By Chad Conine

Tribune-Herald staff writer

On any given Friday night, the Waco High defense can be ravaging.

On Friday, the Lions’ defense showed with a little extra motivation they can be even better.

Waco High held Midway to four first downs and 96 total yards, silencing the Panthers as the Lions waltzed to a 28-3 victory at Waco ISD Stadium.

“Our defense has been playing lights-out,” Waco High coach Johnny Tusa said. “They probably turned it up a notch tonight.”

Why the extra level?

Ask the Lions and they’ll tell you.

“The main thing that had people talking was ‘Don’t let J. Hubert run on us,’’’ Waco High defensive back Terrance Adkism said. “He had 23 carries for 44 yards. Basically he was stopped.”

The Waco High defense doesn’t necessarily make a habit of knowing the name of the opposing running back it’s trying to shut down.

But Friday was special.

Hubert transferred from Waco High to Midway before the start of his sophomore year in 2006. Hubert told the Tribune-Herald it was for academic reasons, but a 16-4A committee ruled him ineligible to play varsity football in 2006 and the UIL upheld the ruling.

Now eligible to play varsity football in his second fall at Midway, Hubert is having an outstanding season. He came into the Panthers’ seventh game with 852 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.

Last week against Killeen, he gained 290 on the ground and scored four times for the Panthers (4-3, 1-1 in 16-4A).

However, Hubert had trouble finding running room against Waco High.

And the fact that the Lions could accurately quote his stats almost immediately after the game explains a lot.

“I knew their defense was good,” Midway coach Kent Bachtel said. “But they were even better than I thought they were — all 11 of them.”

The Lions (6-1, 2-0, ranked No. 5 in 4A) forced Midway to go three-and-out on its first four offensive series.

That was nothing new for a Lions defense that tends to bottle up opponents in their own end and set up the Waco High offense with excellent field position on a regular basis.

That strategy worked for the Lions’ first score.

After its first possession, Midway punted from its own 20 and Adkism turned in the first of his progressively more productive returns.

He brought the first one back to the Panthers’ 40 and the Lions began driving from there.

Bronshae’Keon Dugas broke loose for the key play of a seven-play 40-yard drive, a 17-yard run on third-and-nine from the Midway 39.

Lions running back Jarred Salubi finished the march, taking an option pitch from quarterback Kyle Carter going right, dancing around Midway safety Patrick Murphy, and dashing 10 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

Adkism set up Waco High’s second touchdown with another stellar punt return in the second quarter. This time he fielded a Midway punt on the run at the Panthers’ 37. He reached the Midway 13 before the Panthers could bring him down.

Adkism said he thought he could score on the play.

“It looked wide open,” he said. “I just tried to follow my blocks, but I didn’t get it.”

Adkism had done plenty.

It took Waco High four plays to score from the 13, as a stingy Midway defense made the Lions fight for every yard — a habit the Panthers kept up all night.

Still, Dugas dove across the goal line from one yard out to boost the Waco High lead to 14-0.

The Panthers defense came up with the team’s first big play when Charles Kelly picked off a pass by Carter and returned the interception to the Waco High 41.

As the halfway point of the second quarter drew near, Midway still hadn’t gained a first down.

Waco High appeared to stop the Panthers again when Jamaar Walker dropped Glaesman for a 15-yard loss on fourth-and-four from the Lions 35.

But a Waco High defender lined up offsides on the play, giving the Panthers their initial first down, and new life at the Waco High 30.

Hubert gained four yards to the 26 and from there Glaesmann completed his first pass of the night, for 16 yards to Trey Graham.

The Lions defense held Midway out of the end zone and Midway kicker Ryan Kelly came on to boot a 23-yard field goal.

However, Adkism killed Midway’s momentum.

The Panthers, looking to go to halftime down only 14-3 after they fell behind the Lions 51-0 at intermission in 2006, floated a high kickoff that Adkism settled under at his own 20.

A couple of cut backs to the right side of the field and Adkism was loose. Midway wouldn’t catch him as he posted an 80-yard return for a touchdown.

Bachtel pointed to the kicking game as a major flaw in the Panthers’ attack, while Tusa applauded his team’s effort.

“We were far superior on defense and in the kicking game,” Tusa said. “We won all three phases.”

cconine@wacotrib.com

757-5711

Waco High 28, Midway 3

Midway 0 3 0 0 — 3

Waco High 7 14 7 0 — 28

First quarter

Waco — Jarred Salubi 10 run (Ernesto Guevara kick), 3:35.

Second quarter

Waco — Bronshae’Keon Dugas 1 run (Guevara kick), 8:31.

Midway — Ryan Kelly 23 FG, 1:04.

Waco — Terrance Adkism 80 kickoff return (Guevara kick), 0:48.

Third quarter

Waco — Dugas 2 run (Guevara kick), 0:17.

Midway Waco

First Downs 4 10

Rushes-Yards 32-54 40-235

Comp-Att-Int 4-14-0 0-3-1 Passing Yards 42 0

Total Yards 96 235

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 1-5 9-65

Punts-Avg 7-36.3 4-38.7

Individual Stats

Rushing

Midway — John Hubert 23-44; Todd Glaesmann 8-11.

Waco — Dugas 15-109, 2 TDs; Salubi 15-81, TD; Toylon Clark 3-2 Kyle Carter 4-12; Keyshun Russell 2-3; Victor Johnson 1-28.

Passing

Midway — Glaesmann 4-13-0, 42 yards; Matt Davis 0-1-0.

Waco — Carter 0-2-1; Salubi 0-1-0.

Receiving

Midway —Trey Graham 2-30; Brian Hannan 1-5; Davis 1-7.