ROUND ROCK -- Watson! The game is afoot.
Bryan junior fullback Chris Watson had 19 carries for 271 yards and three touchdowns Thursday, leading the Vikings to a 41-34 victory over the Round Rock McNeil Mavericks.
Watson's effort at Round Rock ISD Stadium highlighted a Viking rushing attack that included 54 carries for 415 yards, giving Bryan its first victory of the season in its final nondistrict game.
"Watson terrorized our defense in the spring with traps and midline stuff," Bryan coach Bob Bellard said. "He hadn't done much in the first two games, but he came alive tonight."
It seemed like Watson was going to trade big running plays with the Mavericks' Adrian Smith all night. Smith rushed 20 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
"The whole football team did it tonight," Bellard said. "That comeback right before halftime was a great response. I told them in the locker room, 'I want to coach you, but right now, I've got to love you because of the way you responded.'"
Kesnick Taylor looped a touchdown pass to Joseph Bryan into the left side of the end zone, finishing off a five-play, 66-yard drive with flair against good coverage. Taylor also had a tying touchdown pass to Mike Martinez near the same spot, but on fourth down late in the third period.
In the fourth, with the rain pouring, the Vikings' running game poured it on.
Victor Turner recoverd a fumble to give Bryan the ball, and Watson raced 75 yards for a score a play later. On the next possession, Byron Jackson covered a loose ball and it took two plays to reach the end zone. Watson went 21 yards and Nate Jones, who had 77 rushing yards, shot right and then into the secondary on a 29-yard score.
It was the third straight week the Vikings had rallied to take the lead but the first time they left with a victory. Bryan had three scoring runs in the fourth period and kept the momentum going with a key first-down run from Jeremy Zdunkewicz on the final drive that ran out the clock.
"We have so many inexperienced kids that need something positive for all of their work," Bellard said. "They got that tonight."
Bryan didn't exactly hold the Mavericks in check. Led by quarterback Cole Smith, who rifled his second scoring pass to Dillon Litteral, McNeil stayed within striking distance while piling up 402 total yards.
"They are bigger than I thought they were and are better athletes than I thought watching them on film." Bellard said. "We made some adjustments to stop their big back, [Adrian] Smith, but hitting him hard enough to cause two fumbles was the biggest thing."
McNeil scored two touchdowns in a span of 16 seconds near the end of the first quarter. Adrian Smith finished a 10-play, 90-yard drive by following the block of 299-pound Robert Marsh on a 22-yard scoring run. Bryan fumbled on the next play, and Hunter Price recovered at the Vikings' 27. From there, Cole Smith lofted his first scoring pass of the season to a wide-open Litteral.
Bryan responded in the second quarter with a 7-play, 71-yard march that stayed alive only because of a late hit penalty against the Mavericks. That gave the Vikings a first down, and Watson quickly gave them a touchdown on a 55-yard burst up the middle.
Adrian Smith pushed the McNeil lead to 20-7 on a scoring run with 1:33 left, before Taylor completed three passes on a march that pulled the Vikings within a touchdown.