Waco High would like to welcome you to a brand new landscape in District 8-4A.

The visiting Lions scored 16 unanswered points in the second half to knock off defending district champs Midway, 26-24, in a wild 8-4A opener that literally came down to the final second.

It was Waco High’s first win over the Panthers (4-2, 0-1) since 2007, which was also the year of the Lions’ last district title. This one couldn’t have come at a bigger time, as the district got off to a stylish and unexpected start.

Waco High running back Darrell Harris (left) picks up yardage before getting corralled by Midway defender Justin Richter in the first half.
Rod Aydelotte / Waco Tribune-Herald

“We put ourselves in a couple bad positions, and we did about everything wrong we could possibly do in that game,” Waco High coach Danny Ramsey said. “And then to have a final second put back on the clock in the middle of all of that, it’s adversity we had to overcome.”

The Lions (4-2, 1-0) appeared settled for the win when quarterback Deonte’ Phillips backpedaled and took a knee with the clock nearing zero. But when he hit the turf there was a tick left on the clock, leaving enough time for Kramer Robertson to put up a final 60-yard heave that reached the end zone but didn’t find a receiver.

“They played extremely hard, made a lot of good plays, they gang-tackled and executed their game plan,” Midway coach Terry Gambill said. “Our hats are off to Waco. We didn’t do a very good job tonight apparently, and they did a good job.”

While the Lions battled inconsistency on offense, the most unerringly consistent guy on the field was Waco High kicker Ben Diaz. The junior made all four of his attempts from 21, 38, 33 and 27 yards. The last one was the game-winner, which he booted through with 11:17 to play after a drive that resulted from the second of Adrian Norwood’s three interceptions.

“You’ve got to like that guy, I tell you what,” Ramsey said of Diaz through a smile. “Some people don’t like kickers, but that guy works his rear end off all the time hitting those shots, and he wins the game for us.”

With two interceptions and a fumble, all of which led to Midway points, the Lions struggled with turnovers early, and a big one bit right after half. Trailing 17-10, Phillips, who did most of his damage on the ground with 114 yards on 16 carries, threw a pick to Shakiel Randolph on the first play of the second half.

Midway cashed in on an athletic 37-yard touchdown catch from Hunter Jarmon for a 24-10 lead.

Waco High defender Roderick Jackson takes down Midway receiver Orion Stewart in the first half Friday at Panther Stadium.
Rod Aydelotte / Waco Tribune-Herald

Faced with the adversity Ramsey was so quick to point out, the Lions bowed up and got to work, and it began with defense.

The Midway offense never put together a drive of more than four plays in the second half, and of the Panthers’ final seven possessions, three ended in punts, two ended in interceptions, one ended in a lost fumble and the final one was the incompletion that ended the game.

The Panthers never scored on a drive that began on their half of the field.

Midway finished with 182 total yards, led by BJ Kelly’s 86 yards on 17 carries. Quarterback Jordan Darling was 7-of-18 for 73 yards and two touchdowns, one passing and one rushing, but he threw three interceptions and was not under center for Midway’s final two possessions.

Midway’s inability to put together drives allowed the Lions to gradually pull themselves back into the game.

Darrell Harris, who enjoyed a modest night by his standards with 167 yards on 37 carries, punched in a touchdown after Diaz’s second kick to make it 24-20 with 5:35 left in the third quarter, and Diaz put through two more kicks to send Waco High to a euphoric win.

“They did a great job of scheming us,” Ramsey said. “When we’d get things going they saw what our rhythm was going to be. We had to push through it when we could.”

Despite dominating the proceedings in the yardage department in the opening half — the Lions had 257 yards to Midway’s 101 at the break — the Lions were snakebitten by turnovers and miscues that forced them into a 17-10 halftime hole.

Waco High vaulted to a 7-0 lead when Keimon McDowell, in his only snap behind center all night, hit Michael Branch for a 31-yard score with 3:38 left in the first quarter.

Waco High’s Shawn Sunday latches onto Midway quarterback Jordan Darling. The Lions shut the Panthers down in the second half.
Rod Aydelotte / Waco Tribune-Herald

The Lions scuffled through the rest of the half. A Phillips fumble at midfield set up Midway’s first touchdown march toward the end of the first quarter, Justin Richter’s punt block on the Waco High 28 laid the foundation for a field goal, and Gerron Dewberry’s interception led to a 1-yard touchdown stab from Darling for a 17-7 lead with 7:25 to go in the half.

Even a seemingly positive drive went sour for the Lions just before half. Ben Diaz’s 21-yard kick with 2:28 left made it 17-10, and the Lions got it back at the Midway 34 following a flubbed punt with less than two minutes in the half.

A halfback pass from Harris set up the Lions inside the Midway 10 with just under a minute left, but the clock bled down to 11 seconds before the Lions took their last timeout.

Electing to run a play directed toward the end zone before taking the kick, Phillips was dropped and the clock ran out with the Lions still trailing by seven.