By Brice Cherry

Tribune-Herald youth sports editor

It’s not a game film that will end up in the Smithsonian, but to University coach LeRoy Coleman, the end result was a thing of beauty.

Behind a raucous running attack and a helmet-rattling defensive charge, University managed to overcome six turnovers and 14 penalties to turn back Lampasas, 28-14, Friday night at Waco ISD Stadium.

It was University’s first win since a 14-10 victory over Connally on Sept. 29 of last year, and even with the Trojans’ hiccups, it brought a sigh of relief to Coleman.

“We’ll take the win,” said the coach, whose team lost to Ennis, 48-0, in its opener last week. “I’m just so happy for these kids, because they continue to work hard and do what we ask them to do.”

Friday’s game was played nearly three months after Flag Day, but that didn’t stop the Trojans (1-1) and Badgers (0-1) from celebrating in their own unique way. The teams combined for 26 penalties for 173 yards, including four straight plays at one point in the second half.

“Early on (Lampasas) was calling out our snap count, and they got penalized for it,” Coleman said. “(The flags) just seemed to snowball from there. We’ve just got to learn to be more disciplined.”

Like a few random supermodel contestants in the Miss Siberia contest, University had its share of beautiful moments.

After falling behind 7-0 midway through the first quarter, the Trojans bounced back on their next drive, motoring 77 yards behind the running of Marquise Hughes. Hughes simply would not be denied, shedding three would-be Lampasas tackles en route to a 27-yard touchdown run to cap the march.

Despite battling leg cramps, Hughes finished with 83 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.

The Trojans nearly took the lead midway through the second quarter, but Lampasas do-it-all senior snagged Randy Price’s bomb for Vencent Finley just inside the goal line.

But University regained its composure to swipe the lead just before halftime, as Price sliced up the gut on an 11-yard scoring jaunt with 1:24 to play before the break.

Whether by design or necessity, Price displayed nimble feet all night long, finishing with 71 yards on 15 carries.

“Some of those were by design, some weren’t,” Price said, matter-of-factly.

“Randy definitely has the ability to scramble and make something happen,” Coleman said. “He really played well.”

Eschewing the run at nearly every opportunity, the spread-happy Badgers were erratic on offense, tallying only three first downs in the second half. But Lampasas still managed to knot the score at 14 with 3:47 left in the third after University’s Rondal Smith bobbled a punt at his own 7-yard line, then fumbled again trying to regain control, leading to a recovery in the end zone by Lampasas defender Stephen Eskola.

The Trojans hung tough, thanks to the emerging presence of Price, a 6-foot-3 sophomore who seems to grow with each passing game. Fifty-seven seconds into the fourth quarter, he hurled University back into the lead, scrambling left until he hit a wall of Badgers, then retreating back to the right side of the field before gunning a 33-yard bullet to Jarrod Hall for the score.

“There was nothing there on the left, so I just went with what I had,” Price said. “Fortunately (Hall) saw me and he came back to the other side of the field.”

University’s defense made a gigantic impact down the stretch as well. Smith, who played a brilliant game in the defensive backfield, set up the Trojans’ final touchdown with leaping interception at the Badger 39, and the Trojans forced turnovers on Lampasas’ next two possessions with bruise-inducing hits.

Lampasas sophomore quarterback Vann Millican completed just 8 of 22 passes for 86 yards and a pair of picks before leaving the game with five minutes to play after a vicious stick from University’s Antonio Neal. His backup, Ryder Brown, didn’t fare much better, hitting on 1 of 8 attempts for seven yards and an interception.

University 28, Lampasas 14

Lampasas 7 0 7 0 — 14

University 6 8 0 14 — 28

First quarter

Lampasas— Brode DuBose 14 run (Sam Barbero kick), 4:47

University — Marquise Hughes 27 run (kick failed), 2:30

Second quarter

University — Randy Price 11 run (Demarcus Hicks pass from Price), 1:24

Third quarter

Lampasas— Stephen Eskola fumble recovery in end zone (Barbero kick), 3:47

Fourth quarter

University— Jarrod Hall 33 pass from Price (Dominick Gutierrez kick), 11:03

University — Hughes 10 run (Gutierrez kick), 9:11

Lampasas University

First Downs 7 16

Rushes-Yards 18-33 50-242

Comp-Att-Int 8-30-3 9-15-3 Passing Yards 93 114

Total Yards 116 356

Fumbles-Lost 3-3 4-3

Penalties-Yards 12-65 14-108

Punts-Avg 6-32.5 2-26.5

Individual Stats

Rushing

Lampasas — Brode Dubose 3-59, TD; Ryan Abbott 5-6; Melvin Batiste 5-11; Vann Millican 3-(minus-30); Ryder Brown 2-(minus-13)

University — Darius Erwin 20-70; Randy Price 15-71, TD; Marquise Hughes 12-83, 2 TDs; Alvin Landrum 3-18

Passing

Lampasas — Vann Millican 7-22-2, 86 yards; Ryder Brown 1-8-1, 7 yards

University — Randy Price 9-15-3, 114 yards, 1 TD

Receiving

Lampasas — Aaron Reyna 2-28; Seth Fry 2-22; Jarrod Bowen 2-37; Ryan Abbott 1-4; Cole Ball 1-3

University — Vencent Finley 3-17; Marquise Hughes 2-24; Demarcus Hicks 1-20; Darius Erwin 1-20; Jarrod Hall 1-33, TD