Shorthorns bid for 3-0 falls short
Shorthorn Athletics had a week’s worth of traveling as they competed against Buena Vista, Fort Davis, Balmorhea and finally closed the week off with a cross-country meet in Alpine.
Marfa’s varsity volleyball team had a strong performance against Buena Vista Tuesday evening with Liliana Zubia leading the way for the team defensively with 5 blocks, and senior setter/outside hitter, Dariela Munoz, had 9 assists in the game along with 5 kills to Marfa’s cause, before dropping the match 0-3.
Against Balmorhea Friday afternoon, the Lady Horns opened the match with a thrilling back-and-forth battle, but dropped set one 28–26, after several lead changes to close out the set. Although Marfa took a 6-point lead in the second set, Balmorhea regained momentum into the next two sets, winning 25–19 and 25–16 to complete the sweep.
Munoz and Zoey Salgado had several timely aces to keep the game close, and senior Itzel Urrutia led the Lady Horns’ attack with six kills, while Zubia led the way in blocks, Munoz in assists, along with setter Giselle Torres (6 sets).
Under the Friday night lights, the varsity Horns football team entered week three with hopes of extending their win streak to three straight games. The Balmorhea Bears had other plans. With their homecoming night and hometown crowd behind them, the home team struck first with a 30-yard scamper, followed by six additional unanswered touchdowns, putting the pressure on Marfa to score before the half or surrender via the mercy rule. Under the urgency of the mercy rule, Abelardo Bubba Marquez, quickly returned a 56-yard kickoff to put up Marfa’s first points on the board, but the Horns offense wasn’t able to produce any more rallies and suffered their first loss of the season, 6-52, and now enter week four with a 2-1 record. Although the two-game win streak has been the best start the Horns have had since 2023, Head Coach Reyes stated that the team is ready to refocus and knows that next week’s matchup against Buena Vista will be just as good for the Horns, and they are ready to get back to work.
The junior high Shorthorns delivered the performance of the weekend, powering their way to an impressive 40–15 victory over the Bears. Defensively, Landyn Baeza and Analilia Leyva set the tone with several big tackles, while Adiel Zubia (2 touchdowns, 1 extra point) found the end zone. Eighth grader Lalo Lara turned in a standout performance, scoring three touchdowns and adding 2 extra points to help secure the commanding win.
The junior Horns volleyball squad put forth a tremendous effort against Fort Davis Thursday evening, with Dania Fernandez, Mia Rosas, Jade Martinez and Aubrey Ceniceros leading Marfa’s offensive and defensive efforts. Martinez had 4 consecutive serves, while Fernandez locked in on the defensive end with several digs and saves.
To close out the road trip for Marfa, the Horns cross-country runners competed Saturday morning at the Alpine meet. Junior Alyssa Harden added another achievement to her impressive résumé, racing to a silver-medal finish on the hilly Alpine course. Luis Reyes led all Marfa runners in the varsity boys’ division, with a team best finish, and an overall finish of 34.
Upcoming Action:
The Lady Horns volleyball team opens district play Tuesday at home against Fort Hancock with JH playing at 3:35 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and varsity at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday afternoon, Marfa hosts the Desert Stampede Cross-Country Meet at the Marfa Golf Course beginning at 2:30 p.m. with varsity boys, 3:00 p.m. varsity girls and 3:45 p.m. JH girls.
On Friday, September 18, the Varsity Shorthorns will make their Martin Field debut against Buena Vista.
The Lady Horns will then travel to Fort Davis on Saturday, September 19, for another district matchup.
