PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Lampasas senior full back Brode DuBose, center, muscles his way through a herd of Mustangs for the game-winning touchdown. DuBose finished the game with 105 yards and two scores. Lampasas head coach Joey McQueen was willing to settle for a tie at the end of regulation, but his players refused.

They wanted to win right then.

So, they did.

After owning a commanding 24- 7 lead at halftime over Marble Falls, Lampasas watched it all slip away as the Mustangs responded by scoring 20 consecutive points to build a three-point lead with 4:19 remaining in the game.

Despite suffering through a dismal second half offensively, the Badgers marched the ball 75 yards down the field, and Brode DuBose scored the game-winning touchdown on a fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line with no time remaining on the clock to give Lampasas a heart-pounding 31-27 victory.

"I really wanted to kick the field goal and go into overtime, but our kids said, 'We want to win it,' " McQueen said. "Some of [our players'] character came out tonight to where [people] have to believe in us.

Badgers' defensive tackle Carter Burks wraps up Marble Falls' quarterback Zed Woerner. "We can win a game at any time, and that last drive proved that."

The Badgers (3-5, 2-2 District 25-4A) desperately needed the victory to maintain control of their playoff destiny.

Defensive coordinator Jimmy Randolph said the come-frombehind victory was a remarkable feat for a team that was 0-20 coming into the season.

"They hit us in the teeth, but we answered the bell," Randolph said. "Eight weeks ago, we couldn't have won this ball game. That was character and guts and want-to; that's all that was.

"Those kiddos believe in themselves and what's going on in that field house, and they believe in Coach McQueen, and they believe they are going to achieve. It's not just lip service, they believe it."

Lampasas takes its next step toward reaching the postseason Thursday night at Killeen (6-2, 3-1 district) before wrapping up the season with a virtual must-win at home against Hutto.

During their homecoming game, it temporarily appeared as if the Badgers were going to have their playoff hopes dashed.

After forcing the Mustangs to punt on their first possession, senior running back Edward Hall went to work, breaking free for a 52- yard touchdown run.

"He's an outstanding runner," McQueen said of the district's second-best running back who finished the evening with 177 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.

Marble Falls answered with a five-minute scoring drive to tie the contest but, after trading fruitless possessions, Lampasas pulled away by taking the ball 61 yards in six plays. DuBose capped off the drive with a 35-yard run to the end zone, giving the Badgers a 14-7 lead.

Later, with 1:16 left in the first half, Lampasas punted the ball away, but Marble Falls could not convert on a fourth-down situation, and the Badgers regained control with less than 30 seconds on the clock.

It took Hall just one play to reach pay dirt. He tore off a 66-yard run to put the Badgers ahead by 14 points, 21-7, with 17 seconds left.

After the ensuing kickoff, Mustangs quarterback Zed Woerner's pass was picked off by Josh Woods, who advanced the ball to the Marble Falls 26-yard line.

The Badgers had time for just one play before the half ended. Or so it appeared.

Running back Aaron Reyna made a dash toward the goal line but came up short. A face-mask penalty on Marble Falls, however, gave the Badgers an additional play, and Michael Shaughnessy made good, connecting on a 21- yard field goal.

Unfortunately, after halftime, the game almost all fell apart for Lampasas.

After gaining 237 yards of offense -- all on the ground -- in the first half, the Badgers held the ball for just eight plays in the third quarter, going three-and-out twice.

The Mustangs (4-4, 1-3 district) capitalized following Lampasas' first punt of the quarter when they scored off a 61-yard, nine-play drive.

After the Badgers' second punt of the quarter, Marble Falls put together another long drive that ended when Woerner punched the ball into the end zone from oneyard out on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The extra-point attempt was unsuccessful, but the Badgers' lead was whittled down to just four points at 24-20.

Penalties killed Lampasas on its next drive, as the team watched a fourth-and-one situation at midfield grow to a fourth-and-11 on the back of a pair of false-start flags.

The Badgers were forced to punt, and the Mustangs took the ball down to the Lampasas 29-yard line before Woerner threw up a jump ball near the goal line, where wide receiver Cooper Bowen wrestled the pigskin away from defensive back Woods and scored.

The touchdown put the Mustangs up 27-24 with 4:19 left in the game.

Then Lampasas began moving the ball.

After nine running plays, the Badgers found themselves on the Mustangs' six-yard line. Hall advanced the ball to the one-yard line in two attempts but was stuffed on his third.

Following a Lampasas timeout, DuDose pounded his way through the Mustangs' offensive line for the game-clinching touchdown with no time remaining on the clock.

"I've been in this business 26 years, and that [game] right there rates way, way, way up there with any I've been involved with," Randolph said. "And then to come out on top, oh my goodness."

***

The subvarsity teams made it a clean sweep over the Mustangs.

The junior varsity won convincingly 48-22, while the freshmen came out of a one-point affair on top, winning 14-13.

Game Stats

Score By Quarters

Scoring Summary

MFHS — Dalton Ryan three-yard run (Robert Vidal kick) Second Quarter LHS — Brode DuBose 35-yard run (Shaughnessy kick)

LHS — Hall 66-yard run (Shaughnessy kick) LHS — Shaughnessy 21-yard field goal Third Quarter MFHS — Ryan two-yard run (Vidal kick) Fourth Quarter MFHS — Zed Woerner one-yard run MFHS — Woerner 12-yard pass to Justin Garcia (Vidal kick)

LHS — DuBose one-yard run (Shaughnessy kick)

Team Stats

Individual Stats

Rushing — LHS: Hall 21-177, DuBose 16-105, Aaron Reyna 6-17, Josh Woods, 2-12, Vann Millican 2- -1. MFHS: Logan Clark 14-101, Woerner 15-61, Ryan 6-13.

Passing — LHS: Millican 0-1-0-0. MFHS: Woerner 8-16-1-104.

Receiving — LHS: NONE. MFHS: David Morgan 4-46, Cooper Bowen 1- 29, Garcia 2-23, Cameron Venghaus 1-6. Missed field goals — NONE