By John Werner

Tribune-Herald staff writer

ENNIS — Perhaps Waco High isn’t satisfied with that No. 2 ranking.

With Jarred Salubi and Bronshae’Keon Dugas both rushing for more than 100 yards, the Lions blew past perennial power Ennis, 38-20, Friday night at Lion Memorial Stadium.

Waco High (2-0) dominated the game more than the score indicated, taking a 38-6 lead into the fourth quarter before Ennis (1-1) scored two touchdowns against the backup defense.

This is the same Ennis team that powered past University last week, 48-0.

“The polls are pretty correct — Waco High is a great team,” said Ennis coach Sam Harrell. “They’re deserving of their ranking. They sock it to you on offense, but I believe their key is their defense.”

Ennis quarterback Chris Lewis hit 23 of 43 passes for 215 yards out of the spread offense, but had trouble getting any consistent drives going against Waco High’s fast, hard-hitting defense.

The Lions forced three Ennis fumbles and made an interception. Victor Johnson returned a fumble for a 57-yard third-quarter touchdown.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” said Waco High coach Johnny Tusa. “They did a tremendous job against a team that put up 48 points last week. We’ve got athletic guys over there and our coaches came up with a great scheme.”

Waco High didn’t try to fool Ennis offensively. The Lions simply ran the ball down their throats as Salubi rushed for 142 yards on 18 carries and Dugas picked up 122 on just 11 attempts. The Lions finished with 402 yards rushing, and the only drawback was five turnovers.

“If there was ever a Mr. Outside and a Mr. Inside, those two guys fit the bill,” Tusa said. “Our offensive line is growing up fast and opening up some holes. We were looking for progress tonight and we got it.”

With Salubi and Dugas trading carries, Waco High drove 80 yards for its first touchdown in the first quarter.

Dugas opened the drive with a 13-yard blast up the middle and set up the touchdown with a 20-yard run to the 11.

On the next play, Salubi looked like he was stopped up the middle, but spun off Ennis’ defenders and broke loose for an 11-yard touchdown with 4:47 remaining in the first quarter.

By the end of the first quarter, Waco High had collected 133 yards rushing and moved in position for another score when quarterback Clarence Willis got loose for 21 yards to the 10.

But after Salubi picked up seven yards to the 3, the drive stalled and Ernesto Guevara nailed a 21-yard field goal to give Waco High a 10-0 lead with 10:16 remaining in the second quarter.

After picking up just five yards total offense in the first quarter, Ennis put together its best drive of the night by moving 77 yards on 14 plays while converting four third-down plays.

Waco High missed another scoring opportunity when Willis fumbled at Ennis’ 28, but Ennis gave the ball back when Waco High’s Andrew Weaver picked up a fumbled snap and ran to the 20.

Two plays later, Willis hit Denzel Mitchell for a 20-yard touchdown down the right sideline to open up a 17-6 lead with 54 seconds left in the first half.

Waco High put together its most impressive drive of the game on its first possession of the third quarter by moving 93 yards for a touchdown to open up a 24-6 lead.

After an offensive penalty, Dugas exploded up the middle for 55 yards.

Waco High kept coming up with big plays as Salubi popped loose for 10 yards, Kollin Kahler hit Denzel Mitchell for 10 and Willis hit Keyshun Russell for 14.

Dugas finished off the drive with a two-yard touchdown run to push Waco High’s lead to 24-6 with 4:32 left in the third quarter.

It quickly got more lopsided when Johnson picked up Kelvin Pace’s fumble and raced down the right sideline for a 57-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.

Ennis fumbled again on its next possession and Waco High’s Ladedrek Williams recovered.

Waco High’s backs went to work again as Salubi ran for 14 yards and Willis gained 17 before Salubi broke away down the left sideline for 34. Salubi finished it off with a five-yard run to push Waco High’s lead to 38-6 with nine seconds left in the third quarter.

jwerner@wacotrib.com

Waco High 38, Ennis 20

Waco High 7 10 21 0 — 38

Ennis 0 6 0 14 — 20

First Quarter

WH: Jarred Salubi 11 run (Ernesto Guevara kick), 4:47.

Second quarter

Waco — Guevara 21 FG, 10:16.

Ennis — Cortney Brooks 3 pass from Chris Lewis (Kick failed), 6:12.

Waco — Denzel Mitchell 20 pass from Clarence Willis (Guevara kick), 54 seconds.

Third quarter

Waco — Bronsha Dugas 2 run (Guevara kick), 4:32.

Waco — Victor Johnson 57 fumble return (Guevara kick), 2:13.

Waco — Salubi 5 run (Guevara kick), 9 seconds.

Fourth quarter

Ennis — Lee King 1 run (Colby Threet kick), 10:11.

Ennis — King 7 run (Threet kick), 4:01.

Waco High Ennis

First Downs 22 17

Rushes-Yards 54-402 18-43

Comp-Att-Int 4-8-1 23-43-1 Passing Yards 61 215

Total Yards 463 258

Fumbles-Lost 6-4 3-3

Penalties-Yards 8-62 6-50

Punts-Avg 1-51 6-34.5

Individual Stats

Rushing

Waco — Jarred Salubi 18-142, 2 TDs; Bronsha Dugas 11-122, TD; Charles Simon 4-5; Clarence Willis 9-74; Kollin Kahler 1-1; Keyshun Russell 9-45; Toylon Clark 5-13.

Ennis — Chris Lewis 6-1; Lee King 5-16, 2 TDs; Lamjarick Malone 7-26.

Passing

Waco — Clarence Willis 2-5-1, 34 yards, 1 TD; Kollin Kahler 2-3-0, 27 yards.

Ennis — Chris Lewis 23-43-1, 215 yards, 1 TD.

Receiving

Waco — Denzel Mitchell 3-47, 1 TD; Keyshun Russell 1-14.

Ennis — Cortney Brooks 8-60, TD; Kyle Guinyard 3-46; Jeremy Smith 2-21; Kelvin Pace 2-minus 1, Lamjarick Malone 5-71; Lee King 3-18.