Groesbeck coach Stephen Burrow is sure the Goats’ wacky 43-40 win over Robinson was fun to watch from a spectator’s point of view.

Coaching it was a different matter entirely.

“I know as a spectator it had to be fun to watch,” Burrow said. “Our kids just never gave up.”

Groesbeck’s scintillating effort was one of a few wild finishes in Central Texas on Friday, cementing the day as the first real crazy one of the area’s 2010 season.

Of course, Groesbeck’s seesaw battle qualifies, seeing as it was just 7-0 at half and the Goats needed to reverse Robinson’s 33-14 fourth-quarter lead.

But that wasn’t all. Crawford rallied from a 16-0 deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat McGregor, 22-16, capped by an interception from Jake Talbert in Crawford’s end zone with 10 seconds to go.

The city of Crawford is just now exhaling.

“We’ve had some really good comebacks here over the course of time,” Crawford coach Delbert Kelm said. “This one is certainly among them.”

Venturing a little further south, Belton probably had the nuttiest game of them all. In a 66-63 overtime loss — no, that’s no typo — Belton quarterback David Ash set three school records and was responsible for eight total touchdowns.

I’m no math whiz, but you’d usually expect to win with numbers like those. But Belton’s 212 penalty yards were killer, and a piece of that helped Austin High march down the field in less than a minute to tie the game up as regulation expired.

One game-winning Austin High field goal in overtime later, and Belton has 63 very empty points to deal with.

Burrow had to be shaking his head as he watched the fourth quarter unfold Friday night. The first half was a fairly uneventful one, and Groesbeck went into the locker room without any points, down 7-0.

“In the first quarter I thought we controlled the game, we just didn’t get any points out of it,” Burrow said. “When we came in at half, the kids were real upbeat.”

It didn’t show at first. Robinson’s 33-14 lead seemed ironclad judging by how erratic the Groesbeck offense had been, but this one was only just heating up. Groesbeck added a score on a Stephen Ruen catch to cut it to 33-21, and that’s when the Goats went to onside kicks in the fourth quarter, almost out of necessity.

“The main thing was our kickoff coverage was awful,” Burrow said.

Robinson wasn’t ready for them, and Groesbeck pounced on two straight onside kicks, both of which led to touchdowns. Robinson answered on its next drive, nosing ahead, 40-36, with about three minutes left.

Surely this one was all out of magic, right?

Surely not. Just four plays later, Groesbeck scored again, and this time Robinson wasn’t coming back, though not for lack of trying. A final field goal at the buzzer failed, and Groesbeck escaped by the thinnest of margins.

“The thing that was kind of funny was our kids just kept playing,” Burrow said. “I just think they believed they could do it, and that was the difference.”

Crawford’s position was a similar one, and their comeback was no less stirring. The Pirates had no points and 66 yards of total offense entering the fourth quarter, and they topped that on one play when Talbert and Daniel Post hooked up for 67 yards and a score.

Crawford scored again on its next possession, which set up a raucous game-winner. McGregor fumbled with 3:26 left, and Post was there again, this time scooping it up off the turf and running back a 20-yard score for a shocking, inexplicable 22-16 lead.

Talbert’s interception in the end zone was a fitting end.

“It was a good high school football game with two teams playing as hard as they could, is basically what it comes down to,” Kelm said. “We made enough plays to win the ballgame. I can’t say enough about our guys.”

The award for strangest score line, without a doubt, goes to Marlin-Connally, which ended with a bizarre 10-2 finish in favor of Marlin.

It’s doubly odd since Marlin scored 42 points in a season-opening win over Salado, but could only manage 10 against a Connally team that surrendered 52 points in a loss to Cameron Yoe last week.

Er, what?

The only immutable fact in Marlin was Connally’s lack of offense. The Cadets have now scored nine points in two games, and their two points Friday were giftwrapped for them.

Marlin, on the other hand, just seems to keep recycling running backs, of which they appear to have dozens.

After unheralded Wilford Sanders rushed for 180 yards last week — he was listed as an offensive lineman in numerous places — Andre Lowe was the hero Friday, and he failed to garner even a mention in the Tribune-Herald ’s 2010 football preview.

A message to Marlin coach Keith Willis: If you need me, I’m a pretty good running back.

wparchman@wacotrib.com

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