When Kadin Kerns kicked a 31-yard field goal to give Braden River a 10-7 lead against Arcadia DeSoto early in the second quarter, Pirates fans may have allowed themselves to envision waking up this morning in first place in Class 3A-District 12.
But the Bulldogs' overall speed advantage extended to the scoreboard.
Defending district champion DeSoto (2-2, 1-0) scored three touchdowns in a span of 8:05 before halftime, sending the stunned Pirates to the locker room facing a 28-10 deficit. Although Braden River (2-2, 0-1) never stopped fighting, the onslaught was too much to overcome in a 42-28 defeat.
Junior running back Marcus Shaw rushed for 181 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns for the Bulldogs, who compiled 312 yards on the ground on 37 carries.
Braden River's late comeback was led by junior quarterback Stephen Fischer, who completed 16 of 34 pass attempts for 208 yards despite about a half-dozen drops. Willie McNeal led Braden River receivers with nine catches for 104 yards.
"This is five games in a row (counting the Kickoff Classic) that we've gotten a little better, but we can't make the kind of mistakes we had and expect to be successful," said Pirates coach Josh Hunter. "This is one group of kids I can say that no matter what the outcome, they won't quit. That's a testament to them.
"We told our kids it would be a four-quarter war and we would wear them down in the second half, but 18 points (at halftime) was too much to overcome."
Braden River tied the game 7-7 late in the first quarter on a 13-yard swing pass from Fischer to Jajuan Bell. But after Kerns' field goal, the Pirates self-destructed.
First, they allowed the Bulldogs to drive 77 yards in six plays, with Jerrell Ezell scoring on a 22-yard scamper for a 14-10 DeSoto lead.
Later in the third quarter, Fischer attempted a middle screen to Bell, a play that had worked earlier. But the Bulldogs were ready. Greg Summers tipped it to linebacker Cameron McQuay, who took the interception 25 yards for a touchdown.
With less than two minutes remaining in the half, Ezell got past a fallen defensive back to haul in a 49-yard touchdown pass from Jerrell Thomas.
Braden River scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns on a 1-yard run by Bell and a 4-yard run by Fischer.
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