. 23 with plenty of similarities.

The biggest connection, however, is that each believes it must win this game to keep its playoff hopes alive.

The two kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Panther Stadium, 8449 FM 471 South in Castroville. Listen to the game on KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune or at KBEYFM.com starting with a pregame show at 6:30 p.m.

Marble Falls (2-2 overall, 0-1 district) is coming off a 41-16 district-opening loss to San Antonio Alamo Heights on Sept. 16. Senior linebacker Heath Dooley scored the Mustangs’ only touchdown on an interception in the fourth quarter.

Medina Valley fell to Boerne Champion 42-0 last week.

Many believe Alamo Heights and Champion to be the best two teams in District 26-5A.

The Panthers (2-2, 0-1) utilize a Slot-T offense installed by new head coach Chris Sosa, who took the job in February. Medina Valley plays on a grass field, which is beneficial to a Slot-T offense because it offers good traction.

The Slot-T, which can field seven to eight linemen, is all about misdirection to confuse the defense. It utilizes a quarterback, a running back, a halfback and a fullback, and all four can run at any given moment. And when the defense begins to cheat at the line of scrimmage, the quarterback fakes a handoff and throws the ball to a receiver.

Marble Falls hasn’t faced the Slot-T offense in about a decade.

“They want to run the ball,” Green said. “They don’t want to snap it until there’s two seconds on the play clock to limit the other team’s offensive possessions. The advantage of this offense is you eat the clock, you grind it out, and you demoralize the other team’s offense. But if you can stop them a couple of times, they have an offense that doesn’t quick strike.”

Medina Valley senior quarterback Ethan Dowell has completed 12 of 30 passing attempts for 106 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Junior running back Caytan Chang has 16 carries for 133 yards, while senior fullback Garrison Kindred has 27 carries for 59 yards.

The Mustangs defense must read the keys or clues, tackle, and be aggressive.

“If you put them behind the chains, you have the opportunities on second down,” Green said.

To help the Mustangs prepare, they’ve held practices on the grass practice fields behind Mustang Stadium, which has artificial turf. In addition, the scout team offense has been running Slot-T plays, though the defense will have to adjust for the Panthers’ speed and strength, which the scout team can’t replicate.

Offensively, Marble Falls will have a couple of offensive linemen who haven’t played since the week one win against Bastrop Cedar Creek: seniors Wesley Moyar and John Winn. Junior receiver Keegan Deering also returns to the lineup after he missed last week’s game.

“I don’t know (the linemen) will be playing the entire game, but it will help to have those guys,” Green said. “I’m encouraged. We’ll have to be able to throw the ball.”

Marble Falls sophomore quarterback Andrew Stripling has thrown for more than 700 yards with six touchdowns and an interception this season.

“Andrew is putting the ball on folks,” Green said. “We’ll have to come out in this game and have great focus.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com