Second half propels Lampasas football to win at Marble Falls

CAPTION: Marble Falls senior Jasuel Ruiz pushes junior halfback Jamie Castillo into the end zone for two points during the loss to Lampasas. Photo by Stennis Shotts

The Marble Falls High School football team lost to Lampasas 42-20 Oct. 28 in its final appearance at Mustang Stadium this season.

The two teams played to a 14-14 half-time tie. But the Badgers’ depth took over in scoring touchdowns on three of their five second-half possessions.

“At halftime for multiple weeks in a row, I thought we were in a great spot,” Mustangs head coach Brian Herman said. “I thought we were right where we needed to be. We had nothing to lose.”

From the opening kickoff, the Mustangs (2-7, 0-4 District 13-4A Division I) sent a message it was taking a different approach to the Badgers (6-3, 3-1).

The Mustangs recovered an onside kick to start the game and though they punted, they showed they weren’t backing down.

The Badgers, meanwhile, scored on their opening possession by completing the nine-play drive when senior Aden Rascoe scored on a five-yard run for the 7-0 lead. The drive covered 56 yards in 4 minutes and 2 seconds.

Marble Falls responded on its second possession, going 80 yards in 11 plays when senior Jasuel Ruiz ran to paydirt from five yards out. The two-point run failed and the Badgers led 7-6 early in the second quarter.

Lampasas needed five plays to retake the lead thanks to a 22-yard pass to senior receiver Owen Stubbs from senior quarterback David Flores for the 14-6 advantage with 9:47 left in the half.

Marble Falls responded again, covering 75 yards in 10 plays when junior halfback Jamie Castillo ran to the left and outran everyone to the end zone. Castillo added the two-point run thanks to a strong push by the offensive line that wouldn’t be denied for the 14-14 half-time tie.

Marble Falls had 191 yards of total offense aided by recovering two onside kicks. Lampasas had 100 yards.

The Badgers forced the Mustangs to go three-and-out on their opening possession to start the second half and avoided the same fate.

Lampasas started on the Marble Falls 43-yard line and needed six plays to score thanks to a four-yard Rascoe run to the end zone and the 21-14 lead after thee quarters.

That was the first of four second-half Rascoe touchdowns who scored from 45, 2 and 16 yards . He finished with 13 rushes for 115 yards, all unofficial, and five touchdowns. The Badgers had 254 yards of total offense to the Mustangs’ 219.

The Mustangs’ lone second half score came on a seven-yard Castillo run with 4:31 left in the contest to cap a three-play, 30-yard drive aided by a personal foul called on the Badgers.

Castillo paced the Mustangs with 19 carries for 131 yards and 2 scores followed by Ruiz with 18 rushes for 87 yards and a score.

Herman noted that some Mustangs spent extra time leading up to this contest working to get better, either by being on the field to fine-tune fundamentals, getting extra reps or getting more coaching. While some players are no longer with the team, Herman said his heart breaks for those who remained because he knows firsthand how hard they’re working.

“It’s not showing on the scoreboard,” he said. “They’re not getting to experience the joy of victory and success from the work they’re putting in. These kids are awesome, and I love them. Our kids did what we asked them to do. All of our kids are playing hard. We’re celebrating that and how the kids are still fighting hard.”

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