Bellville 36 - Rice Consolidated 33

[Brahma73]

Wow, what a tremendous HS Football game! It lived up to the hype.

[Pudlugger]

As is often the case with evenly matched teams it comes down to the kicking game. Congratulations to Bellville. :)

[Brahma73]

You're on the mark, Pud. The real difference in this game (though I think if they played 10, they would go 5 and 5), was Bellville's edge in the passing game and the kicking game. Rice just doesn't throw the ball well, and this makes it hard for them to come back in a hurry. They got the ball back, down 3, with around 4 minutes left. They just couldn't move it when they had to open up the offense.
As I said before, Goeke is icewater in the FG department, and the boot at the end of the 1st half was more huge than most knew at that point. He was money from around 35 yds for the winner.
Our QB had trouble passing early due to a pretty good pass rush, but when given some time, he put it where it needed to be.
Rice is a tremendous running team and they defend the run extremely well. Bellville still has trouble stopping the run up the middle, and that still concerns me.
The high octane passing offense for the Bulls can score from anywhere, and last night they were fortunate to be able to hit the big pass plays. If a couple of those don't connect, the game would probably have gone the other way. This was a classic, seesaw battle. It was very cleanly played with almost no penalties, and it was a real pleasure to witness.
Understand that I'm completely impressed by RC's players and coaches. They are a top level squad. I think they'll need to be able to pass some and improve in the kicking game to reach the brass ring, but they are certainly a dynamite squad.
Bellville is tough, be we must still find a way to stop the big back in the middle. There may come a time when we can't just outscore our opponent in a track meet. We ran fairly well last night, but relied heavily on the big play (including one "gadget" play) for the win. You always have to feel fortunate when you get a win that way.
The two may meet again. If they do, it's a match-up you won't want to miss.
Congrats to both teams. WOW!!!! :D

[BrahmaMom]

Our passing game pulled us through. I thought Jess had maybe his very best game, all said. Goeke had an awesome night. I continue to share your concern about stopping the run up the middle. We have got to come up with a strategy to eliminate that from the opponents' games. No doubt our kids played hard, tough football against a hard, tough, talented team. As someone said walking out "it was worth the $5 admission!" Great game, both teams are to be commended.

[Bellville22]

Brahma73 pretty much summed it up.

I thought both of these teams would be able to score in by doing what they do best, and they did. Rice dominated physically and ran the ball right at the Brahmas. Bellville ran some, but relied heavily on the pass, especially when spreading it out and going out of the gun. I said turnovers would be key, but there weren't enough to matter, both teams did super jobs of hanging onto the ball. Rice threw what appeared to be a big INT in the endzone, but Bellville turned around and fumbled on the first play, so they pretty much cancelled each other out. The difference in the game was clearly special teams. A department that Bellville owned. Bellville blocked a punt, and Rice was unable to convert many of their extra points. And Bellville had much better field position off of kickoffs than Rice did. Goeke was money on all FGs, and we needed every one of them. I hoped this would come down to a kick (either way), and it did. Also, I thought 2 key plays were the two screens that Bellville ran. They executed each perfectly, and both resulted in big plays, one a key first down, one a TD.

Rice: You guys have a tremendous football team, and congrats on a tremendous effort. Charles Huffman is an unbelievable runner and it takes 2 or 3 guys to bring him down. He can do it all. The defense swarmed to the ball, and pretty much took away the run, and made Bellville make some adjustments just to be able to throw. I was also impressed with the QB, he is very quick, does a great job with the snap count, and play fakes, and passes well enough to sneak one in on the D every once in a while. Tremendous game, you proved that you're worthy of being a Top 10 team, and you're my favorite to come out of Region IV. Best of luck to you.

Bellville: WOW! This was exactly the kind of game you needed. We all know what kind of weapons you have, but last night you showed your heart. You ran up against a team that was much stronger physically, came out in the first half, and got after you a little, but you didn't back down. You bowed your neck, and made up your mind that no one would deny you a W. Defense, clearly the best O you've seen thusfar, and probably the most powerful running game you'll see all year (perhaps Smith in Nav.). You bent, and bent often, and broke at times, but when we had to have the stops, you found a way, someone stepped up and made the big play. Offense, you guys were outstanding. Rice put a kink in the game plan, but you made adjustments, made big plays, and in the second half, I don't believe we ever had a drive that didn't result in points. Goeke, gutsy effort. You were obviously hurt, but not only did you make big catches and big plays, you provided the kicking game that made the difference. Jess B., I couldn't be more proud of you. I saw the look in your eyes when you came thru the gates after halftime, and I knew you'd let nothing stop you. You rallied the troops, showed the leader you are, and marched the O down the field time after time. Everyone did their part, the lines were superb, execution was great. Tremendous win for the Brahmas.

Again, if you missed this one, you missed a classic example of what HS Football is all about. What a game.

[District303aPastPlayer]

this was what was called the "state championship in D2" in the regular season, if i recall, right?

[FootballFanatic]

Last nights game was a true test for RC! They are an extremely good team and will do very well the rest of the season. RC needs to work on their passing defence and kicking game. Bellville is also a very great team and they need to work on their run defence. Great game to #32 RB Charles Huffman and #82 ILB Robert Shaw of the Rice Raiders and # 2 QB and # 14 K,WR for Bellville. Great game to everyone on the teams.

[Old Cardinal]

Congrats to Bellville on another win! It looks like maybe a turn of events might be taking place on the upper side of Region I. in that Barbers Hill may well be going Division II. If Cleveland secures a Playoff spot in 22-3A that ges BH into the mix for the Championship race in Division II. They are a very good program and hungry for a big Playoff run....Division II will be as good as always, with 20-3A also sending some strong teams into Division II.... Best of luck, hope we meet your Softball team in the Playoffs again this year..

[Bandera YaYa]

CONGRATS!! Sounds like it was a great game, glad to hear it went your way! :)