Mexico City athletes participate in quarterback camp

By Mark Goodson

Highlander Sports Editor

 Jaime Labastida attended a coaching clinic last year in Dallas-Fort Worth and ran across Todd Dodge.

On Monday, Labastida was one of the spectators at Dodge’s quarterback-wide receiver camp at Mustang Stadium. Labastida brought four members of his club football team from Mexico City.

Labastida said it’s a chance to learn from one of the best in the game. Labastida has followed and played football since he was big enough to pick up a ball.

He and his four players all wore the colors of their Mexico City team on Monday. The players — Emilio Morales, Bruno Padilla, Josvee Gracia and Raul Guzman — all wore Redskins shorts.

"My favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys,’’ said Labastida, who played for the Mexico City Redskins and later at Polytechnic in college in Mexico City. "But I’m wearing a Redskins shirt.’’

Guzman showed good skills during the two-hour morning workout on Monday. The four athletes, who speak limited English, worked well in the drills; following by example in most of the drills.

Padilla displayed excellent hand-eye coordination and made some good catches.

The Mexico City guests flew from Mexico City to Austin and then drove a rent car to Marble Falls.

The camp is the 21^st annual for Dodge. His camps have drawn athletes and coaches from all over the United States and now a foreign country.

This year’s coaches for the clinic had some familiar faces along with some new blood, too.

Both Marble Falls coordinators were at the camp, including Bill Poe and Tony Salazar.

Rick Rhoades, the head coach at Cameron Yoe, was back working with the players on the right way to catch and tuck the football. Rhoades Cameron Yoe team won the Class 2A Division I state title last season.

The camp will have sessions for athletes ranging from fourth grade through high school. The younger athletes compete in the morning. The high school athletes go in the afternoon all this week.

Marble Falls had five quarterbacks in the morning session, including Seth Carpenter, Drew Calvert, Layton White, Cesar Bernabe and Andrew Stripling.

Read more...

Girls playing in Leander league

From Staff Reports

Marble Falls girls varsity basketball players will compete in the Leander summer league, starting June 11 and running through June 27.

The varsity took second in the Fredericksburg Shootout last weekend.

The team will also attend a team camp at the University of Texas June 21-23.

The Lady Mustangs return several of their top players from last season including Sarah Stripling, Blanca Fonseca, Haley Stephens, Teagan Hall, Reann Hall and Hanna Wall.

Stephens, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, will miss the summer league games.

Stephens expects to be cleared for workouts at the end of June.

The Marble Falls junior varsity and middle school players will compete in the Lampasas league from June 3-25.

The middle school girls are going to the TABC team camp in Georgetown on June 6-8. The middle school girls also finished second at the Fredericksburg Shootout.

Read more...

Marble Falls pair to join forces at McLennan

By Mark Goodson

Highlander Sports Editor

Stacy Heinatz and Cole Ridgely both had standout years for the Marble Falls Mustangs as seniors.

This week they decided to keep teaming together in the sport they love.

They both have committed to play baseball for the McLennan Community College in Waco, a member of the Texas Junior College North Division.

Heinatz and Ridgely said Tuesday that they are glad to have the opportunity to play collegiately and will sign their respective papers this week. McLennan assistant coach Adam Hornung recruited the pair of Mustangs and said he expects to get the paperwork signed Wednesday.

Heinatz, the No. 3 hitter in the Mustangs lineup all season, was one of the clutch players for the Mustangs throughout their 23-8 season. Heinatz played shortstop and also was used as a relief pitcher.

Ridgley, who batted second throughout the District 25-4A campaign, was the ace of the Mustangs pitching staff and helped the team advance to the area round before losing to San Antonio Alamo Heights.

"This is what I’ve always wanted,’’ Heinatz said Tuesday night. "It’s an amazing campus with great facilities. It’s close to home (Marble Falls). It has the Brazos River running right through town and it not far to Lake Waco.’’

Ridgely said Tuesday that McLennan was his top choice among the junior colleges he had considered.

"It (playing on the same college team as his longtime friend) wasn’t planned, but it would be good,’’ Ridgely said.

McLennan finished 25-31 last season and was 12-20 in conference play in the JC league that includes Temple, Weatherford, Hill, Vernon, Cisco, Ranger, Grayson and North Central.

"We have most of our position players and about half of our pitchers coming back,’’ said Hornung.

Heinatz and Ridgely will be playing the in Austin area coaches all-star game June 9 at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.

Read more...

Mustangs start Wall of Honor

By Mark Goodson

Highlander Sports Editor

A new tradition recognizing top athletes at Marble Falls got started Wednesday when Garrett Gray placed his photo on the wall in the fieldhouse.

The standout receiver was one of four athletes honored as the first members of the Marble Falls Wall of Honor.

The first honorees from the 2012 Mustangs were Gray, quarterback Mike Richardson, running back Keith Jerome and tackle Rey Baltazar.

