Burnet football defeats Marble Falls for district win

CAPTION: The Burnet defense limited the Marble Falls slot-T offense led the way to victory. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

The Burnet High School football team beat Marble Falls 28-14 Oct. 14 for its first win in District 13-4A Division I play.

The Bulldogs (4-3, 1-1) romped to victory thanks to a strong rushing attack led by juniors Dash Denton and Grant Jones.

Denton had 20 rushes for 110 yards that included a 3-yard score and a touchdown while Jones had a completion for 53 yards, 2 rushes for 31 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown, and a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

“Dash runs hard. He’s a bigger load at 175 pounds,” Burnet head coach Bryan Wood said. “He and (senior running back) Jose Rodriguez have similar styles. Grant scored on special teams, he had an interception, and he scored on a run where he reversed field. He’s good.”

Trailing 14-6 at the half, Marble Falls scored on the opening drive of the third quarter thanks to completing a 12-play, 65-yard drive highlighted by senior fullback Jasael Ruiz’s 3-yard run to the end zone. Junior quarterback Kody Smith completed the two-pass to senior tailback Caleb Vidal to tie the contest at 14-14 with 5 minutes 45 seconds left in the third quarter.

But just like he did in the first quarter, Jones responded on the ensuing drive. But first Denton had five carries for 36 yards. Jones scored the 20-yard touchdown when he reversed field and broke numerous arm tackles to get into the end zone for the 21-14 advantage with 1:28 remaining in the third period. The eight-play 65-yard drive took 4:16 to complete.

The Burnet defense forced the Mustangs to turn the ball over on downs then the Bulldogs offense added to the lead.

The six-play, 46-yard drive ended when Denton scored his 3-yard touchdown with 8:33 left in the game.

Wood said this contest came down to the linemen.

“Upfront,” he said. “We were able to run the ball.”

Jones agreed.

“Our offensive line played amazing,” he said. “We made stops on defense. We made big plays.”

Wood noted that after the Bulldogs lost to Lampasas 24-7 Oct. 3, Jones met with him to talk about his play.

“He didn’t think he played well,” he said. “I told him great players make great plays. He responded.”

Burnet finished with 288 yards of total offense compared to 190 for Marble Falls.

Ruiz had 22 rushes for 90 yards and a touchdown, while junior halfback Jamie Castillo had 16 rushes for 68 yards.

“We didn’t make enough plays,” Marble Falls head coach Brian Herman said. “We have a lot of soul searching to do. We are supremely capable but lack consistency. We needed to control momentum, and we did not. We’re better than we showed — I believe it.”

Both return to action at 7:30 p.m Friday, Oct. 14. Marble Falls travels to Taylor, while Burnet welcomes Comal Canyon Lake.

FIRST HALF:

The first half of the 108th edition of the Burnet County Showdown had the elements of a classic rivalry: big plays, gifted playmakers and moments that kept fans on the edge of their seats.

It all added up to a 14-6 Burnet High School football team lead over Marble Falls in the first half.

The Mustangs struck first after their defense forced the Bulldogs to punt.

Marble Falls marched 57 yards in 11 plays highlighted by an eight-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Dominic Fierro. All 11 plays were on the ground, including the two-point run that failed for a 6-0 lead with 3 minutes 58 seconds left in the opening quarter.

It took Burnet 13 seconds to respond thanks to junior all-around athlete Grant Jones, who ran 95 yards to paydirt on the kickoff. The point after gave the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead with 3:45 remaining in the opening period.

After the Burnet defense forced another punt, the Bulldogs gave Jones the ball on a run. Brfore he crossed the line of scrimmage, he threw a long pass that went 53 yards. However, before the receiver could score, the ball came out and Marble Falls recovered.

The Bulldog defense got the ball back to their teammates by forcing another punt.

That’s when Burnet went heavy with junior running back Dash Denton, who had four carries totaling 31 yards. But senior running back Jose Rodriguez got the call and sprinted the final seven yards for the touchdown and the 14-7 advantage with 6:38 left in the first half. The drive went 47 yards in eight plays.

Burnet had 140 yards of total offense to Marble Falls’ 114.