Brandon Brown tallied three touchdowns rushing, another one receiving and even returned a kick for a score, and Shoemaker pulled away from Ellison in a scoring spree, 67-46, on Friday night.
Playing in Crusader Stadium on the campus of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, the Grey Wolves (2-1) and Eagles (1-2) continued a competitive rivalry by keeping the scoreboard operator busy and rarely giving fans a breather between chances to cheer.
A back-and-forth point parade led to a narrow 35-28 lead for Shoemaker at halftime, but the Grey Wolves extended their lead in the third quarter with 22 consecutive points to boost the buffer to 59-28 with 3:36 left.
It was the third consecutive victory for the Grey Wolves over the Eagles in the series, and they’ve won 14 of the 21 encounters since 2004.
Eagles quarterback Sidney Holland threw five TDs, two apiece to Juan Ramirez and Travaris Turner-Smith and one to Prince Hall. Trevon Jones-Lockhart added a rushing touchdown, and Jaden Jackson had an interception.
Shoemaker signal-caller Tyrieke Wade rushed for two TDs, Maurice Starr returned a fourth-quarter kickoff to the end zone and Brenden Logan recorded an interception.
Dripping Springs 41, Harker Heights 38
The Knights (2-1) were in catch-up mode most of Friday night against the visiting Tigers (2-1) at Leo Buckley Stadium, making for an entertaining and intense non-district matchup.
Down 28-16 at halftime, Harker Heights clawed its way to within 31-28 after Kai McMillan’s 3-yard TD reception and subsequent 2-point reception from Hudson Humble.
After Dripping Springs answered, the Knights were back within three points through Kaden Butler’s 1-yard TD run with 2:54 left in the fourth quarter. But, the Tigers picked up a pair of first downs, used up the remaining time and sealed the win.
Lampasas 63, Chaparral 20
It was a lively homecoming crowd at Joseph L. Searles III Stadium but the visiting Badgers jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and didn’t look back, spoiling some of the Bobcats’ fun.
Lake Belton 49, Killeen 42
Resilient Roo rallies were prominent on homecoming Thursday night, however the desired outcome stayed just out of reach.
Killeen spotted Lake Belton 21 straight points in the first quarter, yet rebounded with a flourish in the second period.
J’Narri Franklin sprinted 29 yards to the end zone with 3:24 to go in the second to get the Roos on the board, and Sha’Drach Gordon broke loose off left guard for a 53-yard TD jaunt 43 seconds before the half to get Killeen into the locker room down just 21-14.
The momentum carried over into the second half, and Killeen made it 21-all on their first drive of the third quarter when Timothy Boatner corralled D’Angelo Ingram’s pass for a 9-yard score.
It was tied at 28 after T’Antrae Thomas hauled in a 29-yard TD pass from Ingram, but the Broncos scored 21 in a row in the fourth to put just enough breathing room between them and the Roos.
Killeen gave the comeback a go with JaMarcus Wilson TD passes of 11 yards to Boatner and 14 yards to Thomas to get within 49-42 with 43 seconds remaining.
Next week's games include Killeen traveling to Brenham and Shoemaker hosting Waco University (Searles Stadium) on Sept. 19, Ellison hosting Red Oak (Buckley Stadium) and Harker Heights on the road at Midlothian on Sept. 20. Chaparral is idle.
Photos by Josh Weaver and Todd Martin from the games can be viewed at www.killeenisd.org/photos.
