Killeen ISD football fans looking for a game Friday had a pair of gems to choose from without even leaving town.
The Harker Heights Knights avenged a 1-point road loss of a year ago, defeating the Odessa Permian Panthers 27-25 at Joseph L. Searles, II Stadium in non-district action.
Across town at Leo Buckley Stadium the Shoemaker Grey Wolves and Lake Belton Broncos traded leads all night with the visiting Broncos leaving with the 44-35 victory in a District 4-5A, Division 1 matchup.
On a rain-cooled homecoming evening at Searles Stadium, Harker Heights senior Jai’den Fletcher began the scoring on a field goal from the 14-yard-line at 4:08 in the first quarter to give the Knights a 3-0 lead.
The Permian Panthers responded with a long drive resulting in a touchdown and missed extra-point attempt to take a 6-3 lead with 2:25 left in the first.
Harker Heights failed to convert a fourth down, turning the ball over, leading to another Permian touchdown and a 13-3 lead.
Knights quarterback Dylan Plake next connected with junior receiver Kai McMillan on an 84-yard touchdown to narrow the Panther lead to 13-10.
With just 6 seconds in the half, the Knights struck again with a Plake touchdown pass to junior receiver Tyler Johnson to take a 17-13 lead to halftime.
The Knights continued to stay just ahead of the Permian Panthers, scoring on another Plake pass to McMillan and a 41-yard Fletcher field goal.
Harker Heights moves to 2-2 on the season and begins District 12-6A play next Friday against Pflugerville Weiss at Leo Buckley Stadium, a venue change from the original schedule.
The Shoemaker Grey Wolves and Lake Belton Broncos kept the other home game in Killeen just as exciting.
The Broncos built an early 21-7 lead, but Shoemaker came roaring back in the second quarter with three touchdowns and took a 28-27 lead into halftime.
Both teams continued the scoring with Lake Belton taking a 35-28 lead on a touchdown and 2-point conversion at 5:14 in the third quarter.
Shoemaker speedster senior Jerrod Hicks answered with a touchdown run at 10:23 in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 35. Lake Belton scored again at 7:47 to take the lead the rest of the way.
The Grey Wolves, who beat Lake Belton last year at Tiger Stadium by 1 point, move to 2-2 on the season and 0-2 in District 4-5A after facing two of the league’s top teams in successive weeks.
Next, Shoemaker squares off against the Ellison Eagles next Friday at Searles Stadium, a venue change. Ellison lost to Red Oak on the road 49-18 to go to 0-3.
The Chaparral Bobcats lost a non-district game at Bryan Rudder 31-16 to move to 1-3. They begin District 11-5A, Division II play next week at Waco University.
The Killeen Kangaroos are 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in District 4-5A. They follow their bye week with a road game next Friday against Granbury.
Some game details come from coverage in the Killeen Daily Herald
