Keller Timber Creek football escapes first district game with a win over Hurst L.D. Bell

L.D. Bell football outscored Keller Timber Creek 33-10 in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as the Falcons took the first District 4-6A game 51-43.

Head coach Austin Kaehn complimented his team for pulling out another “tough, hard-fought win,” like they did in their first two games.

“At the end of the day, I’m excited,” he said. “We knew they were a freaking good team. We came out and had success in the first half and they were able to bounce back in the second half. There were moments where we slipped, but I’m proud of these guys for maintaining composure and staying locked in.”

One of the biggest reasons for that success was senior quarterback Carson Porter , who finished the game with 281 yards passing and three touchdowns. 170 of his passing yards came in the first half.

“That kid is an absolute start,” said Kaehn of his quarterback. “I have no doubts about him. He’s laser focused, operates and executes offense. It’s like having a coach on the field.”

His favorite target that half was receiver Caleb Mendji , who finished the half with 136 yards receiving and two touchdowns. He added six yards receiving in the second half.

Receiver Xavier Lee caught the final touchdown for the Falcons, putting them ahead by 11 with three minutes left in the game. He also started the scoring, returning the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. He also had 73 yards receiving.

Timber Creek’s running backs shared the load with Tony Hoagland finishing with 90 yards rushing and one touchdown. Jorey Anderson recorded all of his work in the first half with one touchdown on 37 yards rushing.

“Tony and Jorey are the heartbeat of our team,” said Porter. “They work harder than anyone else and do a great job.”

The Falcons defense also helped pull out the win. In the first half, they recorded two interceptions. One from senior Elijah Wilkerson and another from senior Antwan Bridges, who returned it for a touchdown.

A game-sealing kick recovery

Looking for some insurance late in the game, Porter led the Falcons down the field from their own 41-yard line. He eventually found Lee for a 37-yard receiving touchdown with three minutes in the fourth quarter.

The Falcon defense held L.D. Bell to a 28-yard field goal, leaving just one minute left in the game.

The Blue Raiders tried another onside kick, but Timber Creek lineman Raymond Constante smothered the ball, getting it back for the Falcons to kneel out the rest of the game clock.

“We harp all the time on everybody just doing their job,” said Kaehn. “What he showed right there was that he can do his job under pressure.”

A third quarter of chaos

That late-game pressure wasn’t expected. The Falcons were up 41-10 at halftime, but the Blue Raiders scored 16 unanswered points coming out of the half.

On their first drive, senior quarterback Cameron Johnson connected with receiver Braelon Solomon for a 27-yard receiving touchdown to cut the deficit to 24.

The Blue Raiders attempted an onside kick, but Timber Creek recovered it. However, they soon got the ball back after the Falcons fumbled a rush attempt and L.D. Bell’s Asher Saintelus jumped on top to recover it.

The next drive ended with a 3-yard rushing touchdown on a quarterback keeper from running back Brendon Gleim, who set up under center for the play. Johnson found receiver Delvechio Ellis for the 2-point conversion. 41-25.

L.D. Bell sent a squib kick toward the Timber Creek return team, which it bounced off of and bounced downfield. Senior defensive back George Getanda ran it down and smothered it in the end zone. Another conversion on a 2-point attempt from Gleim made it 41-33 with 6:16 left in the third quarter.

The Falcons marched down the field, but had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Landyn Hicks. 44-33.

Right when Timber Creek thought they might be back in control, forcing the Blue Raiders to punt without converting a first down, they made it interesting again.

Timber Creek went three-and-out, as well, but their punt was blocked by Getanda, who ran it back 10 yards into the end zone, closing the deficit to just four points with 22 seconds left in the third quarter.

Johnson would finish the game with 163 yards passing and one touchdown despite not playing at all in the first quarter.

That led to the Falcons late scoring drive and eventually kneeling out the clock on their first district game of the season.

“This sets our team off on the right foot,” said Porter. “We’re excited to be able to look at the mistakes from this game, correct those and move on and win the next couple.”

Timber Creek improved to 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in district play. The Falcons will play Keller Central at home next week at 7 p.m. at KISD Stadium.

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