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LEANDER -- Albert Garza was ready to run but didn't.
The Bryan quarterback saw a hole in the middle of the Leander defense late in the fourth quarter Friday, but he pulled up short of the line of scrimmage and hit receiver Joseph Bryant for a 31-yard gain. That play set up the winning touchdown in the Vikings' 31-24 victory over the Leander Lions.
"They were triple-covering Krey Bratsen, and Albert just makes big plays," Bryan coach Bob Bellard said. "It was not a designed play. He just improves, and it was a great time for Joseph Bryant to get his first catch."
Bryan senior running back Monterrell Washington scored the game's final touchdown on a 6-yard run with 2:30 left. Then Jerry Tennell's fourth-down sack of Leander quarterback Taylor Ratcliff put the finishing touches on a victory that pushed the Vikings to 2-0 and dropped Leander to 1-1.
"I thought we finished both halves very well," said Bellard, whose Vikings drove for a late second-quarter touchdown to take a 24-10 halftime lead. "Getting that touchdown kind of answered them in the first half, and we really came up big in the end. That's two weeks in a row that we've made big plays when we needed them."
Bryan needed them because Ratcliff led Leander on a stellar comeback from an early 17-0 deficit. On Ratcliff's biggest play, he dropped an 84-yard pass into the hands of Ryan Atkins for a touchdown to tie the game at 24 with 5:35 left.
Bryan built its halftime lead with Garza leading the charge. He carried three times for 42 yards and scored with 24 seconds remaining to cap a 12-play, 67-yard march.
A long pass from Garza to Bratsen appeared to put the Vikings in position to clinch in the third quarter. But the junior receiver was stripped of the ball, and Nekechie Miller's fumble recovery started the Lions on an 88-yard march. Donald Taylor plunged across the goal from one yard out to narrow Bryan's lead to 24-17.
The Vikings wasted no time jumping into the lead when Washington, who has seven touchdowns this season, hit a hole at left tackle and raced 64 yards for a touchdown on Bryan's first play. That set in motion a quick run of big plays for the Vikings, who took a 17-0 lead in the first quarter.
Bryan's Bryce Angel then worked his way into the middle of an attempted Leander screen and intercepted a Ratcliff pass at the Lions' 17. That set up Matt Little's first field goal of the year, a 31-yarder that put Bryan ahead 10-0.
The Vikings added another touchdown on Washington's 1-yard run with 3:29 left in the first quarter after Bryan's Vantrice Skillern recovered a muffed punt at the Leander 46. Garza's 33-yard pass to Bratsen positioned the Vikings for the touchdown.
When Ratcliff finally found time to throw, Leander started its comeback. Ratcliff hit a 60-yarder to Jon Kelley, who raced far behind the Bryan secondary and trotted the final 10 yards to narrow Bryan's lead to 17-7 with two seconds left in the first quarter.
The Lions remained on the comeback the rest of the game, but Bryan answered at the end.
"The kids felt like a football team," Bellard said. "The biggest thing is we did things to win defensively, in the kicking game and in all phases. We made mistakes in all phases but overcame them. We are starting to jell.
"I'm very proud of this team. That was a big win in a tough environment."
