Bay City Tribune

Van Vleck got back in the District 29-2A playoff race after beating rival Boling 13-9 in an intense game Friday night at Burl McKinney Stadium.

Wayne Foston's 9-yard run with 49 seconds left sealed the deal for the Leopards who picked up their first win in district play. Boling slipped to 2-2.

"It was a big win for us," said Van Vleck coach Mike O'Guin, who admitted the rivalry factor played a big part.

The Bulldogs took the ensuing kickoff and drove to the Van Vleck 35-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.

The Leopards took over and ran out the clock.

Van Vleck, now 2-3 on the season, plays Matagorda County Tidehaven in El Maton next Friday. The Tigers beat Danbury 14-7 for their first win.

The Leopards must beat Tidehaven and hope that Hitchcock beats Boling.

The Bulldogs from Wharton County are 2-2 and the Bulldogs from Galveston County are 3-1 after losing to Industrial 53-20. The Cobras improved to 4-0 and clinched a share of the district championship.

Terrence Alliniece took the opening kickoff and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown. Will McGonagle booted the extra point to make it 7-0 with 11:47 remaining.

Boling's Dennis Hemphill scored a touchdown with 8:34 in the second quarter to make it 7-6 but the extra point kick failed.

With 5:19 in the third quarter,

Richard Didear booted a 25-yard field goal for Boling and the Bulldogs went up 9-7.

It was a defensive struggle the rest of the game until the Leopards went on their winning touchdown drive.

Van Vleck totaled up 95 yards on the ground. Foston picked up 65 yards and Jeremy Quiroga had 12 yards.

Boling totaled up 322 yards in the game. Hemphill rushed for 92 yards on 14 carries. Jarayl Spears picked up 88 yards on 18 carries and DuPree Taylor had 60 yards on eight carries.

Quarterback Brent Stidevent completed seven of 13 passes for 74 yards.

Taylor caught five passes for 44 yards and Hemphill caught two passes for 30 yards.