The Tigers beat rival Temple 17-6 before an ESPNU audience and clinched their first playoff berth since 2003.

It'd be understandable for Belton to suffer a letdown against Bryan at 7:30 tonight at Tiger Field. But the Tigers are motivated to earn a share of their first district crown in six years and sharpen their play heading into the postseason.

"I don't worry about a letdown," said Belton coach Rodney Southern, who would improve his record to 15-15 at the school with a victory. "I think we're in the right position we need to be in. Now we need to play well because we need to have momentum going into the playoffs."

The Tigers (8-1 overall, 5-1 District 12-5A) received a break when Copperas Cove lost to College Station A&M Consolidated last week. That pushed Belton into the league's No. 1 position for the Class 5A Division II playoff bracket, which means possibly avoiding a bi-district matchup with previously state-ranked Tyler John Tyler (8-1).

"There is still a No. 1 seed in the playoffs (up for grabs), which doesn't mean a whole lot, but yet it could depending on where John Tyler falls," Southern said. "(It's important) just to have the ability to control what we need to control."

Controlling hard-rushing Bryan (5-4, 4-2) will be no easy chore.

The Vikings - who clinched the district's No. 2 playoff seed for Division I last week with a win over Harker Heights and still can share the league title with a win and a Consol loss to Killeen Ellison - boast the league's top-rated offense.

Bryan operates a mostly triple-option attack, and junior back Nate Jones (5-10, 171 pounds), who has 12-5A bests of 1,336 yards, 19 touchdowns and 8.9 yards per carry, is the focal point.

cmeister@temple-telegram.com