The Badgers used a solid ground attack, racking up 509 rushing yards. The Hornets went to the air for 339 yards.
So it seemed fitting that with the game on the line, the Hornets went to the air for the win.
Quarterback Jake Truss found Ross Wallace on a roll-out for a two-point conversion with 50 seconds remaining to give Gatesville a 49-48 win over Lampasas at Badger Field.
"What's the old saying? On the road go for the win, at home go for the tie," Hornets coach Kyle Cooper said. "I am extremely proud of these guys. They got it done when it mattered. It was a physical game and they are beat up."
The conversion came after Truss found Dominique Moore, who made a leaping catch along the right sideline on a 35-yard touchdown.
The decision to go for two meant the Badgers (1-3), who seemed invincible on the ground - racking up about 5 yards on every snap - would have to go to the air to win.
Earlier, Lampasas had completed its first pass of the season, a 27-yarder from Vann Millican to Edward Hall with 2:42 left in the first half.
"That was outstanding. I was excited," Badgers coach Joey McQueen said.
But it came on play-action out of the Slot-T. Late in the game the Badgers had to work from the shotgun and had little luck. Millican's first pass of the drive was high and the second was intercepted by Truss.
"I'm so proud of these kids," McQueen said. "They are down right now, but I can't ask for anything better. We knew it was going to be a game like that, not that high scoring. But we rose up at the end and had a chance to win it."
It seemed to be the Badgers' night for long stretches in the Slot-T.
Alternating between a powerful dive play with Brode Dubose and the slot-around handoff to Hall, the Badgers put together steady drives. Hall broke free on an end-around for a 39-yard touchdown with 5:29 left in the first quarter to open the scoring.
But then Truss and Wallace started connecting. The duo connected 12 times for 238 yards and hooked up twice on the Hornets' ensuing eight-play, 85-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard TD pass to Moore.
The battle went back-and-forth from there. Lampasas seemed to have the edge when Hall scored from 6 yards out with 50 seconds left in the half to give the Badgers a 20-19 lead.
Lampasas put together a sustained drive to start the second half, with Hall scoring from 8 yards out for a 27-19 lead after the conversion.
But the Hornets continued to fight back with Truss and Wallace, who connected on a 23-yard touchdown pass and again on the two-point conversion to tie it.
Wallace's ability to get open and make plays impressed McQueen.
"I think he'll be playing for Missouri next week," he joked. "I don't know if a policeman could have stopped him."
But the Hornets also had trouble stopping the Slot-T. Hall gained 234 yards and Dubose had 152.
With neither team able to stop what the other did best, it seemed as if the team that touched the ball would win.
"Bet you never thought the Slot-T would score this many points," McQueen said. "We did what we had to do offensively, but gave up some big plays defensively."
Added Cooper: "McQueen is a character, class act. I have a ton of respect for him and what he did tonight. I wouldn't have guessed this would be a high-scoring game. But sometimes you win 7-6. Sometimes it's 49-48. In the end our defense held them just enough."
