Chris Watson's 271 rushing yards helps power the Bryan Vikings past McNeil
ROUND ROCK- The Bryan Vikings rolled past McNeil 41-34 Thursday night behind a huge night by running back Chris Watson as he scored three touchdowns with 271 rushing yards rushing on 19 carries.
The Viking offensive line was able to control the line of scrimmage for most of the night and it was reflected in the fact that their ground game totaled 415 yards on 54 carries. "We felt like we had the line of scrimmage and had a size advantage inside," said Bryan Head Coach Bob Bellard. "Chris Watson was really able to go out and pound their inside."
The McNeil Mavericks had good success on the ground as well with Adrian Smith carrying for 145 yards on 20 carries. But his performance was overshadowed by Watson’s huge night.
McNeil used a late first quarter scoring spurt to take an early lead. They put their first points on the board when Smith capped a 10-play 90-yard drive with a 22-yard run. Bryan then took possession and fumbled with McNeil's Hunter Price recovering allowing the Mavericks to set up first-and-ten at the Viking 27-yard line. Moments later Cole Smith hit Dillon Litteral on a 27-yard pass play to push the Maverick lead out to 14-0.
Bryan would bounce back in the second quarter as they marched downfield on a 71-yard 7-play drive. They were helped out by a late hit penalty on the Mavericks that resulted in a Bryan first down. Watson made sure they paid moments later as he out ran the Maverick defense on a 55-yard run right up the gut.
Coming back and scoring was something Bellard was glad to see as his team looked to prove they can battle back from adversity. "We just have to keep coming back and responding," said Bellard. "I think our effort was great and our resiliency was very good."
McNeil then took possession and put more points on the board when Smith scored from 7-yards out to put the lead at 20-7 after a missed extra point. Bryan then used the remaining 1:33 of the first half to put together a scoring drive of their own that was capped with a Kesnick Taylor to Joseph Bryant 11-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score at 20-13 going into halftime.
Bryan had the only score in the third quarter and it came on 21-yard pass from Taylor to Mike Martinez and with the extra point Bryan tied the game up at 20-20.
McNeil would never lead again as Bryan put together back to back scores early in the fourth quarter. The first was a 75-yard touchdown run by Watson and the second was a Nate Jones 29-yard touchdown run as the Vikings went out in front 34-14. "In the second half we made a couple of good stops and got some big turnovers," said Bellard.
The Mavericks were not ready to let this one slip away just yet as they answered with a score of their own when Cooper Lewis took it in from 6-yards out to pull McNeil to within 34-21. Bryan wasted no time in finding the end zone again as Watson went back to work and scored on a 18-yard run to push the lead out to 41-28.
McNeil answered once again as they took possession of the ball and marched on a scoring drive that was finished off with a Smith 12-yard touchdown pass to Litteral and the Mavericks were suddenly within a touchdown at 41-34.
Looking to run the clock out, Bryan took over and put their running game to work in hopes of sealing the win. They were able to do just that but it took a key first-down and Jeremy Zdunkewicz was the one that delivered it allowing Bryan to keep the ball and run out the clock for the 41-34 win.
It was Bryan’s first win of the year after dropping their season opener. "I can't say enough about them (the players)," said Bellard. "Right now I think we are improving and we improve every week."
