Brownwood Lions win big over Marble Falls Mustangs

CAPTION: The battle in the trenches was severe and relentless between the Marble Falls Mustangs and the Brownwood Lions. In the end, the Lions made more plays and earned their first win of the 2022 season. Photo by Juan Gonzales/Visual Concepts Sports Photography

The Marble Falls High School football team suffered its first loss of the 2022 season, a 55-16 setback to the Brownwood Lions on Sept. 2.

The Lions (1-1, District 2-4A Division I) never punted and ended eight of their 10 possessions on scores. The only drives they didn’t score on were the result of a fumble and when they took the victory formation with about 2 minutes left in the contest.

“We did not play to our ability,” Mustangs head coach Brian Herman said. “They’re a real good team, it’s a tradition-rich program. But we got punched in the mouth as Mike Tyson said, ‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.’ We got punched in the mouth and didn’t respond very well.”

Marble Falls (1-1, District 13-4A Division i) had miscues that put them behind the chains including false starts, holding calls and offsides. The Lions’ defense put pressure on the offensive line and blockers to be in the right place in order to get positive yards. The Mustangs showed glimpses thanks to solid performances from senior fullback Jasuel Ruiz and junior tailback Caleb Vidal. Ruiz had 20 rushes for 110 yards including a one-yard touchdown. Vidal had 14 carries for 64 yards. Senior quarterback Hayden Miller had the other touchdown on a tough-six-yard run with two minutes left in the game.

Meanwhile, the Brownwood offense, under the direction of junior dual-threat quarterback Ike Hall, was humming on all cylinders. Hall operated the Lions’ spread offense with zone-read tendencies. Hall had nine carries for 65 yards that included a 22-yard touchdown and connected on 8 of 11 passes for 182 yards.

Senior running back Konlyn Anderson had 16 rushes for 73 yards and touchdowns of 2, 1 and 3 yards. Junior running back Logan McKibben added seven carries for 49 yards and touchdown runs of 11 and 3 yards.

The Lions defense also got in the scoring thanks to picking up a fumble on a fourth-and-one run by the Mustangs and running 73 yards the other way to paydirt.

Herman noted the issues that plagued the Mustangs were avoided during the scrimmages and during the 52-7 win against Pflugerville Connally Aug. 25.

“Something out there was happening that didn’t happen (during August),” he said. “Those things haven’t been issues for us until tonight. I’m not making excuses, but we haven’t had those.

Herman used three different quarterbacks, juniors Jamie Castillo and Kody Smith and Miller. Quarterback, he said, is one of several positions coaches continue to evaluate to see who wins starting positions.

“We’re looking for our guys,” he said. “A lot of it goes back to we’re still searching. All the things we did well in game one we didn’t do well in game two. Brownwood has a great program. Like I told the players this is a team we could potentially see in the third or fourth round of the playoffs. We didn’t execute to the level we needed to.”

After both teams shook hands and heard each other’s school songs, Herman gathered his players and assured them they would be better prepared for Killeen Chaparral, which comes to Mustang Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9.

“We’re going to go back to work and we’re going to make it better,” he said. “With this team everything is a first. It’s going to be evolving for weeks. I trust our kids, I trust our coaches. I’m disappointed, but I’m not discouraged.”

FIRST HALF

Five first half offensive possessions for the Brownwood Lions resulted in five scores and a 27-8 first half lead over the Marble Falls Mustangs.

Brownwood ended its opening possession by nailing a 23-yard field goal to cap an eight-play drive that covered 65 yards.

After a Marble Falls punt, the Lions took over at the Mustang 45. Five plays later, Brownwood scored its first touchdown thanks to a 22-yard scamper by junior quarterback Ike Hall for a 10-0 lead to end the opening stanza.

Marble Falls punted on its next possession. Hall drove the Lions 70 yards for the score that ended on a four-yard run by senior running back Konlyn Anderson on the first play of the second quarter and a 17-0 advantage.

A turnover on downs gave the Lions the ball on the Marble Falls 47. Five plays later Anderson scored from the one for a 24-0 lead with 5 minutes 48 seconds left in the half.

Marble Falls engineered a nine-play, 56-yard drive that ended on a one-yard push into the end zone by senior Jasuel Ruiz to cut into the deficit 24-8 with 1:56 left in the half.

Brownwood added a 37-yard field goal with two seconds left in the half for the 27-8 lead at the half.

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