Tribune-Herald staff report

KILLEEN — Last week, the Killeen Kangaroos traveled to Brownwood with high hopes and bounced home with a 22-22 upset win over the state-ranked Lions.

This week, a much more ferocious den of Lions brought them back to earth.

Fourth-ranked Waco High utilized its devastating defense and some sweet special-teams plays to stave off Killeen’s upset bid, scoring 35 second-half points in a 42-0 shutout win over the Kangaroos on Thursday night at Leo Buckley Stadium.

With the victory, Waco High (7-1 overall, 3-0 in District 16-4A) clinches a playoff spot with two regular-season games to play, and remains in great shape for a second straight district title.

Of course, Killeen (5-3, 1-2) made the Lions sweat a little, as Waco High entered the halftime break ahead just 7-0.

“It’s homecoming here and we expected Killeen to come out with a new attitude,” Waco High coach Johnny Tusa said in a postgame radio interview. “They’ve got a good team, very athletic. But we came out in the second half and got that quick fumble recovery to kick off the momentum a little bit, and I thought we got in sync after that.”

Indeed, the Kangaroos entered the third quarter with heads held high, down just one score to the fourth-ranked 4A team in the state.

But the Lions quickly sent those heads swiveling, smacking Killeen returner T.J. Hill on the second-half kickoff to force a fumble that Waco High’s Peter Smith recovered and brought all the way down to the Killeen 5.

Two plays later, Bronshae’Keon Dugas plowed into the end zone on a one-yard run, and just like that, the Lions were off and rolling.

“We told the guys at halftime that games aren’t won in the first half, they’re won in the second half,” Tusa told KRZI-AM. “We had to come out and make plays, and that’s what the guys did. Peter Smith really got us going.”

Two possessions later, Jarred Salubi sliced his way to a 39-yard gain, setting up his own four-yard TD run, and then a subsequent interception by Waco High’s Tevin Clark led to Dugas’ second short scoring run and a close-the-book 28-0 lead.

It was all set up by Waco High’s punishing defense, which consistently pulverized the Kangaroos on running attempts, holding them to just 29 yards on 25 attempts.

And Killeen didn’t fare much better when forced to pass, as dynamic quarterback Alijawon White completed only seven of 24 passes for 72 yards and was picked off three times by the Lion defenders, including two from Terrance Adkism.

“We’ve lived with our defense all year,” Tusa said. “We’ve played musical chairs a bit on offense with the injuries, but what can you say about the effort by the defense tonight? We got our first shutout, and we’re tickled to death about it.”

At the start of the game, it actually appeared as if Waco High’s offense might hog the glory. The Lions busted out of the gate in powerhouse fashion, driving 67 yards in their first three plays, without even reaching second down.

After two lengthy runs by Salubi, quarterback Kyle Carter provided the capper with a 16-yard jaunt up the middle on a keeper, putting the Lions up 7-0 only 29 seconds into the game.

But just as quickly as the Lions ignited, they cooled even more rapidly. Overloading the box, the Kangaroo defense bottled up Waco High’s vaunted rushing attack the rest of the first half, surrendering only one more first down.

Fortunately, Waco High eventually awakened in the final two quarters. Rounding back into form in his third game back from injury, Salubi finished with 140 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, while Dugas added a pair of rushing TDs to go with a press-the-record-button 27-yard TD catch on a screen pass in the fourth quarter.

Waco High punter Kollin Kahler was steady as usual for the Lions, and helped pin Killeen back in the first half, when it was still a field-position battle. Kahler topped 40 yards on his first two kicks, and finished with a 36-yard average on five boots.

Waco High 42, Killeen 0

Waco 7 0 21 14 — 42

Killeen 0 0 0 0 — 0

First Quarter

Waco High – Kyle Carter 16 run (Ernesto Guevara kick), 11:31

Third Quarter

Waco High – Bronshae’Keon Dugas 1 run (Guevara kick), 11:26

Waco High – Jarred Salubi 4 run (Guevara kick), 4:19

Waco High – Dugas 1 run (Guevara kick), 1:13

Fourth Quarter

Waco High – Dugas 27 pass from Clarence Willis (Guevara kick), 7:56

Waco High – Toylon Clark 24 pass from Willis (Guevara kick), 6:15

Waco High Killeen

First Downs 16 6

Rushes-Yards 49-291 25-29

Comp-Att-Int 3-7-0 7-24-3

Passing Yards 65 72

Total Yards 344 101

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-1

Penalties-Yards 7-75 5-40

Punts-Avg 5-36 5-30

Individual Stats

Rushing

Waco High – Jarred Salubi 22-140, 1 TD; Kyle Carter 5-30, TD; Bronshae’Keon Dugas 8-36, 2 TDs; Clarence Willis 6-35; Jerold Smith 1-7; Toylon Clark 5-32; Keyshun Russell 1-(-1)

Killeen – Jacorie Baker 1-0; Marcus Tillman 9-15; Alijawon White 12-31; Titus Barnes 1-3; T.J. Hill 1-(-3); Team 1-(-11)

Passing

Waco High – Willis 3-3-0, 65 yards, 2 TDs; Carter 0-3-0; Salubi 0-1-0

Killeen – White 7-24-3, 72 yards

Receiving

Waco High – Denzel Mitchell 1-14; Dugas 1-27, 1 TD; Clark 1-24, 1 TD

Killeen – Levi Fuson 3-43; Baker 2-13; Hill 2-16