Above: Seth Fry rushes for a few yards during Saturday afternoon's loss to Hendrickson. Fry took a majority of the snaps during the game as the Badgers installed the wishbone. Left: Gabe Terrell makes one of his two catches for 32 yards. In all, Terrell produced 101 total yards of offense. The Badgers unveiled their newlook offense against Hendrickson once Mother Nature finally decided to let them.

Lampasas tweaked its offense during the bye week and took to the field on Saturday afternoon sporting a wishbone formation and a new quarterback. Earlier, an unforeseen lighting storm forced officials to reschedule the game from Friday night.

Senior Seth Fry executed the offense for a majority of the game, as the Badgers held their ground against Pflugerville Hendrickson (5-1, 2-0) until the Hawks returned a fumble for a long touchdown at the end of the end of the third quarter. Hendrickson then scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth, to earn a 34-6 victory.

"I thought we played well," offensive coordinator Justin Marcellus said. "This is the first time after a game, even though [the scoreboard] shows 34-6, that I felt pretty good about our kids and what we were doing.

PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE "Our offensive line answered the call big time."

The Badgers utilized their new wishbone offense to gain 170 yards on the ground, led by Gabe Terrell's 69 yards on nine carries.

After being shut out by Gatesville 34-0 and recording just four first downs in the loss before the bye week, the Badgers' coaching staff knew changes had to be made on offense. Considering that many players had exposure to the wishbone during their years on the subvarsity squads, it seemed to be a logical decision.

"We started tinkering with it, trying to find something our kids could be great at," Marcellus said. "Last year we ran the wishbone with our junior varsity. A lot of the kids that ran it are on varsity this year."

Neither team scored during the opening quarter, but with 8:25 remaining before halftime, the Hawks crossed the goal line on an 18-yard Kenny Williams run.

The Badgers answered quickly, however, as Fry found Cole Ball in the end zone from 11 yards out on the following possession. Joshua Akers' extra point attempt went askew, and Lampasas trailed 7-6 with 4:16 left in the second quarter.

The two squads exchanged possessions for the remaining four minutes of the half with neither team scoring.

In the third quarter, Hendrickson added to its lead after quarterback Askar Jama avoided a sack and found Williams for a 33-yard touchdown to give the Hawks an eight-point advantage at 14-6.

On the following possession, Hendrickson was stout on defense, forcing Lampasas to go three-andout and punt the ball.

But senior Chris Thurman recovered the ball at the Hawks' 44-yard line after Brandon Abbott's punt hit a Hendrickson player, setting up the Badgers for a potential game-tying possession.

"It really sparked us," defensive coordinator Jimmy Randolph said of the punt recovery. "If we could have taken it and stuck in [the end zone] right there, who knows what [could have] happened."

Three plays later, the momentum completely switched, however, as Fry's pitch went awry on a firstand 10 from the Hawks 33-yard line. Defensive back Brandon Bedford scooped up the lost ball and returned it 67 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the third quarter.

Trailing 21-6 as the fourth quarter began, Lampasas' offense sputtered, and the Hawks added a pair of short touchdown runs from Marquese Dunn and C.J. Henderson, making the final score 34-6.

Dunn led the Hawks ground attack with 125 yards rushing.

The Badgers finished with 238 total yards of offense, including 68 yards passing.

Despite coming off the bench, quarterback Vann Millican showed accuracy and poise during critical situations, completing three passes for 39 yards, including two first downs on third-and-long plays.

"I was very excited about what Millican did for us," Marcellus said. "He completely switched his role from being the man to a situational player and accepted it with open arms.

"I thought he played exceptionally well."

While the scoreboard did not indicate it, Marcellus felt his squad played a terrific game, setting the tone for the remainder of the season.

"We're going to fight," the coach said. "Whether we go there, or they come here, it doesn't matter if we are 0-6 or 0-9. You're going to get a fight from us, and you're going to get everything we've got."

The Badgers return to action Friday when they travel to Austin for a road contest against defending state champion Lake Travis.

LHS 6, HHS 34

Records

Lampasas is 0-5, Hendrickson is 5-1.

Impact

Hendrickson improves to 2-0 in district while Lampasas falls to 0-1.

Key Stat

Lampasas gets outscored 27-0 in the second half after trailing by one point, 7-6, at halftime.

Key Play

Three plays after the Badgers recovered their own punt at the Hendrickson 44, the Hawks return a fumbled pitch 67 yards for a touchdown.

Up Next

Lampasas travels to Lake Travis.