BYRON – A group of Tigers is called an ambush. Byron lived up to that moniker Friday night against Dixon.

The top-ranked (Class 3A) Tigers scored on two long runs and cashed in two turnovers for touchdowns in a 28-7 win over the No. 8 (4A) Dukes at Everett Stine Field.

“It was a night of big plays, and give credit to our defense for only giving up 7; that was big, too, and creating some turnovers,” Byron coach Jeff Boyer said. “A lot of big plays, but we have to do a better job of sustaining drives.”

Dixon (1-1, 1-1 BNC) opened with a 45-yard run by Landon Knigge, but turned the ball over on downs four plays later. Then Byron quarterback Andrew Talbert faked a handoff up the middle and ran around left end for a 70-yard scoring sprint on the Tigers’ first play.

“Momentum is just directly right on our side out of the gate, and that’s huge,” Talbert said. “We kind of wanted to set the tone for the game, and that was a great start.

“The line blocked great, great, great. They’re newer this year, but they stood up in a big role and blocked their butts off, they really did.”

Landon Bonvallet took the first play of the Tigers’ third series 67 yards for a score as Byron (2-0, 2-0 BNC) seized all the momentum.

Talbert then intercepted a pass and returned it to the Dukes’ 10-yard line, with Caden Considine scoring two plays later, giving the Tigers a 21-0 lead with 4:29 left before halftime.

“Two big plays by them in the first half. We just didn’t make a play, then had an opportunity to score on a long throw, and it kind of bounced right off of two guys. But you can’t have those mistakes against a really good football team,” Dixon coach Jared Shaner said.

Dixon came out with some intensity after halftime, forcing a Byron three-and-out before a 15-play, 74-yard scoring drive, capped by a Knigge 4-yard TD run. Then the Dukes’ defense forced another three-and-out, and it looked like they had the momentum.

“It definitely changed the low to a high, which gave us good motivation to keep pushing, because we really wanted to win this game,” Knigge said. “Not the outcome that we wanted, but we still did good things. The o-line, the defensive line, we all fought. I knew it was going to be a hard-fought game, and for us to keep pushing, that shows us that we still have something in us.”

But Talbert turned the tide back to the Tigers, scooping up a fumbled handoff and returning it 44 yards for a 28-7 lead.

“We were struggling right out of the gate in the second half, and we couldn’t get anything going on offense. That scoop-and-score really set the tone back on our side and gave us the momentum back,” Talbert said. “We were able to get a couple of stops and run the clock out.”

The Dukes had a nine-play drive and an eight-play drive that ended with fourth-down stops by the Byron defense to close out the game.

“I felt like we kind of bent, but we didn’t break; that’s a good way to describe it,” Boyer said of his defense.

Knigge rushed for 204 yards and a TD on 27 carries, and Dixon outgained the Tigers 280-245 while holding a 62-25 edge in offensive plays and a 12-minute advantage in time of possession. But the big plays were too much for the Dukes to overcome: 137 yards came on the two touchdown runs, and Byron scored 14 points off of turnovers.

“We got some momentum in the third quarter, looked like we were going to go down and score again, and we end up fumbling on a pulled handoff and they scooped and scored, and that was a killer right there,” Shaner said. “I thought our kids played hard and competed. I was happy with the way we came out in the second half, just made a few too many mistakes.”

Talbert had eight rushes for 87 yards, Bonvallet added 68 yards on two carries, and Considine chipped in 37 yards in five rushes as Byron did not throw a pass.

The second half was marred by a couple of Tiger injuries. Considine left and didn’t return after getting up wobbly following a tackle, then Kaden McGough – who was just cleared to play this week – suffered a severe leg injury early in the fourth quarter. He was taken off the field on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to the hospital; players for both teams took a knee on their respective sidelines as the stadium fell silent.

“I feel terrible for him,” Dixon coach Jared Shaner said. “We wish him all the best.”

“He’s our brother, and you feel for him,” Talbert said. “We’ve got to keep him in our prayers.”