Marble Falls football shuts out Brackenridge
The Marble Falls High School football team stomped San Antonio Brackenridge 59-0 Sept. 19 in the Mustangs’ second road game of the year.
“Really proud of the kids,” head coach Keri Timmerman said. “We knew that we should come out and be successful. It’s fun to see them develop, and it’s fun to see them make some plays with confidence. And it’s hard to win. Were excited to be 2-2.”
The Mustangs (2-2) seized control of the contest from the start thanks in large part to senior running back Joaquin Aguilar who helped his team score five touchdowns on eight possessions in the first half.
“And I think that’s the biggest thing,” Timmerman said. “I really wanted to see our kids play with a little bit of swagger and a little bit of confidence, which is something we have to earn, we have to build on that. And they have moments of it every week, but it’s fun to see them when they really let out, run loose and play with confidence. We have some some opportunities to do some special things.”
Aguilar scored the first of his three touchdowns when he capped the opening drive of the contest with a 25-yard scamper to paydirt to finish a five-play, 36-yard drive in 1 minute and 53 seconds. He added the extra point for the 7-0 lead with 9:59 left in the opening stanza.
The Mustangs scored on their third possession when Aguilar completed the 11-play drive with a 32-yard field goal with 35 seconds left in the first quarter.
Marble Falls junior linebacker Arnulfo Salazar picked up a Brackenridge fumble to give the ball back to his offensive teammates after the Mustangs fumbled.
From there Aguilar and seniors Doak Timmerman and Jace Williams did the rest by leading the Mustangs to a 38-yard scoring drive in five plays and 93 seconds. Timmerman got in the wild Mustang on second and goal and bullied his way to the end zone from three yards out for the 17-0 advantage with 9:05 remaining in the half.
Senior defensive back Gregory Lemon caught an interception to set up the Mustangs on their own 29-yard line.
Sophomore quarterback Anderson Liscum ended the drive with a 30-yard touchdown toss to senior receiver Kaden Langbein for the 24-0 lead with 6:06 left in the second period.
The Mustangs recovered the onside kick to set up the offense on the Brackenridge 49-yard line. Aguilar ended the drive by pushing his way the final yard on second and goal for the 31-0 advantage with 3:45 remaining in the half. The drive took eight plays and went 49 yards in 2:18.
The Marble Falls defense forced a turnover on downs to give the offense a first down on the Brackenridge 33. Three plays later, freshman running back Diego Aguilar, Joaquin’s younger brother, caught a toss on a reverse and ran to paydirt from 22 yards out for the 38-0 lead at the intermission.
Senior athlete Atreyu Machacek recovered an Eagles fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half to set up Marble Falls on the Brackenridge 40. A defensive pass interference and dead ball foul against the Eagles gave the Mustangs a first down on the 13-yard line. Liscum hit Machacek for the touchdown and the 45-0 advantage.
The Mustangs added another score with 2:37 left in the third quarter thanks to a Joaquin Aguilar run from eight yards out. He ran all five plays that covered 28 yards and needed three minutes to complete.
After the Marble Falls defense forced another turnover on downs, Liscum called his own number for a six-yard scramble to paydirt and the 59-0 lead with 6:33 remaining in the contest. The play capped a seven-play, 63-yard drive that took 3:39 to finish.
By then officials were running the clock nonstop except for change of possession.
Joaquin Aguilar had 25 rushes for 157 yards, three touchdowns, all eight extra points and the 32-yard field goal. Diego Aguilar had eight rushes for 42 yards and a score and two catches for 31 yards.
Liscum completed 12 of 19 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns and had four carries for nine yards and a score. Machacek had six receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown, while Langbein had two catches for 34 yards and a score, sophomore Braxton Dicken caught an 11-yard pass and sophomore Olen Dalton had a 10-yard reception.
Timmerman noted the Eagles did plenty to try to confuse the quarterback, who made his second varsity start, with movement in different spots.
“We try to make it simple for him and settle in (with run-pass option) stuff and quick stuff and he’s just still young,” Timmerman said. “And I think that there’s just some pieces to development. But once he catches on what he’s doing, once he fixes it – he’s just really coachable. He’s really easy, but it’s hard especially when you’re seeing a lot more movement, and I knew that they were going to do that. This week there’s a lot more movement, a lot more show and go and when as a quarterback, when the snap’s a little bit off and it happens, it’s hard to control your eyes. I think early in the first quarter, he had some trouble controlling in his eyes. But he’s getting better and better. He’s getting confident. In the second half, we saw the rhythm and the timing that we really wanted. And he kind of understands now, ‘Ok, I feel that,’ so you just have to do it. You can practice it all you want. You can work through it, but until they do it live in a game and under fire, it’s just different. It’s a different feeling.”
The Mustangs had 37 rushes for 209 yards and six touchdowns en route to having 359 yards of total offense and eight touchdowns, all unofficial.
Marble Falls scored four touchdowns in the second quarter.
“(We) did a good job up front and opening some gaps, and I think we just had some missed assignments early that caused some delayed first downs and delayed touchdowns,” the coach said. “(Joaquin Aguilar) – he’s just getting better as we go, and he’s starting to feel it. And see it a little bit clearer. I think he’s still not had a breakaway game yet, where he just makes the play that we just know he can, but he just keeps improving every week, and he’s a workhorse for us. It’s nice to have that ability to look down there and know you got a kid with breakaway abilities.”
Meanwhile, the defense forced the Eagles to punt five times, turn the ball over on downs three times, fumble the ball and throw an interception.
“We’re getting more confident with some sophomores on that side of the ball and with some seniors that are starting to finally step up and make the plays that they should have been making,” Timmerman said. “Tonight was really about just everybody playing together. I thought the defensive coaches did a good job with their game plan. Thought our kids were ready. We became a little bit more aggressive. (Co-defensive coordinator Austin) Silva talked to them at half about just really playing (to a different level), and the kids stepped up in the second half and really shut that down. So I was really happy with that, but I think that’s the key for us. Our kids are not used to having success on the field on both sides, and they’re not used to making the play. And we’ve got to just keep building that in them, they’ve got to make it in practice, they’ve got to make it in a game ,and they got to believe they can do it.”
He also commended the Eagles, pointing out outcomes like these are difficult.
“I’m so proud of the Brackenridge kids,” he said. “I know it hurts getting beat. I’ve been on the other side of it, and it hurts. But the fact that they keep showing up and their coaches keep them (working). We don’t ever want to discourage that. And so we weren’t trying to throw to make that happen, but we need to work our quick passing game and we gotta work with them and timing. So we try to control that, but I think our kids did a good job of coming out and catching the ball.”
Marble Falls will travel to play at La Vernia (3-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26.
“Our skilled group is getting better,” Timmerman said. “I think all of our skill positions are improving and getting better and we just need that. And in three weeks, we need our kids hitting high gear and all five cylinders. I think all of them are getting a little bit more confident with the ball coming out and coming in their hands. It’s just confidence. That’s the big thing. We got to keep gaining confidence.”
