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Mustangs in the playoffs with 76-0 win

Marble Falls beats Austin Crockett

Marble Falls senior fullback Isaias Fernandez follows his blockers for a clear path during the Mustangs’ 74-0 win over Austin Crockett on Nov. 5. Photo by Mark Stracke

Knowing a win would keep its season going, the Marble Falls High School football team took care of business, beating Austin Crockett 76-0 on Nov. 5 at Mustang Stadium to finish third in District 14-5A Division II and secure a playoff spot.

The Mustangs (7-3 overall, 4-2 district), whose defense has gone 14 quarters without giving up a score, now prepare for a bi-district matchup against Brenham, which lost to Leander Rouse 31-24 on Nov. 5. The game is 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, at Cub Stadium, 1600 E. Tom Green St. in Brenham.

Going into the contest against Crockett (2-8, 2-3), Marble Falls head coach Brian Herman said he would call plays that might seem unusual to fans such as the Mustangs coming out throwing the football and going for two-point conversions.

“You’d see some things we wanted to work on,” he said. “To keep their focus, sometimes you have to put little challenges to the kids. You want to keep their focus and understand the goals and what we want to work on and take care of. We also played a lot of kids.”

The Mustangs used a stingy defense and opportunistic offense to earn a 53-0 halftime lead. Officials called for a running clock midway through the second quarter. 

Junior tailback Caleb Vidal got the scoring going on a 9-yard run to paydirt to cap a five-play, 61-yard drive. Senior halfback Roberto Adame scored the two-point run for an 8-0 lead. 

Senior cornerback Tim Vidal got the game’s first interception and scored, but a penalty wiped the touchdown off the board. But senior quarterback Jake Becker found Tim’s younger brother, Caleb Vidal, for a 33-yard touchdown reception. The two-point pass was intercepted, but the Mustangs led 14-0 midway through the opening quarter. 

A penalty also wiped out a 35-yard kickoff return to paydirt by senior returner Chris Whitecotton, though Adame scored on the next play when he caught Becker’s 28-yard touchdown pass. 

Junior Zach Woody also caught an interception in the first quarter. That led to another Becker-to-Caleb Vidal touchdown toss, this one from 54 yards for a 29-0 lead.

Becker called his own number for a 30-yard touchdown score after the Mustangs got a safety when a high snap went over the head of Crockett senior quarterback Josh Early, a backup, and rolled out of the back of the end zone. Senior fullback Isaias Fernandez scored on the two-point run for a 39-0 advantage with 10:37 remaining in the half.  

Senior defender Enrique Reyes recovered a fumble that Adame turned into a 25-yard touchdown run and a 46-0 lead.

The Mustangs special teams tackled the Crockett punter when he bobbled the snap, giving the Marble Falls offense a first down at the Cougar 12. Adame only needed one play to score for a 53-0 lead at the half. 

Marble Falls reserves took over in the second half, but the Mustangs got the same results. On the opening possession of the third quarter, Marble Falls faced fourth-and-4 on the Cougar 43. But sophomore tailback Dominic Fierro weaved his way into the end zone for a 60-0 lead.

Then, senior halfback Rafael Barajas scored on a 3-yard run for a 67-0 advantage to begin the final stanza.

After an interception by junior Ben Garrett, junior Cale Cochran scampered 51 yards for a touchdown and a 74-0 lead with 5:35 remaining in the contest. 

“We worked on a lot of things,” Herman said. “I was disappointed with some of the penalties we had early on. I have to go look at the film to see what was called. But we got what we wanted to get out of this game.” 

He noted coaches were able to rotate plenty of Mustangs throughout the contest, including some junior varsity players.

“We had JV kids on defense who helped preserve the shutout,” he said. “That was really exciting in getting the JV kids on the field.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com