San Marcos — Momentum comes and it goes. A hard fact the Hays Rebels learned Friday night against Austin-Anderson.

It seemed to be on the Rebels’ side after a little more than a half in the team’s home opener at Bob Shelton Stadium. And with a 28-14 lead early in the third quarter it looked as if the Rebels just might use that momentum to run away with a lopsided win against the Class 5A Trojans.

Instead, momentum quickly shifted sides when consecutive Rebel turnovers allowed Anderson to post two quick touchdowns in the third before adding two more in the fourth to rally for 41-28 win over Hays.

Hays looked to be on the right track when Michael Romero broke free for a 25-yard touchdown run with six minute, four seconds left in the third quarter, giving  the Rebels what seemed to be a comfortable lead.

The cozy feeling quickly wore off, however, thanks to a bad punt snap and an onside kick recovered by the Trojans. Anderson quickly turned the miscues into game-tying touchdowns, allowing the tide swiftly switch in the Trojans’ favor.

The fumbled snap sent Rebel punter Caleb Kimbro scrambling, as he was brought down at the Rebels’ eight-yard line. Three plays later, Anderson running back Devonte Dewitty dove over the right side of his offensive line for a 5-yard touchdown that trimmed Hays’ lead to 28-21.

Anderson then caught the Rebels off guard with a successful onside kick on the ensuing kickoff. After a hard hit by Anderson’s Connor Sheehan, the ball fell loose and into the hands of Trojan Justin Clark at Hays’ 31-yard line. Two plays later, Anderson quarterback Sam Wehmeyer connected with Clark for a 32-yard scoring strike, evening the score at 28-all with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.

“Once we got back in the football game and got it tied, momentum really swung our way and it kept going in our direction,” Anderson head coach Mike Reiland said. “Our kids kept just playing hard and kept plugging away.”

Anderson (2-0) continued to ride the wave of momentum on its next drive, scoring and taking the lead, 35-28, with a 5-yard touchdown run from Dewitty with 7:39 left in the game.

Hays’ (1-1) hope of tying the score on its next drive came to an end when running back Torrance Smith botched a hand-off out of the Wildcat formation, allowing Anderson to recover the ball at the Rebels’ 44-yard line with 5:10 left in the game.

Minutes later, Anderson sealed the deal when Adam Hochman broke through for a 6-yard score, giving the Trojans the 41-28 win.

“We played hard, but we just made too many mistakes,” Hays head coach Bob Shelton said.

While the botched punt and onside kick changed the tide, Shelton felt like his team had a good chance of taking control of the contest after a fumble at the five-yard line by Dewitty prevented the Trojans from scoring with five minutes left in the third quarter. But the Rebel offense was unable to move the ball past the 22, where Hays encountered its muddled attempt to punt.

“We got a big break when they fumbled down near the goalline, but we couldn’t do anything and gave it right back to them,” Shelton said. “We could never get anything going again after that.”

Hays jumped out to a 14-0 lead thanks to pair of big runs from Torrance Smith and Romero. Smith broke free for a 46-yard touchdown with 8:32 left in the first, while Romero came through with a 79-yard score moments later.

Anderson posted its first score with 7:46 remaining in the second quarter when Wehmeyer found Clark for a 14-yard touchdown reception, but Hays countered on the following drive with a 12-yard score from Smith for a 21-7 lead with 2:30 left in the half.

That was just enough time for Anderson to throw in another score. Wehmeyer effectively managed the clock with a number of outside passes, using 12 plays to move the Trojans 69 yards, capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass from Wehmeyer to Clark, trimming the Rebels’ lead to 21-14 at the half.

Romero’s 25-yard run put Hays up 28-14 on the Rebels’ first series of the second half before Anderson countered with four unanswered scores.

“They’re a good solid team and I think they starter to wear us down offensively,” Shelton said.

Hays is back in action Friday when the Rebels host San Marcos for a 7:30 p.m. game.