JON BROOKS TELEGRAM ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR BELTON — Killeen Ellison entered Thursday’s district opener at Belton with the league’s second-ranked offense in tow, while the Tigers followed in the middle of the pack.
It was a third-quarter surge that made the difference, though, to propel Belton to a 53-42 shootout victory over the Eagles in the first District 10-5A-II game of the year.
Will Shepard passed for 314 yards and three scores and added 78 yards rushing and another three touchdowns in his return from an injury to help Belton (3-3) outlast Ellison (3- 3) at Tiger Field, snapping a threegame slide for the Tigers.
In his first action since Sept. 19, Shepard completed 16 of 20 passes with no interceptions and found the end zone on runs of 6, 16 and 1 yard. He connected with Gavin Ross for two TDs and with Gino Zecca on a 70-yard strike during Belton’s 29-point third-quarter blitz to take control.
“Our quarterback showed up tonight. He did a great job of coming back from an injury. He didn’t miss a beat. He came back confident and really organized our offense,” said the senior Zecca, who had 133 yards from scrimmage on 14 touches, including the 70-yarder on a screen pass down the left sideline that pushed the Tigers ahead 43-34 with less than 3 minutes left in the third after the Eagles pulled within two points on Marlyn Smith’s 2-yard TD run.
Following Zecca’s score, Belton’s Graham Chambley tacked on another six points less than a minute later when he fell on top of a blocked Ellison punt in the end zone to make the tally 50-34. It marked the Tigers’ fourth TD in the final 4:47 of the third after Ellison reclaimed a 27-21 advantage midway through the quarter when Smith ran in from 18 yards out. It proved to be the Eagles’ last lead, however.
Smith had 90 yards rushing in addition to 225 yards and a TD on 15-of29 passing to pace Ellison.
Belton promptly responded to its six-point deficit in the middle of the third with two TDs inside a 10-second span to take the lead for good. Shepard capped a nine-play, 71- yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge, then Anthony Garcia recovered the ensuing onside kick that Shepard immediately followed by finding Ross for a 44-yard scoring toss and 36-27 lead with 4:37 left.
Ross finished with 10 catches for 183 yards and two TDs, giving him 100-plus yards receiving in all six games this year.
“He did exactly what we talked about,” Belton head coach Brett Sniffin said of Shepard, who was injured in the first half against San Angelo Central then sat out the next week. “He took what they gave us. He was calm. They blitzed and we knew they were going to 50 percent of the time, and he was calm and made plays. He did a great job. And of course, (Ross) is the best receiver in that state of Texas and I don’t care what anyone else says.”
The first quarter was more of a slow go for Belton, though the Tigers got a crucial stop late in the period that led to their first points that ignited a back-and-forth exchange between the teams into halftime.
Belton yielded a 14-play scoring drive to the Eagles to start the night then went three-and-out before letting Ellison drive into Tigers territory on its ensuing march.
The Eagles covered 60 yards on their opening possession during which they converted two third downs and one fourth down. Evan Dowling finished it with a 3-yard touchdown tote for a 6-0 edge after Chambley broke through to block the PAT attempt.
The Eagles reached the Belton 33 on their second drive, but the Tigers stiffened, and Azian Wilkinson broke up Smith’s fourth-down toss to snuff out the chance.
After running just five offensive plays in the first frame, Belton faced a quick third-and-11 to start the second quarter when an Ellison pass interference penalty provided the Tigers with their initial first down of the night.
Belton took advantage 10 plays later when Shepard darted into the end zone from 6 yards out on fourth-andgoal to turn the lead in Belton’s favor at 7-6 following Corin Ramesar’s extra point. The
Tigers forced their lone threeand-out of the half on Ellison’s next possession then needed just three plays to push the gap to 14-6 when Shepard stepped through traffic in the pocket and lofted a throw to a wide-open Ross behind the middle of Ellison’s defense for a 41-yard TD strike and 14-6 advantage.
It marked the first of four touchdowns — two from each squad — in the final 5:03 of the half as the teams finished the second stanza with a flurry.
Prince Hall shook a tackle near the 45 and scooted down the right sideline the rest of the way for a 64-yard touchdown catch from Smith on the next play following Ross’ score to get the Eagles within 14-13.
Ellison then forced the lone turnover by either team, getting pressure on Shepard on back-to-back plays, the last of which led to a 43-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Demetrius Perry to reclaim the lead for the Eagles at 19-14 with less than 3 minutes to go before the break.
Set up by a long Wilkinson kickoff return, the Tigers responded with a seven-play drive that Shepard finished with his second TD scurry, this one from 16 yards away with 51 seconds left to put Belton back in front 21-19, where the tally stood at halftime.
“We still have a lot to clean up,” Sniffin said. “It was a pretty sloppy first half with a lot of penalties on us and some mistakes with some dropped balls early. They made up for it later, but we can’t have that every time. We overcame it, but we have to be a little cleaner.”
jbrooks@tdtnews.com