Then, in a matter of seven minutes and two costly plays, Belton’s opportunity to spoil Consol’s homecoming and unbeaten district record went awry in a hurry.
Consol used a quick scoring drive, blocked a punt and returned it for a score, and connected on a 66-yard pass play to turn a 14-11 deficit into a 32-14 advantage in beating Belton 39-22 Friday night at Tigerland Stadium.
“Obviously you feel good when you score the first drive of the second half,” Belton coach Rodney Southern said. “We wanted to come out and establish some momentum. When you do that, a good football team is going to try and bounce back and they bounced back and scored.
“I think we had a protection breakdown on the punt. You can’t give up big plays. We gave up a blocked punt and a long touchdown. Against a team like this, you can’t do that.”
Belton fell to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in 12-5A, while Consol improved to 4-2, 3-0 and is tied with ninth-ranked Copperas Cove for first place.
Belton trailed 11-7 at the half, then went to work from its 16-yard line.
Sophomore quarterback David Ash passed to Kevin Thornton (10 catches, 142 yards), who reached around a defender to make a juggling catch at Consol’s 39. Ash found Cole Dominguez on third-and-8 for a first down and ran in to score on third-and-2 from the 3, capping an 11-play, 84-yard drive to give Belton a 14-11 lead with 7:29 remaining in the third.
“They’ve been doing a lot of things well and I was very concerned going into this game,” Consol coach Jim Slaugther said. “All of a sudden they’re going to start hitting on all cylinders.
“They’re a very capable ball club. When we got to that point, you’re hoping they hadn’t crossed it yet.”
Belton hadn’t.
Consol quarterback Patrick O’Quinn found Chris Nutall for a 30-yard reception and Taylor Dudley for 15 yards.
Jarvon Searcy capped the seven-play, 88-yard drive with a 1-yard run and Consol regained the lead, 18-14.
Looking for the answer, Belton’s offense instead stalled.
Ash’s pass on third-and-7 fell incomplete and the Tigers tried to punt from their 15.
On the punt, Consol linebacker Taylor Kieschnick broke through to block the kick and Mark Corapi recovered the ball in the end zone for a 25-14 lead.
“That was definitely a huge swing,” Slaughter said. “When we took it down and scored, I don’t think that was anything unusual. I was concerned that we’re fixing to kick it back to them and they’re going to do the same thing to us.
“That separated us enough that we could start doing some things and gambling a bit. It made a difference in the ballgame.”
Starting on its 20, Belton needed a score to halt Consol’s momentum.
After Thornton’s first-down catch moved the ball to the 32, Belton went backward, largely due to Consol’s Brandon Easterling, who recorded his third of four sacks to end the drive.
On Consol’s next offensive play, O”Quinn found Earl Burrell down the middle for a 66-yard score and a 32-14 lead with three seconds left in the third quarter.
Ash passed to Jarrett Crowell for a 16-yard score to trim the lead to 32-22 with 9:02 remaining in the fourth, but Nutall sprinted in from 44 yards less than 2 minutes later to seal the win.
Ash finished 19-of-34 passing for 262 yards but was sacked six times.
“David got quick feet in the pocket and I think that hurt us in the second half,” Southern said. “I think they were pushing the pocket, but I think he wasn’t looking at his second options."
In the end, Southern could only reflect on the miscues late in the third quarter that cost his team a potentially huge victory.
“Two plays killed us,” he said. “It’s a breakdown in protection because they weren’t really rushing us (on the punt). That happens because we’re still very young."
Belton will host Copperas Cove next Friday night.
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
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