08/29/2026
No. 1 Waxahachie leaves little doubt in 72-14 Battle of 287 rout
ENNIS โ The Battle of 287 has rarely lacked for emotion, bragging rights or memorable moments over its 105 meetings. What the rivalry lacked Friday night was much suspense.
Waxahachie arrived at Lion Memorial Stadium as the anointed No. 1 team in Class 6A by Dave Campbellโs Texas Football and No. 10-ranked team in the nation by USA Today. The Indians then spent the better part of 4 quarters looking every bit the part, scoring 10 touchdowns and amassing 572 yards of offense in a 72-14 rout of rival Ennis.
The latest chapter provided a stark illustration of where the two proud Ellis County programs currently stand. Waxahachie has evolved into a legitimate state-title contender at Texasโ highest classification, while Ennis โ one of the stateโs most decorated programs with 5 state championships โ continues searching for the spark and identity that once made Friday nights at Lion Memorial Stadium among the most daunting in Texas.
History still matters here, of course.
The rivalry began with a 37-0 Waxahachie victory in 1908 and Friday marked meeting No. 105 according to the official Waxahachie High School historical record. The Indians now own a narrow 53-50-2 advantage in a series that has spent more than a century swinging between the two communities.
The current pendulum, however, isnโt particularly close.
Waxahachie has won 5 consecutive meetings since Ennis escaped the 100th Battle of 287 with a 22-21 overtime victory in 2021. The Indians have since won 42-2, 22-16, 42-14, 44-13 and now 72-14 โ a combined 222-59 margin that has increasingly reflected the growing separation between the programs.
Friday required all of 26 seconds to reinforce the point.
Senior quarterback Jerry Meyer III connected with Kentorion King for a 24-yard touchdown on Waxahachieโs first offensive snap. Taylen Strange followed with a 3-yard touchdown run before Meyer found Jordan Smith from 18 yards and Jashawn Crayton from 55 yards to build a four-touchdown lead in the opening quarter.
Waxahachie carried a 37-7 lead into halftime and, if there were any thoughts of an Ennis comeback, quickly removed those after the break. King broke free for an 82-yard touchdown run, Meyer twice connected with Crayton for touchdowns and Micah Lewis added a 21-yard scoring run as the Indians found the end zone 4 times in the third quarter.
Meyer was at the center of nearly everything Waxahachie did offensively.
The senior signal-caller completed 16-of-24 passes for 313 yards and 5 touchdowns without an interception, averaging 13 yards per attempt. Meyer spread those 5 touchdowns among 3 receivers, though Crayton was unquestionably the biggest problem for the Ennis secondary.
The senior receiver hauled in 7 passes for 193 yards and 3 touchdowns, averaging 27.6 yards per reception. Craytonโs trips to the end zone covered 55, 44 and 50 yards โ meaning his 3 touchdown receptions alone accounted for 149 yards.
Smith added 5 receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown, while King caught 3 passes for 40 yards and the touchdown that opened the floodgates.
And there wasnโt much relief when Meyer handed the football off.
Strange turned just 8 carries into 111 yards and 2 touchdowns for an average of 13.9 yards per attempt. Kingโs lone carry resulted in his 82-yard touchdown, while Lewis added 23 yards and a touchdown on 2 attempts.
Waxahachie finished with 218 rushing yards on just 20 carries โ 10.9 yards every time an Indian carried the football.
That number somehow wasnโt even the most striking measure of the offensive efficiency.
Waxahachieโs 572 total yards came on only 50 offensive snaps, good for 11.4 yards per play. The Indians averaged 11.8 yards per pass attempt and produced 25 first downs while never turning the football over.
For perspective, Waxahachie essentially gained the length of a first down โ and then some โ every time the offense snapped the football.
Ennis, meanwhile, spent much of the night heading in the opposite direction statistically.
The Waxahachie defense limited the Lions to 218 total yards, including only 72 on 34 rushing attempts (2.1 YPC), while forcing 3 turnovers. Ennis lost 2 of its 4 fumbles and threw an interception, giving the stateโs No. 1-ranked 6A team additional possessions it hardly needed.
Lions quarterback Elijah LeBlanc completed 15-of-31 passes for 146 yards with one touchdown and one interception. LeBlanc also led Ennis with 57 rushing yards, while Elijah Davis accounted for the Lionsโ first touchdown and Noah Anderson caught a 10-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
By then, the Battle had long since been decided.
Waxahachie led 29-0 after the opening quarter and 37-7 at halftime before Kingโs 82-yard touchdown run began another barrage. Meyer followed with touchdown strikes of 44 and 50 yards to Crayton before Lewisโ 21-yard run sent the Indians into the fourth quarter with a 65-7 lead.
Josh Wadeโs 2-yard touchdown run accounted for Waxahachieโs 10th and final trip to the end zone.
The final stat sheet was every bit as lopsided as the scoreboard: Waxahachie held a 572-218 advantage in total offense, 354-146 through the air and 218-72 on the ground. The Indians produced 25 first downs, averaged 11.4 yards per offensive snap, forced 3 turnovers and committed none.
And while 72-14 will certainly find its place somewhere among the more memorable final scores in Battle of 287 history, the larger takeaway from Friday night wasnโt difficult to find.
Ennis has history. Five state championships ensure that. Lion Memorial Stadium has witnessed too much winning, too many playoff runs and too many championship-caliber teams for one stretch of the rivalry to erase what the program has meant to Texas high school football.
But this isnโt that Ennis.
And this isnโt the Waxahachie program that spent years trying to prove it belonged among the stateโs largest schools, either.
The Indians opened the Lawrence Williams era Friday night with the stateโs No. 1 ranking, a top-10 national billing and legitimate championship expectations. They left Ennis having scored 10 touchdowns, averaged better than 11 yards per snap and extended their winning streak over their oldest rival to 5 games.
The two programs remain separated by roughly 15 miles of U.S. Highway 287.
On Friday night, the distance felt considerably greater.
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by TMS/ECS Media
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