David Ash threw three touchdown passes in the first half as Belton jumped out to a 21-0 lead, and the defense contained Bryan's league-best offense in a hard-fought 34-14 win Friday night at Tiger Field.
After the game, the 9-1 Tigers finally relished the honor of being District 12-5A co-champions, their first league title and best regular-season record since 2003.
What a long six-year journey it has been.
"It feels great. Unbelievable. Well-deserved for everybody on the team," said senior receiver Kevin Thornton, who caught a 19-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to make it 21-0.
Said senior defensive tackle Zac Sakaria: "It's amazing. Ever since freshman year, we always knew our group would have a special year. It's been a journey, lot of bumps and bruises, just had to keep going."
Belton (9-1, 6-1 in 12-5A) shared the league title with College Station A&M Consolidated, which beat Killeen Ellison 38-20. The Tigers now turn their focus toward the postseason. They will face Mesquite Horn (6-4) at 7:30 next Friday night at Mansfield ISD Stadium in a Class 5A Division II bi-district game.
From 2004-08, Belton went 10-40 but started to turn the corner during last year's 3-7 campaign, highlighted by a 31-21 victory at Bryan to close the season.
"Coach (Rodney) Southern put it in our heads that we were going to be champions," Thornton said. "Here we are today - we're champions."
Said Tigers coach Southern, who improved his record at the school to 15-15: "We issued shirts about a year and a half ago that said: 'Those who stay will be champions.' Sometimes it's hard for kids to understand what you got to do to do that. The one thing we asked them to do is sacrifice time. It takes time to do what we do and do it right. They've done that and they sacrificed it in the summer."
Ash was 11-of-21 for 179 yards but left the game with a left shoulder injury midway through the third quarter. Thornton had six catches for 62 yards and needs just four receptions to break the school's career record of 119 set by Darren Brinkley from 1991-93. Anthony Huber rushed for a career-high 124 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns.
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
