BELTON — Miscues proved costly for Lake Belton in its 33-21 season-opening loss to the College Station A&M Consolidated Tigers on Friday night at Tiger Field.

Among the Broncos’ mistakes were two fumbles, including a late one that sealed the outcome, and 13 penalties totaling 107 yards.

“You can’t turn the ball over in big games,” Broncos head coach Brian Cope said. “That’s a really good football team. We’re a good football team and we’ve got to learn how to respond.”

Lake trailed 26-21 with 2:13 remaining, needing to drive 92 yards to take its first lead of the night. It’s hopes were dashed on the first play of the drive with a fumble that Consol’s Wyatt Beavers scooped up in the end zone to put the contest out of reach.

The Broncos’ other fumble also led to a Consol score. Early in the fourth quarter, Lake turned over the ball at own its 44-yard line. The Tigers worked their way down the field and scored on a 14-yard pass from Will Hargett to Camron Vines for a 26-14 lead.


The Broncos responded with an 11-play drive that was capped when Eli Mascarenas connected with Zach Dodd for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Mascarenas finished with 18 completions on 26 attempts for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Vines fumbled the ensuing kickoff return, but Consol recovered and put together a six-play drive that ended with a punt that pinned the Broncos at their 8 before the final fumble.

Zyien Dupree led the Lake rushing attack with 53 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown run to even the score at 7-all with 11:03 left in the second quarter.

“He’s a physical runner that ran the ball really, really well,” Cope said of the freshman. “Proud of him. He stepped up and I’m looking forward to what big things he can do in the future.”

Outside of Dupree, the Broncos struggled to gain yards on the ground. Lake’s other rushers combined for minus-60 yards. Nine sacks contributed to the struggles.

Following Dupree’s touchdown, Consol pieced together a 12-play, 52-yard drive that concluded with Ethan Walton parting Lake’s defensive line for a 1-yard score. After a missed PAT, the Tigers held a 13-7 lead.

Camron Roston helped the Tigers add to the advantage following a three-and-out on the Broncos’ ensuing possession. The junior running back broke free for a 26-yard run to the Lake 30. Following a 4-yard gain by Nazir Adams, Roston cashed in for a touchdown on another 26-yard run that gave the Tigers a 13-point lead.

Mascarenas drove the Broncos down the field in the remaining 2:20. A well-thrown pass down the sideline connected with Christian Ochweri for a 42-yard gain, and Lake continued to drive as the clock ticked away. Mascarenas completed the march in the nick of time, finding Davion Peters in the front corner of the end zone with just 6 seconds remaining in the half, sending the Broncos into the locker room trailing 20-14.

After three of the last four first-half possessions resulted in touchdowns, both offenses struggled coming out of the break as the first three drives all ended in punts. Dupree had a big gain negated by a holding penalty on Lake’s opening drive of the half, and the Broncos sputtered as Consol pushed them back from there.

Vines returned the game’s opening kickoff for a touchdown, weaving through the Broncos kickoff unit untouched to give the Tigers an early lead.

Lake turned over the ball on downs on its opening two possessions, but the Broncos defense came up big as Braxtan Cope and Gavin Stewart picked off passes in the first quarter.

n whopkins@tdtnews.com

A&M CONSOLIDATED 33,

LAKE BELTON 21

A&M Consolidated 7 13 0 13 — 33

Lake Belton 0 14 0 7 — 21

Con — Camron Vines 90 kickoff return (Radley King kick)

LB — Zyien Dupree 11 run (Tommy Stephens kick)

Con — Ethan Walton 1 run (kick failed)

Con— Camron Roston 26 run (King kick)

LB — Davion Peters 10 pass from Eli Mascarenas (Stephens kick)

Con — Vines 14 pass from Will Hargett (run failed)

LB — Zach Dodd 27 pass from Mascarenas (Stephens kick)

Con — Wyatt Beavers fumble recovery in end zone (King kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

Con LB

First downs 14 16

Rushes-yards 26-132 40-(-7)

Passing yards 72 212

Comp.-Att.-Int. 10-19-2 18-27-0

Punts-average 2-36.0 4-30.5

Fumbles-lost 1-0 4-2

Penalties-yards 8-86 13-107

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — A&M Consolidated: Roston 9-83, Ja’Marlon Mooring 7-25, Hargett 4-17, Vines 3-9 Walton 2-2, team 1-(-4); Lake Belton: Dupree 12-53, Tekoa Martin 6-0, Kellen Scarborough 4-(-2), Chance Scott 2-(-7), team 2-(-16), Mascarenas 14-(-35).

PASSING — A&M Consolidated: Hargett 10-19-2-72; Lake Belton: Mascarenas 18-26-0-212, Scott 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — A&M Consolidated: Vines 4-23, Cortland Grubbs 1-20, Jaxson Solomon 1-13, Mooring 1-7, Roston 1-3; Lake Belton: Peters 8-92, Dodd 5-52, Christian Onchweri 1-42, Zion Harness 3-25, Scarborough 1-1.