GEORGETOWN — Belton clipped the Hawks last week with a pair of touchdowns in the final 5 minutes. They set their aim on the Eagles on Friday night, and the Tigers proved capable hunters again.
Winner of two games a year ago, Belton used a nearly flawless first half offensively coupled with a defense that forced two second-half turnovers to ground Georgetown, 34-26, in a non-district clash at Birkelbach Field and equal its win total from a year ago.
The Tigers (2-0) downed Pflugerville Hendrickson in comeback fashion last week, and this time held off a come-from-behind bid by Georgetown (1-1) thanks in part to Lyric McGinnis’ forced fumble that stalled an Eagles drive early in the third quarter then Jahari James’ interception midway through the fourth that denied Georgetown at the goal line while it trailed 27-26.
The Eagles didn’t get back the ball until 9 seconds remained and by then, Belton quarterback Will Shepard already put the cherry on top with his 3-yard sneak for a touchdown that gave the Tigers their final eight-point advantage.
Shepard completed 17 of 18 passes for 245 yards with three touchdowns — all of which found Gavin Ross — and added 54 yards rushing on 12 carries. Ross led all players with 10 grabs for 158 yards and had a 35-yard run in the first half. The duo combined on touchdown passes of 12, 34 and five yards, respectively.
“(Georgetown) didn’t know what the Belton Tigers had, and we came out with our hair on fire and not holding anything back,” said Shepard, whose team dropped a 39-10 loss to the Eagles last year. “They are a very great team. I mean, I had tears coming out of my eyes at the end of the game. We worked hard throughout the week, throughout spring, summer and fall camp. It means so much to us coming off a 2-9 season.”
Ahead 21-20 at the break after scoring touchdowns on all three first-half possessions, Belton fell behind for the first time when Georgetown notched its only points of the second half on Braylon Westfall’s 15-yard TD reception from Kaleb McDougle with 4:36 left in the third, which gave the Eagles a 26-21 lead.
The Tigers retorted on their next drive, though, which culminated in Shepard’s 5-yarder to Ross that gave them the lead for good with 29 seconds left in the third quarter.
“I just think we didn’t play timid. We went full speed and weren’t scared of nobody. We just put our helmets to their chest,” the junior Ross said.
Belton bookended the first half with a pair of stops and played about as crisp as it could on offense to hold the slim edge at the break.
Ahead 21-14 after sophomore Cason Morton rumbled 5 yards for his first varsity touchdown with 5:57 left in the second quarter, the Tigers held firm after Georgetown matched then had a chance to steal more points in the final minute after recovering a surprise onside kick.
Though they advanced to the 11-yard line after the muff, the Eagles couldn’t turn it into points when Graham Chambley blocked a 28-yard field goal attempt as time expired on the half.
Shepard, meanwhile, completed all eight of his pass attempts for 119 yards over the first two frames, including a pair that Ross took into the end zone.
The Tigers quickly set the tone by stopping Georgetown — which played without standout running back Jett Walker — on a three-and-out then methodically marching 99 yards in 11 plays after the Eagles pinned them with a deep punt in the early stages of the first quarter.
Belton ripped off six first downs on the drive, including a 4-yard grab by usual defensive lineman Evan Lockett on a fourth-and-2, after which Ross grabbed a 12-yard TD toss on the next play for the 7-0 edge. Ross had 113 yards on six catches in the first half.
After Georgetown answered, Shepard again found Ross over the middle, this time for a 34-yard strike and a 14-7 gap early in the second frame.
“I mean, everything worked (in the first half),” said Belton head coach Brett Sniffin, whose team hosts Georgetown East View in its home debut next Friday. “Everything we called, those kids executed perfectly. It was a fantastic job. (Shepard) did a great job, the O-line blocked, receivers caught the ball when it came their way. I mean it was a great total, team effort.”
BELTON 34, GEORGETOWN 26
Belton 7 14 6 7 — 34
Georgetown 7 13 6 0 — 26
Bel — Gavin Ross 12 pass from Will Shepard (Corin Ramesar kick)
Geo — Zechariah Guyton 4 run (Liam Capra kick)
Bel — Ross 34 pass from Shepard (Ramesar kick)
Geo — Guyton 6 run (Capra kick)
Bel — Cason Morton 5 run (Ramesar kick)
Geo — Xavier Warren 16 pass from Kaleb McDougle (pass failed)
Geo — Braylon Westfall 15 pass from McDougle (kick failed)
Bel— Ross 5 pass from Shepard (run failed)
Bel— Shepard 3 run (Ramesar kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
Bel Geo
First downs 17 19
Rushes-yards 40-165 27-179
Passing yards 245 141
Comp.-Att.-Int. 17-18-0 17-23-1
Punts-average 3-32.0 2-44.0
Fumbles-lost 0 2-1
Penalties-yards 10-65 5-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Belton: Javid Planz 15-55, Shepard 15-54, Ross 1-35, Morton 3-16, Gino Zecca 7-7, team 1-(-2); Georgetown: Weston Steward 10-99, Guyton 15-89, team 1-(-3), McDougle 2-(-6).
PASSING — Belton: Shepard 17-18-0-245; Georgetown: McDougle 17-23-1-141.
RECEIVING — Belton: Ross 10-158, Morton 3-81, Evan Lockett 1-4, Asa Thomas 1-2, Planz 1-0, Achilles Palomares 1-0; Georgetown: Westfall 10-70, Warren 5-56, Copeland Madray 2-15.
