ARLINGTON — The Bellville High School football team barely fell in a close one to Gilmer High School Dec. 15 at AT&T Cowboy Stadium in Arlington by a final score of 28-26. It was an offensive battle as Bellville did their usually running and Gilmer scored mostly through the air in a match that came down to the final seconds of the game.
“Turnovers and penalties that we haven’t really done all year,” said Bellville head football coach Grady Rowe on the outcome of the game.
“So proud of our kids. They came back and fought so hard. Just so proud of them. You can’t win these games and have those kind of penalties and turn the ball over. Some of those things we especially did in the first half. These guys, everyday they came to work. They love being around each other. You saw our crowd. Bellville, America shut down and they showed up. Super proud of our guys, the coaching staff, and community.”
Bellville senior running back Sam Hranicky had yet another great outing on the biggest stage, racking up 157 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. “It’s been special,” Hranicky said. “I think the thing that made us so special this year was just our kids. We fight until the end no matter what and that starts in our offseason. Two a days and everything and just how we do things. It’s heartbreaking to come short like that, but it was a great season.”
Hranicky ran for the first score of the game for 66 yards at the 8:06 mark in the first quarter. A few minutes later, Gilmer drove right down the field and made a 10 yard trip to the end zone to tie it at seven. After Bellville fumbled on their own 20 yard line, the Buckeyes recovered and junior Cadon Tennison ran it in for five yards and a 14-7 lead for the final touchdown of the first quarter.
On the very first play of the second quarter, Bellville junior running back DD Murray shook loose and caught a 72 yard touchdown as he ran down the Gilmer sideline. The extra point was blocked and Gilmer maintained their lead at 14-13. Buckeyes junior safety Brendan Webb then made a crucial interception after Bellville was driving into the red zone and caught a ball in the right side of the end zone with 3:31 to go in the second quarter. Gilmer senior running back Will Henderson followed it up with a 65 yard touchdown run up the middle and a 21-13 advantage.
After Hranicky rushed for his second touchdown of the game for 58 yards, Gilmer answered right back with a 69 yard touchdown pass down the Gilmer sideline with 41 seconds to go before halftime. The score remained at 28-20 as both teams went into the locker room for intermission. Bellville junior running back Corrian Hood punched in a four yard score at the 2:26 mark in the third quarter after Bellville drove down the field with their “ground and pound” run game as well as long runs from Murray, resulting in a 28-26 scoreboard still in favor of Gilmer.
The fourth quarter consisted of both teams turning the ball over to each other. It came down to who had the ball last and Gilmer was able to move the ball well enough to force the Brahmas to use their timeouts and run the clock. Gilmer made a long run down to Bellville’s 25 yard line, then ran the clock in the final two minutes and made a huge conversion on fourth and six with a run play to eventually ice the game and go home with the state title at 28-26.
