PORT ARTHUR — The Titans fought hard but West Brook’s Christan Michael was too much for Memorial, scoring four rushing touchdowns on 21 carries for 156 yards.

The Titans surged twice in the game to keep it interesting for moments, but former Port Arthur Jefferson quarterback, Craig Stump always had an answer in the Bruins’ 42-21 victory over the Titans on Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

With the loss, the Titans fall to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in District 21-5A. Memorial will need to win out to have a shot for the post season. Meanwhile, the Bruins improve to 7-1 overall and 6-0 in district play.

Memorial made it close in the second quarter, scoring back-to-back touchdowns to close West Brook’s lead to 14-13; but the Bruins needed just two plays on their next drive to regain control of the game.

With the score 35-13, the Titans made another attempt at a come back by finishing a 15-play drive with a 7-yard pass play from Harry Brown to Jalonzo Thomas. Then Brown connected with Patterson Clay for the two-point conversion, making the score 35-21 in the fourth quarter.

The defense held for Memorial, giving the ball back to its offense with plenty of time for a fourth quarter comeback; but receiver Freddie King dropped two passes and Brown missed another receiver, forcing a three and out for the Titans.

West Brook took over on Port Arthur’s 34-yard line after a 5-yard punt. On the fifth play of that drive, Michael punched in his fourth and final touchdown of the night on a 9-yard run, making the score 42-21.

“There’s good reason that young man is considered one of the best backs in the country,” Memorial head coach Ronnie Thompson said. “He is a special talent — very tough to bring down.

“I thought we played a pretty good ball game. We missed some opportunities, had a couple balls bounce the wrong way but I thought we played a pretty good game. They just played a better game. And we played a pretty good football team. They are real good on both sides of the ball.”

Brown provided most of the offense for the Titans. All three of Memorial’s scores came from his arm. Brown completed 29-of-48 passes for 285 yards, two interceptions and three touchdowns.

Brown’s first touchdown pass went to King on a 24-yard pass connection to close West Brook’s second-quarter lead to 14-7. King caught seven passes for 87 yards and the touchdown.

Later in the second quarter, Brown hooked up with Glenn Windon on a 21-yard pass play for a touchdown that closed the game to 14-13. Thomas caught Memorial’s final touchdown.

Windon made four receptions on 56 yards and Thomas’ only reception was the 7-yard touchdown.

Michael’s four touchdowns gave him 10 for his career against Memorial. Last year he smacked the Titans around for 243 yards and six touchdowns. Michael’s contributions, however, were not the only problem for the Titans’ defense.

West Brook quarterback Christian Louis found six receivers on 15 attempts, racking up 147 yards. Louis, who carried the ball 10 times for 81 yards, also completed two passes for touchdowns in the first half.

Louis found Ryan Grant for 26-yards and a score that put West Brook up 14-0 in the second quarter. Later in the first half, Joshua Powdrill got behind the Titans’ defense and caught a 18-yard pass from Louis.

Grant led the team with two receptions for 52 yards. Jordan Garrett caught one 56-yard pass that set Michael up for a 1-yard touchdown run that gave the Bruins a 28-13 lead in the first half.

Patterson Clay led all players with 13 receptions, which is a single-game record for Memorial. Clay turned those receptions into 78 yards. He also rushed for 21 yards on eight carries.

As a team, Memorial managed just 40 yards on the ground compared to West Brook’s 236 yards. The Titans did pick up 18 first downs compared to the Bruins 13.

This marked Memorial’s fourth straight loss to West Brook and third straight loss in as many weeks. And Stump is now 3-0 against Memorial and 2-0 against his former coach (Thompson).

This was Stump’s first win and first trip to Port Arthur as a coach. It was his first time to coach in Port Arthur.

“It feels good to get a win anywhere,” Stump said. “That’s what we work all week for and we played a good game tonight. I knew they (Memorial) would play us hard, they have a good quarterback and he was able to beat us a few times. It’s good to get out of here with a win.”