Haltom topples Martin: Vudrico Roberson leads Buffaloes to victory in close shootout

Coach Jason Tucker had been telling his Haltom High School football squad they could compete with Arlington Martin before Oct. 19’s game at Choctaw Stadium.

Even the Buffalos’ veteran coach probably didn’t foresee the shootout that was coming, but behind the rushing of Vudrico Roberson and Keenan Jackson, they escaped with a 56-49 win in a District 8-6A game.

Roberson had a career game with 25 carries for 373 yards and 5 touchdowns — easily eclipsing his previous best of 206 yards and 3 touchdowns against Boswell.

“We knew it be a hard game and our coaches told us coming into that it was going to be a dog fight, but we had a chance,” Roberson said. “That is what we did. It was definitely a shootout.”

It was the first meeting between the two schools since 2009 and was the first win versus the Warriors since 2005.

Roberson put the punctuation mark on his performance with a 50-yard touchdown run with 1:38 left in the game, one play after Martin (2-5, 2-2) pulled within 49-42.

The Buffalos (4-3, 2-2) shifted before the snap, and Roberson got a pitch, went to his right, cut past the defense, and dashed 50 yards for a touchdown. He waved to the Martin crowd after crossing the end zone.

“That was game, I was calling it,” Roberson said.

Martin dropped back-to-back district games for the first time since 2016. The Warriors kept it close with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Squires to Tranton Miles with 59 seconds left.

The Warriors tried an onside kick but didn’t recover it, with the ball going out of bounds.

Martin burned all three timeouts trying to stop the clock, but Jackson ran for 8 yards on a 4th-and-3 situation to ice a third straight win for Haltom. Jackson finished with 23 carries for 137 yards and a pair of scores.

“I think we’re the only team in the district with less passes than them, but didn’t think it would be a shootout,” Tucker said. “But it was an interesting game. Both offenses were tough to stop tonight.

“Our kids stayed resilient. Our offense did a great job. Our defense got a couple of picks, which really helped. They’re a big physical team, and I knew we were going to cause turnovers to win the game, and we were able to do that.”

The four wins for Haltom doubled last year’s win total and matched what the program has won in the past three years — a combined 4-24 with an 0-10 season.

Tucker, hired in 2014, is now in a position to guide his team to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and could secure Haltom’s first winning season since 2018. That includes playing with a backup quarterback in sophomore Gage Seely.

Having backs like Jackson and Roberson has helped.

“We have been really run-orientated, but Gage has done a good job of getting us in and out of the huddle and being a game manager for us,” Tucker said. “That is what we are asking. He’s a sophomore and doing a hell of a job.

“Our O-line did a good job and tonight and our two running backs did good. It was a really good night for the offense. In games we have been successful this year, we lived in third and short and been successful. I know we run the ball, even when they stack our box and offensive coordinator (Courte Gilbert) has done a great job of mixing formations up in short situations.”

The 59 points for Haltom was the most since 52 points in a loss against Weatherford in 2019.

The game featured 70 points in the first half, with each scoring 35 points in the opening 24 minutes.

Martin went ahead 14-0 early behind Javian Jones-Priest who ran for 59-yard and 30-yard touchdowns.

After an interception, Roberson’s second touchdown tied the game at 21. His third was a 93-yard run — where he broke a tackle at the Martin 30-yard line — to break a 28-28 tie.

With 8 seconds left in the half, Squires connected with Brody Williams to tie the game to make it 35-35.

An interception by Brian Connors gave Haltom the ball back and Jackson’s 1-yard touchdown capped a short 15-yard drive. Roberson ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 49-35 with 3:19 left in the third.

In week nine, Martin travels to South Grand Prairie, while Haltom will host Arlington Bowie, a team that has defeated Martin and Arlington in consecutive weeks.