All four were first-team all-district picks and Gray and Richardson were recognized for all-state recognition.

The duo paired up often last season and Richardson set the state mark for most yards passing with a 724-yard effort in a 62-55 win over Boerne Champion last September.

Gray has caught the eye of recruits after catching 78 receptions for 1,164 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior.

Jerome averaged 5.5 yards per rush and 9.6 per pass reception as the featured back in the Marble Falls spread offense. Jerome returns for his senior season to add to the Mustangs potent offense.

Baltazar played left tackle for Marble Falls last season and will take his big frame to Sam Houston State to play for the Bearkats.

"It (honoring athletes) is something we did at Southlake,’’ Dodge said. "Every year you just keep on adding them.’’

Read more...

Mustangs find kicker in 18-3 spring game

By Mark Goodson

Highlander Sports Editor

Marble Falls coaches wanted players to play physical and build depth in the spring and Thursday night that was apparent in the spring game at Mustang Stadium.

After they teams split up between first team offense and first team defense went after it for four quarters, the Gold team (wearing white jerseys) prevailed, 18-3.

The Gold team consisted of the first-team offense and sophomore-to-be quarterback Brennan Wooten.

The sophomore showed his ability to move in the pocket and a strong arm, getting passes to an array of receivers.

For a team that relied heavily on its offense last year, this spring game more of a mix of solid plays on both sides. The Mustangs showed some promise, but there is plenty of work to do before they hit the field in games that count in August.

"It was definitely did a lot better tackling,’’ said safety Carson Bowen, who also played slot receiver for the Gold team. "lt was a lot more physical (than last season).’’

What did Bowen think of the young quarterback’s work?

"He had a few bumps, but he’s still learning,’’ Bowen said.

The game’s only offensive touchdown came on a sprint around the left side by running back Keith Jerome. Jerome, the top returning rusher for the Mustangs, busted the off tackle play on a fourth-and-one play and raced 20-plus yards into the end zone to cap the first drive of the game by the Gold. The Gold also overcame a 15-yard holding penalty on the drive that put the team in a third-and-long situation.

Placekicker Alejandro Osornio, who will be a senior, had a big night.

He handled all the kicking for both teams and booted a 49-yard field goal to end the first half and later line-drived a kick despite a tough hold from 30 yards out. He made one of two PATs. His line drive kick was the only points for the Purple.

James Bryer picked off a pass and returned it 35 yards for the Gold’s final touchdown.

During the game the respective offensive and defensive coaches kept switching sides of the field to stay with their units.

Defensive coordinator Tony Salazar got to see some defenders step up.

Chris Carter, a sophomore-to-be, had a quarterback sack and a safety and also was used some at running back when Jerome went out early with a slight hamstring pull.

Jacob Bryer showed some push in the middle as the defensive nose tackle. Another player that came up with some big plays on defense was Mitchell Mullinix. Tyler Linholm and and Bryce Fry had interceptions.

Fry ended the game with an interception and returned it 30 yards near midfield to end the game.

Read more...

Spring game starts at 8 p.m.

By Mark Goodson

Highlander Sports Editor

Marble Falls football fans will get a chance to see how far the Mustangs have progressed this spring when they hold their annual spring game 8 p.m. Thursday at Mustang Stadium.

"We wanted to create some depth and we’ve consistently worked on that in the 15 spring practices we’ve had,’’ Marble Falls coach Todd Dodge said Wednesday after team’s final practice before the spring game.

Twenty of the 60 varsity candidates in spring ball have worked on both sides of the ball n the spring for the District 25-4A squad.

Some of the players that have grabbed the attention of the coaches this spring are linebacker-receiver Zuri Buchanan, defensive backs Steven Petrosky and David Spurlock, nose tackle Jacob Bryer and lineman Chace Fry.

In the spring game, the talent will be split with the first-team offense suited up in the white jerseys and the first-team defense in purple.

Garrett Gray, the top returning receiver on the team, will team with new quarterback Brennan Wooten in the spring game in a chance to see how the new tandem will fare.

"Our young quarterback is doing fine,’’ Dodge said. "We’ve thrown everything but the kitchen sink at him this spring and he’s handled it. Things are starting to slow down a little bit for him…Our offense hasn’t been quite as polished as you’d like, but part of that is we’ve been flipping people (on both sides of the ball).’’

Read more...

Horseshoe Bay golfers take seventh place

By Mark Goodson

Highlander Sports Editor

Horseshoe Bay’s tandem of Aaron Billings and Gordon Butler finished seventh among the 20 players in the Senior Division of the Texas Golf Association’s Four-Ball State Championship over the weekend at the Summit Rock Course in Horseshoe Bay.

It wasn’t the finish the scratch golfers were looking for, but high winds and some mis-placed approach shots caused the team some problems the second two days of the 54-hole tournament.

