By John Werner

Tribune-Herald staff writer

BEDFORD — The busiest man on the field for Waco High on Friday night was punter Kollin Kahler — and that’s nowhere close to the game plan Lions coach Johnny Tusa had in mind.

Limping into Pennington Field with a banged-up squad, the Lions limped out with a 27-7 loss to perennial Class 5A power Euless Trinity.

Playing without star running back Jarred Salubi and five other injured players, the Lions lost their first game after three straight wins. Ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, Waco High struggled all night as it picked up just 111 yards and didn’t cross midfield until 2:31 remained in the game.

Kahler was a fixture for the Lions, punting nine times for a 37.1-yard average.

“Our guys weren’t blind to the fact that we were missing some guys,” Tusa said. “But you’ve got to do what you can with what you have. We were playing a 5A power that has a better defense than last year. You can’t throw with people hanging all over your arm and you can’t run when they’re penetrating into your line.”

Trinity (2-1) bombed the Lions, 44-7, last season at Waco ISD Stadium. Without a healthy squad, the Lions didn’t have much of a chance Friday night.

Waco High’s run defense was superb, holding the Trojans to 103 yards on 38 carries. But Trinity quarterback Denarius McGhee hit 10 of 16 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown, and his main target was Tyree Tucker who caught five passes for 140 yards.

“Our defense was first rate all night,” Tusa said. “But Trinity had good field position the whole game. We couldn’t get out of the shadow of our own goal.”

The Trojans came out playing inspired football after last week’s 30-3 loss to Odessa Permian. But Trinity coach Steve Lineweaver believes it would have been a much closer game if Salubi hadn’t been out with a toe injury.

fullback to tailback and led Waco High with 40 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown with 1:30 remaining. Quarterback Clarence Willis had a tough night for the Lions, hitting seven of 21 passes for 50 yards and an interception.

“I don’t mean any disrespect to their other guys, but Salubi’s a different cat,” Lineweaver said. “We wouldn’t have seen a better back all year. But our defensive line did play well against an offensive line that had been dominating all year.”

Trinity’s defense set the tone on the first possession when the Lions went backwards on three straight plays.

Dugas lost three yards on first down before Earnest Norman nailed Denzel Mitchell for a five-yard loss.

Dugas lost two more on third down to give the Lions fourth-and-20 at the 10.

After Kahler’s 35-yard punt, the Trojans got possession for the first time at Waco High’s 45. Facing fourth-and-one, Dontrayevous Robinson picked up four yards for a first down.

Two plays later, McGhee hit Tucker streaking down the right sideline for a 32-yard touchdown to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead.

“Our quarterback is green, but he’s got potential,” Lineweaver said. “The good thing is that we didn’t have any turnovers.”

The Lions couldn’t move on their next possession and Clay Walls returned Kahler’s punt for 19 yards to Waco High’s 38.

The Trojans didn’t pick up a first down, but Pery Negreiros boomed a 51-yard field goal to open up a 10-0 first quarter lead.

Tucker made a one-handed catch from McGhee for a 40-yard gain to set up Negreiros’ 27-yard field goal to push Trinity’s lead to 13-0 in the second quarter.

McGhee and Tucker hooked up again in the third quarter for 20 yards before connecting for a 38-yarder to Waco High’s 5. Two plays later, Robinson broke around the left side for a three-yard touchdown to give the Trojans a 20-0 lead.

The Trojans scored again with 3:07 left in the game when Christo Lisika ran for a one-yard touchdown.

Rockdale 37, Mexia 8: In Rockdale, the Tigers threatened to shut out the Blackcats before Chase Amick caught a 67-yard pass for a touchdown.

Rockdale (1-3) had two rushers — Mark White and Cois Walker — eclipse 100 yards on the night. Rushing 47 times, the Tigers tallied 277 yards on the ground. Logan David pitched in with a 64-yard fumble return and a safety tackle.

Mexia (1-3) only collected 110 yards on the ground before Amick’s touchdown reception.

Valley Mills 21, Tolar 14: In Valley Mills, Tolar and Valley Mills matched each other score-for-score until the Eagles shut down the Rattlers in the fourth quarter.

Valley Mills (3-1) rushed for a total of 278 yards, with Timothy Strange and Dalton Piske leading the way. Tolar’s Tyler Ross passed for 102 yards, including a touchdown pass to Chase Campbell in the second quarter.

Hillsboro 51, Fort Worth Castleberry 13: In Fort Worth, Hillsboro quarterback Quinton Davis threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead the Eagles past the Lions.

Davis completed 7 of 15 passes for 158 yards, four of them going to Gilberto Segura for 75 yards and two touchdowns.

Euless Trinity 27, Waco High 7

Waco High 0 0 0 7 — 7

Euless Trinity 10 3 7 7 — 27

First quarter

Euless Trinity — Tyree Tucker 32 pass from Denarius McGhee (Pery Negreiros kick), 7:40

Euless Trinity — Negreiros 51 FG, 5:47

Second quarter

Euless Trinity — Negreiros 27 FG, 4:58

Third quarter

Euless Trinity — Dontrayevous Robinson 3 run (Negreiros kick), 5:40

Fourth quarter

Euless Trinity — Christo Lisika 1 run (Negreiros kick), 3:07

Waco High — Bronshae’Keon Dugas 1 run (Ernesto Guevara kick), 1:30

Waco Trinity

First Downs 10 14

Rushes-Yards 27-61 38-103

Comp-Att-Int 7-21-1 10-16-0 Passing Yards 50 160

Total Yards 111 263

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 6-54 3-40

Punts-Avg 9-37.1 4-40.5

Individual Stats

Rushing

Waco High — Bronshae’Keon Dugas 18-40, TD; Clarence Willis 6-10; Keyshun Russell 2-9; Prince Shepherd 1-11.

Euless Trinity — Dontrayevous Robinson 12-32, TD; Samir Baker 16-50; Christo Lisika 4-5, TD; Cliff Miller 3-13.

Passing

Waco High: Clarence Willis 21-7-1, 50 yards.

Euless Trinity: Denarius McGhee 16-10-0, 160 yards.

Receiving

Waco High: Bronshae’Keon Dugas 1-5; Denzel Mitchell 4-25; Walter Hardin 2-20.

Euless Trinity: Tyree Tucker 5-140, TD; Christo Lisika 1-10; Samir Baker 2-4; Dontrayevous Robinson 1- minus 2; Kulitapa Taumoepeau 1-8.