Alamo Heights 10, Marble Falls 7

Quick take: With under a minute to play in a 7-7 game, Alamo Heights was driving just outside the Marble Falls 10-yard line with a chance to win the game on a touchdown or a short field-goal attempt.

A holding penalty reduced the Mules’ available options to one — send kicker Ethan Ball out for a 39-yard field-goal attempt with two seconds remaining and a trip to the state quarterfinals on the line.

The left-footed junior swung his leg through the ball as confidently as if he were punching in an extrapoint attempt and watched it sail through the uprights.

“He’s a great kicker, he’s been solid for us all year,” Alamo Heights coach Ron Rittimann said. “We just hadn’t put him in that kind of situation with that kind of pressure. But he’s very confident in what he does, and he stepped up and drilled it right through the middle.”

Ball’s teammates swarmed around him to celebrate the 10-7 win as the near-capacity crowd shook the stands of Tiger Stadium on Friday night in Dripping Springs. The kick to end the Region IV-5A Division II semifinal clinched the Mules’ first quarterfinals appearance in nearly a decade.

Highlights: Alamo Heights (13-0) and Marble Falls (9-4) each sustained extensive drives on their opening possessions, but neither came away with points. The Mustangs pieced together a 13-play drive lasting more than six minutes, but Mules linebacker Roan Erwin blocked a 24-yard field-goal attempt to give the Alamo Heights offense possession at the 20-yard line.

Leaning heavily on the read-option with quarterback James Sobey and running back George Flesher, Alamo Heights executed a 15-play drive that took the Mules down to the opposing 1-yard line late in the second quarter. Sobey faked a handoff to Flesher to create a clean running lane through the left side and took the ball over the goal line to put the Mules in front going into halftime 7-0.

Both teams were limited to just two possessions in the first half, with Marble Falls exclusively running the ball out of the slot-T formation and Alamo Heights exploiting the 3-3-5 defense that seemingly dared the Mules to run the ball.

The Mustangs’ first and only completion of the game came late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Jake Becker rolled out to his left and fired a pass over the middle to Roberto Adame for a 41yard touchdown to tie the score at 7-7. The game looked headed for overtime, but Ball’s clutch kick from the right-hash as time expired ensured the Mules’ season would last at least one more week.

What it means: Alamo Heights advances to the fourth round of the playoffs for the first time since 2013, when it lost to Corpus Christi Calhoun, 46-22. The Mules’ veteran-laden defense led by the senior linebacking core of Erwin, Cody Burke and Henry Haugen has been the driving force behind Alamo Heights’ perfect record, and while Marble Falls’ complex offense provided its share of problems, the Mules’ front seven held strong and kept the Mustangs off the scoreboard for most of the game. Rising prospect Tommy Colligan and senior Hunter Blakey were instrumental on the defensive line in limiting the run game, which was no small task against a power-run offense using constant misdirections and motions. Next week’s matchup against Liberty Hill will provide little reprieve for the Mules’ front seven, but Alamo Heights has to feel confident in its personnel’s ability to shut down any offense that lines up across from it.

Quotable: “I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Rittimann said. “They’ve earned this. They’ve worked hard for this. Nobody’s ever going to give us anything, especially this deep in the playoffs. I just couldn’t be more proud to be their coach right now.” Game balls: Flesher never found the end zone, but the Mules’ win wouldn’t be possible without his 32 carries for 131 yards. Sobey wasn’t required to throw as much facing a three-down front, but he made big plays with his arm when needed. The senior finished 8-14 for 169 yards, while rushing eight times for nine yards and a score. Freshman receiver Michael Terry III caught three passes for 77 yards, all of which moved the chains for Alamo Heights. Rett Andersen registered three receptions for 60 yards, including a vital third-down grab that went for 29 yards and put the Mules in scoring position in the closing minutes. Up next: Alamo Heights moves forward to the quarterfinals, where it will meet Liberty Hill next weekend.