“After that drive, it was like our kids said, ‘That’s enough. Let’s do something about it,’” Temple coach Bryce Monsen said afterward.
The Wildcats’ defenders certainly did do something about it, raising their intensity level and stunningly limiting the Vikings to minus-7 yards in their final six possessions.
And the Wildcats’ offense fed off of that dominance, getting a 38-yard touchdown run from Lache Seastrunk and a pair of fourth-quarter scoring rumbles from Derrick Davis as Temple overtook Bryan for a 35-20 victory on Friday night at Wildcat Stadium.
In seizing their first home win of the season in four tries, the Wildcats earned their third consecutive victory to move to 3-5 overall and 3-2 in District 12-5A. Temple likely will clinch its second straight Class 5A playoff berth if it wins at rival Belton next Friday night.
“This was a wonderful win for us tonight,” Monsen said. “We’ll enjoy this one, and then we’ll go back to work and get ready for Belton.”
Meanwhile, a Bryan squad that came in desperate for win to remain in the hunt for one of 12-5A’s four playoff spots fell to 3-4 and 1-4 in the district, knocking the Vikings out of postseason contention.
Temple junior cornerback Ryan Powell said Bryan’s scoring driving to start the second half served as a wake-up call for the Wildcats, who didn’t want to lose the momentum they gained in road wins over Killeen Ellison and Harker Heights.
“We got our heads back into the game after that drive,” Powell said. “And once we got our heads back into the game, we had one heartbeat out there and had a good game.”
Temple junior linebacker Stedman Moore, whose fast, physical play helped shut down Bryan in the final 1½ quarters, had a simple explanation for the Wildcats’ turnaround.
“We just played harder,” he said. “We started to get penetration up front.”
Junior speedster Seastrunk rushed 17 times for a game-high 140 yards, including TD dashes of 17 and 38 yards, and caught a crucial 6-yard scoring pass from Kevin Lock 23 seconds before halftime to get Temple into a 14-14 deadlock.
Junior fullback Davis complemented his linebacker play with 72 yards and the two touchdowns on 13 carries, and Daniel Carr’s tough running helped the Wildcats control the ball in the final 18 minutes.
“They just wore on us,” Bryan coach Bob Bellard said of the Wildcats, whose Wing-T had 273 rushing yards. “And they rose up defensively, no question. We’ve got to hold the ball and keep it away from them, but we didn’t.”
Washington rushed 29 times for 136 yards and Bryan’s last two touchdowns, but the Wildcats limited him to 20 yards on his final 10 carries.
“We have a very veteran coaching staff that made the corrections, and our defense stepped up in the second half,” Monsen said. “We knew Bryan was going to come to play, and they gave us everything they had. Our kids just rose up.”
Temple’s defense sparked the game’s first score.
After quarterback Albert Garza suffered a serious knee injury on the Vikings’ first possession, Kesnick Taylor entered and made a bad pitch to the backfield. Wildcats lineman Garfield Hawk scooped up the ball at Bryan’s 40-yard line and ran to the 17.
On the next snap, Seastrunk swept to the right, went wide to avoid a defender and raced in for his first touchdown of the night. The first of Chris Winkler’s five extra points gave Temple a 7-0 advantage with four minutes gone.
Bryan broke through late in the first, using strong runs by Washington to march to Temple’s 10 before Taylor hit Tre Odom with a TD pass to the left side on the first play of the second to create a 7-7 tie.
The Vikings converted three third-down plays on their next drive to go from their 35 to Temple’s 2 before Washington fought across the goal line for a 14-7 Bryan lead with only 1:09 left until halftime.
But the Wildcats responded, using two quick dashes by Seastrunk, Lock’s fourth-down pass to Tevin Reese and Lock’s 18-yard keeper to reach the 6 before Lock rolled left and hit an open Seastrunk in the end zone for a 14-14 tie just 23 seconds left in the half.
“We needed that drive,” Monsen said. “Our quarterback stepped up right there.”
The monstrous drive capped by Washington’s 6-yard TD put Bryan up 20-14 midway through the third, but Matt Little missed the extra point and not much went right for the Vikings the rest of the night.
Stellar Temple defense on Bryan’s next possession was followed by Seastrunk’s 38-yard scoring burst to the right side, and the Wildcats took the lead for good at 21-20 with 3:05 remaining in the third.
Temple used smothering kickoff coverage and stingy defense - it recovered three fumbles and delivered a huge stand midway through the fourth - to stymie Bryan after that, and the powerful running of Davis put the Vikings away.
His 2-yard touchdown rush made it 28-20 late in the third, and he capped a win-clinching 71-yard drive with a 17-yard TD burst with 43 seconds left.
gwille@temple-telegram.com
