For the first 45 minutes of Friday night’s season opener against Boerne, the 2007 Belton Tigers looked the winless ’06 model.
That is, until backup quarterback Cole Dominguez led them on a 63-yard scoring drive, throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass to Khiry Robinson with 25 seconds left to propel Belton to a 24-23 win over the Greyhounds at Tiger Field in Rodney Southern’s debut at the Tigers’ coach.
The win snapped the Tigers’ 11-game losing streak and avenged a double-overtime loss at Boerne a year ago.
“Obviously winning is what they come out here and practice (for) and what we do this for a living for,” Southern said. “I think the biggest thing other than winning the game is not quitting in the fourth quarter.”
Boerne took a 23-17 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 5-yard run by Kort Breaux. Two plays before the score, the Greyhounds faced third down and 11, but a facemask penalty after a 1-yard gain gave Boerne a first down. The snap on the extra-point attempt was bad, keeping the lead at six.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, junior Dominguez - playing for starter Jacob Phillipe, who injured his ankle when he came down awkwardly while celebrating a touchdown pass in the second quarter - found Kevin Thornton, but Thornton fumbled at the end of the play.
But Boerne did the same on its play when Josh Ray - who tore up the Tigers to the tune of 125 yards on 15 carries to lead all rushers - fumbled the ball right back to Belton cornerback Eric Poole. But the Tigers’ offense went three-and-out on its opportunity.
“We very easily could have laid down when we got behind and turned the ball over,” Southern said. “But any time you win and have to be competitive and come back, it builds confidence. That’s the No. 1 thing.”
Boerne got the ball to midfield with five minutes left. But Zack Velo sacked quarterback Chuck Thornally on second and 8, then Velo tackled Thornally after a fumble for another loss.
Belton took over with 2:23 left on its 34. The Tigers slowly worked the ball down the field but faced fourth and 4 from the 43 with less than a minute to go.
That’s when Dominguez came alive, hitting Chris Kiella for 13 yards, then again on the next play for 12 before beating the coverage and finding Robinson - usually a running back - in the middle of the end zone for the 18-yard score. Hugo Cruz’s extra-point kick was good, giving Belton the lead and the win.
“I knew we had to put the ball in the end zone,” said Dominguez, a receiver for Belton last year. “I was going to do what it takes to do it. I was going to get it done. We’ve been through tough times last season, going 0-10. We needed this one. It’s a good start. It’s a big win for us.”
Boerne got the ball to midfield with 1 second left, but Keith Daniels - who also is primarily a running back and had a 60-yard TD run - intercepted Thornally’s pass near the goal line.
“I think it says a lot about these kids, and it says a lot about our coaching staff,” Southern said. “Cole had to step into a very tough role, and Cole also had to play some defense, too. It says a lot about these kids’ character, but I hope the team can grow from this and make the next step next week.”
After the opening kickoff was delayed 30 minutes because of lightning, Boerne scored a field goal on its first possession and Belton answered with a field goal on the first play of the second quarter to cap a drive during which Robinson turned a third-and-15 run that appeared to be stuffed at the line of scrimmage into a 31-yard gain.
On the first play of the Belton’s next drive, Phillipe connected with Daniels for a a 56-yard touchdown pass. The celebration of the play led to the injury, the extent of which Southern said is unknown.
“You don’t want him to celebrate, but you also want him to be excited about what goes on,” Southern said. “You look at it now, it’s something we’ll have to face and we’ll face it. If he’s out, he’s out. If he can play, he can play.”
The win gives the Tigers, who host Bastrop next week, something they sorely needed - confidence.
“It gives us a great boost of confidence,” Belton junior linebacker Kyle Voss said. “Our team runs on confidence. Our team gets down real easy, but if we keep on winning, we’ll be very confident."
ecarifio@temple-telegram.com
