Fumble turns tide in Belton’s favor in victory over Grandview
Two minutes into the third quarter, Belton faced a daunting situation. The Pirates trailed by 13 points, and Grandview was poised to score another touchdown, moving the ball to the 10.
Belton forced a fumble, and that changed the tenor of the game Friday evening at Southwick Stadium in Belton. Late in the third quarter, Belton senior running back Zach Willis scored touchdowns on runs of 14 and 26 yards that tied the game.
Belton scored on the first play in the fourth quarter and went on to win 42-26. Willis turned in an impressive second half, scoring five touchdowns and a two-point conversion, helping Belton improve to 2-2. Grandview dropped to 2-2.
“The holes were three-people-wide holes,” Willis said.
Willis finished with more than 250 yards rushing in 37 carries.
“We have two certain plays that we run inside zone type,” said Belton senior offensive lineman Charles Cater said. “Coach drew up the plays on the board for us, and we went out and ran it down their throats.”
The third quarter turnaround by Belton nullified Grandview’s strong effort in the second quarter.
Trailing 7-6 entering the second quarter, Grandview went on a 14-play, 91-yard drive. A 23-yard touchdown pass from senior Reginald Collier to junior wide receiver Terron Thompson with 5 minutes, 40 seconds left in the second quarter gave the Bulldogs a 12-7 lead.
Grandview solidified its lead three minutes later when Collier tossed a 63-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Arlonn Tolson. The two-point conversion sent the Bulldogs into halftime with a 20-7 lead.
“Our defense was really strong in the second quarter,” Grandview coach Jeremie Picard said. “When you can stop the other team, you get a little bit of forward momentum, you get a lot going in your favor. In the second quarter, we had a lot of that going for us.”
The Bulldogs continued to roll at the start of the third quarter, moving to Belton’s 10.
And then came the fumble, which changed everything for Grandview.
“It hurt us a ton,” Picard said. “It was the big swing that in high school football has a greater impact, it seems, more than any other level. It is a matter of mental toughness.”
After the stop on a fumble, the latter part of the third quarter became the Zach Willis show. He scored three touchdowns in less than five minutes. His third one, a 7-yard run with 11:53 left in the game, put Belton up 27-20.
“We knew we were beating ourselves,” Willis said. “We refocused, and we came out and got the job done.”
Despite the third-quarter collapse, the Bulldogs refused to quit. They moved to within one point when Collier threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Ronny Johnson Jr. with 9:35 left in the game.
Grandview, which went for a two-point conversion after every touchdown, was stopped for the third time in four tries.
Belton’s offensive line and Willis took over. They plowed down the field for 67 yards, capping the 10-play drive on an 8-yard run by Willis. Willis carried the ball eight times on the drive.
This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 10:57 PM with the headline "Fumble turns tide in Belton’s favor in victory over Grandview."