Dayton falls short to PN-G 35-28

Groves- This one was a tough one to swallow! On Friday night at The Reservation the Dayton Broncos battled back from a 13-point deficit with 5:03 remaining to take a one-point lead only to see the Port Neches-Groves Indians come back with a drive that saw a Shane Adams 2-yard score with :07 seconds remaining in the game lift the Indians to an exciting 35-28 win over Dayton in a district 9-5A-II tilt. 

The loss saw the Broncos five-game winning streak come to an end but nevertheless Dayton still stand's at 3-1 in district play and 5-2 overall. 

 Trailing 24-14 at the half, the Broncos saw PN-G increase their lead to 27-14 with 4:19 left in the third quarter on a Andres Sandoval 27-yard field goal. 

Dayton could not get anything going offensively but the Broncos defense played well and kept the Indians from doing anything offensively themselves. 

Taking over at their own 46-yard line with 9:20 left in the game, the offensive went to work and put together a 54-yard 9-play drive with Carson Horton connecting with Jerimiah Stevens on a 16-yard score in the back of the end zone to cut the deficit to 27-21 with 5:03 left in the game. 

 Needing a stop on defense, the Broncos "D" forced a quick three-and-out and Dayton had the ball again at the their own 36-yard line. Three-plays later, Vernon Harrison busted straight up the middle for a 56-yard touchdown run and after the Brayan Montes PAT was good it was the Broncos leading 28-27 with 3:11 remaining. 

The Indians then marched 72-yards on 13-plays with Adams scoring on a 2-yard keeper on a 1st-and-goal to give PN-G the lead again at 35-28. Horton connected with C.J. Hubert on a 18-yard pass, but time expired off the clock giving the Indians a Homecoming win. 

 The first half saw both teams get off to quick starts with both offenses scoring on their opening drive of the night. Dayton started the game off with a 63-yard pass from Horton to Hubert which moved them down to the Indians 12-yard line. Two-plays later it was Vernon Harrison bullying his way into the end zone from 8-yards out and the Broncos led 7-0. 

  PN-G answered quickly with Cole Crippen finding Adams from 25-yards to tie the score at 7-apiece with 7:54 left in the opening quarter. 

 The Indians would take their first lead of the night on the opening play of the second quarter as Adams capped off a 75-yard 13-play drive with a 2-yard score to make it 14-7. Dayton then moved 63-yards on 6-plays and Holden Campbell would score from a yard-out and the score was tied at 14 with 9:36 left in the second quarter. 

 The rest of the first half scoring would be all PN-G as they used a short field to take over at the Broncos Dayton 34-yard line. Four-plays later it was Isaiah Nguyen scoring from the 3-yard line and the Indians were back in front at 21-14 with 8:05 left in the first half. PN-G added to their lead with just :19 seconds left in the half as Sandoval booted 24-yard field goal and the Indians led 24-14 at the half. 

 Harrison led the Broncos on the ground with 102-yards on 12-carries while Horton passed for 185-yards. Hubert caught five passes for 105 yards. 

  Dayton will return home to Houston Methodist Field at Bronco Stadium next Friday next as they host Texas City in another big district battle.