PORT ARTHUR — BEAUMONT -- For an early-season game, the deck certainly looks stacked against Port Arthur Memorial. The Titans are coming off a too-close-for-comfort victory over Beaumont Central and head into a rivalry game with Beaumont Ozen a week after the Panthers knocked off another District 21-5A team in West Brook.



Except that the Memorial offense didn’t skip a beat from last year, gaining over 400 yards and featuring a dangerous passing attack.



Except that quarterback Ricky Fisk was on pace for over 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing before getting thrown out of his rhythm with cramps in the third quarter.



Except that the Memorial defense was suffocating and hurt more by costly penalties than by big plays.



Central played a great game, but Memorial kept the Jaguars in the game with too many mental mistakes.



“We had a couple of drops,” Memorial head coach Kenny Harrison said. “We have to work on concentrating at the end of the ballgame. We worked a lot this week on concentration drills, distractions drills, to be ready at the end of the game. If we execute at the same level in the fourth quarter that we did in the first half, the game isn’t close. We just have to be prepared to execute.”



Fisk completed 15 of 27 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns against Central, but could easily have had two more. One was called back thanks to a holding call and the other was picked off on a slant route.



Still, Fisk did a good job of running the offense, especially in the first half, when he utilized all his receivers and showed how good this year’s Titan passing came might be.



“Ricky did well,” Harrison said. “He studies a lot of game film. This is his fourth year in the offense, and it shows. He’s only going to get better. His main goal is to cut down on the mistakes. The mistakes he made last week, we’ve got to minimize those week in and week out.”



While Fisk had a good first week in the starting lineup, Ozen quarterback Jordan Ozen had one for the ages. The senior was 17 for 29 for 415 yards and three touchdowns. He also scored the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard plunge with less than a minute to play against crosstown rival West Brook.



Ozen is replacing last year’s starter Trey Green and did a great job with some very good skill players.



“When West Brook blitzed, they had some success,” Harrison said. “He’s probably going to come in here with all the confidence in the world after his performance last week. We have to be sound and not get over-aggressive.”



Returning District 20-4A MVP Jakobi Jones didn’t waste any time in continuing to be productive for the offense. He gained 214 total yards on 14 touches and scored a receiving touchdown.



He combines with Andrew Michael and Kourtney Williams to provide plenty of options for Ozen in the passing game. Last week, seven different Panthers caught at least one pass, including two-way star Tony Brown.



“You can’t simulate their speed in practice,” Harrison said. “We’ve taken our best JV back and put a No. 1 jersey on him (for Jones). We’re going to be up against some speed this week. He did a tremendous job for us and our team understands they can’t give them any space, because they’re going to be gone. They’ve got some playmakers out there, some home run hitters.”



On defense, the Panthers showed a little more vulnerability, giving up 22 second-half points and 192 rushing yards to West Brook. That’s the flip side of what Memorial did in its first week, running out to a 20 points in the first half before scoring just a field goal in the second.



The Titans will attempt to fix some of their offensive scoring problems by working in a red zone offensive package. Last season, that included bringing standout defensive lineman Matthew Romar over to play tailback. Romar was able to bull his way into the end zone multiple times in that package, so the Titans may turn to him again this season in that role.



Starting tailback Shaq Angelle had a decent first week running the ball, picking up 65 yards on 19 carries. Harrison was most impressed with how Angelle handled his duties in the passing game.



“He did everything we asked him to do,” Harrison said. “He was real effective in the running game, but I was most pleased with his pass protection. He stepped up and took on the linebackers really well. That’s one of the main reasons why he got the Back of the Week award. He did a great job there.”



Ozen is looking to snap a six-game losing streak to Memorial, as the Panthers have never beaten the Titans since the school opened in 2002.