Waco High has been touted for its offense most of the season, and Friday night was deserving of similar praise.

 The Lions rolled up their highest scoring output of the season and a relentless Lion defense roared throughout in a 71-0 victory over San Angelo Lake View at Waco ISD Stadium.

Lake View finished the night with minus-7 yards of total offense. The Chiefs did not complete a pass, and their lone first down came on a roughing the punter penalty against Waco High (6-2, 3-0 District 8-4A).

“I know I’ve never had a team do it. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one that has done that,” Waco coach Danny Ramsey said of a defense holding a team to negative yards. “We talked about the things they could do with the ball all week. Last year it was a close game at halftime, and they were able to move the ball offensively. Our defense really took it personal, and it put a chip on their shoulder.”

Lake View punted on every possession except one, when the Chief punter had a snap sail over his head and into the end zone for a safety.

As the Chiefs (0-8, 0-3) struggled, the Lions’ offense turned nearly every possession into points. Waco High racked up 560 yards of offense and scored touchdowns on all but one of its drives.

With big wins in its first two 8-4A contest, Waco High could of been due for a letdown but the Lions are taking their steps one at a time and staying focused on the task ahead.

“We talk about envisioning ourselves as champions at the end of the year,” Ramsey said. “To do that we have to envision ourselves as champions today. If we can take care of today and understand it’s about the journey and not the wins and the losses, everything will be good for us.”

Central Texas leading rusher Darrell Harris’ night was finished before he accepted his homecoming crown at halftime, but the star gave everyone what they wanted to see on his first carry.

The senior went 48 yards for a score on his first touch and displayed all the skills that make him one of the area’s best. He used his patented stop-and-go, then cutback, broke a tackle, and still had room to beat the defense by 10 yards on the play.

Harris added two more touchdowns on his third and fifth carries, finishing with 10 carries for 116 yards and three touchdowns. His third score gave him 17 touchdowns this season and handed the Lions an early 20-0 lead with 2:40 to play in the first quarter.

Keimon McDowell pushed the Lion lead to 34-0 before halftime. The junior started alongside Harris at running back and had second-quarter touchdown runs of 1 and 3 yards.

As several of the Lion senior starters saw their night end with the halftime festivities, McDowell returned to the game at quarterback in the second half and Waco High continued to roll.

McDowell opened the drive with a 30-yard run and finished it with a screen pass to Jaylon Ross for a 39-yard touchdown. Ross got bottled up on the sideline near the 20 but spun out of a tackle and pulled away for the score and a 43-0 lead.

After another Lake View punt, Chase Hobbs took his turn in the Lion running back rotation and did his best to imitate what he had seen earlier. Hobbs broke to the right and found the edge off tackle. Once past the line, Hobbs reversed field and found plenty of daylight in the middle in racing 54 yards for the score.

McDowell found his way to the end zone two more times for the Lions, a 1-yard score on the next Waco High possession then 39 yards untouched on the next Lion possession, giving Waco High a 64-0 cushion.

He finished with 10 carries for 101 yards and was a part of five Lion touchdowns.

Khari Powell made his mark as one of eight ball carriers for the Lions. The junior had just six touches, but finished with 93 yards and the game’s final score, a 27-yard touchdown run.