Marble Falls football hosts Jarrell
CAPTION: Marble Falls senior receiver Atreyu Machacek plays a key role in the Mustangs’ offense. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School football team welcomes Jarrell at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, in the home opener and homecoming game.
The Mustangs (1-0) are entering the contest after a brilliant 48-0 win against Austin Crockett Aug. 28, while the Cougars (1-0) came from behind to beat Giddings 36-10 Aug. 29.
“It’s going to be a really good game,” Marble Falls head coach Keri Timmerman said. “They’re really talented at the running back spots and the quarterback. They’ve got a second year in the slot-T (offense), so that’s going to help them a lot, be a little bit more consistent. But we feel like we’re kind of in the same boat.”
Jarrell may have followed the same script from 2024 where the Cougars came from behind for the victory against the Buffaloes.
Trailing Giddings 10-6 midway through the second quarter, senior running back Kenneth Johnson scored the first of his touchdowns on a 55-yard scamper to trim the deficit to 10-6 before halftime.
After the Cougars punted to begin the second half, Giddings fumbled and Jarrell was able to get a scoop and score. Johnson added the two-point run for the 14-10 advantage early in the second half.
Johnson added a 50-yard touchdown run for a 21-10 lead still in the third quarter.
By the end of the third stanza, Jarrell led 29-10.
Johnson scored on a 60-yard touchdown run for the final margin.
Timmerman noted that a year ago, the Cougars used onside kicks to get back into the contest against the Buffaloes under the direction of then-new head coach Alan Haire, who was at Killeen Chaparral before accepting the Jarrell job in June 2024.
“This year they just put big runs, and Giddings put the ball on the ground a couple of times and allowed them to score,” he said. “(Johnson is) powerful. He’s a strong back. He runs extremely hard. He understands. He was in the Killeen Chaparral system with coach Haire before he moved to Jarrell and to the team. And so he’s familiar with the slot-T system, and he understands how it works. He has a good line in front of him. It’s the whole heart. If you don’t like to play football, if you don’t like to put your nose in the middle of somebody, he’s going to run you over and he’s fast enough to run around you. Kids are not used to seeing backs that really like to run the football and really enjoy contact, and I think that’s one of his strengths.”
He emphasized the Cougars have more than Johnson, and a balanced slot-T offense has a fullback, a tailback and a slot back. Slot-T coaches compare those backs to the punches thrown by boxers. The fullback throws the jab, while the others deliver the crosses and the hooks. They also have a more than capable quarterback, who can “throw the ball and hit the hole,” Timmerman said.
“You’ve got to make sure your safeties are in charge and paying attention and not getting lost in what’s going on, because they’ll turn a flanker or split in loose,” he said. “You have to make sure that everybody’s assignment football is correct. That’s what we’ve been focusing on all week is just playing really disciplined assignment football, similar to playing an option team.”
Though the Mustangs are in year two of the Timmerman’s version of the spread offense, the program spent five years operating the slot-T offense, a run-based scheme that uses misdirection to try to confuse the defense. That knowledge and experience helped keep last year’s contest, a 21-14 Cougar win, close.
On fourth and one on the Marble Falls 42-yard line with less than two minutes remaining in the game, Jarrell went for it. The Mustangs thought they got the stop. The officials, who called for a measurement, signaled first down. The Cougars ran out the clock.
The reason Jarrell had the ball at midfield is because the Mustangs, who had just scored, tried for an onside kick and didn’t get it.
“I think our defense (did) a really good job last year preparing us for the slot-T with our experience that we’ve had in it,” Timmerman said.
While some of the key players from the 2024 Marble Falls team graduated, the Mustangs still have running back Joaquin Aguilar, a three-year starter, who was always fast. This year his body, like that of his teammates, is transformed with more muscle. Sophomore quarterback Crawford Mattox, who is in his first year as the starter, will make his debut at Mustang Stadium. And he’ll be throwing the ball to seniors Jesse Flores, Kaden Langbein, Atreyu Machacek and Noah Ortiz and sophomore Kase Woodul.
“Offensively, (offensive coordinator Logan) Simmons and I have been able to come up with a game plan,” Timmerman said. “We feel pretty confident about getting the ball to our playmakers and being able to take advantage of their philosophy defensively. We had success last year and just had some penalties that took the wind out of our sails early and then came rushing back and couldn’t quite get a fourth down stop. We feel pretty good about where we’re at, but we’ve still got to show up and play. They’re not going to show up and turn it down for homecoming. So, we’ll see where we’re at.”
CAPTION: Head coach Keri Timmerman has guided the Mustangs to season-opening wins in each of his two years at the helm. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
