by Story by Jake Hernandez
The top-ranked team in the state of Texas Duncanville Panthers add another win to their record, traveling to Waxahachie, Texas and beating the Waxahachie Indians 44-10 in Lumpkins Stadium.
Duncanville’s defense had a big impact early in the first quarter, acting as a brick wall for Waxahachie’s runners. The Indians tried to punt on a 4th and 20 play, but a faulty snap into the endzone gave the Panthers a safety.
It’s worthwhile to note that Duncanville’s defense has allowed one offensive touchdown in their past three games played.
After a kick return to Duncanville, the Indian’s defense scored a huge sack on the Panther’s senior quarterback Keelon Russell.
A long pass from Russell to LSU wide receiver commit Dakorien Moore helped Duncanville find themselves in the redzone. Senior running back (also an LSU commit) Caden Durham ran into the endzone for a 2-yard touchdown.
After returning the ball to the Indians, a pass interference call against Duncanville gave Waxahachie a first down after struggling to gain yards.
That would be all the Indians would get, as the Panther’s defense yet again forced a kick return to gain possession.
Waxahachie got the last laugh of the first quarter with another big sack on Russell, costing Duncanville 10 yards.
Durham started the second quarter with a huge run for 35 yards, and soon after 10 more yards for his second rushing touchdown of the night to put Duncanville up 16-0.
Soon after getting the ball back, Russell connected with Durham for his third touchdown of the game.
Waxahachie, on the other hand, did not seem to find any rushing lanes or positive yardage. Duncanville edge rusher Colin Simmons and defensive tackle Alex January were nightmares for the Indians. The Texas commits made sure to leave no options on the table for Waxahachie in both the run and passing game.
On their first play after another kick return from the Indians, Russell would throw a sharp pass to Moore, who easily ran the ball 66 yards into the endzone and put the Panthers up 30-0 to end the half.
Waxahachie’s got the ball on their 10-yard line to start the second half. A bad snap led the Indian’s quarterback Ramon McKinney Jr. to be tackled on their 1-yard line, eventually leading to a punt out of their own endzone.
Duncanville got the ball on the Indian’s own 45-yard line to start their first drive of the half. Waxahachie had other plans, as a sack on Russell led to a forced fumble recovered by the Indian’s just shy of the Panther’s 15-yard line.
Waxahachie nearly came up with a touchdown on a wheel route, but McKinney couldn’t connect with his receiver. The Indian’s had to settle for a field goal, but those three points would end Duncanville’s three-game streak of leaving their opponents scoreless.
Duncanville was quick to score with Russell connecting with wide receiver Zach Turner for a 12-yard passing touchdown.
Both teams would go scoreless for the remainder of the of the third quarter, but the Panthers would have a good look at the endzone to start the final quarter.
An 11-yard rushing touchdown by junior running back Jaqualon Armstrong put Duncanville up 44-3 early in the fourth.
Waxahachie came out with a big drive with the assist of a couple of penalties on the Panthers, one coming from a late hit on senior quarterback Beck Sullivan, who replaced McKinney for the remainder of the game.
The Indians would score their first touchdown of the game with a 9-yard pass from Sullivan to sophomore wide receiver Kohen Brown, bringing the score to 44-10.
The Waxahachie defense forced Duncanville to punt for the second time towards the end of the game, where the clock soon ran down.
The Panthers put on a show, with their star player quarterback Keelon Russell throwing for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Waxahachie’s junior running back Parker Benson showed out with 44 rushing yards on two big plays.
Duncanville will improve to 5-0 and will travel to Mansfield, Texas to take on the Mansfield Tigers. Waxahachie will drop their second straight game (4-2) and will also travel to Mansfield to face off against the Mansfield Legacy Broncos.
