STORY BY: CHACE MURPHY
– BRYAN – The term coined in sports is “trickeration.”
It was fitting, then, on the Friday before Halloween that the Belton Tigers used second quarter “trickeration” to distance themselves from the Bryan Vikings en route to a 39-17 win at Merrill Green Stadium.
Down 3-0 after one quarter, Belton (7-2, 4-2) faked a punt at midfield and got a first down as upback Kyle Rhoades took the snap into Bryan territory. The drive ended with the first of three Donavan Williams touchdowns, this one from two yards out.
The Vikings (4-5, 2-4) answered quickly as Zach Alvarado hit Tim Willett on a medium pass over the middle. Willett did the rest with his legs going 79 yards for the score and Bryan led 10-7.
It was the last time the Vikings would have the lead in the game.
Belton’s Carlo Mosnia hit a 41 yard field goal with 7:04 left in the first half to tie the game 10-10.
After forcing a Bryan punt, the Tigers looked like they would have to punt as well until Peter Shelburne hit Derick Bates in stride for an 80 yard touchdown pass on third down and 20. Belton led 17-10 with 3:02 left in the second quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Mosnia gave the ball a slight tap, positioned himself between the ball and the nearest Viking player, waited until the ball traveled 10 yards and promptly fell on it.
This second act of “trickeration” set up what turned out to the fatal blow. Williams ran 10 yards for the score with 1:41 left until halftime to put the Tigers ahead 24-10 at the break.
Belton got a 35 yard interception return for a touchdown from Tramine Rose with 4:56 left in the third. The pick-6 was followed by successful two-point conversion and the Tigers led 32-10.
It looked like the Vikings would make it interesting. With 7:52 left in the game, Alvarado hit Ziquarias Webber in stride for a 56 yard touchdown pass, making it 32-17.
Any hope for Bryan was dashed on the Belton’s next offensive play. Williams capped off his touchdown hat trick with a 50-yard score only nine seconds later, putting the Tigers up 39-17.
Bryan had 347 yards of total offense on the night, including 156 on the ground. Running back Derrick Smith was the leading rusher with 102 yards on 20 carries.
Alvarado finished with 191 yards passing on eight completions out of 15 attempts. The senior had two touchdown passes and an interception in his final game at Merrill Green Stadium.
Belton’s offense finished with 381 yards, 171 on the ground and 210 passing.
With the loss, the Vikings are now mathematically eliminated from postseason action. Bryan wraps up the 2011 season next Friday at Temple.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Final
Belton 0 24 8 7 39
Bryan 3 7 0 7 17
1st Quarter
Bryan, 2:09 Chris Johnson 24 yd field goal, 3-0
2nd Quarter
Belton, 11:47 Donavan Williams 2 yd TD run (Carlo Mosnia kick), 7-3
Bryan, 9:54 Tim Willett 79 yd TD pass from Zach Alvarado (Chris Johnson kick), 10-7
Belton, 7:04 Carlo Mosnia 41 yd field goal, 10-10
Belton, 3:02 Derick Bates 80 yd TD pass from Peter Shelburne (Mosnia kick), 17-10
Belton, 1:41 Williams 10 yd TD run (Mosnia kick), 24-10
3rd Quarter
Belton, 4:56 Tramaine Rose 35 yd INT return for TD (2-pt conv), 32-10
4th Quarter
Bryan, 7:52 Ziquarias Webber 56 yd TD pass from Alvarado (Johnson kick), 32-17
Belton, 7:43 Williams 50 yd TD run (Mosnia kick), 39-17
