By Matt Tasler/sports@trcle.com

The Waco High Lions sent Cleburne to its fourth straight District 16-4A loss Friday night, downing the Yellow Jackets 41-14 at Yellow Jacket Stadium.

The loss drops the Jackets to 3-4 on the season and 0-4 in 16-4A. The Lions are 4-3 on the year, with a 2-2 mark in the league.

“Our kids fought so hard, I’m so proud of them,” Cleburne head coach Phil Young said. “We just made mistakes. We had good game plans. At times we executed, and at times we didn’t. We had some penalties that hurt us and we just keep losing kids. We lost two more offensive starters tonight, and I don’t know, but it may be the end of the season for them.”

After each team had an offensive possession that ended in punts, the Lions got the scoring under way on a safety with 6:50 remaining in the first quarter. The shotgun snap sailed over quarterback Ty Taylor’s head and he was tackled in the end zone for a 25-yard loss.

The Jackets kicked the ball back to the Lions on the ensuing free kick and Waco’s offense took over at the Cleburne 45.

The Lions capped the four-play scoring drive with a 25-yard touchdown run by Bronshae Dugas with 6:10 showing on the clock.

Following a three-and-out by the Cleburne offense, the Lions stretched their lead to 16-0 on a 2-yard run from Dugas with 2:06 to play in the first period.

Semaj Holderness returned the ensuing kickoff to the Cleburne 41-yard line and the Jackets’ offense took advantage of the solid field position by reaching the end zone to cut the deficit to 16-7.

Cleburne covered 59 yards in eight plays, capped by a 4-yard touchdown run by Justin Gauntt with 11:26 left in the first half.

Holderness came up with a 39-yard reception to set up Gauntt’s scoring run.

The teams traded possessions again before Waco took over at the Cleburne 35 with 4:19 showing on the clock.

Dugas picked up a first down with an 11-yard run to the 24, setting up Denzel Mitchell’s 24-yard touchdown reception from Kollin Kahler to make it 23-7 with 3:44 remaining in the second quarter.

The Lions opened the second half with the ball and drove 58 yards in 13 plays, setting up a 33-yard field goal by Ernesto Guevara with 6:33 left in the third, stretching Waco’s lead to 26-7.

The Jackets’ defense held on a third down and 11 play, but Cleburne was called for a personal foul giving the Lions a first down at the 30.

“We shot ourselves in the foot too many times,” Young said. “That was legit. It was a hustle penalty, but he should have let him go. The player didn’t do anything maliciously or try to hurt him. He was just hustling at him and ran him off. You’ve just got to let go of him, and yeah, that hurt us a little bit. We lost a little bit of momentum there, but we got it back. We played a good half, but their backs are hard to stop.”

After Cleburne’s sixth punt of the game, the Lions scored again on a 35-yard quarterback draw by Kahler and Toylon Clark added the two-point conversion run to make it 34-7 with 3:44 left in the third period.

On Waco’s next possession, Clark scored on a 61-yard run to make it 41-7 with 56.1 seconds remaining in the third period.

Cleburne got the ball back and went on a prolonged scoring drive, capped by Taylor’s 1-yard scoring run with 7:33 left in the contest. Omar Roa’s extra point made it 41-14.

The Jackets have been hit hard by injuries in recent weeks, as starting running back Micah McCoy missed the game due to injury, while receiver Trace Turner suffered an arm injury against Waco.

But Young said the offensive line has been the unit hardest hit by the injury bug.

“Weare essentially a JV line now,” Young said. “But I’m proud of them. They fight their guts off. I’m proud of all the boys.”

Gauntt led the Jackets’ ball carriers with 72 yards on 13 carries and Robert White added 17 yards on six carries. Taylor completed 11-of-22 passes for 127 yards, with Bubba Oakes leading the way with four catches for 51 yards. Holderness finished with one reception for 34 yards.

Waco finished with 403 rushing yards on 38 carries. Dugas led the Lions with 154 yards on 14 attempts, while Clark added 134 on 10 carries

Mitchell led the receiving corps with six catches for 62 yards.

Cleburne travels to Waxahachie for a 7:30 p.m. game Friday night.