Defense comes up big for Tigers, posting first shutout since 2022

BELTON — Leading into Belton’s homecoming matchup with Bryan Rudder on Friday, head coach Brett Sniffin said a few days earlier he was still unsure of the specifics of the Tigers’ offensive game plan.

Part of it hinged on what the Rangers showed defensively — then a stiff wind also played a hand.

It turned out to be Belton’s defense that stole the show, however.

The Tigers held the Rangers to just 48 first-half yards while their offense figured out things, eventually building a 21-point halftime edge that only grew from there as they posted a commanding 35-0 victory in a District 10-5A-II game that was bumped up an hour to avoid expected inclement weather later Friday night.

Javid Planz and Gino Zecca each rushed for 71 yards and scored two touchdowns, and Gavin Ross had his typical big game, grabbing 12 catches for 135 yards to set Belton’s single-season receptions record while helping the Tigers (4-4, 2-1) earn a critical league win.

Belton’s defense, meanwhile, got interceptions from Jahari James and Anthony Anderson while holding Rudder (1-7, 0-3) to 122 total yards — compared to the Tigers’ 424 — to record its first shutout since a 56-0 win over Austin Northeast in a 2022 bi-district playoff tilt.

“We played a heck of a game. I’m really proud of my boys. Offense left us in a couple sticky situations (in the first half), but the defense powered through and we fought until the end of the game and made sure we put a zero on that scoreboard,” said James, a junior whose takeaway in the second quarter helped negate one of three interceptions Belton threw in the first half.

Will Shepard found Ross for a 48-yard gain on a slant to jumpstart the Tigers midway through the third quarter after each team traded fruitless possessions. Ross capped the seven-play, 75-yard drive by motoring in from 14 yards away on a toss from Shepard, hitting the right pylon to provide a 28-0 lead with about 4 minutes left before the fourth.

The junior Ross eclipsed 100 yards receiving for the seventh time in eight games and pushed his season total to 80 catches for 1,100 yards.

Planz then rumbled in from 17 yards out barely a minute into the final frame to clear the way for reserves for the remainder of the game.

“It’s always great when everybody gets to play and partake in the win. That’s awesome,” Sniffin said. “We turned the ball over some in the first half and shot ourselves in the foot with penalties again, but we cleaned it up a little bit in the second half and took some time off the clock driving the ball.

“It’s pretty windy out here, so it took away a little bit from our vertical passing game, but the kids were able to grind it out on the ground and some short passes turned long. They did a great job.”

The Tigers moved the ball in the first half — when they compiled 15 first downs to Rudder’s four — though they were hampered by three interceptions to keep the game close.

After Belton’s first possession ended in a Mykel Heard pick, it struck in seven plays on its next march, which concluded with Planz’s 2-yard plunge into the end zone to give it the lead for good with 6:20 left in the first quarter.

Belton had 13 plays of 10 yards or more — six passing and seven rushing — in the first half, including four on its initial scoring drive that came on a 13-yard Cason Morton reception, 13-yard Shepard keeper and 10-yard totes from Morton and Planz.

A sack by Camron Ellis cut short Rudder’s chance following Malik Wilson’s interception and, shortly thereafter, the Tigers capitalized on a short field when Zecca took a 12-yard screen pass from Shepard through the left side of the end zone for his first of two TDs.

It made for a 14-0 advantage with 5:15 left in the second quarter and, following a David Fernandez interception that ended Belton’s next drive, Zecca bumped the gap to 21-0 on Belton’s final possession of the half when he rumbled in from 3 yards out with 23 seconds remaining.

The margin proved plenty with which the Tigers’ stingy defense could work, as they continued their dominance through the final two frames.