NORTH RICHLAND HILLS – Without the services of two of his favorite targets, Fort Worth Christian quarterback Colton Waddle seamlessly adjusted to lead the Cardinals to a resounding 40-0 thumping of Bishop Lynch in a TAPPS season-opener Friday night at Barrow Field.

Waddle, a 6-2, 180-pound senior transfer from Richardson J.J. Pearce, completed 18 of 27 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns in his impressive debut. He also ran for 57 yards on eight carries and a score.

“We have a lot of confidence in all of our receivers,’’ said Waddle, who already has a couple of college offers.  

Fort Worth Christian was without the services of Bo Pearson, injured early in the second quarter and Cooper Griffin in the second half.

“Colten did a great job of moving the ball around and being a leader,’’ said Cardinals head coach Brady Gunn.

Bishop Lynch (0-1) is seeking its first winning season since 2018 while competing in the ultra-competitive District 1 of TAPPS Division I. The Friars have finished 6-6 the last two seasons.

The Cardinals needed only five plays and less than two minutes of clock to jump to a 7-0 lead.

Waddle hit a sprinting Carter Brooks down the middle for a 57-yard touchdown.

After a touchdown pass was nullified by a penalty, Waddle found Griffin in the right flat on an 11-yard scoring pass midway through the second quarter. Griffin flipped over a tackler at the goal line.

Senior kicker Evan Rosencrans connected on a pair of field goals in the first half, from 49 yards in the opening quarter and from 32 yards on the final play of the first half to open a 19-0 lead.

Aside from 85 yards in penalties, the only negative in the first half was an injury to star receiver Pearson on a punt return.

The two longest Bishop Lynch drives in the first half ended in turnovers.

After a fumble stopped another promising Friars’ drive in the third quarter, Waddle finished a 70-yard drive with a one-yard keeper to make it 26-0.

It went to 33-0 later in the third quarter on a 13-yard scoring run by Jeremiah Mishaw.

Backup running back Nate Kraatz got in the scoring act with a 3-yard touchdown run four minutes into the fourth quarter.

Jeremiya Manning had two catches for 57 yards to lead Bishop Lynch.