Although the A&M Consolidated football team didn't accomplish its goal of going beyond the first round of the state playoffs, the Tigers got past a couple of potentially devastating injuries to claim a share of the district championship.

In coach Jim Slaughter's view, the trophy for being co-champions of District 12-5A won't lose any of its shine because Consol lost to Tyler Lee, 38-20, in the bi-district round of the Class 5A Division I bracket Saturday in Corsicana.

"It's frustrating for it to end that way, but it was still a very special year," Slaughter said. "For this group of kids to accomplish what they did, I'm extremely proud of them."

While almost every football team must deal with injuries, the 2009 Tigers were hit particularly hard at quarterback. Consol lost senior starter Dillen Ashton to a season-ending knee injury in the district opener against Temple. The next week, Parris Colbert made his first start and also suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Force-feeding a couple of sophomore quarterbacks called up from the junior varsity, the Tigers were beaten 28-0 by Belton on the road the next week. Rickey Smith switched from receiver to quarterback and Consol rode its stout running game and improving defense to four consecutive victories to finish the regular season at 7-3 and tie Belton for the title.

The Tigers entered the postseason with hopes of ending the program's string of three consecutive first-round losses. However, they fell behind Tyler Lee and spent most of the afternoon playing catch-up.

Consol had a difficult time preventing Lee's speedy running backs from getting outside. On offense, the Tigers committed a costly penalty and were stopped on fourth-and-2 during their opening drive. Late in the first half, a deflected pass was intercepted to set up the touchdown that gave Lee a 28-6 lead.

"We probably were pressing a little bit," Slaughter said. "It's not one of those deals where we were not ready to play. I think the kids wanted to win this game so bad that they put a lot of pressure on themselves. That led to some mistakes. Against a team that good, you can't make mistakes."

The Tigers' deficiencies may have been obscured by everything they had to overcome. Plus, the competition in Consol's district has been down for the last four years, based on playoff results.

After losing to Round Rock in consecutive years, Slaughter welcomed the UIL realignment that matched Consol's district against teams from East Texas. However, Lee made the new pairing just as painful by beating the Tigers two consecutive seasons.

"Tyler Lee made it pretty convincing why we can't go to the next step," Slaughter said. "Do I like it? No. Did I want to win this game? Yes. With this group of kids -- the way they've worked and some of the things they've accomplished -- it almost seems unfair, but you've got to have the weapons. You've got to have the talent."

Some top players from this year's team were juniors or sophomores, so Consol should have pieces around which to build next season. That includes 1,000-yard rushers Chris Nutall and Clinton Banks, fellow running back Quinton White, defensive tackles J.J. Bynum and Caden Walker, plus outside linebacker Carson Kieschnick.

Positions that will require the most patching should be the offensive line, linebackers and secondary. Although their experience was difficult, quarterbacks Jacob Bronowski and Justin Benden will go into spring workouts with considerable experience for players whose sophomore seasons were supposed to be spent on the JV.

"We've got some people coming back that I think are players, and I feel good about that," Slaughter said.

Bryan outperforms expectations

By DAVID CAMPBELL

david.campbell@theeagle.com

The Bryan Vikings were basically unchanged on offense and uncertain on defense throughout the 2009 football season.

They had expected stars like running back Nathan Jones and surprise standouts such as safety Johnnie Goosby, who thrived at his new position after playing defensive end his junior year.

The Vikes' best unit was their offensive line, but they sprinkled their lineup with unsung heroes like receiver Jeremy Zdunkewicz and undersized defensive end Harris Kelly. They had quiet leaders in linebacker Jacob Spivey and even quarterback Kesnick Taylor.

What they had, coach Bob Bellard said proudly, was a team.

"I think everybody who had the experience at Bryan High this year had a great time doing it," Bellard said. "The players, the coaches, or if you were a fan watching it, you had to have a good time. What made it were the kids, who did a great job. They hung together, played hard and put themselves with a chance to win most of the football games."

After their success during the spring the Vikings had high expectations for Nathan Jones and Chris Watson, but even the Bryan coaches would have had a hard time envisioning Jones' success. In district play alone, the junior tailback rushed for 1,198 yards and seven touchdowns -- nearly 200 yards better than his nearest competitor, Harker Heights' Kerry Sloan. His 8.6 yards-per-carry average was the best in 12-5A

Over the 11-game season, Jones gained 1,507 yards and scored 20 touchdowns. He and Watson (774 yards, nine touchdowns) are both juniors.

"A lot of things hinged on [Kesnick Taylor] and the way he played, more so than what people would believe with all of the yards our running backs got," Bellard said. "But when we were really at our best, K.T. was really, really good."

The offensive line stayed healthy and played well together.

"We knew Daniel Wright was going to be a good center coming out of the spring, but didn't know he was going to be as good as he was," Bellard said. "Alex Mendez and Ryan Elkins really came on and they were solid the entire season. It was like they looked over to [guard Colton] Barnes to see what he was doing and their expectation was to bring it up to his level."

Bryan didn't pass often, but Zdunkewicz had numerous highlight receptions.

"Jeremy Zdunkewicz was one of the shining things on our football team," Bellard said. "He's at the top of our knockdown charts and his leadership and attitude were as strong as any on our team."

As the defense developed, the offense kept Bryan in contention.

"It's hard to go back, but there are four football games in there that could have swung in our direction," said Bellard of his team's 5-6 record. "We put ourselves in great position in nine football games, and in the Belton game, if we make a play or two, we are back in that one."

The Vikings' defense was constantly in flux.

"We didn't even know if Harris Kelly would even play, and all of a sudden he starts making plays everywhere," Bellard said. "After a concussion by Byron Jackson in a scrimmage, we moved Jacob Spivey over to linebacker. That found him a place to play, and in that role as inside linebacker he became a pretty stout leader for our football team. That was really big for us defensively."

Goosby, the team's tackle leader, was the last line of defense and the one constant at his free safety spot.

"He's always been a guy who was on the cusp of being a very good football player," Bellard said. "Attitude-wise, he came in this year so positive and that transformed him into a good player and a good leader."

"You look at Mike Hernandez, who is 5-[foot-]7, and we asked him to be a defensive tackle," defensive coordinator Dwight Pattrick said. "He played hard all of the time, broke a hand, put a cast on it and said, 'Let's go.' We just had guys like that."

Bellard said there's a story with almost every Viking who took the field. Being picked to finish near the bottom of the district, he said he could point to the 2009 team when he tells future teams what they need to do to succeed.

A loss to A&M Consolidated was followed by a win at home against Copperas Cove, a turning point that led to the Vikings earning a playoff spot. Their ability to bounce back from almost any setback, even in the middle of games, made the season a fun one.

"One of the big reasons that you coach was to have an opportunity to work with kids like we had this year," Bellard said. "They were the same way today as they were at the beginning of the year. They're great kids that listen to the things you say. They're very solid."