Once the Tiger players review the game tape, they’ll probably feel the same way.
Belton was unable to take advantage of several opportunities and handed the Mavericks easy scoring chances as McNeil bounced the Tigers 35-6 on Friday night.
“I’m proud of their effort,” second-year Belton coach Rodney Southern said. “We didn’t take advantage of opportunities. We got guys running wide open in their secondary all night long and we need to convert those plays and we didn’t convert enough of them. The difference when you don’t convert and do convert is going to be that kind of score.
“It’s frustrating because these kids want to win so bad.”
Belton, which lost 43-8 to Ennis in its opener, fell to 0-2. The Mavericks improved to 2-0.
Sophomore Adrian Henderson’s 32-yard kickoff return helped the Tigers drive into McNeil territory on their opening possession. Facing a fourth-and-3 at the Mavericks’ 43-yard line, a delay of game penalty forced Belton into a punting situation.
On the Tigers’ second possession, sophomore quarterback David Ash - making his first varsity start in place of junior Kevin Thornton - found a wide open Anthony Huber in the left flat. With no defender in front of him, Huber, though, dropped the potential 80-yard scoring reception and the Tigers were forced to punt again.
While the Belton offense was making mistakes, Mavericks’ running back Adrian Smith was busy eating up yards.
After McNeil kicked a field goal on its opening possession, Smith carried six straight times and eventually scored on a 2-yard run for a 9-0 first-quarter lead.
Early in the second quarter, the Tigers’ Seth Alcozer fumbled at his 28, setting up the Mavericks once again. A key 16-yard completion from quarterback Cole Smith to Jacob Veloz on third-and-10 set up Adrian Smith’s 12-yard scamper up the middle for a 16-0 lead.
Minutes later, Ash looked for Huber in the flat again, but McNeil’s Hunter Price picked off the pass and returned it 36 yards for a 22-0 lead.
“I thought in the first half, we came out a little flat, but then we kind of got our intensity going in the second quarter,” Mavericks coach Robert Wilcox said.
Veloz’s 55-yard punt return gave McNeil the ball at the Belton 11. Two plays later, Reginald Cole scored from the 6 as McNeil grabbed a 29-0 halftime lead.
“They put us in position to have easy scores,” Wilcox said. “You get an interception returned for a touchdown, then you get a long punt return that shortens the field, and when you get a short field you need to take advantage of it.”
At halftime, the Tigers had allowed 151 yards but trailed by 29 points.
On offense, Belton mustered just 24 total yards.
Ash, who admitted he was nervous in his first start, connected with Jarrett Crowell on an 84-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to trim the lead to 35-6.
Then, the Tigers’ Spencer Templin recovered the onside kick. But a false start, holding and illegal procedure penalties followed by a 3-yard loss put the Tigers in a hole. On fourth-and-8, Ash missed a wide-open Jeff Lepak for a touchdown.
Ash, an Academy transfer, finished 13-of-29 for 196 yards.
Asked how he described his first start, Ash replied: “Inconsistent. We’d make a good play, then we’d make a bad play.”
Southern shared some of the same thoughts.
“For his first varsity start and not having been here, it wasn’t bad,” he said. “If he hits a couple of those deeper balls, now you get some of those people off of you.”
Defensively, Belton allowed only 142 rushing yards to a McNeil squad that rumbled for 346 last week against College Station A&M Consolidated.
“We wrapped up better than we did last week,” Southern said. “What I saw last week and this week is two different things. We tackled well and defensively, you can’t give up big plays.
“Overall, I think we improved but the scoreboard doesn’t show it. When you miss opportunities, the scoreboard is not going to show it.”
The Tigers play at Mansfield Timberview next Saturday.
