Mustangs ‘hungry’ for win vs. rival Burnet
Marble Falls sophomore running back Joaquin Aguilar slices through the middle of the field during a 52-13 loss to the Canyon Lake Hawks during a home game on Oct. 6. The Mustangs take on rival Burnet on Oct. 13. Photo by Mark Stracke
The Marble Falls Mustangs (1-5, 0-1 district) are searching for their first District 13-4A win as they take on the rival Burnet Bulldogs (3-3, 0-1 district) on Friday, Oct. 13, at Bulldog Stadium, 1401 Main St. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
Listen to the football game live on KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune, online at KBEYFM.com, or via the free KBEY mobile app. Pregame starts at 7 p.m. Fans can also watch a livestream of the contest at DailyTrib.com.
The rivalry game comes after a crushing 52-13 Marble Falls loss to the Canyon Lake Hawks (2-4, 1-0 district) in the Oct. 6 district opener.
“They were more physical than us, they were faster, they were more aggressive,” Mustangs head coach Brian Herman told KBEY. “They basically did everything that we would want to do, and they did it better than we did it.”
The Canyon Lake squad was also better than their record suggested, Herman continued.
“They were a really, really good team that had some bad breaks early in the season,” he said. “They seemed to put it all together against us and came out and beat us.”
The Mustangs took an introspective look following the contest, according to the coach.
“We came in after the game and we sat in the locker room and we talked,” he said. “Typically, that’s the kind of thing that we as coaches do. This time was probably the first time I can think of in my career where we just sat in the locker room a bit and said (to the players), ‘Look guys, we need some feedback from you, too, because we as coaches don’t have all the answers.’”
Herman was pleased with how his team approached the post-game autopsy.
“I was really proud of the kids,” he said. “They handled it in a mature way. They had some constructive things to say, and we reevaluated over the weekend to put some new things into play in terms of practice planning and game planning and some other things.”
The squad will look to capitalize on the fresh ideas brought up during the locker room conversation as players prepare to take on Burnet in the highly anticipated rivalry matchup.
“There’s nobody hanging their heads,” Herman said. “It’s been a good week so far.”
The coach alluded to the installation of a few new changes in his squad’s strategy.
“There’s some tweaks and things we’ve worked on in practice and some adjustments that have been made — either personnel or structure or game planning — that are still being ironed out, but the (players’) focus is good, their attention is good, and they seem hungry,” he said.
The fifth-year coach, who is currently 1-2 against the Bulldogs, hopes to tie up the record in the Burnet County showdown.
“You never know,” Herman said. “It’s a rivalry game — records, rankings, stats — none of those matter in a rivalry game.”