All that added up to a 43-8 whipping at the hands of perennial Class 4A power Ennis in the H-E-B Heart of Texas Kickoff Classic on Thursday night at Waco ISD Stadium.
But the beauty of a season opener is that the Tigers still walked off the field with some positives to build on.
“I’m disappointed obviously with the loss,” second-year Belton coach Rodney Southern said. “We didn’t play as well on either side of the ball as we wanted to. You can’t make mistakes against a good team like that, but I think there was also some bright spots and some things that we can grow from.
“We had a lot of kids get their first varsity taste tonight and hopefully that will help them as we continue to move forward and continue to build this program.”
The Tigers’ lone score came in the fourth quarter when sophomore quarterback David Ash hooked up with Jarrett Crowell on a 51-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline.
The Tigers offense struggled from the start. It went three-and-out on its first two series before finally picking up a first down with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter.
After Belton’s initial first down, junior running back Anthony Huber lost a yard and Ash connected with Josh Newman for a 3-yard gain before Ash was sacked for a 9-yard loss, halting the possession. Belton had just 43 total yards and two first downs in the first half.
The Tigers’ defense didn’t fair any better.
The Lions drove 67 yards in eight plays and scored when quarterback D.J. Betik ran it in from the 2-yard line for a 7-0 lead.
On Ennis’ next play, Jyavon King took the handoff up the middle, juked to the right and outran the defenders for an 81-yard gallop and a 15-0 lead.
With 3:13 left in the second, the Lions drove 59 yards in seven plays, capped by game Offensive MVP Kyle Guinyard’s 18-yard reception from Betik for a 22-0 lead at the half. Ennis racked up 305 total yards in the first two quarters with Betik at the helm.
“He did a great job,” Ennis coach Sam Harrell, who has guided the Lions to three 4A state titles, said of first-time starter Betik. “He got a few reps last year. In reality this was his first time to be the one underneath the center and get the attention and I thought he handled it well.”
The Lions nearly had another score in the second quarter, but Belton linebacker Brett Hernandez knocked the ball loose from King and Aaron Lozoya recovered at the Tigers’ 4 to prevent a score.
Coming out of halftime, Ash led the Tigers down the field with Belton’s best drive of the night. The Tigers drove down to Ennis’ 11, but three straight sacks ended the scoring threat.
After another Lions fumble, Belton took over at Ennis’ 43 but eventually turned the ball over on downs. Kyle Thornton stretched the ball out near the first-down mark, but he thought he received a bad spot from the officials, which gave the ball back to the Lions.
“That’s the one thing we have to look at is why we can’t finish those drives,” Southern said.
Belton committed 11 penalties for 90 yards and threw two interceptions but also forced three turnovers, including two inside the 5.
Ash went 11-of-17 passing for 129 yards.
“We have to go back tomorrow and regroup,” Southern said. “We’ve got an extra today to prepare and we don’t have any bumps or bruises other than the typical game thing. We’ll go back to work tomorrow.”
The Tigers will face Round Rock McNeil next Friday night in their home opener at Tiger Field.
