Even as things began to get nervously close, even as Lady Luck seemed to find Iraan again, and again, and again in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, New Deal coach Ron Mayo remained increasingly calm.

“I had a feeling we were fixin’ to stop them and take that step forward,” Mayo said.

New Deal's Stephen Bryant returns to lead the Lions in the Division II Region 1 semifinal against Sunray. (John A. Bowersmith / Avalanche-Journal)

That’s the confidence Mayo has had in his defense all season, and rightfully so. Then Josh Nelson did step forward – or, at least, step in front of a Drew Fellows pass and took about 50 steps forward, all the way to the end zone for a game-clinching 55-yard interception return for a touchdown that sealed a 28-17 win and broke the chains that had kept the fifth-ranked Lions from advancing past that round in three of the last four years.

That’s how a defense that has allowed fewer than 100 yards per game in 2009 and just 55 points all season has helped put the Lions (12-0) into the Class 1A Division II regional semifinals for the first time since 2006 where they’ll face Sunray (9-2) at 7 p.m. today at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium in Canyon.

“The team is feeling good and going good,” Nelson said. “We just have to take care of business this week and get the job done. We’re excited about getting past the area round and we feel good about going up against Sunray.”

But the final score didn’t show just how dominant the Lions had been up to the final five minutes of the game. They’d picked off Fellows twice already and hadn’t allowed a point since the Braves scored a field goal on their opening drive of the game. And despite the late-game surge, Iraan finished with just 223 yards total offense.

New Deal, meanwhile, had a drive stopped at the Iraan 10 and another that came up short as the first half ended. Iraan got back into it by scoring and recovering a couple of onside kicks.

“I don’t know that they felt frustration,” Mayo said. “I think they just said they’d had enough and they were going to stop them, and they did. Josh Nelson came up with the big play and on the return I was like ‘Take a knee, take a knee, don’t fumble – no, go and score!’ Even when they had the ball I still felt like we were going to win the game.”

That feeling hasn’t just been there for one game or one half, it’s been there all season. And now, with quarterback/safety Stephen Bryant back on the field after missing two games with a shoulder injury, the Lions have all the weapons at their disposal necessary to make an even deeper run in the postseason.

Led by running back Larry Dennis’ 1,484 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, the New Deal ground attack continues to mow through opponents. The Lions rushed for 307 yards against Iraan, and Bryant adds another dimension with his 694 yards and 11 TDs. But Mayo insists the Lions can put the ball in the air when they have to, they’re just not going to until they have to.

“They have all the intangibles,” Mayo said of his team. “They’ve got the (offensive) line, the running backs, the quarterback, the receivers. We’ve got all the intangibles to make a long run.”

So, however, does Sunray under first-year head coach James McAlister. The Bobcats are also battle-tested having finished third in the same district with defending Division I state champion Canadian and defending Division II title winner Stratford, which represent the Bobcats’ only two losses on the year.

McAlister, formerly at Center Point near San Antonio, brought in a multiple-set offense in which he says the players are just now finding their comfort zone.

“Honestly, I think we’re peaking at the right time,” McAlister said. “The more comfortable they’ve become the more aggressive they can be. Early on we weren’t as comfortable and there was a lot of thinking on the field. Now we’re able to play faster and play better.”

Sunray’s offense is much like New Deal in its two main weapons are running back Colton Wilson and quarterback Ty Dooley. Wilson has rushed for just more than 1,700 yards on the season and 5,200 in his career. Dooley has spent time at fullback while nursing an injury but still has 1,200 passing yards and 800 rushing yards.

And even in its losses (34-28 vs. Canadian, 21-16 vs. Stratford), the Bobcats have been able to score and move the football, so it could be another stern test for the Lions defense.

“I hope there’s still that fear (of losing) in them,” Mayo said. “I’d be greatly disappointed if we lost on Friday, and it could happen. Sunray’s obviously a good team and there are no bad teams left. But we want to make a run and I hope we haven’t relaxed.

“Friday was a big win but we still have to take care of business. They were all focused and it was like any other Monday and they want to keep going.”

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CLASS 1A

Division II Region I Semifinal

No. 5 New Deal vs. Sunray

7 p.m., Kimbrough Memorial Stadium, Canyon

Radio: KJAK 92.7 FM (Lubbock); tsrnsports.com

Records: New Deal 12-0; Sunray 9-2

New Deal vs. Sunray

beat Iraan 28-17 Last week beat Wheeler 20-14

331.6 Total offense 428.9

96.6 Total defense 186.5

42.8 Points scored 35.2

4.6 Points allowed 12.9

QB Stephen Bryant Player to watch RB Colton Wilson

(694 rushing yards, 11 TDs) (1,766 rushing yards, 26 TDs)