By Chad Conine

Tribune-Herald staff writer

University’s effort to rebuild a struggling football program will have to wait at least another week to gain a foothold.

The Trojans committed six first-half turnovers, which helped Ennis end the suspense early in the Friday night game of the H-E-B Heart O’ Texas Kickoff Classic at Waco ISD Stadium. The Lions grabbed a 34-0 lead by halftime on the way to a 48-0 victory.

“Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers — that’s all I can say,” University coach LeRoy Coleman said. “The first four, they capitalized on every one of them.”

University couldn’t fix its turnover problem in the second half as the Trojans finished with four lost fumbles and five interceptions.

Ennis, a 7-4 playoff team in 2006 after a season-opening loss to Midway in the Kickoff Classic, came in trying to regain its place among 4A’s elite teams. Meanwhile, University is just trying to gain some momentum after winning three games in the last two seasons.

The Lions took a step forward on Friday as starting quarterback Chris Lewis threw for 253 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown pass to Cortney Brooks near the end of the second quarter that made it 24-0. Lewis played only one possession of the second half and gave way to backup Deonte McDade.

For now, University is stuck in its slump.

The Trojans’ turnover problems began early as quarterback Randy Price threw an interception on the first offensive snap of the game.

Ennis, though it started its first drive at the Trojan 12, managed only an Ivan Solis 25-yard field goal.

University appeared to gain confidence on its ensuing drive as it moved the chains three times in marching to the Lions’ 16. But on second-and-seven from the Ennis 16, running back Marquise Hughes fumbled trying to get around the left end and Andy Laza recovered for Ennis.

“We had some bright spots,” Coleman said. “But every time we did, we’d do something else to shoot ourselves in the foot.”

Ennis made the most of its second takeaway, going 82 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown. Lions running back Lee King dove across the Trojan goal line from one yard out and Deonte McDade added a two-point conversion run as Ennis went ahead, 11-0.

Then the avalanche began in earnest in the second quarter.

McDade made his second interception of a Price pass and returned it from the University 44 to the 17 to set up a scoring drive.

Lee King, who scored three touchdowns in the first half, capped the drive by waltzing over the goal line from three yards out.

Ennis’ third interception stopped a University possession, but didn’t give the Lions much field position. Randall Tarrant picked off a Price pass at the Lions’ 7, setting up Ennis’ longest scoring march.

Lewis connected with three different receivers to move the Lions across the 50-yard line and in for their third touchdown — the touchdown pass to Brooks.

University fumbled the ensuing kickoff and any hope of getting back in the game seemed to bounce away with the lost ball.

Ennis recovered at the Trojans’ 39 and took only five plays to score a touchdown.

King, the Kickoff Classic offensive player of the game, busted loose for his longest run of the night, a 15-yard touchdown that boosted Ennis’ lead to 31-0.

McDade, the defensive player of the game, took over at quarterback in the third quarter and ran for a pair of touchdowns. He finished with a game-high 82 rushing yards on eight carries.

Aquilla 36, Penelope 22: In Aquilla, the Cougars scored 16 points in the final quarter for a come-from-behind win against the Wolverines.

With the rain pouring, David Duncan scored from 14 yards out and Zach Tadlock sealed the win with a nine-yard run.

A: (2nd): Josh Jordan 13 inteception return (Dalton Hester kick); P: Keith Williams 1 run (Jonathan Moreno kick); P: Kyle Cox 6 pass from Moreno (kick failed); A (3rd): David Duncan 11 run (kick failed); A: Jason Hamner 5 interception return (kick failed); P: Anthony Cook 42 run (Moreno kick). A (4th): Duncan 14 run (Hester kick); A: Zach Tadlock 9 run (Hester kick).

Ennis 48, University 0

Ennis 11 23 14 0 — 48

University 0 0 0 0 — 0

First quarter

Ennis — Ivan Solis 25 FG, 10:03

Ennis — Lee King 2 run (Deonte McDade run), 1:16

Second quarter

Ennis— King 3 run (kick failed), 7:37

Ennis — Cortney Brooks 26 pass from Chris Lewis (Solis kick),

2:50

Ennis — King 15 run (Solis kick), 1:56

Ennis — Solis 27 FG, 0:00

Third quarter

Ennis — McDade 24 run (Solis kick), 6:45

Ennis — McDade 26 run (Solis kick), 5:01

Ennis University

First Downs 25 10

Rushes-Yards 39-227 29-126

Comp-Att-Int 17-26-0 6-17-5 Passing Yards 253 84

Total Yards 480 210

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 4-4

Penalties-Yards 4-35 3-20

Punts-Avg 5-30.4 4-36.3

Individual Stats

Rushing

Ennis — McDade 8-82, 2 TD; Lewis 9-42; King 8-33, 3 TDs; Lamjarick Malone 6-35; Sam Pettigrew 4-28; Kendrick Wafford 2-4; Kelvin Pace 2-3.

University — Marquise Hughes 12-63; Randy Price 6-39; Darius Erwin 6-14; Ronald Smith 3-4; Tyrell Dever 1-8.

Passing

Ennis — Lewis 17-25-0, 227 yards, TD; McDade 0-2-0.

University — Price 6-17-5 126 yards.

Receiving

Ennis — Kyle Guinyard 7-120; Brooks 5-87, TD; Jeremy Smith 2-16; Malone 2-21; Michael Guinyard 1-9.

University — Vencent Finley 2-70; Hughes 1-8; Demarcus Hicks 3-6.

Other scores:

Copperas Cove 33, SA Central 0

Crawford 42, Jarrell 12

Salado 28, West 21

Reicher 27, Franklin 13