BY NOLAN RUTH
X – @RealNolanRuth
FORT WORTH— It had been a frustrating night for the Byron Nelson Bobcats. The Fighting Farmers of Lewisville had been in control of the game since the opening drive and never relinquished the lead. Then with under a minute to go, the Bobcats pulled off their second last minute miracle in as many weeks.
Facing fourth and six from its own 46, the Nelson offense lined up for possibly its final play of the game. Quarterback Grant Bizjack faked the handoff up the middle, and again on the jet sweep. The Farmer safeties bit on the fake allowing Leo Almanza to sneak past them. Bizjack delivered a perfect ball that landed right in the waiting arms of Almanza as he crossed the goal line.
“We have the fastest player on the field in Leo,” Bizjack said about the play. “I just hoped my line blocked and threw it as far as I could.”
The play gave the Bobcats a 32-28 lead with 56 seconds left in the game. Until then, it had been all Lewisville.
The Farmers got a quick defensive stop on the opening drive of the game, then proceeded to go on a 10-play drive that resulted in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Tre Williams to Derrick Martin.
Martin was the big star for Lewisville as he totaled eight catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns, and four carries for 18 yards and a score on the ground.
Nelson did not get a response until midway through the second quarter when Tucker James scored on a handoff up the middle from two yards out. However the extra point was blocked leaving the score at 7-6.
Lewisville responded with another scoring drive that ended with the exact same play as the first one did, a 5-yard swing pass from Williams to Martin. This time the Bobcats were quick to respond as Bizjack and Almanza connected on what ended up foreshadowing the end of the game, with a 36-yard touchdown pass to end the first half at 14-12 after another missed extra point.
The Farmers came out of the break with an edge and extended the lead with the opening drive of the half behind running back Tenel Hill, who capped off the drive with a touchdown run from a yard out. Those were the only points of the third quarter, giving Lewisville a 21-12 lead.
Once again, the Bobcats scored to stay in the game with a fourth down pass from Bizjack to James from four yards out. The two point conversion was unsuccessful keeping the score at 21-18.
The Farmers got one last score on the ground by Martin from 20 yards out, and it appeared that would be enough for Lewisville. However Bizjack put the Nelson offense on his back and led them down the field. On what appeared to be a busted play, Bizjack scrambled for his life, fired a laser into heavy traffic and somehow found Almanza for the touchdown. The Bobcats then hit their first extra point of the game making it a 28-25 score. Though they still needed a stop.
The defense got the stop in just three plays, giving Nelson 1:45 to go 72 yards for a game winning score. They reached their own 46 yard line but stalled and faced fourth down. It was then that they called the same play that scored earlier in the game; double-fake handoff, Bizjack to Almanza for the ballgame.
The Farmers were stunned and could not do anything with the time remaining, which ultimately gave the Bobcats a 32-28 win.
“I’m very proud,” head coach Travis Pride said. “No matter how you crack it, they are 16, 17, 18 year old kids. I’m 56 and get discouraged and frustrated sometimes. So just to keep battling and fighting for four quarters, I am proud of that.”
Byron Nelson (2-0) will open up district 4-6A play next week when they take on the Southlake Carroll Dragons (1-0). Lewisville (1-1) still has one more game before district, and will host Rockwall (1-0) next Friday.
