Mustangs in The Forge
Marble Falls High School senior Branson Bunting lifts 205 pounds of steel during the Mustangs summer strength and conditioning program, the Forge. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
Marble Falls High School athletes are in the thick of their summer strength and conditioning program, the Forge, building themselves into stronger, faster, smarter players for their upcoming 2026-27 seasons. Mustangs football, in particular, is pumping iron with purpose.
“Be there.”
That was the sole message and request to the Marble Falls community on the upcoming 2026 football season from Branson Bunting, an incoming MFHS senior that plays linebacker and running back for the Mustangs. He and fellow teammates, senior Madden Hernandez and junior Olen Dalton, were described as the “heartbeat” of the team by Head Coach Keri Timmerman.
The players are currently in their final weeks of the Forge, which means hard work 7-10 a.m., Monday through Thursday, leading up to the regular season in August. They’re lifting heavy in the weight room, working skill drills on the field, and preparing for the incoming onslaught of two-a-days, scrimmages, and district games.
But, they aren’t just honing themselves physically.
“I think our morals have changed,” Olen, a tight end and linebacker, told DailyTrib. “We have this thing called the Four Pillars: discipline, effort, toughness, and honor. I feel like we just live by those now.”
The Mustangs are heading into their third season under Timmerman, who took over as athletic director and football coach in 2024. He implemented the concept of the Four Pillars, along with the three questions: Do you care about me? Can I trust you? Are you committed to excellence?
His influence on the team’s culture is tangible.
“I feel like when Coach T came here, it wasn’t just about being a good football player, but being a good man, and a good human being,” Bunting said. “He is getting us ready for the real world.”
The 2026 football season begins in August, and Timmerman is preparing his athletes for a tough season.
“We’ve been put in the gauntlet the last two years,” he told DailyTrib. “We thought we might get a little respite, but they rolled us right back in there with Stephenville and some really good teams.”
Timmerman was referring to the recent UIL realignment, which saw Marble Falls retain tough opponents in the form of state champion Stephenville, and local rivals Lampasas and Burnet in its new district, Conference 4A- Division 1- Region 1- District 4.
“We didn’t pull cake teams out to see if we can get our win-loss record up,” he told DailyTrib. “We want to see if we can compete for a district championship, and that is going through Stephenville, a reigning state champion. That’s the goal of the coaches, that is the goal of the kids, and we’re hoping the work that we’ve put in this summer pays off.”
Timmerman acknowledged that there seemed to be a change in the air among his players and the community, and shared his belief that this season could be a big one for the Mustangs.
“I don’t know if I believe in magic, but I believe in a lot of hard work,” he said. “I think that our kids believe in our system, believe in our district, and believe in our coaches and our school.”
The Mustangs ended the 2025 season with an overall record of 3-7 and a district record of 0-4, but those results didn’t exactly represent the growth and performance of the team that year.
“You can see that the culture is starting to change, you can see the buy-in from some of these younger kids,” KBEY 103.9 FM host Ben Shields, a longtime commentator on the Mustangs, told DailyTrib. “Culture is important. It’s tough to build culture when you’re losing, but, it may not seem like a big deal, but that Lampasas game is something you can build on and say ‘hey, we are making progress.’”
Shields was referring to the Mustangs’ Oct. 31, 2025, district game against Lampasas. It was a loss for Marble Falls, but the game was neck-and-neck until the end with a final score of 23-16. This performance was far more competitive than 2024’s 61-7 loss.
“I think you can see the offense starting to gel,” he said. “(The Lampasas game) was probably the first time that it was a one score district game since ‘21.”
It wasn’t just the Lampasas game that offered a sign of possible change. Another district game, against local rival Burnet, also revealed some improvements. The game ended with a 35-14 loss for the Mustangs, but it was a 21-14 game in the third quarter.
Timmerman wouldn’t give a prediction on the 2026 season, but he did share his belief.
“I can’t tell you what will happen, but I believe we are going to have a successful season,” he said. “Our kids aren’t these athletes that rely on their talent, they’re homegrown Marble Falls boys that have decided that this matters to them.”