Bellevue scores 21 unanswered to top TC

For the first eight minutes of the game Friday, Bellevue looked like it might be blown off the field at rival Columbian. TC scored two times to gain a 14-0 advantage in the opening quarter.But for the next three quarters, the Redmen held the Tornadoes scoreless, while also getting the offense in gear in a 21-14 non-league win at Frost-Kalnow Stadium."They played a better second half than us. We played a good quarter," TC coach Judd Lutz said. "Can't win a lot of games playing a good quarter … things were there, plays where there at times, we gotta make them. We gotta execute better, gotta block it better, gotta tackle it better, gotta catch it better … just everything a little bit better. They did a little bit better over and over when it was winning time, that's frustrating, but we have to get off the mat. "That's what I told the players: if this is the worse thing that happens to them, they've had a pretty good life because you're measured as a man in life with how you get off the mat and right now, we're on the mat and we have to get up."Both sides had turnovers, but it was a fumble recovery early in the second half that sparked the Redmen (5-3). Bellevue started its drive at TC's 19. Three plays later, Ike Brown hit Caden Cramer for a 17-yard touchdown. It opened up the flood gates and Bellevue captured all of the momentum and didn't let it go the rest of the way.Brown then hit Cramer again on the following possession – this time for a 31-yard TD on a fourth-and-3 to tie the game at 14 late in the third.With 7:02 left in the game, Bellevue capped a five-play drive with a Brown 5-yard rushing score that put the nail in TC's coffin. Bellevue got things going offensively, but it was the Redmen defense that controlled the second half. Overall, Bellevue ran 39 plays in the second half, compared to just 14 for the Tornadoes."They had a couple big plays on us there early and we had some turnovers … it just seemed like nothing was gonna go right for us tonight," Bellevue coach Alex Shepherd said of the slow start. "We made some adjustments at halftime, kids had to look at who they are and what they're doing and we challenged them to come out in the second half and change it. They did that. "Defensively we played lights out outside of a couple plays. Offensively, we started slow, but made plays when we had to and it worked out."TC (4-4) started well with a 48-yard TD from Johnny Bremyer on a pass from Logan Gooding within the first four minutes of the game. Then on TC's next possession, Gooding hit Bremyer again – this time in stride for a 75-yard score. But that was it for the Tornadoes."I don't know why we started slow like we did, but our kids are resilient and they came out and adjusted in the second half. I'm so proud of how they played in the second half," Shepherd said.Individually, Bremyer led the TC offense with four catches for 120 yards, while also adding 37 yards on the ground on two carries. Jayce Arias was all over the field on defense and special teams with a slew of tackles. Also in the first half, he had two fumble recoveries and an interception.With two games left back in the SBC Lake, the Tornadoes still have a shot at a league title, but it begins with responding against rival Clyde next week."We have to create some momentum and we have to find a way to win when it counts, but you can't do it just on gameday," Lutz said. "You have to start on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday … I feel like we had a good week of preparation, but you have to execute on Friday and you have to give yourselves a chance to get there obviously. "We have two left and it starts with one at a time. The next one is the biggest one because it's the next one."