Billings and Butler shot rounds of 66, 72 and 71 for a three-day total of 209 over the par-72 layout. They finished 11 strokes back of the top team of Bob Kearney and Gary Durbin. 

"We did good the first day, but the last two days we didn’t make any putts,’’ Billings said. "The course and the greens were in great shape. We had a lot of fun playing together.’’

Billings said the team concept has usually worked for the pair. When one gets in trouble in the play-your-own ball format, the other has bailed out the teammate.

The winds were gusting to 30 to 35 miles per hour on Saturday during the second round. They shot even par to make the cut.

On Sunday, the winds weren’t as strong in a morning rounds, but they were still a factor. "It exaggerates the misses when the wind was blowing like that,’’ Billings said.

Billings said it was crucial on approach shots to hit to the correct side of the greens to get the ball close. Otherwise, the golfers were forced into 15 and 20-foot putts add day, he said.

Heading into Sunday three teams sat atop the leaderboard in the Championship division and defending back-to-back champions, John Bearrie and Aaron Hickman, were not one of those teams.  Looking to catapult up the leaderboard and remain in contention, Bearrie and Hickman got things started early with two quick birdies out of the gate and added two more in their opening nine to give put them four under par through their first nine holes. Their back nine was more of the same as they added an eagle and three birdies on their route to a closing round 64, giving them a tournament total of 16 under par, 200. Second round co-leaders Chris Davis and Russell Helson also started out quickly posting three birdies on the front nine but found trouble on No. 10 leading to their lone bogey of the day. On the 17th hole needing birdie to tie the clubhouse leaders, Davis drained an 80-foot putt from the front of the green sending a charge through the course. Playing with Davis and Helson in the final pairing was round two co-leaders Joe Bendetti and Josh Swanson. After opening with a three under par 33 on their opening nine, Bendetti and Swanson played steady golf carding eight straight pars before draining a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force a three-team playoff at 200. In the playoff Bearrie and Hickman found trouble on the first hole and their bid for a three-peat ended as they made bogey while the other two teams carded pars. Heading to the par 5, second hole, both teams played aggressive going for the green in two but neither were successful. With all four players starring at birdie it became a putting contest for victory. After Helson and Davis both missed their birdie attempts the door became wide open for the team of Bendetti and Swanson to claim the title. Swanson was first to putt and his five footer just slide past the edge of the hole leaving Bendetti to stare down his four-footer for victory. After taking some time to view the putt, Bendetti stepped up and confidently rolled it in to give his team the victory and title of 2013 State Four-Ball Champions.

Read more...

Heights wins, 6-3

Read more...

Series reduced to one-game playoff at Shiner

Read more...

Marble Falls faces Alamo Heights in area round

By Mark Goodson

Highlander Sports Editor

Marble Falls has made a living with defense and earning wins when the game is tight.

Coach J.T. Blair has his team riding momentum into the second round of the playoffs mainly because of their persistence and ability to make big plays when it counts.

The mentality will be apparent this week when the Mustang take on a veteran Alamo Heights team that was able to push across 22 runs in the two victories over District 28-4A champion San Antonio Brennan last week.

Marble Falls outfielder Jay Watson came up big against LBJ with a defensive gem in the first inning of Game 2 when he threw out a runner at third base with a strike to third baseman Cole Ridgely.

It’s that type of play that sparks teams. For Marble Falls it was a way to stem some early momentum by the Jaguars and give Marble Falls a chance to get starter Cody Goodman deeper into the game.

In a best-of-three format, the team with the best pitching has the edge. Pitching and defense can’t be stressed enough.

Marble Falls three starting outfielders have had their moments.

It was Jimmy Damico that gunned down a Leander runner at home plate in Marble Falls’

opening win over Leander in that District 25-4A series.

Marble Falls carries a 23-7 mark into Friday’s 7 p.m. opener at Marble Falls. On Saturday when they venture to San Antonio to square off with the Mules, pitching will be key again.

Marble Falls pitching options for starters are Ridgely, Cody Goodman, Garrett Winslett and Stacy Heinatz.

Alamo Heights top pitchers are Cameron Mineo, James Nittoli and Tyler Freed. All three pitched against Brennan. Mineo is the probable starter in Friday’s game.

Alamo Heights swept its series with San Antonio Brennan.

The Mules (19-9) knocked off Brennan, 14-5, in Game 1 and finished the series with an 8-5 win on Saturday in San Antonio.

Mineo pitched the opener and allowed eight hits while striking out nine Brennan players.

Tyler Freed was 4-for-6 batting in the two-game series.

In Game 2, seven players had RBI for the Mules.

Blake Klumpp is the Mules top hitter among the regulars for the season with a .373 average and 25 RBI.

Marble Falls lost to Alamo Heights last season in the area round in two straight. Alamo Heights won the opener, 4-3, and took Game 2, 10-0.

Read more...