Anything that could go wrong for Shiner in the final two and a half minutes of the first half did.
Industrial quarterback Jake Smiley calls out the play. Howard Esse/CrossroadsLegalVideo.Com
After playing to a scoreless tie through the first 21:30, the Comanches allowed their home-field advantage to slip away as Industrial used a seven- minute, 72-yard drive capped off by quarterback Jake Smiley's touchdown run to snap the tie.
The Comanches responded by going three and out, setting up a punting situation from their own 29-yard line. The snap, however, sailed over the punter's head, and Industrial recovered the ball one yard from the end zone.
Moments later, Smiley punched in his second score of the half, and the Cobras never relinquished the lead, going on to upset the preseason favorite in Shiner 20-7.
"It's a huge win for us," Industrial head coach Shane Lothman said. "Nobody gave us a chance. Our goal was to take them one by one, and since this was the first one, I'm proud of them.
"It started last December and we've been working hard, and, now, we are seeing the benefits."
Perhaps nobody shined brighter on opening night than Smiley.
"When we scored [in the first half], it gave us a lot of momentum," he said. "It built a lot of momentum for us when we came out in the third quarter."
But Smiley was just getting started.
Early in the second half, Smiley showed off his defensive skills by intercepting Shiner quarterback Jacob Stafford's pass and ran it back into Comanche territory. A little more than four minutes later, the Cobras increased their lead to 20-0 as receiver Bryce Pruitt received a pitch and found Alan Fellers in the end zone for another score. The extra point was no good.
"I saw the tight end release and the quarterback fake a veer, he just threw up a lob pass, and I ran underneath it," Smiley said.
Shiner finally got on the board with two seconds left in the third quarter as junior Evel Jones made up for a lost fumble earlier in the game with a 22- yard touchdown run. Jones finished with a game-high 105 yards on 13 carries.
The Cobras moved right back into striking distance on the following kickoff as Will Knopp returned the ball to the Shiner 49-yard line, but Industrial went on turn the ball over on downs.
A successful stop by Shiner set up the final scoring opportunity of the game, but the Cobras turned the ball over on downs, and the Comanches were unable to put together a desperation drive in the final minute.
"I'm just disappointed because we made so many mistakes," Shiner head coach Steven Cerny said. "But, at the same time, those are things we can fix.
"I never did see a lack of effort though."
While the final two minutes of the opening half proved to be Shiner's downfall, the Comanches struggled from the opening kickoff.
On the third play of its first drive, Shiner's Jones fumbled the ball, giving Industrial prime field position at the Comanches' 38-yard line.
The drive did not yield points though as the Cobras were forced to punt the ball.
Taking over at their own 20-yard line following a touchback, the Comanches engineered a clock-consuming drive that lasted into the second quarter, but it did not translate into points.
After swapping unsuccessful drives, Industrial used a seven-minute drive of its own to put Smiley in position for the first score of the game.
Shiner also committed three penalties in the first half for 15 yards and amassed a total of 68 yards of penalties in the game.
GAME STATISTICS:
statistics source: http://www.advosports.com/games/3427/Shiner Industrial First Downs 9 9 Yards Rushing 40-195 36-70 Yards Passing 22 59 Passes 2-7-1 5-5-0 Punts 2-20 2-34 Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1 Penalties-yards 10-68 6-29 SCORING SUMMARY: 1 2 3 4 -- Final Industrial 0 14 6 0 -- 20 Shiner 0 0 7 0 -- 7 SCORING DETAILS: First Quarter no score Second Quarter I - Jake Smiley 1 run; Mason Davis kick good, 2:28. I - Jake Smiley 1 run td, Mason Davis kick good, 00:12. Third Quarter I - Allen Sellers 7 pass from Brice Pruitt; Mason Davis kick failed 3:27. S - Shiner - Evel Jones 22 run, Lucian Blaschke kick good, 00:02. Fourth Quarter no score INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: Rushing Shiner, E. Jones 13-105, M. Wallace 12-44, J. Stafford 12-41, B. Caka 1-5. Industrial, M. Davis 9-35, B. Franz 5-21, J. Tseng 4-22, J. Smiley 16-(-6), S. Townley 1-3, W. Knopp 1-1. Passing Shiner, J. Stafford 7-2-22. Industrial, J. Smiley 4-3-58, B. Pruitt 1-1-10. Receiving Shiner, Z. Lawrence 1-11, E. Jones 1-11. Industrial, A. Fellers 2-42, K. Klimitchek 1-7, B. White 1-7, B. Pruitt 1-10.