KDH Pressbox

Herald/Steven Doll Belton senior wide receiver Adrian Henderson breaks down field while Ellison sophomore defensive back Melvin Pernell defends during the second quarter Friday at Leo Buckley Stadium.Ellison had its opportunity, but Belton just took it away.

A back-and-forth scoring battle between the Tigers' potent passing attack and the Eagles' talented run-game, it was an all-too-familiar fumble that ultimately sealed Ellison's fate, and helped Belton (4-4, 4-1 in District 12-5A) clinch a playoff spot for the second straight year.

"We executed 98-percent of the game offensively, unfortunately, the two-percent we didn't was right there at the end of the ball game," Eagles coach Buddy McBryde said.
Thanks to the late turnover, it was a unlikely 31-yard field goal by backup Belton kicker Carlo Mosnia with just over four minutes remaining that led the Tigers to a 37-34 victory Friday night at Leo Buckley Stadium.

"When both offenses are going pound-for-pound, it came down to the last man with the ball," Eagles senior running back David Cobb, who finished with a game-high 228 yards rushing and three touchdowns. "... We fought hard all night, it just sucks to be the team on the losing side."

Belton coach Rodney Southern admitted afterward, even he was a little surprised how they won the game.

"I knew going in (Ellison) was going to run the football, ... Cobb's as good a running back as there is in this area, and what they do makes it tough," Southern said. "... But I also know that when we protect our quarterback, we can throw and catch and score too. (But) would I ever thought it'd come down to a field goal? No."

Leading the Tigers' charge, like he's done all season, was Texas-bound quarterback David Ash, who methodically led Belton to touchdown drives on its first four possessions for a 28-21 first-half lead. Ash finished 19-of-27 for 268 yards, four touchdowns and another score on the ground.

But driving down the field in the final minutes, trailing 37-34 after forcing Belton to the field goal, the Eagles (2-6, 1-4) seemed destined to walk away victors.

All game, Ellison had been racked up a season-high 421 rushing yards thanks to Cobb's second 200-yard game of the season and 111 yards and one score from Zerik Brown.

"We had to have it, we wanted to go to the playoffs and that was a playoff drive," Cobb said. "Good teams find ways to win at the end, ... unfortunately, the ball bounced their way."

With the clock winding down to less than two minutes on the clock, the run-first Eagles turned to the passing attack of senior quarterback Jacob Brank.

"Time was a factor, we didn't have time to keep running it," McBryde said.

With 1:44 left, Brank tallied 40 yards on passes to Darien Brown and Devante Cloud on three of the next four plays, setting Ellison up with first-and-10 at the Belton 25-yard line with 1:26 remaining.

Brank then kept the ball and picked up 8 yards at the 17, when McBryde called his second timeout of the half with 1:04 on the clock.

A running play to Brown got stuffed by Tigers middle linebacker Ricky Alvarez for a 1-yard loss and the Eagles took their final timeout with 59 seconds remaining.

Brank, looking to pass, saw nobody open and scrambled for whatever he could get on a third-and-3 play. But there in his way was Belton defensive tackle Stephen Honeywood, all 262 pounds of him, as the ball popped out upon impact.

A skirmish ensued and, after a few seconds of uncertainty, Tigers sophomore linebacker Ryan Stinson stood up with the ball well in hand, as well as the game.

"I knew once I'd seen (Brank) pull it down, I knew all the guys were covered, so I just took off and ran after him," Honeywood said. "As soon as I hit him, the ball popped up, and I pulled through, put him on the ground and the ball was rolling, Stinson picked it up, and ball game over."

Contact Alex Byington at alexb@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7566.