BELTON — Five days after Temple went to 0-2, junior safety Naeten Mitchell spoke about the Wildcats’ frame of mind as they dealt with a bit of unfamiliar territory. There was no panic, he said. He could sense a turning of the corner, that good things were brewing.

Temple offensive line coach described, rather nonchalantly, the Wildcats’ starters in the trenches this season as characters. Generally, that is accurate, however, a specific disclaimer to go with it might be necessary — when in conversation with the five, be prepared to laugh, a lot, and sometimes at one’s expense.

Temple has scored an average of 49.7 points and allowed 22.7, essentially doubling up District 12-6A opponents during its 3-0 start to league play, and the defending champion aims to keep up the trend this week against Leon River rival Belton after last year’s meeting was nixed because of a …

Some were as straight forward as changing alignment on the defensive line and exploring different blocking angles to aid the rushing attack. In any instance, Temple’s adjustments after halftime Thursday night against Killeen Ellison continued the Wildcats’ trend of dominant second halves dur…

KILLEEN — Temple got off to a fast start and sputtered for significant stretches yet ultimately withstood a sturdy test from host Killeen Ellison 56-27 on Thursday night in a wild District 12-6A outing at Leo Buckley Stadium.

Sometime in the future, when Kaleb Hill looks back at his football career with Temple, the senior said he believes some of his fondest memories ultimately will include times spent with teammates in the film room breaking down game clips and on the field in the heat of competition.

The expression “turn the page” this week has nothing to do with rock legend Bob Seger, not as far as Temple is concerned anyway. After victory or defeat, flipping the short-memory switch usually is requested by head coach Scott Stewart.

Temple ISD superintendent Bobby Ott spent the early stages of the first quarter last Friday night describing the meaning of the phrase “Temple Tough” to Pro Football Hall of Famer and guest of honor “Mean” Joe Greene.

Been there and done that. Go ahead, add in did it again.

For the second straight season, Temple fell into a three-touchdown, first-half hole against Harker Heights and for the second time found a way out of it in dramatic fashion for an exhilarating District 12-6A victory, the latest installment a 44-34 triumph Friday night at Wildcat Stadium.

Temple head coach Scott Stewart encourages players to visit his office if they ever need to bounce around ideas or just vent. Some conversations are lighthearted, some aren’t.

Temple’s offense piled up more than 500 yards and its defense didn’t yield a touchdown last Friday in the Wildcats’ most thorough victory to date this season.

Harker Heights, meanwhile, attracted the largest home-side crowd to Leo Buckley Stadium in five years last Thursday and promptly produced a 41-point win over Killeen Ellison to move to 4-0.

BRYAN — One day after verbally committing to Air Force, Temple senior running back Samari Howard took flight, and he and the rest of the Wildcats are off and running in District 12-6A.

Howard hurdled a defender on his way to one of his three touchdowns, Mikal Harrison-Pilot had a 95-yard TD catch among his two scores and Temple’s defense hunkered down against Bryan’s physical rushing attack for an emphatic 49-7 victory Friday night in the league opener for both at Merrill Green Stadium.

KeAndre Smith tells a story about the time he fell off a horse when he was 11 years old. He cried, suffered some cuts and still has a couple of the scars. Even though relatives told him to avoid it, he eventually got back on because, quite frankly, he enjoyed riding.

After spending the first month of the season at home, Temple packs up the essentials and hits the road this week for its first away game that also happens to be the District 12-6A opener.

There’s an old cliché in sports that the records can be thrown out when it comes to a rivalry match.