LEANDER — The Lake Belton Broncos utilized a stellar rushing attack all night long and turned in a stifling defensive showing after halftime to knock off the Leander Lions 29-15 on Friday at Bible Stadium.

Lake’s Davion Peters showcased his power and explosiveness with a three-touchdown performance that included 146 yards rushing. The junior wasn’t alone in his starring role. Tekoa Martin turned in a team-high 151 yards on the ground and punched in a score as the Broncos (5-2, 3-1 District 8-5A-I) finished with 333 yards rushing.

“I just trust my O-line, follow behind the big bodies,” Peters said. “When I see that hole, I hit it.”

Peters put Lake on the board after Leander had taken an 8-0 lead on its second drive of the game. The junior struck with a 3-yard scoring run on which as he ran through a group of Lions on his way to the end zone to make it 8-7.

Martin put the Broncos in front with a 64-yard TD run in the second quarter. The senior burst into the second level, made a hard cut to elude the last defender and outran everyone else to the end zone to put Lake up 14-8.

The Lions responded with a 13-play, 87-yard drive, capped by Ke’Marion Gordon’s 1-yard TD run. Leander converted three third downs of longer than 5 yards during the march and kicked the extra point to take the lead at 15-14.

Peters struck again to renew Lake’s lead, opening the next drive with a 24-yard run and finishing it with a 31-yard TD scamper. The Broncos tried to widen the gap, but Eli Mascarenas’ 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete after the Lions’ rush quickly pounced on the quarterback.

Lake punted on its first possession of the second half, but its defense flipped the script on the next play by forcing a fumble from quarterback Logan Mitchell and recovering it in Lions territory.

Peters made sure the turnover didn’t go to waste, scoring the only second-half touchdown for either team on the ensuing possession. The junior was nearly spun down at the 3-yard line but kept his knees off the ground and escaped the tackle to complete a 14-yard touchdown run. It gave Lake a 27-15 advantage, and its defense took it from there.

“Our defensive kids knew the game plan, executed the game plan and played lights out,” Lake head coach Brian Cope said. “Our secondary did a really good job, and then our front did a really good job stopping the run. So we kind of made them one-dimensional, got them in some third-and-longs and got off the field when we needed to, especially in the second half, which was big.”

The Broncos held the high-powered Leander offense scoreless in the second half and forced four turnovers on the night. The Lake defense also scored the final points by stopping Gordon in his end zone after the Broncos fumbled on the Leander 1.

Lake held Zane Wooldrige to just 78 yards receiving on six catches after the receiver came in averaging 150 yards per game. Wooldrige had just 7 yards and one catch in the second half

“We had a lot of stuff put in to shut him down and give our defense a chance,” said Lake safety Braxtan Cope, who had one of two interceptions for the Broncos. “It showed. I didn’t see him (make a play) the whole second half.”

Xavier Wells had the other interception on Leander’s final drive of the first half.

EJ Hargrave punched in the first score for Leander on a 3-yard run. The Lions then audibled out of an extra-point kick and snapped the ball to Aiden Serriker, who got around the edge of the defense to make the score 8-0.

Mascarenas struggled after missing Lake’s two previous games, completing five of 12 passes for 53 yards and throwing his first interception of the season before halftime. The Broncos stuck to the ground in the second half when Mascarenas threw the ball just three times, completing one for 15 yards.

LAKE BELTON 29, LEANDER 15

Lake Belton 7 13 7 2 — 29

Leander 8 7 0 0 — 15

Lea — EJ Hargrave 3 run (Aiden Sterriker run)

LB — Davion Peters 3 run (Tommy Stephens kick)

LB — Tekoa Martin 64 run (Stephens kick)

Lea — Ke’Marion Gordon 1 run (Rene Rodriguez kick)

LB — Peters 31 run (pass failed)

LB — Peters 14 run (Stephens kick)

LB — Safety; tackle in end zone

TEAM STATISTICS

LB Lea

First downs 19 21

Rushes-yards 42-333 41-159

Passing yards 68 188

Comp.-Att.-Int. 6-15--1 17-32-2

Punts-average 5-35.2 3-36.7

Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-2

Penalties-yards 9-85 8-64

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Lake Belton: Martin 19-151, Peters 10-146, Kellen Scarborough 5-42, Michael Gonzalez 3-1, Eli Mascarenas 5-(-7); Leander: Gordon 23-96, Hargrave 11-52, Logan Mitchell 7-11.

PASSING — Lake Belton: Mascarenas 6-14-1-68, Scarborough 0-1-0-0; Leander: Mitchell 17-32-2-188.

RECEIVING — Lake Belton: Xavier Wells 2-46, Zion Harness 2-21, Peters 2-1; Leander: Zane Wooldridge 6-78, Mason Montgomery 2-43, Izaac Montgomery 4-28, Malachi Ramos 2-20, Garrett Peitz 2-12, River Hahm 1-7.

TDT - Will Hopkins