Marble Falls 7 on 7 battles to the end at Burnet SQT
CAPTION: Marble Falls defenders C.J. Alexander (left) stretches as far as he can to disrupt the ball while teammates Clayton Thomas and Gregory Lemon are in pursuit. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
The Marble Falls High School 7-on-7 team went 1-2 at the Burnet State Qualifying Tournament May 31.
The Mustangs defeated Troy 12-7 and lost to China Spring 26-6 and Burnet 7-0.
China Spring won the pool and the state tournament berth by beating Little River Academy 33-27.
Marble Falls head coach Keri Timmerman and his staff were in attendance to watch.
“They’re a good football team,” he said of China Spring.
Timmerman views 7 on 7 as a chance for the Mustangs to get more work in the passing game on both sides of the ball. Quarterbacks Atreyu Machacek, a senior, and Crawford Mattox, a sophomore, continued to split time at the position throughout the tournament.
After trailing Troy 7-0, Machacek led the Mustangs on a scoring drive though they didn’t get the one-point conversion.
The Marble Falls defense got another stop and that allowed the offense to take the field in the final couple of minutes in the first half. Again the Mustangs scored.
The Mustang defense continued to rise up and get stops, frustrating the opponents who were in search of touchdowns. In the end, Marble Falls got at least six stops in a row.
“Good for Marble Falls,” Burnet head coach and tournament director Ben Speer said. “They beat Troy. I know that was encouraging for coach Timmerman and his kids.”
The contest against China Spring was a different story. The Cougars, who study their opponents and approach each contest with a plan that includes matchups and where to exploit them, took a 20-0 lead at the half.
In the second half, the Mustangs tightened up. The result was that each team scored the same number of points to signal they played fairly evenly after the short intermission.
The defensive performance was especially encouraging because Marble Falls wasn’t at full strength.
“Defensively, we were breaking on balls well,” Timmerman said. “We played shorthanded. We had two starters out. That gives others chances. They’re going to have to learn on the run.”
Offensively, the Mustangs are still trying to find their way. The team is searching for a new starting quarterback and every down receiver after Colton Minor and Kole Becker graduated.
Machacek and Mattox are continuing to develop rapport with their receivers. But Timmerman remains encouraged by what he is seeing from the two and those who are running routes.
“I think they’ve both done a good job,” he said of the quarterbacks. “They’ve got a long ways to go. They’re developing their timing and continuation of routes. We’re trying to figure out timing and space.”
Marble Falls will compete in the Llano June League each Monday for the next three weeks. Games begin at 5 p.m. Brady and Fredericksburg will also play along with the Yellow Jackets and Burnet. Llano head coach Matt Green said that his goal is for the three Highland Lakes teams not to play each other that much in June since they all know each other so well.
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior tight end Kaleb Bielfeldt makes this catch one step away from the end zone. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
