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Senior Chris Whitecotton has shown that he is more than just a ball hawk defender. He refused to go down on a punt return Friday night against Akins. Nathan Hendrix/The Highlander -
Senior back Robert Adame masterfully utilized his lead blockers on a long run against Akins. Head Coach Brian Herman credited the Mustangs’ success to the offensive line. Nathan Hendrix/The Highlander -
Senior defensive back Ryan Minor may have had a few things to say to Akins after stopping a two-point conversion following the Eagles lone score of the night. Nathan Hendrix/The Highlander
The Marble Falls High School football team showed off a little bit of everything on Friday night in their 46-6 win over Austin Akins to move to 3-0 on the season.
The Mustangs scored on their first seven complete offensive possessions. Both Head Coach Brian Herman and senior quarterback Jake Becker attributed the success to the offensive line.
“If the line creates opportunities, the backs score,” Herman said. “The line is doing a good job.”
The Eagles (2-1) entered the game without giving up a single point to their first two opponents. After Friday’s game their points allowed per game average jumped from zero to 15.33.
The Mustangs’ blowout win surprised many, including Herman.
“I expected a closer ball game,” he said. “Our kids just played really well; the gameplan was on point; and the execution was on point.”
The Mustangs won the toss and deferred to the second half. Akins started the game with a third down conversion, but the drive quickly went south. The Mustangs defense posted three straight tackles for a loss, including a third down sack by sophomore Isaias Roman that forced an Eagles’ punt.
Senior Chris Whitecotton returned the punt all the way back to the Akins 13-yard line, but a block in the back penalty set the Mustangs back to their own territory.
The Mustangs methodically converted several first downs, and Becker opened the scoring with a five-yard touchdown run. The PAT was wide left, and the Mustangs led 6-0.
Herman said special teams will need to be addressed in the coming days of practice.
“We’ll work on the things that didn’t go right,” he said. “We need to fix some things.”
Akins fumbled on their next possession, and Becker struck again immediately with a 17-yard touchdown pass to junior Brian Beltran; the Mustangs failed on the two-point try to take a 12-0 lead.
The Eagles turn the ball over on downs leading to another Becker score – this time a run from 29-yards out to move the score to 19-0.
The Mustangs scored on their first five offense drives of the game while forcing a pair of turnovers to open up a 33-0 lead. Senior back Rio Suarez punched it in from the one-yard line, and senior Robert Adame caught an 85-yard bomb from Becker with only a minute left in the half.
“We knew we were in a position where the clock was getting low,” Herman said. “We ran that play earlier in the game, so we came back to it later. It wasn’t immediate; it was eight minutes of game time later.”
Akins scored with only seven seconds left in the first half on a busted play that ended up going 48 yards for the score. They failed the twopoint try, and the Mustangs led 33-6 at the half.
Marble Falls put up two more scoring drives in the third quarter to extend their scoring streak to seven consecutive drives. Suarez scored from seven yards out, and senior Isaias Fernandez scored a 19-yard run.
In the fourth, Herman put in some depth players to close the game.
“We got first downs, and we didn’t allow scores,” he said. “Anytime you put those guys on the field, you want them to be successful. You don’t want them out there feeling like they let us down.
“That’s big for those kids’ confidence,” he added. “Anytime we can give them chances to have success, it builds confidence for the future.”
Despite the success of the game, Herman said there’s always room for improvement after film study.
“Everything we do is based on evaluation of the film,” he said. “We can talk about what we saw on the field, but when we go back on film, we find more good and we find bad that we didn’t see live.”
The Mustangs host Nike Dallas on Friday at Mustang Stadium. Nike Dallas comes to town boasting a 2-0 record. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.