BY KEITH KANE
(Bryan)—The Bryan Vikings avenged a loss last year at Belton on Friday night when they pulled away from the visiting Tigers for a wild 44 to 35 win at Merrill Green Stadium.
Belton on their second possession put together a good ball control drive and scored with 5:26 left in the first quarter on a 3 yard run by Kavan Johnson to take a 7 to nothing lead. But, the Vikings came right back when quarterback B-J Ross got loose for a 70 yard touchdown run to pull within a point at the end of the first quarter 7 to 6.
The Tigers would take the lead early in the second quarter scoring on a 1 yard quarterback sneak by Shane Stafford. But, again, the Vikings responded with a late second quarter touchdown on a quarterback sneak by Ross. A successful two-point pass tied the scored at 14 all at halftime.
The third quarter belonged to the Vikings as they scored 10 unanswered points on a 33 yard field goal by Corey Johnson and a 7 yard run by KeeKee Johnson. The Vikings would make it 17 unanswered points after an early fourth quarter TD on an 8 yard run by the KeeKee Train.
But, just as it looked like Bryan had the game well in hand with a 31 to 14 lead, Belton came roaring back scoring with 7:03 left in the game on an 8 yard run by Stafford. The Tigers would add 7 more points on a 22 yard pass from Stafford to Olajuwon Taylor.
The Vikings would give themselves some breathing room with 4:37 left on a 29 yard run by KeeKee Johnson for a 37 to 28 lead. But, Belton would pull to within 2 points with 2:52 left on a 14 yard run by Kyle Adamson. Bryan controlled the ball on their next and final drive of the game, but was stopped at the 43 yard line on fourth down with seconds left in the game. Coach Ross Rogers elected to go for it on fourth and three instead of punting. B-J Ross started right, found no running room, reversed to the left, was able to turn the corner and streaked down the sideline cutting back at the 15 yard line to the center of the field and the end zone for a game clinching touchdown with 5 seconds left and a 44 to 35 final score.
It was the ground game that controlled the game for the Vikings Friday night with B-J Ross running the ball 20 times for 173 yard and KeeKee Johnson rushing 23 times for 166 yards.
Belton had their chances but shot themselves in the foot several times with penalties committing a total of 14 infractions during the game.
Next Friday (Sept. 20th), the Vikings will visit Pflugerville Hendrickson for a 7:30 pm game. The game will be broadcast on 1150 The Zone beginning at 7 pm with Keith Kane and Zach Taylor.