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WAXAHACHIE – Three seasons of losses to rival Ennis provided all the motivation Waxahachie quarterback Roderick Hartsfield Jr. needed.
The senior, orally committed to Alcorn State, stabilized jittery teammates early to put Waxahachie on track for a 42-2 victory in the Ellis County rivalry game known as the “Battle of 287” Friday night before a capacity crowd at Lumpkins Stadium.
The schools have faced off 101 times dating back to 1908.
Waxahachie (1-0), No. 19 in SportsDay’s 6A area ranking, narrowed Ennis’ series advantage to one, 50-49. There have been two ties.
Ennis (0-1),No. 9 in the Class 5A preseason area ranking, struggled to find a running game against a suffocating Waxahachie front seven and was forced to throw 38 passes that produced threats but no touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Jackson Gilkey completed 16 of 37 passes for 231 yards in the face of a relentless pass rush. His primary target, sophomore Gracen Harris, had eight catches for 124 yards.
Ennis grabbed an early 2-0 lead when a high punt snap led to a safety in game’s opening three minutes. Ennis threatened again after taking the free kick before being stopped on downs at the Waxahachie 15. Hartsfield led his team on an 85-yard go-ahead driving, converting twice on third down passes to set up his own 7-yard scoring run for a 6-2 lead at 4:20 of the first period.
Two plays after the Waxahachie defense stopped Ennis on a fourth-down try at midfield, Louisiana Tech pledge Iverson Young popped a 50-yard scoring run to increase the lead to 13-2 with over a minute remaining in the first period. Ennis linebacker Jamioreous Myers stopped one Waxahachie threat in the second period with a fumble recovery, but when Hartsfield got the ball again, his deep throw down the home sideline hit Utah State pledge Keith Abney II in stride for a 72-yard scoring play and a 20-2 halftime lead.
After a scoreless third quarter, Waxahachie pulled away on touchdown runs by Hartsfield from 15 yards, Jayden Becks from 72 yards and a 47-yarder by backup Yoshua Sargent.
Gregory Hatley III, a transfer defensive back from Frisco Lebanon Trail, turned back an Ennis threat with a 58-yard interception return of a deflected pass. Defensive tackle Rhyus Evans and linebacker Kahllell Hollowell ended Ennis fourth quarter scoring chances with fumble recoveries.
EN – Safety. Ball Snapped out of End Zone.
WX – Roderick Hartsfield 7 run (run failed).
WX – Iverson Young 50 run (Jesse Garfias kick).
WX – Keith Abney II 72 pass from Roderick Hartsfield (Jesse Garfias kick).
WX – Roderick Hartsfield 15 run (Beck Sullivan run).
WX – Jayden Becks 72 run (Jesse Garfias kick).
WX – Yoshua Sargent 47 run (Ryan Cerezo kick).
First Downs EN: 17 WX: 14
Rushing Yards EN: 33-127 WX: 40-239
Passing Yards EN: 231 WX: 192
Passing EN: 16-38-0 WX :10-11-0
Punts-Avg EN :4-44 WX: 3-37
Penalties EN:5-30 WX: 6-37
Fumbles-Losts EN: 3-2 WX: 6-1
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing – EN: Jeremy Brown 2-10, Jamarion Wafford 11-57, Jackson Gilkey10-1, Ma’Qua Smith 10-59. WX: Iverson Young 8-91, Jayden Becks 13-114, Ramon McKinney 2-6, Roderick Hartsfield 12-8, Yoshua Sargent 2-50, Ta’Modrick Davis-Robinson 3-0.
Passing – EN: Jackson Gilkey 16-37-1-231. WX: Roderick Hartsfield 10-11-0-192.
Receiving – EN: Gracen Harris 8-124, Lamarion McGowan 1-15, Jeremy Brown 1-3, Jamarion Wafford 1-5, Kalen Tisdale 2-30, Jalen Henderson 1-10, Quincy Jones 1-5, Wondame Davis 1-39. WX: Keith Abney II 1-72, Iverson Young 1-2, Jayden Becks 1-12, De’Tyrian McCoy 6-102, Trenton Kidd 1-4.
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