Trophy Club Byron Nelson narrowly defeats Haslet Eaton to complete perfect regular season
Tucker James scored on a three-yard run as the Trophy Club Byron Nelson Bobcats completed its first-ever unbeaten regular season with a hard-earned 43-36 victory over the Haslet Eaton Eagles in a 4-6A matchup Friday night at Northwest ISD Stadium.
Haslet Eaton, already eliminated from the playoffs, had taken a 36-35 lead with 1:23 left in the game after quarterback Noah Lugo scored on a two-yard touchdown run and then converted a two-point conversion pass to Cage Berreth.
Leo Almanza returned the ensuing kickoff to the Haslet 49. After an incomplete pass, Byron Nelson quarterback Tom Von Grote found James on a swing pass that went for 46 yards to the eagles three yard line. On the next play, James hammered in the winning score, and then Von Grote barreled in for the two-point conversion.
Haslet, with just 24 seconds remaining, managed to reach its own 45, but ran out of time to mount another comeback.
Byron Nelson (10-0, 7-0) Head Coach Travis Pride, in his eighth season at the helm of a program which began in 2010, now has his team poised for playoff success.
“I am so proud of this team. This is the first game where we have faced some adversity,” said Pride. “But our guys responded.”
“We did not have a great week of practice,” added Pride. “I think our guys were already looking to the playoffs. But we hung in there, battled back. And give Eaton credit. They did not have a lot to play for and they did a great job, and we knew we would have our hands full.”
The team’s first goal was making the playoffs. Done. The second goal was a district title, which it accomplished in defeating nemesis Southlake Carroll a week ago. The next goal is a deep playoff run.
“We met our first two goals,” said Coach Pride, adding that the unbeaten regular season is “an incredible accomplishment”.
“One more goal. A state championship,” added Pride.
Von Grote’s 12-yard TD run with 9:31 left in the game capped a six-play 74-yard drive taking 2:33 off the clock. It gave Byron Nelson its first lead in the game at 35-28.
“We have not been trailing at the half in any game this season,” said Von Grote. “This was definitely the most we had been tested this season. “It is great to win. Go undefeated in regular season. But we have bigger goals. A state championship.”
The scored stay that way until the wild finish in the last two minutes.
No. 1 in the current Fort Worth Star-Telegram 6A area rankings and No. 7 in the AP state poll, Trophy Club Byron Nelson moved up four spots from 11 to earn its best-ever state rankings.
Haslet bolted to a quick 14-0 first quarter lead. After holding Byron Nelson on downs to start the game, the Eagles marched 58 yards in seven plays using 1:58 off the clock with Chris Duarte capping the drive with a four-yard TD run.
On the ensuring Byron Nelson series, Haslet’s Ben Self recovered a fumble at the Eagles 27-yard line. The Eagles took advantage of the turnover utilizing a punishing ground game. A nine-play, 73-yard drive culminated in a 10-yard Noah Lugo TD run.
Trophy Club Byron Nelson got its offense untracked on the next series. Leo Almanza hauled in a 20-yard scoring strike from Tom Von Grote on the first play of the second period to cap a 60-yard march in seven plays covering 1:54 clock time.
The Von Grote to Almanza connection kept the drive alive on the previous play, converting a fourth-and-seven with a 13-yard gain.
The Bobcats defense forced a three-and-out on the Eagles next possession. Byron Nelson drew even at 14-14 on a 12-yard Tucker James TD run, ending a nine-play 71-yard drive that took just 2:12 off the clock.
Haslet Eaton, on its next series, reached the Byron Nelson 16, but lost six yards and an end zone pass on fourth-and-16 fell just short of the receiver, turning the ball over on downs to the Bobcats with 4:23 remaining till the break.
Ben Self came up with another huge defensive play for the Eagles, intercepting a deflected Byron Nelson pass at the Bobcats 42 with 3:48 left before halftime. Lugo managed the clock effectively, using 3:37 of that time to engineer a seven-play 42-yard drive, capped by a three-yard Lugo to Talan Holmes score with 11 ticks left.
It gave Haslet Eaton a 21-14 lead at intermission.
Byron Nelson forced a three-and-out defensively to begin the second half. Von Note directed a 12-play, 68-yard drive, taking 3:15 off the clock. It ended with a David Kabongo one-yard TD run to tie the game at apiece.
Haslet responded with Lugo, a BYU pledge, racing 39-yards for a TD.
The Bobcats answered. Pierce Dahlin hauled in a 29-yard TD pass from Von Grote with 3:09 left in the third stanza to forge a 28-28 deadlock. The key play in the drive was a 15-yard facemask penalty by Haslet on a fourth-and-two. The next play Von Grote hooked up with Dahlin on the go-ahead score.
Von Grote, who entered the game having thrown for 2,064 yards, 26 TDs with just three interceptions, passed for 295 yards and two TDs, while rushing for 50 yards on 11 carries and one TD.
“We took advantage of some running opportunities,” said Von Grote, who normally does not do much in the running game. “It gives an added dimension for us. And our upcoming opponent something to game plan for.”
Tucker James, who had 21 TDs entering this game, had a team-high 96 rushing yards on 19 carries and a pair of scores along with his big 46-yard reception.
“We did a good job of coming back tonight,” said James. “But we have a lot of work to do to get ready for the playoffs. This game showed us we can’t have weak practices. We learned a lot from this game. Just glad we came out with a win.”
Lugo’s versatility was on display against Byron Nelson. Lugo finished with a game-high 142 rushing yards and 3 TDs, while passing for another score and 58 yards.
Eaton (4-5, 2-5) was eliminated from playoff contention after its 35-34 loss last week to Haltom, and after a 4-1 start to the season, dropped its last four games.
Trophy Club Byron Nelson (10-0, 7-0) will face an opponent to be determined in the 6A D2 bi-district round next week.