Ozona Storms Back From 21 Down to Stun Ballinger

BALLINGER, TX — The Ozona Lions completed a crazy comeback — scoring with two seconds remaining — to steal a 36-35 win on the road over Ballinger on Friday.

Ozona trailed 35-14 at halftime but outscored the Bearcats 22-0 in the second half.

The Lions recovered a late onside kick, then scored on a 1-yard TD run to finish off the win.

The win forced a three-way tie for second place in District 4-2A Division I between Forsan, Ballinger and Ozona, who all had 4-2 district records.

Forsan (8-2) will end up with the No. 2 seed due to a better point differential between the teams, while Ballinger (7-3) will be No. 3 and Ozona (5-5) will be No. 4.

Ballinger had a chance to lock up the No. 2 seed and a share of the district title had it beat Ozona.

It was a difficult end to the regular season for the Bearcats, who suffered back-to-back one-point losses to Sonora and Ozona. 

Sonora (8-2 overall, 5-1 in distinct), despite losing to Forsan in its regular-season finale, claimed the district title outright thanks to Ozona’s win.

Sonora, Forsan, Ballinger and Ozona will all open the playoffs next week.

Sonora will play New Deal, Forsan will play Abernathy, Ballinger will play New Deal, and Ozona will play Post.