Belton High School Soccer

The Temple Daily Telegram called me up again to shoot a couple of Belton soccer matches against Garland Rowlett in the area-round playoffs on Friday. It was a beautiful day and I never pass up a chance to improve at shooting sports that I am not entirely familiar with. The girls won 1-0 and boys lost 2-0 in a very physical match. Freelancing is always a good way to end the week. Enjoy.

A beautiful Friday at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.

Belton sophomore Kathryn Parker and Garland Rowlett's Gabby Deleon duel for the ball during the Lady Tigers' 1-0 area-round playoff win Friday in Mesquite. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

Belton junior Hadley Young (right), who scored the game’s lone goal for her 40th of the season, goes up against Garland Rowlett’s Cheridan Herbert during the Lady Tigers’ 1-0 area-round playoff victory Friday in Mesquite. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

Belton junior forward Hadley Young celebrates along with teammate Jessie Hagen (20) after scoring her 40th goal of the season during the Lady Tigers' 1-0 playoff win over Garland Rowlett on Friday. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

Belton’s Angel Hernandez (6) and Garland Rowlett’s sliding Armando Gonzalez battle for possession of the ball during the Tigers’ 2-0 loss to the Eagles in a Class 5A area-round playoff game Friday night in Mesquite. The Tigers finished with a 22-2-2 record. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

Belton sophomore goalkeeper Carlo Mosnia jumps to make a save during the Tigers' 2-0 playoff loss to Garland Rowlett on Friday night. The Eagles' goals against Mosnia came off of long free kicks that Jeff Lanier headed in. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

Belton senior Quentin Drake (7) battles a Garland Rowlett player for the ball during the Tigers' 2-0 area-round playoff loss to the Eagles on Friday night in Mesquite. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

Belton players react in different ways after their 2-0 defeat on Friday to Garland Rowlett at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.

High School Football Playoffs - Abilene vs Arlington, Belton vs. Longview

In the midst of shooting my daily work for The Shorthorn, I always love freelancing sports on the side. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to shoot Abilene and Belton high school football as both teams make their push to continue in the playoffs. Abilene and Arlington High put on a great game Friday at Maverick Stadium at UT-Arlington that was decided by an 18-yard field goal to put Abilene on top, 31-28, as the clock expired. The story for Belton, however, was not as cinematic as mistakes led to a 52-28 loss to Longview at Kincaide Stadium in Dallas. Overall, it was a cold but exciting weekend of football in Texas.

Abilene High’s Jake Broosk (7) intercepts a pass in the third quarter of the Eagles’ bidistrict game against Arlington High.

Abilene High’s Paxton Grayer (5) rushes for a touchdown to tie the game in the third quarter, and AHS eventually won 31-28 on a late field goal.

Quarterback Ronell Sims (1) scrabbles for a few of his 148 yards on 28 carries for the night.

Eagles running back Paxton Grayer (5) kisses the bidistrict trophy given to his team after its 31-28 win over Arlington High.

Belton quarterback David Ash throws a pass to receiver Jonathan Paysse during the Tigers' 52-28 playoff loss to Longview on Saturday night. Ash threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns, giving the senior Texas commitment 3,470 passing yards and 41 TDs this year. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

Belton receiver Jonathan Paysse breaks away from Longview’s Deionte Wall during the Tigers’ 52-28 bi-district playoff loss Saturday night. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

Ruben Alvarez celebrates after Belton recovered a fumble in the second quarter on Saturday at Kincaide Stadium in Dallas.

Belton Tigers Advance to Semifinals

Belton has yet again swept another playoff series. They beat Richardson Lake Highlands 5-1 on Saturday advancing them to the Class 5A Region II semifinals at Sam Houston State. The game was tied 1-1 in the fifth before Belton rallied after a walk off home run in sixth inning to take out the Wildcats in Game 2 of the series. This may be the last of my baseball posts for awhile since both teams I have been covering are going out of town as the continue. I’m hoping to start experimenting with some video projects soon so stay tuned.

Belton senior Shane Hoelscher shouts after hitting his school-record 14th homer of the year in the sixth inning, sparking the seventh-ranked Tigers to a series-clinching 5-1 victory over Richardson Lake Highlands on Saturday. Belton (33-6) advanced to play Klein Collins in the Class 5A Region II semifinals. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

Belton vs Desoto Baseball

I had another opportunity today to shoot the Belton Tigers vs Desoto Eagles in Game 2 of their Class 5A bi-district series for The Temple Daily Telegram. From the beginning it was apparent that these teams were in different classes. Belton swept the series with a 11-0 victory in five innings today to top their 8-0 win in Game 1. This win brings their record to 29-6 as they continue in the playoffs.

Belton junior Tyler Vail (10-2) limited DeSoto to two hits as the Tigers won 11-0 in five innings Saturday to sweep a Class 5A bi-district playoff series. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

#23 slides into third base and is called safe.

Belton third baseman Dillon Newman leaves his feet to throw out a DeSoto runner during the Tigers’ 11-0 win over the Eagles on Saturday in Game 2 of a bi-district series. Belton (29-6) will play Richardson Berkner in the area round. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

#10 connects with a wild pitch for a single in the second inning.

Temple and Belton Boys Soccer 3/26

This post is a bit late but better late than never for the first real soccer shoot I've had. I shot the Temple and Belton boys soccer teams during the area-round playoffs in Garland. I got used to it pretty quick considering I don't know much about how the sport works. Overall, it was a great experience and hopefully I can shoot more in the future to expand my skill set.

Temple senior Tyler Gibson rises above a North Garland player to head the ball during the Wildcats' 3-0 area-round playoff loss Friday in Garland. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

Temple senior Garrett Walsingham (8) and Raviel Jaimes of North Garland battle for the ball during the Wildcats’ 3-0 area-round playoff defeat Friday. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

Belton’s Tyler Pate controls the ball during the Tigers’ 3-2 Class 5A area-round playoff loss to Garland Rowlett on Friday night. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)

Belton's Garret Patterson celebrates after beating Garland Rowlett keeper Salomon Moctezuma to score the game-tying goal 4 minutes after overtime during the Tigers' 3-2 area-round playoff loss Friday night. (Andrew Buckley/Special to the Telegram)