Trailing by 12 points midway through the third quarter, and with the momentum clearly in Kell’s favor, the Walton Raiders needed a spark.
They got it from Jeremy Hecklinski and Braylen Stokes, who helped Walton score 19 unanswered points in a seven-minute stretch to beat the Longhorns 35-28 Friday in their season-opening Corky Kell Classic game at Walton.
Hecklinski, a freshman quarterback getting his first varsity snaps before taking his first in-person high school class, led the Raiders on a seven-play, 76-yard touchdown drive in his only series of the game to cut Kell’s lead to 28-22 with 3:01 remaining in the third quarter. Hecklinski was 3-for-3 passing for 56 yards on the drive, including a 38-yarder to Nate Lyons that set the Raiders up at the Kell 19-yard line.
Stokes, a sophomore running back, finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. After starting quarterback Zak Rozsman pulled the Raiders even at 28-28 with a 25-yard run on the third play of the fourth quarter, Stokes provided the game-winning points on a 29-yard touchdown run with 8:36 to play. Stokes, who carried most of the load in the second half after an injury to starter Kenny Djaha, finished with 15 carries for 156 yards, 141 of which came in the second half.
“Oh, he’s a live buck; he just kept going, going, going,” Walton coach Daniel Brunner said of Stokes. “Kenny Djaha had a great game and ended up getting a little banged up, but I’m so proud of Braylen stepping in and just killing it for us. I’m so happy for him.”
Rozsman, a junior and the returning starter, was 9-for-21 passing for 130 yards and had 33 yards rushing on nine carries.
“That’s been our plan. We’ve got two really good quarterbacks in our program, and I don’t want one sitting on the sideline and not having an opportunity,” Brunner said. “Zak Rozsman is one of the best human beings I’ve ever been around, and he understands. … We’re going to try to help both those guys develop the best they can.”
Walton led 10-0 early in the second quarter. Djaha scored on a screen pass, breaking a tackle at the line of scrimmage and two more a few yards downfield before breaking free for a 77-yard touchdown with 6:26 to play in the first quarter. Conor Cummins added a 38-yard field goal with 10:12 to play in the half.
It could have been worse, but the Raiders failed to take advantage of two miscues by the Kell punt team - a mishandled snap and a partially blocked kick - that gave Walton the ball deep in Kell territory. The Raiders, however, got just the Cummins field goal out of those two opportunities.
At that point, Kell appeared to get control of the game. The Longhorns scored on their final two possessions of the first half for a 14-13 lead and their first two drives of the third quarter to build the lead to 28-16. And Kell was making it look easy, going 80, 70, 80 and 80 yards - all in seven plays or less - for the scores.
Jaylon Brown scored on a 19-yard pass from Corbin LaFrance. Jamal Hill scored on a 1-yard run and a 36-yard reception, and David Mbadinga had a 25-yard touchdown run. But the momentum swung back to Walton at that point, and the Longhorns couldn’t mount another scoring threat.
LaFrance was 21-for-33 passing for 271 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 57 yards on six carries. Mbadinga ran for 60 yards on 12 carries and had six receptions for 32 yards. Hill had eight catches for 91 yards.
“I just feel so happy for these guys,” Brunner said. “We tried to give [Kell] as many chances as we could to get back in the game, with turnovers, penalties, and we kept shooting ourselves in the foot. But that’s kinda the nature of not playing football for how many months and not having a live shot at it.”
Kell - 0-14-14-0 - 28
Walton - 7-6-9-13 - 35
First quarter
W - Kenny Djaha 77 pass from Zak Rozsman (Conor Cummins kick), 6:26
Second quarter
W - Cummins 38 field goal, 10:12
K - Jaylon Brown 19 pass from Corbin LaFrance (Colby Kerns kick), 8:24
K - Jamal Hill 1 run (Kerns kick), 2:47
W - Cummins 45 field goal, 0:00
Third quarter
K - Hill 36 pass from LaFrance (Kerns kick), 9:19
W - Cummins 28 field goal, 6:14
K - David Mbadinga 25 run (Kerns kick), 5:54
W - Braylen Stokes 7 run (pass failed), 3:01
Fourth quarter
W - Rozsman 25 run (kick blocked), 10:46
W - Stokes 29 run (Cummins kick), 8:36
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