A Slow Start
Badger O' struggles in loss to Trojans
By JEREMY HEATH Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY DARRELL BROOKS Above: LHS defensive tackle Taylor Thompson (72) chases Waco University quarterback Randy Price in the Badgers' 28-14 loss to the Trojans at Waco ISD Stadium on Friday. Price ran for a score and threw for another in the game. Top right: Jarrod Bowen comes down with one of three LHS interceptions. Bowen led the Badgers with 37 receiving yards. Bottom right: Sophomore Brode DuBose rumbles in for a 14-yard touchdown. DuBose led the Badgers in rushing with 59 yards on three carries.

Inconsistent -- and at times sloppy -- offensive play put the Lampasas defense in tough spot after tough spot in the Badgers' 28-14 seasonopening loss at Waco University on Friday.

The LHS offense managed just seven first downs and 116 total yards, which allowed the Trojans (1-1) to slowly wear down the Badger defense en route to two fourthquarter touchdowns that broke open a 14-14 tie.

"Defensively, we played well tonight," first-year LHS head coach Ryan Bailey said. "Offensively, we put them (the defense) in a bad spot. But to give up only 28 points to a team like that with as many mistakes as our offense made, our defense played well. That's encouraging."

Both teams turned the ball over six times, each team losing three fumbles and three interceptions. The difference, however, was University's ability to move the chains, outgaining the Badgers 356- 116.

In the first half, the Trojans pounded the ball off the right side of their line. Senior running back Darius Erwin carried much of the load because standout Marquise Hughes suffered leg cramps throughout the game.

Erwin carried 20 times for 70 yards without a carry longer than 11 yards. Hughes took advantage of spot duty, gaining 83 yards on 12 carries and scoring twice. Sophomore quarterback Randy Price, who threw for 114 yards and a touchdown, ran for 71 yards and a score.

University (1-1) was 3-18 in its 21 games before Friday night. The Trojans lost 48-0 to Ennis in a Zero Week game the previous week, where they turned the ball over nine times.

"I'm just so happy for our kids because this had been a long time coming," University head coach LeRoy Coleman said. "It wasn't so much that we saw anything (on the left side of the LHS defense) we thought we could take advantage of. It's just that our best blockers are on that side, and we wanted to run behind them."

LHS senior receiver Jarrod Bowen opened the game with a 42- yard kickoff return, but he fumbled at midfield and University recovered. The Trojans moved the ball to the LHS 28, where the Badgers forced Price to fumble, and linebacker Coleton Lucas recovered.

LHS sophomore quarterback Vann Millican moved his team to the University 39 in two plays, connecting with Seth Fry on a 20-yard completion and Aaron Reyna on a 21-yarder. But a delay of game penalty and two incompletions stalled the drive.

The LHS defense forced a threeand out series, giving the offense the ball at the 39. Millican connected with Bowen for 25 yards to the 14. On the next play, sophomore Brode DuBose skated through a huge hole on the left side for a 14-yard touchdown, and Sam Barbero's kick gave the Badgers a 7-0 lead with 4:47 left in the first quarter.

At that point, Millican was 3-of- 6 passing for 61 yards. He would finish 6 of 19 for 87 yards and three interceptions.

Under constant pressure in the second half, Millican left the game in the fourth quarter after linebacker Antonio Neal came untouched off the right side and teed off. Millican, who was making his first start on varsity, stayed on the turf a few minutes before leaving the field, and junior Ryder Brown relieved him.

Millican missed most of last season with a broken collar bone.

"Vann's fine," Bailey said. "He just got the wind knocked out of him. I was a little worried about the collar bone when he was on the ground, but he's a tough kid, and he should be fine."

The Trojans pulled to 7-6 with 2:30 left in the first quarter, after marching 77 yards on seven plays. Hughes capped the drive with a bulldozing 27-yard touchdown. Dominick Gutierrez' extra-point attempt was tipped and failed.

The Trojans were poised to take the lead early in the second quarter, moving from their 40 to the LHS 36, but Bowen upended Hughes in the backfield on a fourth and four.

Bowen would thwart the next University threat as well. On third and 14 from the LHS 27, Hughes went deep for Vencent Finley, but Bowen went high to intercept the pass at the goal line. It was one of three LHS interceptions in the game, as Jeremy Brown had a pick and three pass breakups, and Cory Summers had a theft and a breakup.

University solved the Badger defense late in the first quarter when Price capped a 28-yard drive with an 11-yard run. He connected with Damarcus Hicks for the two-point conversion to give the Trojans a 14- 7 lead they would carry into halftime.

Penalties and solid defense kept both offenses down for much of the third quarter, with the next big play coming via the LHS punt team. Fry placed a 40-yard punt at the Trojan 5, and return man Rondal Smith dropped it. LHS linebacker Stephen Eskola ended up with the ball in the Trojan end zone, and Barbero's kick tied the game at 14- 14 with 3:47 remaining in the third.

"I think we have two of the three phases (defense and special teams) working right now," said Bailey, the former offensive coordinator for the Badgers. "The offense was the problem, and I'll take the blame for that. We've got some things we need to work out this week."

With the LHS defense sucking wind after spending most of the first three quarters on the field, the Trojans dominated the fourth quarter. Price hit Jarrod Hall with a 33-yard, on-the-run scoring pass, and Hughes scored his second touchdown on a 10-yard slashing effort.

The Badgers (0-1) are scheduled to play host to Taylor Friday at 7:30 p.m. Taylor is coming off a 15-10 loss to Manor.

University 28, Lampasas 14

Lampasas 7 0 7 0 -- 14
University 6 8 0 14 -- 28
First quarter
L -- Brode DuBose 14 run (Sam Barbero
kick), 4:47
U -- Marquise Hughes 27 run (kick failed),
2:30
Second quarter
U -- Randy Price 11 run (Demarcus Hicks
pass from Price), 1:24
Third quarter
L -- Stephen Eskola fumble recovery in
end zone (Barbero kick), 3:47
Fourth quarter
U -- Jarrod Hall 33 pass from Price
(Dominick Gutierrez kick), 11:03
U -- Hughes 10 run (Gutierrez kick), 9:11
Lampasas University
First Downs 7 16
Rushes-Yards 18-33 50-242
Comp-Att-Int 8-26-3 9-15-3
Passing Yards 93 114
Total Yards 116 356
Fumbles-Lost 3-3 4-3
Penalties-Yards 12-65 14-108
Punts-Avg 6-32.5 2-26.5
Individual Stats
Rushing
L: Brode Dubose 3-59, TD; Ryan Abbott
5-6; Melvin Batiste 5-11; Vann Millican 3-
(minus-30); Ryder Brown 2-(minus-13). U:
Darius Erwin 20-70; Randy Price 15-71,
TD; Marquise Hughes 12-83, 2 TDs;
Alvin Landrum 3-18
Passing
L: Vann Millican 7-19-3, 87 yards; Ryder
Brown 1-7-0, 7 yards. U: Randy Price 9-
15-3, 114 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
L: Aaron Reyna 2-28; Seth Fry 2-22;
Jarrod Bowen 2-37; Ryan Abbott 1-4;
Cole Ball 1-3. U: Vencent Finley 3-17;
Marquise Hughes 2-24; Demarcus Hicks
1-20; Darius Erwin 1-20; Jarrod Hall 1-33,
TD