By Brice Cherry

Tribune-Herald youth sports editor

Each week, prior to playing Waco High, the head football coaches of District 16-4A dim the lights of their respective field houses and push the play button on a film as frightening as anything of the Stephen King or Wes Craven genre.

There’s the chilling carnage unleashed by Waco High’s defense, as physically punishing a unit as you’ll find.

Then there’s the unnerving horror of the Lions’ running attack, where even third-stringers are known to pile up 100 yards.

And just when the viewer might be tempted to exhale and reach for a handful of popcorn, the scene only gets scarier. For, you see, Waco High’s special-teams unit is no less intimidating than its offense or defense.

Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

Led by standouts like Ryan Hannah (27) and kicker Ernesto Guevara (15), Waco High's kicking-game unit has been especially special.

Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

Waco High's Terrance Adkism is one of the top kick returners in the area, averaging 19 yards per runback.

“Usually, that’s the tale of the tape,” said Waco High coach Johnny Tusa, whose fourth-ranked Lions will try to remain undefeated in 16-4A play at Brownwood tonight. “If you can run the football, play defense and control the field position, your chances of winning the game are pretty good.

“We’ve been fortunate that we’ve been able to not only put our defense in great field position this year, but we’ve also gotten the ball on a short field a lot of times.”

If football is a war of attrition, those members of the kicking team are the special agents who can turn the tide of the battle in one fell swoop.

After all, they’re called “special” teams for a reason.

“We try to emphasize that word special,” Tusa said. “You’ve got to be special to be on one of those teams. And it’s hard to be special if you neglect the kicking game, so we spend a good portion of our practices on specialty work.”

That work has paid off. Sophomore kicker Ernesto Guevara has stepped in for the departed Cameron Curry and given the Lions a leg up on the competition, having nailed four field goals and all 33 of his extra-point tries. Sophomore punter Kollin Kahler has been equally potent, averaging just under 40 yards per punt with seven pinned inside the 20-yard line.

“Ernesto Guevara has been a more than adequate replacement for Cameron Curry,” Tusa said. “His leg has gotten stronger and he’s put a lot of balls in the end zone, which is how we like to kick off. Probably the punting, with Kollin Kahler, is something that has exceeded our expectations. He has a really strong leg, and he’s beginning to control more of his kicks with a little finesse.”

Then there is senior return specialist Terrance “T-Baby” Adkism, who is adept as finding the schisms and chasms in opponents’ kick coverage for game-breaking plays. Adkism has 258 yards in kick and punt returns, including an 80-yard runback for a touchdown against Midway two weeks ago.

“When I get ready to make a return, I’m like, ‘If (my blockers) hold them up, I’m fixing to score,’” Adkism said. “Anytime I see green, I try to score. But if I can get one or two blocks that puts us in good position for the offense to score, I’m satisfied with that.”

“It’s not an easy thing to field kicks and punts,” Tusa said. “It’s really an art that few people possess, and Terrance definitely fields the ball with confidence. He’s always looking to run. There are probably a few balls that we wish he would’ve fair caught, when you can smell the breath of the other guy. But he’s got a daring, bold approach, and that’s helped us.”

A bulletin board outside Waco High’s locker room celebrates the players of the week in each of the three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams. The Lions’ special-teams stars take pride in that honor, for it usually means that they played a key role in changing the momentum of a game.

“Last week at halftime, we were thinking it might come down to Ernesto kicking a field goal,” said Kahler of last week’s 42-0 win over Killeen, which the Lions led only 7-0 at the break. “There’s been several times where the special teams has picked up the team.”

As it turned out, that’s exactly what happened against the Kangaroos. On the second-half kickoff, senior Ryan Hannah belted Killeen returner T.J. Hill in lickety-split fashion, separating him from the ball and allowing teammate Peter Smith to scoop it up and return it to the Killeen 5-yard line.

Two plays later, the Lions punched the ball into the end zone, igniting a spark that led to a 35-point second half.

“That’s the perfect example,” Tusa said. “We kick off and Ryan Hannah hits the return guy, moves him sideways, and we pick it up and bring it down to the 4-yard line. I’m not a smart guy, but even I can figure out how to score from there.

“That not only gave us points, but it gave us tremendous momentum.”

Waco High made those kind of momentum-shifting plays look routine in its six-game playoff run to the 4A Division II state title game last fall. The Lions’ kicking game specialists understand that if they are to achieve their ultimate goal of winning a state championship, they can’t let up on any play.

“We always come in and say that we want to be better than we were last week, better than we were yesterday or last year,” said Hannah, a three-time special-teams player of the week honoree. “It just comes down to us making sure we do what we have to do.”

“We don’t want to just go to state, we want to win it,” Adkism said. “We know we can do better.”

Those are terrifying words to Lion foes, especially the kick returners. After all, if anyone knows the kind of impact Waco High’s special teams can have, it’s a guy who has just been flattened by a ravenous Lion with 40 yards worth of momentum.

“There’s not an award for those hits,” said Kahler, “but they sure look nice on film.”

bcherry@wacotrib.com

757-5714