Mustangs’ 56-7 loss to Brownwood had bright spots
The Marble Falls football team huddles after losing 56-7 to the Brownwood Lions on Sept. 1. Staff photo by Nathan Bush
The Marble Falls Mustangs (0-2) lost 56-7 in a non-district road game to District 2-4A opponent Brownwood Lions (2-0) on Sept. 1.
Lions senior quarterback Ike Hall was the star of the contest. The dual-threat weapon had three total touchdowns, including a 95-yard pass play for the game’s first score and a 65-yard rushing TD.
“He ran around and did whatever he wanted to,” Marble Falls head coach Brian Herman said. “He did similar things last year to us as a junior. He’s only gotten better since last year.”
Herman couldn’t help but commend the Brownwood program for their history and overall strength.
“That team is top 10 in the state, favored to win the region,” he said. “They’re a real deal program and tradition-rich.”
While the score was lopsided, the Marble Falls coach remained positive about his team’s effort.
“We’re going to look at the film and there’s going to be some bright spots,” Herman said.
One of those bright spots came at the tail end of the first half with the Mustangs trailing 35-0. Marble Falls was able to put together a 75-yard drive for a touchdown with contributions from sophomores C.J. Alexander and Joaquin Aguilar.
“This is not an easy place to cut your teeth,” Herman said. “We had a bunch of young ones out there trying to block grown men.”
A late hit on junior quarterback Noah Luckie coupled with a strong 17-yard run by senior Dax Murphy brought the Mustangs to the goal line with three seconds to go in the half.
Senior fullback Dominic Fierro fought through the trenches on the ensuing play to score the Mustangs’ only touchdown.
“We were playing an uphill battle, but I physically saw some things that I liked on the field,” Herman said.
Senior Isaac Larranaga was another highlight for the Mustangs as the do-it-all punter/linebacker/running back made his presence felt throughout the game with two punts inside the 20-yard line, multiple strong tackles against the Lions, and several tough runs up the middle.
“He has become one of our most all-around football players,” Herman said. “He’s offense, defense, special teams. He’s a kid that plays so hard. He plays the right way and he’s so physical. He makes mistakes and beats himself up and plays with a chip on his shoulder. We call him ‘Larry.’ He’s a football player. … If we could clone about 10 more Larrys, we would have 11 of them running around.”
The Mustangs continue their three-week road trip next week against the Killeen Chaparral Wildcats (0-2) on Sept. 8 at Joseph L. Searles III Stadium, 4400 Chaparral Road in Killeen.