Red Oak stuns Lake Belton in Texas overtime football thriller
Red Oak's trip to Lake Belton (Texas) lived up to the ESPN billing.
Quarterback Reggie Moody found receiver Dylan Gayton in the endzone on 4th and 17 to lift Red Oak to a 37-34 win over Lake Belton with 12 seconds left in overtime on Thursday night in a back-and-forth thriller at Tiger Field in Belton, Texas.
Facing a long fourth down with the game on the line, Red Oak opted to go for one final fourth down prayer after its kicker was 0-4 with three missed PATs and a missed field goal — including a failed game-winning PAT attempt in the final seconds of regulation.
Watch the final play here:
Moody played hero all night, finishing with 427 passing yards and six total touchdowns.
His pass over the middle the play before on 3rd and 17 fell incomplete, setting up one final overtime heave with the Hawks trailing by three of a back-and-forth game.
Red Oak trailed for much of the game, but tied it at 31-31 with 14 seconds left in regulation when Moody found receiver Taz Williams Jr. for a 46-yard touchdown catch.
The Hawks just needed a PAT to win, but the snap was low and the conversion failed, sending the game to overtime.
Lake Belton drove inside the 10 on the first possession of overtime, but Red Oak forced a field goal — 29 yards by Lake Belton's Tommy Stephens to push the Lake Belton lead to three.
Red Oak (3-0) got the ball left trailing six with under seven minutes to play and drove into Lake Belton territory, but couldn't convert.
Facing fourth and 12 with under three minutes left, Moody sailed a pass over the middle to an outstretched Hawks receiver Taz Williams Jr., who made a play on the ball in triple coverage but couldn't come reel in the catch.
Facing fourth down, Lake Belton gambled successfully on a deep ball. Quarterback Eli Mascarenas hit Davion Peters for a 31-yard touchdown pass to push its lead to two touchdowns — 28-19 — midway through the third quarter.
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After forcing a punt on the next drive, Mascarenas hit Ty Legg on a slant route and the senior out-dashed the Lake Belton secondary 91 yards inside the Red Oak five yard line and junior kicker Tommy Stephens punched in a short field goal to push its lead to 31-19.
Red Oak wouldn't go away and had a big swing of in response.
Rodney Malone Jr., a top long jumper for Red Oak, snuck behind the defense, bobbled and caught a deep ball from quarterback Reggie Moody or an 81-yard touchdown haul to pull within six points with around five minutes left in the third quarter.
Lake Belton (2-1) received national TV billing thanks in part to 5-star receiver Micah Hudson, a 6-foot, 190-pound uncommitted athlete reportedly considering Texas Tech, Alabama, Texas A&M and Texas.
Red Oak is led by Williams Jr., a 3-star junior receiver, the No. 46 ranked prospect in Texas per 247 Sports, and Kamauryn Morgan, a 4-star uncommitted junior edge rusher (No. 18).
Hudson, the nation's No. 19 prospect per 247 Sports, is among the top uncommitted recruits in the country.
Red Oak won a thrilling Week 3 matchup between the two teams last season in overtime, 48-47. Hudson caught the game-tying touchdown and Lake Belton won on a PAT.
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-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx
