Marble Falls football faces undefeated Kerrville Tivy

The Marble Falls High School football team will travel to play at Kerrville Tivy at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15.

Tivy (3-0, District 13-5A Division II) has wins against Fredericksburg 28-12 Sept. 8, San Antonio Davenport 28-10 Sept. 1 and Medina Valley 21-7 Aug. 25.

“Tivy is a complete team,” Mustangs head coach Brian Herman said. “They have found ways to win games.”

The Antlers use two senior quarterbacks to operate their spread offense. Jaxson Kincaid, who is the passer, has completed 32 of 49 passes for 351 yards, four touchdowns and an interception and has two carries for minus 3 yards. Julian Rhodes, who is the scrambler, has 20 carries for 35 yards and a touchdown and has completed 36 of 51 passes for 337 yards, two scores and an interception.

“(Rhodes) is a dual-threat guy who can throw well. He utilizes his legs well,” Herman said. “(Kincaid) is a more accurate passer. The challenge is you can’t gameplan for one; you have to gameplan for both.”

Senior running back Aidan Varwig leads the rushing attack with 33 rushes for 244 yards and two touchdowns and has eight catches for 100 yards followed by junior running back Domynik Vasquez with 20 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior receiver Stormy Rhodes has 16 receptions for 162 yards and four scores, while sophomore Guy Flores has 14 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown, and junior receiver Carson Jones has nine catches for 122 yards.

“They have two running backs who run extremely hard,” Herman said. “Offensively, they’re the real deal. They are balanced. They have a good offensive line. They have a two-quarterback system.”

As solid as the offense is, the Antler defense may be better.

The Tivy defense is led by a trio of hard-hitting seniors. Defensive lineman Jacob Flores leads with 33 tackles that includes 11 solo, followed by Wiley Flores has 28 tackles, 21 of which are solo, followed by senior Nick Landrum has 27 tackles, including 12 solo. The Antlers have six interceptions and six fumble recoveries on the season.

“They create turnovers,” Herman said. “Davenport turned the ball over five times inside the (Tivy) 20. The defense is aggressive, they’re physical, they tackle well and they create turnovers.”

Tivy’s Juan Pablo Rivera is the punter and the kicker. He averages 41.4 yards per kickoff and 33.7 yards per punt.

“They do soundly in the kicking game,” Herman said. “They don’t beat themselves.”

Marble Falls will counter with sophomore tailback Joaquin Aguilar, senior halfback Jaime Castillo, senior fullback Dominic Fierro, junior quarterback Noah Luckie and senior linemen Jeremiah Bales and Gavin Hernandez.

“I’m hoping to see us come out and play physical, control the line of scrimmage, control the clock, reduce turnovers and penalties,” Herman said. “Ultimately, I want to see better tackling. If we can improve in those areas, the wins will start coming.”

The three opponents the Mustangs have faced so far this season — Pflugerville Connally, Brownwood and Killeen Chaparral — are better this season than a year ago, Herman said.

That’s especially true for the Chaparral Bobcats, who were in year two of the Slot-T offense under the direction of head coach Alan Haire.

The Chaparral film review confirmed to Herman what he saw and said to reporters minutes after the game concluded.

“It was all there for the taking,” he said. “I thought we were in good shape on both sides.”

He noted the penalties, especially the ones late in the game, were the result of the Mustangs trying to make a play to continue drives, and not fielding the pooch kick were the difference in the game.

“I thought we executed fairly well in the hurry-up offense other than the passes,” he said. “We were averaging six yards per touch. We’re getting a first down every other play. We’re averaging double our goal (of yards per play).”

One important trait about these Mustangs is their determination, he said.

“The effort was there,” he said. “I never felt there was any quit. I’m supremely encouraged by the things we’ve improved on and worked on. How long can we sustain that without the W? We are trying to get better for district. If we are in the right mindset and continue to improve, we’ll be fine.”

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