Nick Talbot: A Friday night full of surprises Posted On: Sunday, Oct. 18 2009 05:36 AM They are the moments when everything just seems to click.

The lights are turned on, the demons fade away and problems that were once there seem to dissolve.

It can come on by hitting a big 43-yard pass, by finding a second option in the offense or by the emergence of a star.

Each happened Friday.

All caught me, and maybe even the teams that it happened to, off guard. I had to check the calendar to make sure no one was playing a trick on me. Sure enough, Halloween is still a couple of weeks away.

Everything that happened really happened. Florence did score 70 points. Harker Heights did upset Temple on a gutsy call in overtime and Lampasas finally won a district game.

I don't know which one was the most surprising to me.

Florence had only scored 30 or more points four times since 2006. Against the Cougars they took out years of frustration.

After Jarrell scored to start the game, Doak Hensley passed to Emilio Ramirez for 43 yards and off the Buffaloes went. They

scored 70 straight points and strangled many of the demons that had held down the Florence program for so long.

Coming in they had lost 13 straight district games. They had only won two of their last 14 games. They had not made the playoffs since 2001, and the '01 squad was the first Florence playoff team since 1958.

The program needed turning around.

For all the miserable football in Buffaloes' lore, that district losing streak was not the worst among these three teams. The Badgers had lost 15 straight District 25-4A games before Friday.

Coming into the season they had lost 20 straight games. They ended that one by defeating Manor in the season opener.

Edward Hall and the way he fits into Joey McQueen's slot-T offense put an end to that streak, too.

The senior running back rushed for 234 yards and four touchdowns as the Badgers defeated Dripping Springs.

Funny enough, the Badgers might have gained the confidence they needed to win in a 31-point loss.

That particular loss was to Lake Travis, and it was closer than almost anyone would have predicted. Late in the game, the two-time defending champion Cavaliers were only up 24-7.

Maybe that was the Badgers' moment of belief, because they took it to Dripping Springs, scoring the first 21 points.

They were not the only ones to get off to a quick start Friday.

For the first five games of the season Harker Heights' offense was Kerry Sloan and only Kerry Sloan. As a result, they started 0-5 because no matter how much he did, something else went wrong.

Sometimes it was giving up a big play on defense, other times it was a mistake on offense.

Brandon Bullock has struggled when he was counted on to move the ball. He had rushed for a mere 185 yards in six games.

Then, boom, on one play it all seemed to work. Bullock broke free for a 50-yard touchdown run against Temple and gave the Knights what they desperately needed – a second weapon to draw the defense's attention.

It all happened in a matter of seconds on the football field.

But, it took a lot longer in reality with hard practices, visiting players at their homes, getting the community to buy into the program and building a belief that it can be a winner.

There is still a long way to go for all three of these teams.

None of these programs will more than likely make the playoffs this season. Harker Heights still has an outside chance. At 2-2 in District 12-5A, they will have to pull off one more upset to slip into that third or fourth spot. And Florence and Lampasas' roads ahead are too tough for anyone to predict they will make the field this season.

For them to move forward, they cannot lose momentum in the last three games.

Nor can they fail to realize how crucial the offseason has become. The road is long ahead for the Badgers, Buffaloes and Knights.

But for now, in this fleeting instant, all three programs have a future and that is more than they had just a moment ago.

Contact Nick Talbot at ntalbot@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7569.