Blowouts Signal Debut Of Friday Night Lights

Bill Reynolds- Head Feature Writer

-August 28, 2003 -

--Week Zero Friday Night Review--

The breeze that began to swirl Friday night didn't just bring an unseasonable cool front to Central Texas.
      
It also served to usher in the 2004 edition of Friday Night Lights in the form of a near unprededented slate of blowouts.
      
Hewitt Midway blew out Red Oak 52-6. Reicher blanked Bosqueville 39-0. Lorena whitewashed Groesbeck 41-0. Cameron humbled Fairfield 31-0. West trounced Centerville 31-9. Clifton routed Rio Vista 31-6. Top-ranked Rogers easily outdistanced 22-2A power Rosebud-Lott 37-14. Parkview Christian won its six-man opener 64-20. China Spring pummeled Mexia 35-0. Chilton downed Mildred 35-7.
      
And that doesn't even take into account the widest margin of the night, Texas Christian Academy's 52-0 romp over Evant.
      
A rare exception to the rule was Waco High's narrow 31-26 win over Schertz Clemens at WISD Stadium.
      
Yet even that game flirted with being a non-contest until late in the final stanza.
      
The talented Lions, directed by multi-talented Carl Sims, built a 31-7 lead before the Buffaloes went on the hunt.
      
Schertz Clemens tailback James Henry, held in check much of the night by WHS's vaunted defense, dashed 71 yards midway through the fourth period to pull the Buffs within 31-14.
      
Then, taking advantage of a Lion turnover, SC got on the board again courtesy Ben Tedtaotao's 29-yard burst, narrowing the Lion margin to 31-20.
      
An improbable on-side kick recovery following Tedtaotao's TD led to a 16-yard scoring toss from D.J. Doutrich to Tyrome Higgins.
    
That made it 31-26 with just over two minutes left in what shaped up to be a classic H-E-B Heart of Texas Kickoff Classic encounter.
    
But rather than fold, WHS showed it had more in store as the waning moments wound down. The Lions moved the sticks and kept the clock rolling in their favor with a pair clinching first downs, the latter coming on Troy Harbert's bruising eight-yard pickup.
      
That clutch carry enabled Harbert, an unsung hero on a roster of stellar players, to net 91 yards on 18 carries to fuel the WHS attack.
      
Harbert also returned a second period kickoff 96 yards for a TD that lifted Waco on top 24-7.
      
The Lions took the early lead when the athletic Sims found Brandon Fletcher with a 16-yard touchdown strike in the opening period.
      
WHS extended its cushion to 10-0 when Julian Veracruz drilled a 25-yard trey.
      
Reggie Young's fumble recovery in the end zone and the ensuing PAT by Veracruz stretched Waco's lead to 17-0. Schertz Clemens fought back to 17-7 on a 46-yard Henry ramble.
      
That set the stage for Harbet's kick return and an even more dramatic second half.
      
About Henry's only misstep was coughing up the ball to Young on a big hit from WHS's college-bound stopper Shon Brown.
      
Another big-time player, Rogers QB Julius Watts turned out the lights Friday on Rosebud-Lott by accounting for 252 yards total offense, divided almost equally between rushing and passing.
      
Watts completed six of 14 passes for 129 yards and a pair of scores, and ran for another 123 yards.
      
Midway's Wesley Sauls, field general for the Panthers' no-huddle spread offense, threw for nearly 300 yards in the Hewitt team's opening night win over Red Oak. Running back Victor Duffey helped offset the absence of injured Josh Neeper with a fine 113 yard rushing effort for the victors.
      
Speaking of fine debuts, China Spring's Jacob Limmer rained 223 yards of passing on Mexia, more than half going to Cougar receiver David Jeffrey. Jeffrey caught four Limmer tosses for 121 yards, including a 61-yard TD aerial.
      
Rebuilding Gatesville entered the post-LaShon Thayer era with a 29-16 non-District win at Marble Falls. Phillip Taylor jump-started what likely will be an outstanding individual campaign by catching six passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.
      
Lorena got Groesbeck's goat by rushing for more than 300 yards and unleashing a stifling defensive performance.
      
Brandon Graves' name was stamped on pretty much all facets of the decision. A tremendous placekicker, Graves intercepted a pair of passes that led to scores and rushed 29 times for 93 yards.
      
Perhaps the most surprising blowout of the night came in the Waco area when Reicher took the wind out of Bosqueville's sails by a 39-0 count.
      
While Reicher is an undisputed small school powerhouse, Bosqueville entered the game with plenty of weapons of its own---including accomplished quarterback Tyler Minyard and punishing running back J.J. Jackson, making a comeback bid after sustaining a serious knee injury.
      
But Reicher flustered Minyard, forcing him into an eight-for-23 night and 61 net yards. Jackson, also a polished baseball pitcher, threw Reicher a few curves on the gridiron, finishing with 68 yards rushing on nine attempts.
      
Reicher capitalized on big plays all night long, reaching paydirt three times on scores of 30 yards and more.
      
The Cougars controlled the clock with a relentless ground attack that exceeded the 300 yard mark. Tandem quarterbacks Michael DeLaRosa and Derek Blaine accounted for more than 100 of those yards.

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