BELTON — Lake Belton came up with big plays in big moments to secure a 41-28 overtime victory against the Round Rock McNeil Mavericks on Thursday night at Tiger Field.
Lake (1-1) kept McNeil (0-2) in its sights throughout the second half but did not pull even until Eli Mascarenas ran in from 3 yards out then threw to Davion Peters for a 2-point conversion that tied at 28-all with 1:11 remaining. The Broncos never looked back, dominating the extra period.
“They executed. They did really well,” Lake head coach Brian Cope said. “They corrected their mistakes in all three phases. I’m just proud of the kids.”
Lake got the ball first in overtime and took a 35-28 lead with another Mascarenas touchdown run.
Lake’s defense struggled to slow down Mavericks quarterback Jaden Sultz, who threw for 345 yards and three scores in regulation, but came up with the crucial stop when it mattered most. Sultz was 0-for-4 passing in the extra period, including a fourth-and-10 interception that Braxtan Cope returned for a TD to put an exclamation point on the contest.
“We’ve been stepping up in those big moments and it’s really showing,” Braxtan Cope said. “It was a good game, really tested and worked our defense but we’re a family so we’re going to get through it.”
The Broncos leaned heavily on running back Zyien Dupree on the game-tying drive that started with 6:49 left in the fourth quarter. The freshman carried the ball 10 times for 50 yards in addition to hauling in a pass for a 6-yard gain as the Broncos put together the 82-yard drive.
“They had openings,” Mascarenas said of McNeil’s defense. “They play a five-man box. That’s five on five. That’s what we want. They drop in coverage too much. That opens up the run.”
The Broncos offense struggled in the third quarter, going three-and-out on its first possession of the period before a blocked punt set up the Mavericks on the Lake 31-yard line. Lake’s defense came up with a red-zone stop to get the ball back to its offense on its 3. Disaster then struck as Mascarenas was forced to fall on a botched handoff in the end zone, giving McNeil a safety and a 15-14 lead.
Joshua Williams scored on a 1-yard run to finish a 49-yard McNeil drive early in the fourth quarter, putting the Mavericks up 22-14.
Lake pulled within 22-20 after Mascarenas’ 34-yard pass to Christian Onchweri set up the Broncos in prime field position. The quarterback finished the drive with a pair of runs to pick up the final 11 yards, but Lake’s 2-point try was stuffed.
The Mavericks answered when Sultz threw a 27-yard scoring pass to Jarell Gary to build a 28-20 advantage, before the Broncos’ late-game heroics.
Sultz opened the scoring in the first quarter by finding Gary behind Lake’s defense for a 30-yard touchdown pass down the sideline. The Mavericks’ lead remained 6-0 after Cesar Baza missed the extra point.
The Broncos took the lead just 13 seconds later when Braxtan Cope dropped the ensuing kickoff at his 25 but quickly picked it up and found a hole near the sideline, darting past the McNeil coverage and racing to the end zone to give Lake a 7-6 edge.
Sultz led the Mavericks on an eight-play, 75-yard drive to retake the lead. The junior went 5-for-5 for 59 yards and capped the march by connecting with Williams, who sidestepped a defender to clear a lane and find pay dirt on a 17-yard yard score that pushed McNeil ahead 13-7.
Lake responded in the second quarter when Xavier Wells hauled in a 25-yard pass Mascarenas over a McNeil defender in the end zone to give the Broncos a 14-13 lead that stood going into halftime.
TDT - Will Hopkins
