By Rob Hipp
NEW WAVERLY, Texas — New Waverly overcame an uneven opening quarter and scored 39 unanswered points Friday night to defeat Tarkington 45-7 in the season opener at Bulldog Stadium.
The Bulldogs recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and quickly converted the turnover into points. William Colley capped the opening possession with a 1-yard touchdown run, giving New Waverly a 6-0 lead with 9:48 remaining in the first quarter.
Tarkington answered after recovering a New Waverly fumble on a punt return. Quarterback Toby Reams connected with Parker McNary for a 3-yard touchdown, and the extra point gave the Longhorns a 7-6 advantage.
The lead did not last long.
Ryson Nunez scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper, and Khalil Major added the 2-point conversion to put New Waverly back in front, 14-7. Nunez later found Nathan Dipprey on a screen pass that Dipprey carried 20 yards for a touchdown, extending the lead to 21-7 before the end of the opening quarter.
New Waverly added two more touchdowns in the second quarter. Malik Smith powered into the end zone on a 2-yard run before Nunez connected with Leo Escobedo for a 1-yard touchdown. Escobedo made both extra-point attempts, sending the Bulldogs into halftime with a 35-7 lead.
Smith, who contributed on offense, defense and special teams, was selected as the SHN Sports player of the game.
“We work hard for this,” Smith said. “We kind of challenge ourselves to push each other to go farther and do better.”
The Bulldogs added 10 points in the third quarter. Escobedo made a 22-yard field goal, and Nunez later connected with Jace Wells on a screen pass that Wells carried approximately 30 yards for the final touchdown.
New Waverly’s defense kept Tarkington off the scoreboard after the first quarter. The Bulldogs intercepted Reams during the second quarter and stopped another extended Tarkington possession inside the New Waverly 10-yard line shortly before halftime.
Head coach Dean Schaub said the Bulldogs showed some opening-night rust but responded well.
“We were definitely very rusty. A lot of things we’ve got to clean up, but we fought hard,” Schaub said. “I’m proud of all our kids.”
Schaub also credited the team’s conditioning and the leadership of a senior-heavy roster.
“We’ve got 20 seniors,” Schaub said. “They’ve grown up together, and every sport they’ve played together. That’s a family.”
The victory moved New Waverly to 1-0, while Tarkington fell to 0-1. The 45-7 final is also listed by MaxPreps.
Box score
Team 1 2 3 4 Final
Tarkington 7 0 0 0 7
New Waverly 21 14 10 0 45
Scoring summary
Quarter Scoring play
First, 9:48 NW: William Colley 1-yard run. Conversion failed.
First, 7:47 TARK: Parker McNary 3-yard pass from Toby Reams. Kick good.
First, 7:07 NW: Ryson Nunez 1-yard run. Khalil Major 2-point conversion.
First, 2:09 NW: Nathan Dipprey 20-yard pass from Nunez. Leo Escobedo kick.
Second, 11:28 NW: Malik Smith 2-yard run. Escobedo kick.
Second, 7:10 NW: Escobedo 1-yard pass from Nunez. Escobedo kick.
Third, 8:54 NW: Escobedo 22-yard field goal.
Third, late NW: Jace Wells approximately 30-yard pass from Nunez. Escobedo kick.
Complete rushing, passing, receiving and defensive totals were not officially available. Individual yardage above comes from the SHN Sports game broadcast.
Up next
New Waverly is scheduled to face Keene on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. Both teams enter the matchup 1-0 after Keene defeated Riesel 28-8 in its opener.
Rob Hipp handled play-by-play for the SHN Sports broadcast, with Ray Hernandez joining the crew as analyst.
New Waverly pulls away from Tarkington for 45-7 season-opening victory
