By Jeff B. Flinn
Managing Editor

They call it “Big Mo.” It arrives at the drop of a hat. At a moment’s notice. When you least expect it.

Whatever cliché a coach might use to describe a shift in momentum, Friday’s Wagner-East Central match-up probably elicited such remarks on both sidelines before Coach Pete Gibbens’ Thunderbirds turned to what they do best, ball control, to put away the stingy Hornets, 35-29, in a tough District 27-5A road win for the T-birds.

Wagner (5-4, 5-1 in 27-5A) controlled the ball for all but 1:33 of the fourth quarter, including a game-clinching touchdown drive, taking 12 plays to go 61 yards before David Glasco scored from 1 yard out. The ensuing successful two-point conversion gave Wagner a 35-22 cushion. After East Central answered and cut the lead to single digits for the third time in the game, Wagner ate up the clock by consuming the final 5:06 in an 11-play, 61-yard drive that ended on fourth-and-1 at the Hornet as time expired.

The game proved to be a tale of two halves as Gibbens’ squad came barreling into Hornet Stadium, gunning for its fourth straight district win. Wagner opened on offense and drove 70 yards in 10 plays as Tyrea Brown scored the first of his four touchdowns, a 1-yard burst through the line for a 7-0 lead.

After East Central (3-6, 3-3) missed a 40-yard field goal, Wagner again relied on its ground game, grinding out a 9-play, 74-yard scoring drive. Brown’s 4-yard run behind the left side of the offensive line gave Wagner a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

Neither drive featured a play longer than 12 yards. But the offensive focus changed on the Thunderbird’s third drive as Keena Redic found a gap in the line and sprinted 39 yards to the Hornet 16. Two Brown carries later, Wagner was in the end zone and up 21-3 just 40 seconds into the second quarter, a lead that stood at halftime despite a closing flurry of interceptions.

“Tyrea had a great game, all of those guys did. David (Glasco) did really good. He helped us maintain several key drives,” Gibbens said.

After a half in which Wagner’s defense dominated the Hornets — yielding just 80 yards of offense, 37 from one play — Hornet coach Robert Walker and the hometown fans were ready for something different.

And they got it.

Explosive running back Chris Johnson took the first carry of the second half 55 yards for a touchdown, pumping some life back into the Hornets. After a Wagner punt, the East Central offense began to move the ball behind third-string quarterback Corey Johnson, normally a starting cornerback on defense. A 43-yard catch-and-run between quarterback Johnson and tight end Robert Almaraz set up a 16-yard Johnson-to-C.J. Sanchez scoring toss that cut the lead to 5, at 21-16, midway through the quarter.

East Central was able to score twice in the fourth, both drives culminating in Chris Johnson touchdown runs, cutting the score to 35-29, sandwiched around Glasco’s 1-yard TD run for Wagner. But Gibben’s offense successfully drained the clock, eating the final 5:06 for the win.

“We knew we would have to put together four quarters. We were ready to play overtime if we had to,” Gibbens said.