Keller bounces back, defeats LD Bell behind strong performance from receiver Will Adams

Will Adams never had a game like the one he put together on Thursday.

The Keller wide receiver hauled in three touchdowns to help the Indians pull away for a 27-10 victory against Hurst L.D. Bell in a District 4-6A high school football contest at KISD Athletic Complex.

“It was great,” Adams said of his 9-catch, 103-yard effort. “I had a lot of family at this game, it was nice to perform well in front of them. B-Rob (Quarterback Beckham Robinson), the play callers … it was just a total team effort. It was good to get back on the winning track.”

Keller (2-2) has now alternated losses and victories throughout the season. Last week, the Indians fell out of the Star-Telegram’s Class 6A rankings. A win against Bell is a step in the right direction.

Adams had a pair of first-half touchdowns as the Indians (2-2, 1-1) built a 13-0 lead.

His 2-yard touchdown with just less than 8 minutes to play in the first quarter capped off the Indians’ first drive. The big play was a 46-yard run by Quintin Shropshire that had 15 extra yards added after due to a horse-collar tackle.

A bad snap on a punt on the final play of the first quarter gave Keller the ball at the 38-yard line. That drive ended with another Robinson-to-Adams connection from 2 yards out again. A 2-point conversion pass failed but with 7:29 left the Indians led by two scores.

The Blue Raiders (1-3, 0-2) scored twice in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the second quarter.

Quarterback Cameron Johnson capped an 11-play drive with a 22-yard touchdown run with 2:29 left.

After holding Keller’s offense on the next drive, Bell forced a punt A bad snap led to a nearly 20-yard loss. Bell took over at the 31-yard line and got a 32-yard field goal from AJ Rosen with 5 seconds left in the second.

That trimmed the deficit to 13-10 going into the locker room.

“We created our own adversity and they got one of the best kickers in the state,” Keller coach Carl Stralow said. “We gave them 3 points.”

Keller got the ball out of the break and needed only seven plays to extend the lead.

On three of those plays, Robinson hit Adams for gains - 6 yards, then 9 yards and then a 30-yard score with 9:26 to go.

Robinson threw the pass to the back of the end zone and Adams caught it while falling down and then out of the end zone. The closest ref hesitated for a second before signaling touchdown.

“It was a great throw from Beckham,” Adams said. “We’ve worked on that route too many times. It was just habits. If I’m being honest, I’m not really thinking where my feet are. I just go up and try to make a play.”

Adams entered this game with four touchdowns in two years of varsity — and came one away from matching that in one game.

Stralow said a revamped offensive line provided time for Robinson and backup quarterback Brock Burkett to throw.

Senior running back Kyle Owens scored on a 2-yard run with 39 seconds left in the third to cap the scoring for both teams.

The Keller defense came up with two sacks on fourth downs to in the second half. The punctuation came on a sack by senior defensive lineman Daryl Culberson, a 16-yard loss on the final drive for Bell.

“We have not put together four quarters or two halves; we have been all over the place this year,” Stralow said. “I’m glad we came out and played the way we did in the second half. We challenged them to come out and play better than they played in the first half and they did.”

Keller will face Keller Central on September 27 at KISD Stadium. On the same day, Hurst L.D. Bell (1-3) has a home game against Haslet Eaton.