WAURIKA — En route to its second victory of the season, Waurika made a discovery Friday night at Cy Sloan Stadium: Some times it helps to get a little “nasty.”

Debuting an offensive alignment head coach Larry VanBeber dubbed “Nasty,” the home-standing Eagles got a combined 249 yards from running backs Gil Griffin and Levi Henderson and tripped the visiting Eagles, 20-12, in a classic showdown of power vs. pass.

Although Wilson quarterback Weston Adams put the ball in the air 43 times, Waurika countered with the “Nasty” package that produced 127 yards on 22 carries by Griffin and 122 yards and a touchdown on 16 totes by Henderson, lifting the hosts to 2-6 overall and 2-5 in District A-4.

With starting offensive tackle Robert Rodriguez and wingback/quarterback Tyler Fuller unavailable, VanBeber spent the practice week changing Waurika’s wing-T base offense into the “Nasty” alignment. Tight end Evan Waid moved to tackle and instead of using tight ends, while wide receivers Robert Gilmore and Bobby Harris were split about 5 yards outside the tackles in an effort to keep Wilson from packing eight or nine defenders in “the box.”

In the backfield, Waurika aligned quarterback Jace Dunn and backs Griffin, Henderson and Mason Wilkerson in a wishbone look.

VanBeber said the backfield alignment was “really just a facade, because we weren’t going to option out of it like you would with the ’bone.”

Instead of a triple option, on plays in the “Nasty” set, Dunn took the snap and simply handed off to a back on power and counter plays, usually inside the tackles. Dunn mixed it up by keeping on sweeps and added 30 yards to Waurika’s 284 total rushing yards.

“I was really pleased with how the kids adapted to the offense,” VanBeber noted. “I was tickled to death for our two big backs. Levi needed a break-out game like that and Gil has been really running well in the second half of the season.

“I was really happy how we moved the ball and tried to get it to as many people as possible.”

Ironically, the host Eagles’ two key plays weren’t really indicative of “Nasty’s” grind-it-out concept.

After Waurika’s defense got its first taste of the aerial barrage Wilson unleashed and halted the visitors at their own 46-yard line on the first possession of the game, the hosts went to the air.

On Waurika’s first offensive play, Dunn lofted a pass down the left sideline that Gilmore caught in stride and scampered into the end zone with a 46-yard touchdown that made it 6-0.

“Even though we were planning to mainly rush the ball, we wanted to show (Wilson) right away that we would pass some,” VanBeber said. “Jace made a great pass and Robert made a good catch.”

Although a 2-point conversion pass failed, with 9:44 to in the first period, Waurika had a lead it never relinquished.

Waurika added to its lead on Dunn’s 3-yard run with 3:11 remaining in the second stanza. However, after trailing, 12-0, at halftime, Wilson threatened in the third period, when a 15-yard run by Cory Martin closed the gap to 12-6, with 4:09 left in the third quarter.

Three minutes later, a 10-yard punt return by lineman Taylor Fuller put Waurika at its 37-yard line. Fullback Henderson headed toward right tackle, as the hosts appeared content to run straight ahead, but the senior bounced out of a tackle attempt and suddenly discovered open space on the outside.

Out-running pursuit by Wilson’s linebackers and secondary, Henderson sprinted 63 yards for a TD on his longest run of the season. Griffin followed with a 2-point conversion run that gave Waurika a 20-6 edge.

“Levi kept looking back like there was somebody going to catch him, because he’s not used to being that wide open. There was nobody hitting him in the shins like usual,” assistant coach Roger Jessie said, with a laugh.

Adams, who was 17-for-43 for 283 yards, continued to fill the sky with pigskin, Wilson was able to chip into the deficit late in the fourth quarter.

Martin scored on a 5-yard run with 3:45 remaining, narrowing Waurika’s lead to 20-12 and giving the visitors hope. But Wilson (3-5, 3-4) never got another chance. Waurika returned to the time-consuming “Nasty” approach on a 10-play drive that covered only 27 total yards, but used up the final 3:45 of the game.

With standout back Jake Laster having his season ended by injury in Wilson’s loss to Velma-Alma in Week Seven, a Waurika defense led by 8 total tackles each from linebacker Dusty Davis and cornerback Bobby Harris, gave up only 2.1 yards per rush attempt.

Unable to establish a rush, Wilson tried to survive on Adams’ passes, 7 of which were caught by receiver Blake Hunziker for 129 yards.

Waurika did keep some heat on Adams with a rush that was often just one step away from turning a pass attempt into a sack.

“We were trying to bring a lot of people on the blitz and No. 3 (Adams) was a lot more slippery than we thought,” defensive coordinator Glenn Howard said. “Sending a lot of guys on pressure left the inside hook area open, and No. 45 (Hunziker) was able to make a lot of catches there. That kind of surprised us, because they hadn’t been throwing to him that much.”

The hosts did get some key pass break-ups from Gilmore (3), William Phillips (3) and Dunn (20). The defense also got 5 total tackles from linebacker Griffin and 4 from Henderson, while William Prewitt returned from six weeks of being sidelined by gall stone problems by chipping in 3.

The victory puts Waurika halfway through a four-game stretch drive in which it’s hoping to reverse an 0-6 start and finish 4-6.

“That’s not where we wanted to be when the season started, but it’s great to win two in a row and to see the kids haven’t given up,” VanBeber said.

Waurika will try to maintain the late surge in Week Nine, when the Eagles visit Empire, whose Bulldogs are 1-7. The game features a matchup of VanBeber, who coached the Bulldogs before coming to Waurika, matching schemes with former WHS skipper Tony Roberts, the last coach to take the Eagles to the playoff.

But VanBeber down-played the coach vs. coach aspect. “Tony and I haven’t played for a long time,” he noted with a laugh. “So this is just like every game — it comes down to the players and how well they execute.”