Miscues haunt Mustangs
Cameron Venghaus is on his way to scoring the Mustangs’ first touchdown against Hutto. Missed opportunities highlighted the Marble Falls-Hutto high school football game Friday. But the Hippos scored enough to claim a 21-14 victory and nab their first District 25-4A win.
Marble Falls dropped to 0-3.
“We had an opportunity,” Mustangs head coach Cord Woerner said. “We didn’t get it done.”
The Hippos wasted no time marching 64 yards on the opening kickoff. Alondre Thorn ran for 17 yards on the first offensive play of the game. Hutto completed only two passes in the drive, but the last one was for a 14-yard touchdown pass to Addisen Sexton from quarterback Ryan Naviar.
After the Mustangs turned the ball over on downs, Cameron Venghaus intercepted a pass, but Marble Falls was forced to punt on the ensuing drive.
It took the Hippos four plays to score, highlighted by Devin Carver’s 54-yard run for a 14-0 lead.
On the kickoff, the Mustang fumbled after being tackled. The Hippos recovered, but Marble Falls forced a punt.
After the Mustangs punted, the Hippos fumbled, and Marble Falls recovered. But an interception killed the drive.
However, the Hippos went backward and turned the ball over on downs.
Marble Falls finally got on the board thanks to a seven-play, 85-yard drive. After an incomplete pass, fullback Austin Sparks ran for a yard. Quarterback Thor Woerner hit Justin Garcia for a 46-yard completion. Woerner ran for two yards and then found David Morgan for a 14-yard pass. Venghaus scored on a 13-yard scamper. Sebastian Roman connected on the point after and trimmed the lead, 14-7.
The Mustangs turned the ball over on downs to start the second half.
Meanwhile, Hutto drove 79 yards on its opening possession highlighted by a halfback pass from Devin Carver to Jacob Dominguez in double coverage for 32 yards. Carver scored from three yards out.
Marble Falls answered thanks to a 73-yard, 12-play drive. Woerner completed passes to Morgan, Quinton Causey and Ryan Henson totaling 58 yards. Woerner found Morgan for the 16-yard touchdown reception.
Hutto marched 50 yards and was stopped on the Mustangs six-yard line, but Garcia blocked the field-goal attempt.
Marble Falls took over on its 20. But a holding call moved the Mustangs to the 10. Woerner hit Causey for 10 yards and Venghaus for 29 more.
An illegal shift wiped out another pass play that was in Hippo territory. After an incomplete pass, a bad snap forced Woerner to recover it at the Marble Falls 18. Two incomplete passes resulted in turning the ball over on downs, allowing Hutto to escape with the victory.
The Mustangs skipper credited Hutto for the win.
“They played better football than we did tonight,” Cord Woerner said. “We didn’t execute like we needed to.”
He noted the passing game was effective in moving the ball.
“We felt like we could throw the ball coming in,” he said.
The Hippos’ ability to run through tackles set the tone for the outcome of the game, he added.
“They did a good job of blocking and running after contact,” he said. “Bottom line is if they keep making first downs, they’re going to run the clock.”
But Woerner said the Mustangs will go back to work focused on Lampasas next week during the annual homecoming game.
“We know we had an opportunity,” he said. “We knew we needed to win the rest of our games. We have three games left, and we’re going to do our best to win those.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com
Photo by Virgil Belk/Hill Country Sports Images