Mustangs win district opener 42-8
A slew of Mustangs, led by senior cornerback Tim Vidal, tackle Austin Travis senior quarterback Brandon Maldonado during Marble Falls’ 42-8 win against the Rebels on Sept. 23. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School football team bounced back from last week’s loss to trounce Austin Travis 42-8 on Thursday, Sept. 23, in the District 14-5A Division II opener for both teams at Toney Burger Stadium in Austin.
“It’s huge to be 1-0 in district,” Mustangs head coach Brian Herman said. “I challenged the linemen. Every play in our scheme is designed to score. It starts up front with the line. My challenge to the kids was to score on the lowest number of plays.”
The Marble Falls offense accepted the challenge, which was to score in five plays or fewer, and got points on four of five first-half possessions.
Junior tailback Caleb Vidal got the scoring going with a 56-yard scamper to cap a five-play, 89-yard drive.
After a Travis punt, the Mustangs scored on their next drive, which covered 58 yards in five plays. Senior fullback Rio Suarez walked into the end zone from a yard out for a 14-0 lead with 1 minute 43 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Travis responded on its next drive, going 75 yards in five plays. Senior quarterback Brandon Maldonado found senior receiver Daniel Vasquez for the 26-yard touchdown. Senior running back Leon Ekanga scored on a two-point run to trim the deficit to 14-8 early in the second quarter.
Marble Falls got the touchdown right back. Senior quarterback Jake Becker capped a six-play, 68-yard drive with a 14-yard run to paydirt for a 21-8 lead with 8:52 remaining in the half.
Mustangs senior cornerback Tim Vidal caught an interception on the Travis 46.
His offensive teammates needed only three plays to score. Senior halfback Roberto Adame began the drive with a 31-yard burst and ended it with an 11-yard trot to the end zone and a 28-8 lead at the half.
Marble Falls began the second half much like the first: with a touchdown. Senior fullback Isaias Fernandez ran 25 yards to the end zone to cap a four-play, 67-yard drive for a 35-8 lead. The big play was a 62-yard touchdown run by Adame that was called back because of a penalty.
A bobbled catch by the punter on the snap gave the Mustangs a first down on the Travis 21. Sophomore tailback Dominic Fierro ended the three-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run and the Mustangs led 42-8 at the end of the third quarter.
The Mustangs racked up 486 yards of total offense led by Adame’s 109 yards, all unofficial. The Rebels had 160 yards of total offense, all unofficial.
The Mustangs now turn their attention to Austin McCallum, which won last year’s contest 14-0. The game is at 7:30 Friday, Oct. 1, at Mustang Stadium, 2101 Mustang Drive.
Herman said preparation begins Friday, Sept. 24.
“We’ll watch the film from last year,” he said. “They may change some from last year’s game, but why would they? I told the kids, ‘To win a district championship, you have to win every week.’ We’ll take them one at a time.”