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With Khiry Robinson missing the game for disciplinary reasons, according to coach Rodney Southern, Daniels carried 37 times for 362 yards, which according to the Belton game program, surpassed Ramonce Taylor’s 347-yard effort in 2003.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Daniels said. “When I heard it, I don’t know. It just feels good, but the win is the most important thing. I just did as good as the offensive line did.”
The teams seesawed in the second half after Belton erased a nine-point halftime deficit with two Daniels scoring runs. Down 45-44 with just less than 4 minutes left, the Tigers (3-3, 1-1 district) drove to the Shoemaker 13-yard line, setting up Hugo Cruz with a 31-yard field goal with 0:55 left.
But the defense - which gave up 566 yards, including 305 rushing yards to Dion Demers and 215 on the ground to quarterback Andre Smith - still had to deal with the offense of the Grey Wolves (1-5, 0-2).
On a fourth-and-10 from midfield with 0:20 left, Smith scrambled for 13 yards. But his last two passes fell incomplete. M.J. Porter had five catches for 27 of Shoemaker’s 46 passing yards.
Southern said shutting down Smith’s arm was important, even if it meant giving up more yards on the ground.
“We were going to do everything we could not to give up the deep ball,” Southern said. “But when you do that, you commit a couple more people back there and that hurts you run-wise. We gave up some big plays, but we did what we had to do to win.”
Belton scored first, but Shoemaker scored 23 of the next 30 points to open a 23-14 halftime lead. But a two-play scoring drive, both runs by Daniels, drew the Tigers to within two to open the third quarter. After Zack Velo sacked Andre Smith on fourth down, the Tigers scored on their next drive as well, aided by a 43-yard run from Kyle Voss to take a 29-23 lead.
Voss, last year’s 13-5A newcomer of the year as a linebacker, ran eight times for 96 yards, all in the second half. He had scoring runs of eight and 10 yards on Belton’s first two possessions of the fourth quarter. The first negated a Smith run and put Belton up 36-29, while the second cancelled out Demers’ first touchdown run of the game to give Belton a 44-37 lead with 7:31 left.
“Two touchdowns, almost 100 yards - that’s pretty good, huh?” Voss said. “I have to give the credit to the offensive line. They stepped it up. They deserve all the credit.”
Last week in a loss to Harker Heights, the Tigers gave up a late hook-and-lateral play to set up the Knights’ game-winning field goal. This week, the Tiger defense held in the final minute for just their second stop of the half.
“It makes last week feel a little better,” Southern said. “It’s a big win because hopefully it gets us even. It gets us back in the picture.”
Grey Wolves coach Ken Gray said stopping the run would be important. Obviously, he was disappointed with his team allowing 472 ground yards to Belton.
“We have to stop the run, it’s that simple,” Gray said. “You just heard they set a rushing record. You have to stop the run. We knew that coming in here. You have to be able to run the ball.”
For a brief while, Shoemaker’s defense shined. On four straight plays in the second quarter, lineman Craig Freeland shredded the Tiger offensive line, disrupting plays in the backfield. But eventually, the Tigers adjusted and the line had what Southern called its biggest improvement of the year.
Belton travels to first-place Temple for a 7:30 p.m. Friday kickoff, while Shoemaker faces Harker Heights, also at 7:30.
NOTES: After losing 13 fumbles in its first five games, Belton lost only one against Shoemaker. The Tigers fumbled five times against the Grey Wolves but none during their 33-point second half. . . . Smith overthrew his receivers frequently in the second half and completed just one pass for 5 yards.
ecarifio@temple-telegram.com
BELTON 47, KILLEEN SHOEMAKER 45
Shoemaker 6 17 6 16 - 45
Belton 7 7 15 18 - 47
Bel - Keith Daniels 1 run (Cruz kick)
Sho - M.J. Porter 15 pass from Andre Smith (run failed)
Sho - Smith 26 run (pass failed)
Bel - Jarrett Crowell 22 pass from Cole Dominguez (Cruz kick)
Sho - Derrick Mays 96 kickoff return (Justin Holivay run)
Sho - Michael Munoz 29 field goal
Bel - Daniels 59 run (Cruz kick)
Bel - Daniels 15 run (Dominguez run)
Sho - Smith 10 run (kick wide right)
Bel - Kyle Voss 8 run (Cruz kick)
Sho - Dion Demers 52 run (Holivay run)
Bel - Voss 10 run (Cruz kick)
Sho - Demers 25 run (Smith run)
Bel - Cruz 31 field goal
TEAM STATISTICS
Sho Bel
First downs 20 19
Rushes-yards 42-520 58-473
Passing yards 46 44
Comp.-Att.-Int. 6-16-2 1-1-0
Punts-average 1-26.0 3-27.0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 5-1
Penalties-yards 8-55 11-60
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - Shoemaker: Demers 22-305, Smith 20-215; Belton: Daniels 37-362, Voss 8-96, Dominguez 10-38, team 3-(-35).
PASSING - Shoemaker: Smith 6-15-1-46, Mays 0-1-1-0; Belton: Dominguez 1-1-0-22.
RECEIVING - Shoemaker: Porter 5-27, Mays 1-19; Belton: Crowell 1-22.