Marble Falls football loses to Lockhart
CAPTION: Sophomore running back Diego Aguilar was dangerous when he touched the ball. He scored three touchdowns for the Mustangs in their season opener against Lockhart. Staff photos by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School football team lost to Lockhart 45-29 Aug. 28 in the season opener for both teams.
“I think we played good enough at times to win the game,” head coach Keri Timmerman said. “I think we started and made some key plays. And then you turned ball over early. And you just give them a shot early in the arm, and that’s a (Class) 5A team that you can’t do that to. I think that everything’s there in front of us legitimately. It’s a fumble here, that decision there on one play, a bad eyes on one, and all the sudden instead of having a fight back and come back and put 29 on the board late, maybe you just end up playing a 28-21 game where we win it. But in the end, they played well and didn’t make some mistakes. And we have to cleanup, but I think our kids played really hard for four quarters – there’s no quitting in them.”
Marble Falls took the opening kickoff and began a steady diet of junior running back Hudson Salyers, a newcomer to the program. He had runs of 12, 9, 6 and 6 yards. In between, junior quarterback Crawford Mattox found sophomore running back Diego Aguilar for a nine-yard pass. On first and 10 on Lockhart’s 33-yard line, the Lions caught an interception to set up inside Mustangs territory.
Three plays later senior Bob Estrada scored on a 52-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 8 minutes and 40 seconds remaining in the opening stanza.
The Mustangs began their next drive on their seven-yard line and earned nine yards in three plays. On fourth and 1, the punt unit took the field. A high snap went out of the end zone for a safety for Lockhart and a 9-0 lead with 6:47 remaining in the quarter.
Marble Falls caught an interception on the Lions’ first play of their second drive, but the Mustangs were called for offsides. That allowed Lockhart to run seven more plays. On third and nine, the Mustangs dropped the Lions for a four-yard loss. Lockhart was called for delay of game, moving the field goal attempt to 40 yards. It went wide left.
The Mustangs began on their own 23-yard line and reached their 40 but fumbled. Lockhart recovered.
Six plays later the Lions found pay dirt when junior quarterback Noah Jaimes hit senior receiver George McGee on a skinny post from 23 yards out for the 15-0 advantage with 10:49 remaining in the half.
After a Marble Falls punt, the Lions needed only three plays for the 22-0 lead when Jaimes found McGee again, this time on 37-yard touchdown pass with 8:58 left in the second quarter.
Salyers took the kickoff and ran 36 yards to set up the Mustangs at their 49-yard line. That triggered a drive where Marble Falls mixed the run and the pass. A late hit put the Mustangs on the Lions’ 11-yard line and eventually reached the Lockhart three-yard line. But the drive stalled allowing Lockhart to take over on its 1-yard line.
Back-to-back six-yard runs put the Lions on their 13-yard line. After a delay of game penalty and an incompletion, Marble Falls junior defensive back Felix Padilla got the Mustangs on the board.
A pass was thrown where the receiver tried to adjust to it being slightly behind him. As one Mustang was in front of the receiver, Padilla came from behind. The receiver, who did all he could to keep the ball from hitting the ground to catch it, lost control and Padilla was in the right spot to make the catch and get into the end zone from about 20 yards out. Senior kicker Jett Marcum added the extra point to trim the deficit 22-7 with 3:21 remaining in the half.
The Marble Falls kickoff team trotted back on the field for the kickoff but called for an onside kick instead, which was recovered by junior Clayton Thompson on the Lockhart 47-yard line.
Mattox hit Colver on a 39-yard pass to set up first and goal on the Lions’ eight-yard line. But the drive stalled on the Lockhart two-yard line, allowing the Lions to run out the clock and go into halftime with a 22-7 lead.
Timmerman said those drives illustrate another part of the program.
Timmerman said the message was simple and direct.
“Next play,” he said. “That’s the thing I’m saying – it’s the next play mentality. And our kids are doing that.”
CAPTION: The Mustangs, including senior defensive linemen Christian Cervantes (bottom, left) and Jesus Rodriguez (4) and junior defensive back Clayton Thompson (33), surround Lockhart receiver Demonte Anthony.
The Lions needed seven plays to score on the opening drive of the second half that ended with a 22-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Demonte Anthony from Jaimes for the 29-7 lead with 8:24 remaining in the third quarter. The drive took seven plays and covered 75 yards.
Marble Falls responded with a touchdown drive of its own, going 78 yards in 10 plays. It ended when Aguilar caught the pitch from Mattox on an end around from nine yards out. Salyers hit junior Anderson Liscum on the two-point pass to trim the deficit to 29-15 with 5:15 remaining in the third quarter.
Lockhart began the next drive on its 14-yard line and drove the ball in eight plays, seven of which were runs. But on the last play, from the Mustangs’ 19-yard line, the Lions looked to add to the lead but fumbled.
Marble Falls took over on its two-yard line that ended with a 10-yard touchdown run by Aguilar to trim the deficit to 29-22 with 8:57 remaining in the game. The 11-play drive took 4:04 to complete with the Mustangs adding a mix of the run and the pass. The key play was a conversion on thirdand 19 when Mattox found Salyers on a screen that went for 22 yards plus a late hit.
The Mustangs attempted another onside kick but was called for an illegal formation, setting up Lockhart on the Marble Falls 49-yard line. Four plays later, Estrada found pay dirt on a three-yard run for the 35-22 lead with 7:52 left.
Aguilar had a 25-yard return to give the Mustangs first down on their 40. But a penalty wiped out a first down when Marble Falls was called for an ineligible receiver on third and four. The Mustangs turned the ball over on downs two plays later.
Lockhart needed only three plays to score. Jaimes hit McGee on a go route down the Marble Falls sideline on a 41-yard touchdown pass for the 42-22 lead with 4:43 remaining.
But the Mustangs weren’t done. After Mattox found Aguilar on a 19-yard pass, the quarterback threw a swing pass to Salyers, who threw to Aguilar for a 51-yard touchdown pass to trim the deficit to 42-29 with 4:02 left.
The Lions were ready for the onside kick and capped the eight-play, 55-yard drive with a 29-yard field goal for the 45-29 win.
Jaimes completed 14 of 20 passes for 278 yards, four touchdowns and an interception, while McGee caught three passes for 101 yards and three scores and Anthony had six receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. Estrada had six rushes for 72 yards and two scores and caught three passes for 96 yards, while Reese had 20 carries for 120 yards.
Mattox completed 18 of 29 passes for 220 yards and an interception and had five carries for 15 yards. Aguilar had 10 carries for 37 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 90 yards and a score. Salyers had 14 rushes for 35 yards, completed both of his passes for 54 yards and a touchdown, and caught five passes for 58 yards. Coleman had three receptions for 47 yards and Colver caught six passes for 76 yards.
“I think our coaches did a great job of adjusting, things that killed us like the defense being on the field a lot in big plays” Timmerman said. “You look at the second half. We eliminated some of those eye problems in our secondary … and take away some of the miscues that put us in a 21-point game early because we missed a block and just hinged instead of reached, but it’s just part of it. I thought our kids played really hard tonight, we had a good game plan. Proud of our kids.”
Marble Falls welcomes Little River Academy (1-0) at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4. The Bumblebees defeated Rogers 53-15 Aug. 28.
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior running back Hudson Salyers was a workhorse thanks to his ability to run, pass and catch the football.
