PFLUGERVILLE — Points were at a premium when Belton met Pflugerville Hendrickson to settle last year’s season opener. The same held true Friday — at least until the final 5 minutes at The Pfield.

That’s when the Tigers’ offense and defense each stepped in to make big plays, enough to carry them to a dramatic 21-17 comeback victory over the Hawks.

Belton didn’t win its first game in 2024 until the fourth weekend of October, but the Tigers got started on that task much earlier this fall thanks to a mostly-stifling defense and an offense that came up big in the waning moments.

Gino Zecca hauled in Will Shepard’s screen pass and danced into the end zone from 16 yards out with 1:16 left to finish off a 72-yard drive that also included receptions of 11 and 14 yards by Gavin Ross and a 10-yard Javid Planz carry as Belton responded after the Hawks reclaimed the lead less than 3 minutes earlier.

Ross had 12 catches for 146 yards, including a 41-yard grab for Belton’s first score of the season in the second quarter, while Shepard finished 20-of-32 for 214yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Planz had a game-high 77 yards rushing on 21 carries.

Zecca gathered Shepard’s game-winning toss along the left side then rolled over a defender at the 5 to mark the game’s third and final lead change, after which sophomore linebacker Oakley Torres intercepted an underthrown Chance Pearce pass to kill Hendrickson’s ensuing drive that reached Belton’s 37 with less than a minute left to seal the win.

Hendrickson led through the first three quarters before Belton came to life in the fourth, though the Hawks used Pete Vallejo’s 67-yard strike to Romelo Boykin with 4:02 remaining to briefly reclaim a 17-14 edge.

Boykin’s grab came just two plays after Shepard crossed the goal line on a 2-yard keeper to cap a 13-play drive to give Belton its first lead of the night at 14-10 with 4:53 remaining.

Outside of Boykin’s long grab, the Tigers allowed only 46 yards over the final two periods after falling behind 10-0 in the first half and yielding the game’s first score within just a few seconds.

After picking up one first down then quick punting to start the third quarter, Belton’s defense held steady through a long Hendrickson drive that chewed up most of the rest of the frame.

The Tigers gave Hendrickson first downs with a pair of roughing penalties — one on the kicker and one on the passer — to help the Hawks advance inside Belton’s 10-yard line on a drive that started from their own 6. But Azian Wilkinson intercepted a pass in the end zone to snuff out the chance.

Field position favored the Tigers in the second half, when the Hawks’ average starting yard line was their own 20.

The Tigers forced three-and-outs on Hendrickson’s two other possessions — including one on a Hendrickson drive that Zaybrien Brown started with a strip-sack of Shepard to erase a Tigers’ possession that began on Hendrickson’s 25.

The Hawks stormed in front right off the bat when Trevor Morgan found a crease in the middle of the field after initially bobbling the opening kickoff.

He quickly picked the ball back up then squirted through the open space and outdistanced himself from the pack to claim a 7-0 edge for Hendrickson with an 88-yard return with just 12 seconds elapsed.

Once the teams’ offenses settled in, however, the Hawks found a harder time finding points, though the story was similar for Belton over the first 24 minutes.

Hendrickson turned over the ball twice on downs and lost a drive to a fumble but managed to push its lead to 10-0 when Brennan Mercado knocked through a 35-yard field goal with 7:17 left in the second quarter.

The Tigers — who turned over the ball on downs four times in the first half — responded to the Hawks’ kick with their lone scoring march of the opening half, a drive that was aided by two costly Hendrickson penalties that extended the sequence.

Shepard lofted a 41-yard touchdown pass to Ross to finish off the march on a play during which Ross shed a tackler near the goal line after gathering the lob near the left sideline.

It cut Belton’s gap to 10-7 with 5:08 left before the break.