But when the teams meet at Tiger Field at 7:30 p.m. today, the Belton Tigers are going to pull out all the stops to end their season with an upset of the Consolidated Tigers in a District 13-5A game.
That means a new Belton quarterback, Kevin Thorn-ton, and double duty for Khiry Robinson at both safety and running back as the Tigers (3-6, 1-4 in 13-5A) look for their fourth win under first-year coach Rodney Southern.
A victory for Consolidated (3-5, 3-1), which has clinched a playoff spot, would keep the Tigers in the hunt for a share of the 13-5A title with Temple.
“(Our players are) obviously disappointed with where we are, but at the same time they know they have to finish this on a positive note,” said Southern, who took over a Belton team that had winless seasons in 2004 and 2006. “We know we’re playing a very good football team and very well-coached football team. I told them the other day, ‘Let’s leave it on the field and go play the game.’ I think they’ve responded well under the circumstances.”
After quarterback Jacob Phillipe suffered a fluke season-ending injury celebrating a touchdown pass in the season opener, Cole Dominguez started every game. But Dominguez will shift back to receiver and might see time at cornerback. He was 2-for-5 passing last week for 2 yards and an interception in a 21-7 loss to Bryan, while Thornton was 2-of-8 for 50 yards and two interceptions. Both are juniors and both may see playing time against Consolidated.
“(Thornton) was a little more productive in the game last week,” Southern said. “We’re in the position where we want to give him a look.”
As for the backfield, Robinson has seen more and more playing time at safety while taking fewer snaps at running back. He had two carries last week, but still has rushed for 775 yards this year. He’s coming off what Southern described as his best defensive game against Bryan, when the Tigers defense held the Vikings scoreless for the final three quarters.
This week, however, Southern said getting a win, no matter who plays where or for how long, is paramount.
“I’ve told them what we have to do is go out and win a ballgame this week,” Southern said. “And if they have to play both ways, then that’s what we’ll have to do.”
Regardless of Robinson’s status in the backfield, Keith Daniels will be the main Tiger threat. He’s rushed for 1,091 yards and 11 touchdowns. With his speed and ability to make defenders miss, he reminds Consol coach Jim Slaughter of another back from Belton’s past.
“I’ve been here long enough to remember Ramonce Taylor, and (Daniels) reminds me a lot of him,” Slaughter said. “(In addition to) him, they have a number of players capable of taking the ball into the end zone.”
Consol’s attack will be geared behind running back Marshall Cashion, who has rushed for 825 yards and seven touchdowns. Quarterback Dominic Preston has been efficient when called on, completing 53 of 117 passes for 827 yards. He also has seven touchdowns and three interceptions.
Any chance of the Tigers looking past Belton ended Friday, Slaughter said.
“What did help us was the kind of game they had against Bryan,” Slaughter said. “They had the type of game that made our guys aware of them. They’re a good football team and we have got to be ready to play.
“Belton shut down the Bryan offense for three quarters. We have to be able to handle their defense. They are very aggressive, and we are going to have to handle them.”
Southern is worried about the plus-sized Consolidated offensive line.
“They’re offensive line, in my opinion on film, is the best offensive line we’ve seen in district to this point,” Southern said. “I think Temple’s was good, I think A&M’s might be a little better. We have to stop them on what we call their bootleg series.”
Win or lose, Belton is unlikely to make the playoffs. It needs a strange series of outcomes and point differentials to occur to win a three-team tiebreaker. But whether they finish the season with three wins or four, in the playoffs or out, Southern is pleased with how the year went for the Tigers.
And even though he doesn’t like looking at how things could have been different, he can’t help but wondering how the season would have played out if Phillipe had celebrated his touchdown with a fist pump instead of jumping jubilantly into the air.
“I look and I see Jacob Phillipe running around at practice with a boot on his ankle and you think ‘What if?’” Southern said. “Every coach in America can what-if games to death, but that injury effected us in two or three places. It effected us at quarterback, but it also effected us at receiver and defensive back.”
Southern also said there were three games he felt his team should have won:
n A 28-25 loss to Round Rock McNeil in which the Tigers lost two fumbles going into the end zone.
n A 25-22 loss to district foe Harker Heights the next week in which the Knights kicked the winning field goal as time expired after a hook-and-lateral moved them into range.
n A 20-16 district loss to Ellison in which the Tigers missed two field goals.
“Looking at that,” Southern said, “then looking at a group of kids who had previously struggled, those are the things you look at and wonder what if we did this or that. But this group of kids did everything we asked. They had some bad breaks, and it was probably like the breaks they had the previous year. But we’ve had three close games we could have won.”
Even if they didn’t win six games or make the playoffs, Southern said he is pleased on the whole - pleased with how the players have responded to adversity, pleased with the foundation the coaching staff has put in place and pleased that the team has improved from what it was.
“As a coach coming in, you want to think you can come in and make everything go away and improve,” Southern said. “And I think we’ve improved, there’s no doubt about that.”
