Marble Falls football travels to face Stephenville
CAPTION: Two Mustangs who help ensure the offense hums are senior quarterback Colton Minor, who can pass and run with the ball, and senior tight end Noah Lyon, who is equally dangerous blocking and catching balls. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Marble Falls High School football team has one more game before the Mustangs take their bye.
And it’s a good one.
The Mustangs (2-5, 0-1 District 4-4A Division I) hit the road to Stephenville (5-1, 1-0), ranked No. 4 in the latest Class 4A Division I poll.
Stephenville enters this contest after losing to Ruston, La., (6-0, 1-0) 63-17 Oct. 4.
To say football is popular at Stephenville High School is an understatement. The program has won six state titles. It’s most recent came in 2021 under the direction of head coach Sterling Doty, who is entering his seventh season at the helm. Doty was an offensive lineman at Stephenville in 1998 and 1999, state title years for the Yellowjackets, before graduating in 2001.
Since 2022 the Yellowjackets have been led by senior quarterback Ryan Gafford, who took over the starting job because of an injury to the starter in the second game.
This season he has completed 99 of 138 passes for 1,341 yards, 16 touchdowns and two interceptions and has 14 carries for 44 yards and two scores.
“He has the ability to pull the ball and run,” Mustangs head coach Keri Timmerman said. “For them, it’s not necessarily something they look to do. They have enough weapons that they can be more selective.”
Senior running back Sawyer Wilkerson has 87 rushes for 740 yards and 11 touchdowns and 10 receptions for 106 yards, while sophomore running back Zyler McClendon has 46 carries for 256 yards and a score and four catches for 24 yards.
Senior Tristian Gentry has 41 receptions for 728 yards and nine touchdowns, while sophomore Adan Jergins has 23 catches for 296 yards and two scores.
Marble Falls will counter with senior defensive lineman Noah Lyon, who has 96 tackles, five sacks, an interception and two caused fumbles, and junior defensive back Gregory Lemon, who has 78 tackles.
Defensively, Stephenville is led by junior linebackers Hudson Butchee, who has 73 tackles, a pass breakup and caused a fumble, and Caleb Taylor, who has 62 tackles, a sack and a pass breakup.
Timmerman said Stephenville runs a 4-2-5 alignment.
“They mix up their front looks,” he said. “They have strong ends to keep you off the edges. The secondary is solid. They’re going to make you run the ball. It’s hard to move the ball on them. They’re really tough to get points off of in the back because of how aggressive they are in the front.”
Marble Falls will counter with senior quarterback Colton Minor, junior running back Joaquin Aguilar, senior receiver Kole Becker and tight end Lyon.
Minor has completed 75 of 123 passes for 967 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions and has 48 carries for 99 yards and a score. Aguilar has 83 rushes for 498 yards and six touchdowns. Becker has 42 receptions for 555 yards and five scores and Lyon has 17 catches for 211 yards and a touchdown.
Timmerman noted the Yellowjackets are equally sound in special teams, too.
“They’re solid in all three aspects,” he said. “They’re aggressive everywhere they play.”
Timmerman noted the number of athletes playing for Stephenville is a great help to its team.
“(They) have the ability to play one-way players on offense and defense,” he said. “Those things can contribute to a successful program.”
As for the loss to Ruston, Timmerman commended Stephenville for scheduling a challenging opponent that revealed some areas where the Yellowjackets can get better.
“Great teams can do what great teams do,” he said. “They had some success and found some weaknesses they hadn’t found.”
Marble Falls is entering this contest after losing to Burnet 43-7 in the district opener last week. Timmerman said his players have had a productive week of practice.
“They’re still locked in and focused,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure we’re focused and trying to stay healthy.”
