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Gatesville 20, Lampasas 17 (2OT)
When Gatesville kicker Chance Taylor's 32-yard field goal plummeted to the earth roughly five yards beyond the same spot on the crossbar his 37-yard attempt bounced off minutes earlier, the capacity crowd at Badger Field fell silent. Bizarre silent. That's what double-overtime losses do to high school crowds. Taylor's kick, on which he was awarded a second attempt after a Lampasas penalty for running into the kicker, gave the Hornets a 20-17 Homecoming-spoiler victory on Friday. It also ended a game that featured a safety -- and subsequently a 3-2 halftime score -- a blocked field goal, a sack on a punt attempt, a Lampasas fumble inside the Gatesville 5, zero Lampasas pass completions until the fourth quarter, a game-tying touchdown with seven seconds remaining, two circus catches, two dozen questionable spots and a Lampasas receiver taking the majority of snaps at quarterback. Five total points were scored in the first 45:29 of regulation, and 32 scored in the final 2:31 and two overtime periods.
"Hopefully, we've got all our bad luck out of the way," Lampasas head coach Ryan Bailey said. "Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong in certain situations. But our kids have fought through it, and the difference in this team now (and before Friday's game) is that now they realize they can win." Gatesville appeared on its way to a regulation win after quarterback Justin Biedrycki scored from 5 yards out with 2:31 to play, giving the Hornets a 10-3 lead. The touchdown was set up by a 53-yard pass from Biedrycki to Waylon Pruitt on which Pruitt was blanketed by two defenders but somehow came away with the underthrown ball. At that point, LHS passers Vann Millican and Jarrod Bowen were a combined 0 of 8 on the night. Millican opened the drive with another incompletion before finding Aaron Reyna for six yards. A 12- yard run by Brode DuBose on third and four kept the drive alive.
On third and two from the 24 with 12 ticks on the clock, Bowen drew single coverage in the slot. He broke his post inside the defender and Millican, who targeted Bowen for the duration of the play, hit him in stride for a score. Ryan Abbott turned a bad snap into a perfect hold for Sam Barbero's extra point that tied the game at 10.
Bailey said before the game he would find ways to get playmaker Bowen the ball. He did it by lining him up as quarterback in shotgun sets, letting the linemen block down out of two-point stances and giving Bowen the option of either handing off or finding a seam himself. Bowen caught just the one pass, but he carried 24 times for 104 yards and another score. Tailback Brode DuBose also had success out of the formation, carrying 13 times for 75 yards. "We're trying to find our niche, and I think we found a lot more of one tonight," said Bailey. "We didn't have all the things in yet, and Jarrod's still learning the process of it all, and we had to feel our way through it. But I think you can see we're pretty good at it. We'll add more and more to it this week, and we'll get better at it." Millican, a sophomore, was 0 of 5 in the first half and watched much of the second, third and fourth quarters from the sidelines. But on the final drive of regulation and in overtime, he was 3 of 4 for 45 yards, including the touchdown and a 15-yard completion to Cole Ball on third and 10.
Gatesville dominated the opening quarter, holding the ball for 10:56 and snapping it 20 times, but the LHS defense didn't break. The closest the Hornet offense came to scoring before Biedrycki's run was a 24-yard field-goal attempt set up by a muffed punt in the first quarter. Cory Summers blocked the attempt, and Coleton Lucas picked up the football and ran 62 yards to the Gatesville 23. The Hornets got on the board with 10:56 to play in the second quarter, thanks to the defense. With the Badgers facing third and 15 at their own 10, Josh Robuck sacked Bowen in the end zone after a shotgun snap sailed over his head.
The Badgers appeared to have at least another field goal in their back pockets on the opening drive of the second half, but they let the opportunity slip away. Bowen returned the second-half kickoff to the LHS 46. He and DuBose then marched the team to the Gatesville 5, carrying nine times between them. But on third and inches from the 5, Bailey replaced Bowen with Millican and put the quarterback under center. Millican was hit before he could even get control of the snap, fumbled, and the ball was recovered by Robuck at the 15. Bowen later led a six-minute drive that stalled at the Gatesville 14. Barbero's 30-yard field-goal attempt sailed over the left upright. Both teams found the end zone in the first overtime period. Gatesville got the ball first and appeared in trouble after two false starts. Then a Jonathan VanLiew pass breakup gave the Hornets third and 19 from the 34. But rolling to his right, Biedrycki lofted a ball into triple coverage, and Josh Janisch wrestled it away from two Badger defenders at the 10. Biedrycki connected with Pruitt on a 4-yard score two plays later. With no choice but to find the end zone to keep the game alive, the Badgers responded with a three-play drive capped by Bowen's 8-yard run.
Lampasas opens District 25-4A play on the road Friday against Marble Falls. |
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