DALLAS - The nation’s largest steroids testing program caught only two Texas high school athletes taking unauthorized substances out of more than 10,000 students who were tested, according to results issued by the state Wednesday.

Athletes tested played sports ranging from football to girls golf, and the results renewed criticism about the two-year, $6 million program approved by lawmakers last year.

The students who tested positive weren’t identified by name, school or sport. Documents obtained by The Associated Press showed that a senior tested positive for the anabolic steroid boldenone, and a 10th-grader was found using a steroid called methylandrostandiol.

Four tests came back unresolved and three students refused to be tested, according to figures released by the University Interscholastic League. One athlete left the testing area without cause or approval, and 18 missed the mandatory testing without an excused absence.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a key figure in pushing the plan through the Legislature, has said the program is meant to serve as a deterrent. Dewhurst spokesman Mike Wintemute said the lieutenant governor was “encouraged” by the results and that success should be measured by the number of students who never began using steroids.

Republican state Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston, a critic of the steroids testing, said he wasn’t surprised by the results. He described the initiative as a “feel good” program that is not acting as a deterrent.

“This program should be abolished moving forward. It’s turned out to be a colossal waste of taxpayer money,” said Patrick, adding that he would rather spend the money every year battling alcohol abuse among teens because it’s a much bigger problem.

Asked whether the program should be scaled down, Wintemute said it was an issue lawmakers will consider when the Legislature reconvenes next year.

“But the lieutenant governor believes it’s prudent to receive the results of this next round of tests before making any final determination about the need for continued funding,” Wintemute said.

UIL spokeswoman Kim Rogers said the two students who tested positive are multi-sport athletes but that the sports they play are unknown. Rogers said she did not know when conclusive results from the four unresolved tests would be ready.

Testing was conducted at 195 schools, testing 6,455 boys and 3,662 girls. More than 3,300 athletes who played football were tested, more than three times the number of any other sport.

In all, 28 athletes were flagged under one of the following categories: testing positive; having an unresolved test; missing testing because of an unexcused absence; refusing testing; or leaving the testing area. The results, however, do not link the sport to the specific offense.

Seven were football players, and six were male multisport athletes whose sports were not identified. Only four of the 28 were female. Just one male powerlifter was tested, compared with 377 male tennis players.

Texas found itself at the center of the debate on steroid use among youths when the father of a suburban Dallas high school baseball player went on a national crusade following his son’s suicide.

Don Hooton of Plano has traveled the country imploring state governments to pass steroid legislation. His son, 17-year-old Taylor Hooton, died in 2003. Doctors believe he became depressed after he stopped using steroids.

Hooton said the results “ratchets up the stakes” to make sure testing isn’t abandoned. He urged critics to let the new program complete a full year of testing before rushing to judgment.

“To use this test to come to the conclusion that we don’t have a steroids problem in Texas is naive, at best,” Hooton said.

Testing began in February after the program was stalled by creating guidelines and finding a company to implement the program. The contract was awarded to the National Center for Drug Free Sport, which also handles testing for the NCAA.

In submitting its results to the UIL, the company wrote, “we must steer clear of the temptation to use the number of positive cases generated by this short period of testing to draw any conclusions about the success, or lack thereof, of this testing initiative.”

Random testing will resume this fall, and state officials say between 40,000 and 50,000 student-athletes will be screened during the school year.