ROAD LOSS Marble Falls 21, Lampasas 0
Offense can't finish drives; defense wears down in 25-4A loss
By JEREMY HEATH Staff Writer

Above: Marble Falls quarterback Thor Woerner was held to 59 rushing yards, but he scored on runs of 21 and 30 yards. Top right: Lampasas receiver Aaron Reyna carried the ball twice for 21 yards, including a 21- yarder. Right: Lampasas receiver/punter Seth Fry made the two biggest offensive plays of the game for the Badgers, catching a Vann Millican pass for 27 yards and converting a fourth-and-long with a 20- yard run on a fake punt. Bottom right: Badger football players watch from the bench as Marble Falls prepares to run out the clock on the final possession of the fourth quarter.

MARBLE FALLS -- The Lampasas offense couldn't find ways to finish drives on Friday, which allowed Thor Woerner and the Marble Falls offense to slowly wear down the Badger defense in a 21-0 win.

MFHS 21, LHS 0

Records Lampasas is 0-4, Marble Falls is 3-1.

Impact

Marble Falls opens District 25-4A play with a win.

Key Stat

Marble Falls opened the game with a 13-play, 65-yard scoring drive that ate 6:33 off the clock.

PHOTOS BY DARRELL BROOKS

Key Play

The Badgers recovered a fumble inside the Mustang 30, but the play was negated by a penalty.

Up Next

Burnet at Lampasas, 7:30 p.m. Friday.

After the Mustangs marched 65 yards on 13 plays to take a 7-0 lead on the opening drive, the Badger defense stiffened. Lampasas (0-4) held Marble Falls to 274 total yards, but the one turnover it forced was negated by a penalty. Stephen Eskola, Brandon Skelton and Jesse Tobar recorded sacks for the Badgers.

The defense limited Woerner to two big plays on the ground -- a 21- yard touchdown and a 30-yard score -- but the Mustangs were able to run the ball effectively in the second half, extending their 14-0 halftime lead to the final tally and eating up the clock.

"Our defense played well again," LHS head coach Ryan Bailey said. "Now, our offense needs to step up and help them out."

The Badger offense gained 166 total yards, with 102 of that coming via the ground game. Down 14-0 in the second quarter, Lampasas moved the ball to the Mustang 10 but came away with no points when Sam Barbero's field-goal attempt missed wide left.

Every time the Badgers appeared to have something working on offense, a mistake would stall the drive.

The Badgers moved to the Mustang 47 late in the first quarter, but Marble Falls' Saif Khan recovered a fumble -- the first of two Mustang fumble recoveries.

On the first possession of the second half, Melvin Batiste ripped off an 11-yard run to give the Badgers a first down near midfield. On the ensuing play, quarterback Vann Millican was not ready for the snap, and Batiste had to jump on it for a 9-yard loss that paralyzed the drive.

Down 21-0 early in the fourth, Lampasas' final attempt at a rally was squashed. After moving the ball from the Badger 32 to the Mustang 31, Jarrod Bowen was stopped half a yard short of the first-down marker on fourth and one.

The biggest play of the game -- or biggest non-play, as it turned out -- happened early in the third quarter with the Mustangs up 14-0 and facing a third and four from their own 26. Woerner completed a pass to Taylor Smith in the flats, and Coleton Lucas jarred the ball loose with his tackle. The Badgers recovered inside the 30, but an encroachment penalty canceled the play and gave Marble Falls the first down.

The Badgers held 6'1", 225- pound Woerner in check for the most part, allowing him to run for 59 yards on 12 carries, but the Mustang quarterback did score twice. He also completed 7 of 17 passes for 125 yards.

Seven Marble Falls players carried the ball, gaining 149 yards. Fullback Sam Lewis scored the other Mustang touchdown on a 2- yard run to cap the opening drive.

After running for 104 yards and a touchdown in a 20-17 double overtime loss to Gatesville, Bowen was held to 35 yards on 13 carries. Bowen did, however, show he was more than just a threat to run out of the shotgun, as he completed four passes for 27 yards.

Millican completed 4 of 13 for 37 yards, including a 27-yarder to Seth Fry. Fry also had the longest run of the night for the Badgers, ripping off a 20-yard gain on a fake punt.

Brode DuBose ran for 34 on 11 carries. Aaron Reyna carried twice from the slot for 21 yards.

The Badgers play host to Burnet (1-3) on Friday in another 25-4A game.

"We can still achieve our goal of making the playoffs," Bailey said. "Burnet lost tonight (30-14 to Lake Travis), too. We've just got to get focused on playing Burnet.

"Our kids' attitudes are good. These kids just love playing the game. We've just got to find a way to put it all together."

Game Stats

Score By Quarters

Lampasas 0 0 0 0 - 0
Lampasas 7 7 0 7 - 21

Scoring Summary

First Quarter MF - Sam Lewis 2 run (Ben Lane kick)

Second Quarter MF - Thor Woerner 21 run (Lane kick)

Fourth Quarter MF - Woerner 30 run (Lane kick)

Team Stats

	LHS	MFHS
First Downs	10	16
Rushing Yards	102	149
Passing Yards	64	125
Total Yards	166	274
C-A-I	8-17-0	7-18-0
Fumbles-Lost	4-2	1-0
Punts-Avg.	4-34	5-41
Penalties-Yards	4-30	7-60

Individual Stats

Rushing - L: Jarrod Bowen 13-35, Brode DuBose 11-34, Aaron Reyna 2- 21, Melvin Batiste 2-2, Vann Millican 2- (minus) 19, Seth Fry 1-20; MF: Thor Woerner 12-59, Taylor Smith 7-20, Theron Jerome 6-40, Sam Lewis 5-14, Luke Sotkovski 2-8, Sammy Agilar 2-3, Matt Didway 1-5.

Passing - L: Bowen 4-5-0 27, Millican 4-12-0-37; MF: Woerner 7-18-0-125.

Receiving - L: Jonathan VanLiew 3- 21, Cole Ball 2-6, Seth Fry 1-27, Bowen 1-9, DuBose 1-2. MF: Stacy Davis 3-57, Logan Belk 3-47, Candido DeLaHoya 1-13, Lewis 1-6.