Bryan's Bob Bellard had little time Friday night to fret over his Vikings' 34-14 loss to the Belton Tigers.

Shortly after the game, the Vikings' head coach was on the road to Fairfield, meeting when DeSoto coaches to exchange game videos and begin preparations for their Class 5A Division I bi-district football game.

Ninth-ranked DeSoto lost 41-40 to previously ranked Tyler John Tyler in its District 11-5A finale. The Eagles attempted a late two-point conversion for the victory but fell short.

Before departing Belton, Bellard reminded his Viking players they had earned their spot in the postseason and the loss to the Tigers did not change that.

"We live to go fight another day," Bellard said. "And you earned that right. Let's set up and go try to make those plays next week. Let's got out and knock off somebody really good."

Bryan and DeSoto will meet at 7:30 Friday at Waco ISD Stadium in the Vikings' return to the playoffs after falling short in 2008.

Missed opportunities early in each half and mistakes hurt Bryan against Belton. The Vikings lost a fumble, muffed a punt, were unable to field a popped up kickoff and missed an open receiver for what would've been a touchdown to cut Belton's lead to one score in the second half.

It was the first time this season that Bryan lost contact with an opponent and had almost no chance to catch up in the second half. When Belton took a 27-7 lead late in the third period, that opened the door for coaches on both sides to bring in backup players early.

The Vikings got a scare when senior quarterback Kesnick Taylor stayed down on the turf in the second quarter and limped off the field with help.

"He sprained his ankle a little bit," Bellard said of Taylor, who has started every Bryan game. "He twisted it last week, and it just got retwisted this week. He was walking around pretty good at the end. [Taking him out] was precautionary. He probably could have gone, but it was good to get [Aaron] Eike in the ballgame."

Eike took over with 2:31 left in the opening half and finished off a scoring drive that gave the Vikings their only first-half points. Eike later directed a second-half touchdown drive with mostly second-team players.

Bryan finishes the regular season at 5-5 but brings a formidable running attack into its playoff game. Nathan Jones scored a touchdown late in the second half and has had at least one rushing touchdown in every game this season.

DeSoto has one of the state's highest-scoring teams, averaging 43.7 points per game.