The ninth-ranked Bulldawgs found themselves in a close game at halftime, then shut down the Bryan Vikings in the second half to win 30-10 in a District 12-5A game Friday night at Bulldawg Stadium.
“We needed a game like this,” said Cove coach Jack Welch, whose team led only 13-10 at halftime. “I am glad to get them behind us. Bryan is a good team.”
It was fairly apparent that Bryan was working to stop the Cove rushing game and specifically Brandin Byrd, who entered the week leading 12-5A in rushing yards.
Cove (6-0 overall, 3-0 in 12-5A) gained just 9 rushing yards in the first half but made up for it by opening up the passing game. Quarterback Cody Vaughn hit Texas Christian commitment Josh Boyce seven times in the first half for 99 yards and a score.
Most of the passes came on rollout passes, which were an issue for the Vikings (3-2, 1-2) last week in a 44-33 loss to rival College Station A&M Consolidated.
“We watched film, of course,” Welch said of the rollout passes. “We were able to get a few off, but we had some up the middle, too.”
The Bulldawgs’ running game got a spark in the second half when they turned to their defensive leader, senior linebacker Tanner Brock.
Cove had been stuffed on its opening drive of the second half and faced a fourth-and-4 situation on its 42-yard line. Welch decided to gamble and called for a fake punt.
The snap went to Brock as punter Michael Roell acted like the ball was over his head. The defense bought it and Brock was running downfield before the Vikings could catch up. He finally was brought down near the 10 for a 47-yard gain, then Cove punched it in on Vaughn’s 5-yard run three plays later to lead 19-10.
“I was disappointed I didn’t score,” said Brock, a two-time all-state linebacker who’s also committed to TCU. “We practiced that all week. It was wide open. They had two guys (on the left side); I don’t know why. So I was thinking, ‘Why wouldn’t you run the fake?’ Coach Welch called it and it worked out. Coach Welch is a brave guy. You have to take chances in football.”
After that it seemed like a cakewalk for the Bulldawgs as the Vikings seemingly self-destructed.
They punted on their next possession, and after holding Cove to a three-and-out they ran into trouble when they tried to turn to the passing game.
On third-and-long at Bryan’s 42, Albert Garza tried to pass to Seth Wells on the left side but instead found Cove’s Chris Miller, who brought in his second interception of the game at his 39. Sixty-one wild yards later, Miller, the district’s interception leader, had a touchdown and Cove had a 27-10 lead.
The game was put out of reach when Brock picked off another pass at the Viking 16 with 10:19 to play.
“They were real big,” Brock said of the interceptions. “Miller’s was real big where he broke 27 tackles or whatever. He made their linemen look stupid. Mine would have been big had I scored, but like a non-athlete I tripped and fell.”
It was a disappointing second half for the Vikings, who had given the Bulldawgs all they could handle in the first half.
Bryan was effective stopping Cove and had a 10-6 lead. But Cove just kept going to the air and dealt a big blow right before halftime when Vaughn hit Boyce on a screen pass up the middle that went for a 23-yard score with 47 seconds left. Michael Roell added the extra point for a 13-10 lead.
Up to that point, Roell had been the story, converting field goals from 47 and 35 yards on two stalled drives and pinning the Vikings at their 3 early in the game with a 50-yard punt. Bryan punted right back, and that set up Roell’s 47-yard field goal that tied the game at 3 early in the second quarter.
“He had a big game,” Welch said of Roell. “He’s been working hard in practice and paid off big for us tonight. He was disappointed that he missed that extra point."
The Bulldawgs will play at Belton next Friday, while Bryan hosts Killeen Ellison.
