FIGHT TO THE FINISH
Badgers' rally falls just short in finale
By JEREMY HEATH Staff Writer

Top sequence: Jarrod Bowen hauls in a 26-yard pass from Vann Millican in the fourth quarter on Friday. Above: Sophomore Brode DuBose ran for 60 yards and two touchdowns in the 28-21 loss.

Much like the previous five games, the Lampasas football team found itself down 21-0 almost before it could blink.

Unlike those previous five games, the Badgers scratched and clawed their way back into the game, taking Dripping Springs down to the last possession before falling 28-21 at Badger Field on Friday.

After a fumble return for a score and a blocked punt sparked Dripping Springs to a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter, the Badgers outscored the Tigers 21-7 the rest of the way and were driving for the potential tying score in the final minutes before Matt Erekson's interception sealed the win for the Tigers.

The Badgers closed the season 0- 10 overall and 0-7 in District 25- 4A. The Tigers finished 3-7, 1-6.

"We were moving the ball well even when we got down early," LHS head coach Ryan Bailey said. "I think that's part of what sparked them because they knew they could move the ball against them."

After the Badgers moved from their own 19 to midfield on the opening drive of the game, sophomore quarterback Vann Millican was sacked after a misread on a screen. Millican fumbled, and Dripping Springs' Spencer Wood picked up the ball and went 35 yards for a score.

On the ensuing drive, Wood blocked a Seth Fry punt, which gave the Tigers the ball at the LHS 24. Three plays later, Scott Fyall scored from 6 yards out to make it 14-0 with 5:17 left in the first.

On the next drive, LHS held the ball for 10 plays and almost five minutes, but oddly gained no yardage because of two holding calls and an illegal block penalty. On the 10th play, Tiger Heath Petty intercepted a tipped pass.

Dripping Springs made it 21-0 with 7:32 remaining in the half when Jordan Moore connected with Andy Wolfe on a 26-yard pass.

Stunned and staggering, the Badgers took a big swing. That swing connected.

On the first play of the ensuing drive, Jarrod Bowen ran a deep post route and got behind defensive back Hayden Fowlkes. Millican arched a rocket down the middle of the field and hit Bowen in stride for a 62- yard touchdown. Sam Barbero's kick made it 21-7 with 7:16 left before the break.

"Vann's just a sophomore, and he was only playing in his sixth varsity game," Bailey said. "And I think you can look at the way he played tonight and the way he's throwing the ball and see that he's getting better in every game."

Millican finished the night 13 of 31 for 170 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. His totals could have been much higher, but he had two deep balls dropped.

After the Badgers cut the lead to 21-7, the Tigers scored what appeared to be the knockout blow, capping an eight-play, 68-yard drive with a 16-yard scoring strike from Moore to Grant Garrett with 3:10 remaining in the second quarter.

But the Badgers weren't done.

LHS needed just two minutes and 48 seconds to march 74 yards on 15 plays to cut the lead to 28-14 at the half. The Badgers converted three third-down plays on the drive, including a seven-yard run by Bowen on third and four at the Tiger 21 on which Bowen was hit at the line of scrimmage but broke four tackles to move the chains.

Brode DuBose, who ran for 60 yards in the contest, capped the drive with the first of his two touchdown runs.

The Badger defense pitched a shutout in the second half, forcing two punts and stopping a fourthand short situation.

Gabe Sanchez and Jesse Tobar, despite giving up a lot of size to the Dripping Springs offensive line, played inspired football at the point of attack. Sanchez recorded a sack that forced a punt, and both tackles were in the Tiger backfield most of the night.

Linebackers Coleton Lucas, Reese Vann and Stephen Eskola helped keep the Tiger running game in check, with Lucas making the fourth-and-one stop with a solo tackle against Greg Dono. Travis Jordan made two stops in the backfield.

The Badgers pulled within 28-21 on DuBose's 6-yard run with 4:56 left in the third quarter. LHS converted a third down and a fourth down on the 12-play, 70-yard drive, which included a trick play on fourth and one at the Tiger 11. The LHS coaching staff sent out the field goal unit on the play, and with Dripping Springs revved up for the block, the offensive line reset itself to entice an encroachment penalty.

PHOTOS BY GABE WOLF

The Badgers had a chance to tie the game, starting at their own 13 with 7:48 to play. They moved the ball to the Tiger 42 in large part due to a 26-yard completion from Millican to Bowen on a third-down play in which Bowen made a juggling, one-handed catch while dragging his feet along the sideline.

After a holding penalty put the Badgers in a long-yardage situation and Dripping Springs sent in an extra defensive back, Erekson came down with an errant Millican pass to ice it.

"My word of the week was pride," Bailey said.

"And these guys lived up to it. I'm proud of them."

Game Stats

Score By Quarters

D-Springs	14 14 0 0 -	28
Lampasas	0 14 7 0 -	21

Scoring Summary

First Quarter DS - Spencer Wood 35 fumble return (Cody Baker kick) DS - Scott Fyall 6 run (Baker kick)

Second Quarter DS - Andy Wolfe 26 pass from Jordan Moore (Baker kick) L - Jarrod Bowen 62 pass from Vann Millican (Sam Barbero kick) DS - Grant Garrett 16 pass from Moore (Baker kick) L - Brode DuBose 1 run (Barbero kick)

Third Quarter L - DuBose 6 run (Barbero kick)

Team Stats

	DSHS	LHS
First Downs	17	20
Rushing Yards	118	135
Passing Yards	168	170
Total Yards	286	305
C-A-I	12-18-0	13-33-3
Fumbles-Lost	1-1	3-1
Punts-Avg.	3-32	2-15
Penalties-Yards	6-50	6-50

Individual Stats

Rushing - DS: Chris Smith 21-78, Garrett Medcalf 6-17, Andy Wolfe 3- 18, Jordan Moore 2-5, Greg Dono 1-0; LHS: Jarrod Bowen 12-64, Brode DuBose 9-60, Vann Millican 3-0, Jonathan VanLiew 1-10, Aaron Reyna 1-1.

Passing - DS: Moore 12-18-0-168; L: Millican 13-31-170-2, Bowen 0-2-1-0.

Receiving - DS: Clay Carroll 5-72, Andy Wolfe 4-55, Grant Garrett 2-19, Heath Petty 1-19; LHS: Bowen 5-114, Seth Fry 5-36, Melvin Batiste 1-13, Cole Ball 1-9, DuBose 1-(minus) 5.