Marble Falls football loses district opener to Canyon Lake
CAPTION: Marble Falls defenders Kole Becker (10), Jaime Castillo (7) and Brandon Guevara tackle a Canyon Lake Hawk at midfield during the Mustangs’ 52-13 loss Oct. 6. Photo by Daniel Clifton
The Marble Falls High School football team lost to Canyon Lake 52-13 Oct. 6 in the District 13-4A Division I opener for both teams.
The Mustangs (1-5, 0-1) travel to Burnet (3-3, 0-1) for a 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, kickoff at Bulldog Field.
Marble Falls head coach Bryan Herman warned that the Hawks (2-4, 1-0) were better than their pre-district record indicated.
“They came out blazing,” he said. “They came out … with the right juice and energy, and we didn’t match it.”
Canyon Lake took the opening drive 75 yards in seven plays highlighted by an 18-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Harris Gilliam from senior quarterback Steven Crowder for a 7-0 lead about three minutes into the contest.
Marble Falls ran three plays and fumbled. Canyon Lake recovered on the Mustangs’ 30-yard line.
Crowder needed one play to find Gilliam for the touchdown and a 14-0 advantage with 7:41 left in the opening quarter.
The Mustangs trimmed the deficit in half thanks to going 51 yards in nine plays. The drive ended when senior Jaime Castillo scored on a nine-yard run. Senior Isaac Larranaga added the extra point to make the score 14-7 with 56 seconds remaining.
The Hawks responded with a seven-play, 70-yard drive thanks to another Crowder-to-Gilliam touchdown pass from 22 yards out for the 21-7 advantage with 10:58 left in the half.
After the two teams exchanged possessions, Canyon Lake added touchdown No. 4 on a three-yard run by senior running back Caden Rodriguez for the 28-7 lead with 2:43 remaining.
On Canyon Lake’s next possession, the Hawks covered 57 yards, but the drive stalled on the Marble Falls 10. Canyon Lake elected to attempt the field goal, but it was missed. However, the Mustangs were called for a personal foul that gave the Hawks a first down on the Marble Falls five-yard line. Two plays later Crowder pushed his way into the end zone from a yard out for a 35-7 lead at intermission.
On the opening drive of the second half, the Mustangs came out throwing. Sophomore Joaquin Aguilar took a toss, ran, stopped and found a wide-open Parker Phillips for a 33-yard reception. The Mustangs called for another pass on the next play, but it went incomplete. Then they fumbled on the third play. Canyon Lake recovered on its own 40.
The Hawks reached the Mustangs’ two-yard. But a fumbled snap on third down where the ball bounced and moved laterally was finally picked up by senior running back Justin Abbott, who ran into the right corner of the end zone for the touchdown and a 42-7 lead.
The Mustangs answered in less than a minute on the ensuing drive when junior Colton Minor scored on the two-yard plunge for a 42-13 deficit. The big play was Castillo’s 60-yard scamper that got the Mustangs to the two.
And though Marble Falls recovered the ensuing onside kick, they fumbled the ball on the Hawks’ six-yard line. Castillo provided the big play, running for 44 yards to Canyon Lake’s eight-yard line.
The Hawks marched 90 yards in 11 plays on a drive that ended when junior running back Kaiden Lewis scored on a two-yard run for a 49-13 advantage with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.
Canyon Lake added a 23-yard field goal with 3:19 left to play for the 52-13 final.
At halftime, Herman said he thought back to what his dad, who also was a coach, said, “there are no good plays or bad plays.” So he decided to shake things up with the Aguilar halfback option pass.
“We actually threw two plays in we hadn’t practiced,” Herman said. “The stuff we worked on wasn’t working.”
The two big Castillo runs, he said, were called 15 times in the contest. And he agreed that Castillo ran with tremendous force during his two explosive plays. Intensity and determination do not accurately describe the way Castillo, who rushed for more than 140 yards, ran with the football.
“Those were the two that popped,” the coach said. “We need that (type of exertion like Castillo’s) from everybody all the time. That’s how Canyon Lake ran. We didn’t have enough.”
Herman said the Mustangs weren’t surprised by Canyon Lake’s passing game. Tendencies and offensive personnel dictate which defenders are on the field. The coach noted the Hawks “put us in a bind” with the way they were able to complete passes since the Mustangs weren’t allowing explosive running plays.
Crowder completed 7 of 10 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns, while Abbott had 13 rushes for 86 yards and a score, and Rodriguez had seven carries for 37 yards and a touchdown. In all, the Hawks had 523 yards of total offense, including 341 yards on the ground.
Marble Falls finished with 201 rushing yards and 39 passing yards for 240 yards of total offense.
Though it’s the first district game, Herman said the Mustangs have work to do as they now focus on Burnet and the next few weeks.
“We’re running out of time,” he said. “We don’t play everyone twice. We get one shot, and we failed tonight.”
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