FALLS CITY – After a close and heartbreaking loss to their rivals, the Poth Pirates, last week, the Falls City Beavers looked to rebound in their home opener on Friday night. Coming into town were the Stockdale Brahmas, who came into the game with a 2-0 record with victories over San Antonio Cole and Jourdanton. When all was said and done, the Brahmas were knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten as the Beavers utilized their offensive and defensive schemes to great effect to earn a convincing 38-0 victory. “We were very excited,” said Falls City head coach Steve Marbach. “Stockdale’s very explosive and we did a good job containing them.”

The first quarter’s lone score came with 3:49 on the clock as Sr. QB Cameron Soto capped a Falls City drive with a 1-yard run. The extra point attempt was blocked, leaving the score at 6-0. The Beavers kept firing on all cylinders in the second quarter as Soto connected with Jr. WR Dean Gaskamp on a 7-yard pass for the touchdown at the 11:19 mark though the conversion failed. Later in the quarter, with 8:55 showing on the scoreboard, Sr. TE Royce Leonhardt caught a pass from Soto and scored from 5 yards out. The extra point attempt was no good, putting the score at 18-0 in favor of the Beavers. The final score of the second quarter came with 2:50 to go as Sr. RB Phillip Lyssy took the handoff and plunged into the end zone for the 1-yard score. Though the extra point was no good, the Beavers had a commanding 24-0 lead at halftime. Both of the Beavers’ scores in the second half came in the third quarter. With 5:29 on the clock, Soto found a seam and scored on a 15-yard run, with Sr. OL Yoseph Cruz making the PAT. The final score of the game came with 33 seconds to go as Sr. RB Jon Swierc punched it in on a 1-yard run of his own, with Cruz’s second successful PAT putting the score at 38-0. The fourth quarter saw the Beavers play some of their backup players, who kept the clock going to ensure the victory. “They did get down in our red zone a couple of times,” said Marbach. “We’ve had several goal line stands. When our backs are against the wall, our kids seem to make the big plays.”

Statistically, the Beavers gained 310 yards of total offense, with 126 yards rushing over 31 attempts and 184 yards passing over 15 completions. The Brahmas were held to 130 yards of total offense, with 95 yards rushing over 34 carries and 35 yards passing over three completions. Penalties were minimal throughout the game as the Beavers were flagged twice for 25 total yards and the Brahmas committed just one 10-yard penalty. Compared to the Poth game the week before where they gave up two touchdowns on kickoffs, Marbach said the Beavers have improved on special teams. “Obviously we’ve spent a lot of time on kickoff coverage,” said Marbach. We’ve gotta be more creative on kickoffs. It’s just a matter of execution.”

This week, the Beavers will have their Homecoming game as they play host to the D’Hanis Cowboys. “It’s going to be interesting because their offense is different than everything we’ve seen so far,” said Marbach. “They’re very pass-run balanced. Our defense has got to play with discipline.” Kickoff in Falls City is set for Friday, September 21 at 7:30 p.m.