Marble Falls, Seguin both aim to end losing streaks
Marble Falls High School football coach Matt Green said the Mustangs’ passing game needs to improve in this week’s game against Seguin. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at Matador Stadium, located at Texas 123 and Cedar in Seguin. 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. Photo by Diana Cox
JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER
MARBLE FALLS — Two football teams having similar seasons meet Oct. 21 with the aim of ending a losing streak.
Marble Falls (2-5 overall, 0-4 District 26-5A) travels to Seguin (1-6, 0-4) for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Matador Stadium, located on Texas 123 at Cedar. 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.
The Matadors are on a six-game losing streak, while the Mustangs have lost four straight.
Still, both head coaches said their teams had their chances to get a win last week. Marble Falls led Kerrville Tivy 14-7 until the final nine minutes. That’s when the Antlers scored 10 unanswered points for the victory. Meanwhile, Seguin led Castroville Medina Valley 21-14 at the half. But the Panthers outscored the Matadors 21-7 in the third quarter en route to the win.
First-year Seguin head coach Travis Bush installed a spread offense, which is led by senior quarterback Mark Garcia with 124 completitions for 1,749 yards, 12 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. He has 58 carries for 185 yards and three scores.
Junior running back Brandon Palomares, a powerlifter who qualified for the state meet last year, has 91 carries for 719 yards and nine touchdowns. Top receiver Kory Ussery, a senior, has 42 receptions for 533 yards and four scores. The Mustangs defense must be aware of senior receiver Jay Sayles, who stands 6 feet 4 inches and has 137 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
“They throw up jump balls to him,” Mustangs head coach Matt Green said. “Seguin scores points. They have skills on offense.”
Green said the Matador receivers have speed, which will be a challenge.
“They want to throw the ball, but they’re capable of running,” he said.
Defensively, Seguin is led by senior defensive back Manny Canales, who has two interceptions, senior defensive lineman Duncan Bauer, who had 69 tackles last year, and junior linebacker Garrett Leunsmann, who had 49 tackles last year.
Green said the Matadors like to change up their front seven to try to confuse opposing quarterbacks. The secondary typically is in a man-to-man defense.
“They blitz, they like to blitz you,” he said. “They want to blitz out of that front mix.”
Pass protection must be better from the Mustangs, he added, as well as the decision making on the field. He noted that about 10 plays determined much of the outcome in last week’s game. Three plays failed because of bad pass protection; three plays didn’t work because of poor throws; and the final three failed because of dropped passes by receivers who were wide open for potential big gains.
“So there wasn’t one area that didn’t produce; it was a combination,” Green said. “That’s the youth on the team.”
Sophomore Mustangs quarterback Andrew Stripling has completed 90 passes for 1,050 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions so far this season. Senior running back Dalton Mayberry has 95 carries for 576 yards and two touchdowns, while junior receiver Michael Wilcox has 24 receptions for 361 yards and a score.
Green pointed out that the Mustangs offensive line is having fewer false starts and holding penalties, which plagued them at the beginning of the season. Now, passes need to be thrown better and caught, he said.
“We just have to continue to get better in all phases,” he said. “Not one pass was meant to be dropped. But that’s football.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com