A failed fourth down kept A&M Consolidated from completing a solid second-half showing and possibly pulling off a comeback against the highly-touted Temple Wildcats on Friday at Tigerland Stadium.

Trailing 27-22, but having turned the flow of the game their way, the Tigers were unable to pick up a fourth-and-4 at the Wildcat 31 and Temple took advantage, putting together its lone second-half scoring drive, capped by a 10-yard Zeon Leach touchdown run, to remain undefeated at 6-0 overall and 2-0 in District 18-5A. The Tigers dropped to 3-2 and 1-1.

The Tigers ran receiver Burl Carraway on a reverse, but the Wildcats were waiting for it and dropped the senior for a 4-yard loss.

Consol’s best opportunity to extend the nine-play drive came the play before, but quarterback Cade Williams’ pass fell incomplete after he rolled out and appeared to have enough open field in front of him to at least pick up the first down.

“He was starting to cramp and I think if he wasn’t cramping he would have tucked the ball in and who knows what happens,” Consol coach David Raffield said. “He pulled up to throw the football because he was hurting, calves were cramping.”

After Temple went up by 12 with 3 minutes, 9 seconds to play, the Tigers drove to the Wildcats’ 12 but were turned away by an Ashton Logan interception at the goal line.

Consol had an opportunity to upend the Wildcats primarily because of the way its defense came out after the break after surrrendering 27 points in the first half.

“Really and truly it was about tackling,” Raffield said. “We came in and they got a little lower than us and ran a little harder early in the game and I think we figured it out and there is no question in my mind this football team got better tonight.”

It definitely got better in the second half, holding Temple’s Jemiyah Franklin and Leach to a combined 43 yards after they had gained 68 yards each in the first half.

Consol made it a one-possession game late in the third quarter on an 8-yard touchdown run by Robert Franklin.

After having been stopped on downs at the Temple 29 the previous possession, the Tigers put together a 10-play drive that covered 66 yards.

“I thought the offense started fast and furious and the defense we made some mistakes and then

the offense made some mistakes and the defense got hot,” Raffield said. “At the end we just didn’t execute.”

Senior linebacker Jason Jasperson helped the Tigers pull even at 14 on the final play of the first quarter by stepping in front of a Reid Hesse pass at the Consol 48. He returned it to the Wildcat 6, where he was brought down by tight end Zach Rumfield, who was penalized for a horse-collar tackle.

Franklin punched it in from the 3 on the first play after the teams switched ends of the field.

Temple’s backup tailback Leach did the work in the Wildcats’ fourth drive for a touchdown. The junior carried the ball on four of the drive’s five plays. He set the TD up with an 18-yard romp and then bulled his way for eight yards and six points.

Consol got two of those points back after the Wildcats went up 27-14. Tyon Merchant got around the corner and blocked the extra point and Kolby Peel picked it up at the 10 and outran the Cats down the right sideline.

“I tell you what, that was a big play by Jason [Jasperson] in the first half,” Raffield said. “That and the blocked kick to give us a little momentum going into halftime were big.”

Robert Franklin finished with 71 yards rushing and had a 36-yard TD reception, thanks in part to a Carraway block, from Williams to pull Consol even at 7.

For the most part, though, the Wildcats contained Williams, who only had 40 yards rushing and at one point threw eight straight incompletions.

“I’ll tell you what, they have some players on defense that can cover some ground in a hurry,” Raffield said. “There were several times when [Williams] broke loose and they tackled him for a small gain, where in the last few weeks he’s turned that into big gains and that is a credit to their athleticism on defense.”

Temple opened the scoring 3 minutes in after getting the ball on the Tiger 33. Jemiyah Franklin sprinted through a hole in the middle of the line for a 20-yard touchdown.

Consol faces the other District 18-5A first-place team next, making the short trip to Cougar Stadium to face College Station.