Bryan coach Bob Bellard thinks it's time to stop talking about his running backs' potential. It my be time to look at how good they are right now.

Junior backs Nate Jones and Chris Watson led a 470-yard rushing attack as the Vikings upended previously unbeaten Copperas Cove 34-20 on Friday night.

"Right now after looking at the film, I know everybody is proud of their backs, but I think we have two of the best around in Watson and Jones," Bellard said. "They are tough, hard-nosed. They block and they finish runs. They are as competitive as they come."

Copperas Cove might be willing to second that opinion, after the Bulldawgs struggled all night to bring down the pair of runners on first contact.

Jones -- who has six touchdowns and 372 rushing yards in the last two weeks -- was the breakaway runner much of the night, finishing with 218 yards on 25 carries. Watson, who had his own 200-yard game against Round Rock McNeil, ran 23 times Friday for 122 yards and his touchdown run was one of the night's highlights. Hit near the line of scrimmage, Watson appeared to be stopped before stepping away from the defense and running back to his right and into the end zone.

The win over the tradition-rich defending district champions was still being celebrated Saturday.

"That was really nice," Bellard said. "The film was fun to watch. The kids did some amazing things and they were proud and excited."

They are also in the thick of what may be an enduring battle for the District 12-5A title. Belton leads with a 3-0 record. Bryan, Cove and A&M Consolidated are each 2-1.

Bellard felt his defense took great strides Friday. The Vikings held Copperas Cove without points at the end of the second and fourth quarters. The second-period stop resulted in a missed field goal try. At the end of the game, a fourth-down turnover put the game away.

"We adjusted to a lot of things we had not seen coming into the game," Bellard said. "In the first series, they ran the empty set (five wide receivers, no running backs) and that's not what they had been doing. They ran the jet sweep out of the empty set. The kids adjusted well and that's a sign that they are maturing."

Bellard said it was not a game of individual standouts, but was impressed with the play of junior defensive back Dexter Comeaux.

"Comeaux figured it out in practice this week," Bellard said. "All of a sudden, a light bulb went on and he was not an observer in the game, but a participant."

The defense was helped by the consistently solid play of the Vikings' offense, which ran 68 total plays, including 66 on the ground. Bellard said before the game that the Vikings needed to dictate when they wanted to pass, not to have an opponent do so.

They decided to throw only two short passes, which were complete, yet they did what they wanted. The Vikings were not forced to pass.

Bellard has a warning about next Friday's road trip to play Ellison at Killeen's Leo Buckley Stadium.

"I think the challenge is to recognize that Ellison is a different animal," Bellard said. "They are not going to play like Cove and we are going to have to handle a different style of play. They will not be in the spread and they will not be in trips. They are strong and tough and they go straight at you. You're looking at a different bird this week."