By Brice Cherry

Tribune-Herald youth sports editor

At most schools, the fullback position gets very little love. Perhaps every once in a while the coaches will throw you a bone in a short-yardage situation, but most of the time you’re little more than a glorified blocker.

That’s not the case at Waco High, however, as the fullback spot for the Lions is all about love — brotherly love, to be exact.

Senior B.K. “Bryan” Dugas mans the starting fullback position for the Lions, and when he heads to the bench for a breather, his younger brother sophomore Bronshae’Keon Dugas takes his place. The Dugas brothers have kept opposing defenders duly gassed, as one or the other — or both — has scored at least one touchdown in all five of Waco High’s playoff wins heading into tonight’s 4A Division II state final against La Marque.

“If you play fullback in our offense, you’re going to get the ball a lot anytime we get inside the 5 (yard line),” Waco High coach Johnny Tusa said. “It’s absolutely vital that we’ve got somebody at that position who will take it hard at the defense, and they obviously play a major role.”

Just how major? Consider this — together the Dugas brothers have combined for 1,246 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns, including 10 TDs in the postseason.

Talk to them, however, and the Dugases reveal that they are as altruistic as a soup kitchen. In that sense, they are fullbacks to the bone.

“We have a wonderful offensive line,” B.K. said. “They’ve been doing good all year and with all our backs, we’ve got like 4,000 yards (actually 3,770) put together, something like that. We’re doing real good, but it’s all our offensive line. I give all the props to them.”

Listen to the ever-effusive B.K. talk, and it’s easy to see why so many Waco High players and coaches — including Tusa — point to the senior as a team leader, both on and off the field.

“He stays on a very even keel, and he does a great job of keeping the huddle settled and keeping (quarterback) Bryan Smith focused,” Tusa said. “He’s just got a real giving heart, and one of the things we’ve talked about ad nauseam with this team all year is that if you don’t worry about who gets the credit, ultimately we all will.”

Not surprisingly, Bronshae’Keon seems to have followed in his big brother’s footsteps — if not outran them. Asked which of the duo possessed more speed, both brothers shared a knowing laugh.

“He does,” B.K. said, pointing to Bronshae’Keon. “He’s got a little more speed than me. I’m more power.”

Big brother B.K. also has a six-touchdown edge on his sibling, though Bronshae’Keon leads in rushing yards and per-carry average, giving each some ammunition in the dinner-table bragging war at home.

“It’s been fun seeing him out there scoring, because you know it’s going to motivate me to go score, too,” Bronshae’Keon said. “Because when we go home he’s going to be talking about it.”

“We’ll make fun of each other, but there’s no rivalry,” B.K. said. “We’re just having fun.”

The genuine love and appreciation the brothers share for one another is evident in their words and actions. They grew up in typical rough-and-tumble fashion, playing countless games of “Throw It Up, Beat ‘Em Up” in the yard with their older brother Josh Akers, a former Waco High quarterback.

Now they’re having a high old time beating up on opposing defenders. In a less equitable division of labor, any of the Waco High backs — including junior tailback Jarred Salubi and his sophomore backup Charles Silmon — could probably top the 2,000-yard rushing mark by himself.

But the Lions’ spread-the-wealth approach has yielded plenty of paydirt deposits for everyone.

“We told Bronshae back in the spring that he was going to be the backup (to B.K.) but that we wanted to still get him eight to 10 touches a game,” Tusa said. “It’s a nice luxury when you’ve got two people at a position. ... If you’ve got a defense tired and then you come in with the fresh legs, you might have a step that the other guy didn’t have.”

“Switching in and out, that helps,” Bronshae’Keon said. “It’s better doing it that way — it gives us fresh legs. That’s hard to deal with for defenses.”

B.K. hopes to take his own fresh legs to a college team next season, and Tusa said that despite the senior’s smallish size — he’s 5-9 and a muscular 195 pounds — he still should find some willing suitors, given his speed, toughness and willingness to obey any command.

But even as he forges forward toward a collegiate future, B.K. knows that for once in his life he’ll be casting constant glances over his shoulder.

“Oh, of course, I’ll definitely be back. I’ve got to show my brother love,” B.K. said. “I love him so much and I enjoy watching him play.”

bcherry@wacotrib.com

757-5714