Duncanville routs Waxahachie in Texas high school football showdown
WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS - Duncanville continues its extraordinary roll this season.
The Panthers - behind three total touchdowns from senior tailback and LSU commit Caden Durham - built a 30-0 lead by halftime and went on to a 44-10 win against Waxahachie Friday night at Lumpkin Stadium.
Two weeks ago, Waxahachie put up 25 points on DeSoto and pushed the nationally-ranked Eagles deep into the fourth quarter. DeSoto held on to win, 56-35.
But the nation's No. 6 Panthers (5-0, 3-0 District 11-6A) - who will face No. 8 DeSoto in a highly anticipated showdown on Oct. 27 - didn't give the Indians much of a chance to get in any position to produce points. Duncanville held Waxahachie (4-2, 1-2) to 31 total yards in the first half.
The Panthers' first points came on a safety, after a bad snap on a punt attempt midway through the first quarter. Then after Duncanville received the free kick, the Panthers needed eight plays to score again as Durham went in from 2 yards out, and the PAT from Jonathan Batres extended the lead to 9-0.
Duncanville added touchdowns on each of its following three possessions. Durham had a 1-yard TD run and later caught a 50-yard pass from quarterback and SMU commit Keelon Russell for a 23-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Russell had his second TD pass on the night, a 66-yard catch-and-run from junior receiver Dakorien Moore (also an LSU commit), with Batres' PAT making it 30-0 with 3:25 remaining in the half.
Waxahachie did get the first big break of the second half as the Indians forced a fumble, with Cade Pointer returning it 30 yards to the Panther 15-yard line. But Duncanville's defense held, and Waxahachie settled for a 30-yard field goal by Beckham Atkins, breaking the Panthers' streak of three consecutive shutouts after allowing 13 in their season-opening win against South Oak Cliff.
The Panthers then answered on the ensuing drive, going 60 yards in 12 plays, capped by a 12-yard TD pass on third down from Russell to Zach Turner as Duncanville enjoyed its biggest lead at 34 points, 37-3.
That advantage grew even larger the next time the Panthers got the ball. Once again, they marched to pay dirt, with JaQualon Armstrong running it in from 11 yards out, making it 44-3 with 11:25 left.
After that TD drive, Russell had completed 10-of-13 passes for 278 yards and three TDs. Durham had 63 yards rushing on 10 carries, while Moore had four catches for 139 yards.
The Indians got a TD with less than seven minutes left on a 9-yard pass from Beck Sullivan to Kohen Brown.
Duncanville is the top-ranked team in the SBLive Texas Power 25.
-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx
