Belton rides dominant defense to 42-15 rout of Rudder

BELTON — For all intents and purposes, Belton’s season started over Friday night, and led by a defense that was intent on proving itself, the Tigers made sure it was a promising opening act. Belton didn’t give up an offensive touchdown until the final 2 ½ minutes, launching into its district schedule with a 42-15 rout of Bryan Rudder at Tiger Field to snap a two-game slide and get the ball rolling in the right direction in the District 8-5A-II playoff race. Will Shepard didn’t throw an incomplete pass until the third quarter, finishing 9-of-11 for 161 yards and a touchdown while also adding a 25-yard TD run, and Brody Lee fronted a ground attack that churned out 259 yards with 156 yards and a score on 28 totes to pace a Tigers offense that turned in touchdowns on its first three possessions to quickly build a lead that stuck for good. Nash Jordan, Gavin Ross — who exited the game in the second quarter with a lower-leg injury and didn’t return — and Angel Zarate added TDs on the ground for Belton (4-2), though the win was defined by its defense, which held the Rangers (4-2) to 196 yards, including just 34 on the ground. Oakley Torres had three sacks in the second half and Anthony Garcia had an interception for a unit that forced six Rudder punts and two turnovers on downs. “We were on a mission to show that San Angelo (Central) was an anomaly and that was not who we were. We took advantage of some situations and we just have to eliminate some mental mistakes, but they played really well tonight. That was fun because they have some speed and they can score some points,” said Belton head coach Josh Mann, whose team surrendered a season-high 566 yards two weeks ago when Central scored on its first eight possessions, handing the Tigers a 52-29 loss heading into their open date. The results were on the opposite end of the spectrum Friday when Belton stopped the Rangers for negative yardage 12 times and limited their leading rusher Jack Scheringer to 50 yards on 12 carries after he came into the night averaging 127.2 yards rushing per game on more than 10 yards per carry. “We want to be aggressive on offense and aggressive on defense and we kind of got back to that tonight,” Mann said. “We came out with some trick plays, taking some more shots down the field, and we hadn’t done that as much as I thought we needed to. “And the three-and-out was huge because we have not done well on first series. That was something we identified over the bye week that we have to improve on, getting off the field early, so that was a great job by them doing that.” Belton carried a 28-7 edge into the break after allowing only 42 yards and two first downs over the first 24 minutes to stymie a Rudder offense that entered averaging 38.4 points per game. Ross, Jordan and Braxton Adcock each notched touchdowns in the first quarter to push Belton to a 21-0 lead. A 42-yard connection from Shepard to Evan Echipare opened the game and set up Nash’s 6-yard TD scamper three plays later. It was one of six plays of at least 25 yards in the first half for Belton, which needed only four plays to add to its lead when Shepard found a wide-open Adcock for a 32-yard score 3-plus minutes later. Adcock had a team-best five receptions for 78 yards. A 31-yard run by Jordan set up Ross’ 1-yard touchdown plunge on the Tigers’ ensuing drive, but Ross exited almost 2 minutes later and didn’t return after limping off the field following a hard hit on an incomplete pass. Mann said after the game that the injury is minor. Aiden Gray got the Rangers on the board when he scooped up a blocked punt and rumbled in 27 yards for a touchdown to trim the gap to 21-7 midway through the second quarter, though Belton responded with Shepard’s 25-yard scoring scramble following an 8-yard Rudder punt that set up a short field. Lee’s 28-yard run and Zarate’s 3-yard plow into the end zone accounted for the Tigers’ second-half points, pushing the gap to 42-7 before a 70-yard strike from Taylin Bell to Cory Jeffery closed the scoring. Belton travels to Waco next Friday when Rudder hosts Brenham. jbrooks@tdtnews.com

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Belton High School Athletics

BELTON RIDES DOMINANT DEFENSE TO 42-15 ROUT OF RUDDER

JON BROOKS

Temple Daily Telegram | 10/11/2026

PHOTO CREDIT: Caleb Marek