PORT ARTHUR — It didn’t take long for the Port Arthur Memorial Titans to pick up where they left off last fall. Memorial used a suffocating defense and a big-play offense to outscore Atascocita 31-14 Friday in the team’s only preseason scrimmage.

“We’ve just got to eliminate some mental mistakes,” Memorial head coach Kenny Harrison said. “But, you know, our first time out going up against an opponent, I think our kids were a little wired up. I think we can get those under control by our next game.”

It was the second straight time that Harrison got the best of new Eagles head coach Craig Stump, who left Beaumont West Brook last spring.

“Coach Stump does a great job with his teams,” Harrison said. “He’s a quality football coach and we knew it was going to be a good football team. Our kids stepped up and we didn’t give up a touchdown by our first defense.”

Quarterback Ricky Fisk built on a strong spring in taking control of the Titans offense. Fisk scored an eight-yard TD in the first quarter, cutting back on an option play to his right and sliding by two defenders into the end zone.

He then found three of his four starting wide receivers with touchdown passes, including two pinpoint throws in the red zone to Albert Jacobs and John Leday.

“The thing with Ricky is with three veteran receivers back, there’s not a lot of pressure on him,” Harrison said. “If he stays patient and goes through his progressions, he’ll be alright. We’ve got a long way to go on the offensive line, but I think we’ll get there.”

The star of the receiving corps on this night, however, was junior Roderic Rucker. On one play in the first quarter, Rucker made a great catch along the sideline, waiting on a ball that got tipped up in the air and keeping two feet in bounds as he made the catch.

Then, in the second quarter, Rucker took a bubble screen and turned up the sideline for a 60-yard TD after Leday and Jacobs made critical blocks on the edge.

The defense also looked impressive, as the Titans defensive line dominated Atascocita. Three of Memorial’s four starting linemen registered sacks, with the fourth (Meldric Matthews) picking up a few knockdowns and QB hurries.

Matthew Romar, who moved from end to tackle this season, was simply overpowering on the interior of that line, which is a great sign for the Titans heading into the season.

“That’s our strength right now,” Harrison said. “Those guys played 13, 14 and even 15 games last season. We have a lot of experience and if they stay healthy, I think we can give some teams some problems.”

Still there were plenty ofngs for the Titans to work on. Atascocita scored one touchdown as starting running back Shaq Angelle fumbled into the end zone. An Atascicita defender scooped it up and went 103 yards down the sideline for the TD.

Fisk also had a couple of different balls almost picked off while Rucker fumbled after a catch and run inside the 20.

“Rucker did a great job,” Harrison said. “But, he needs to understand we can’t turn that football over. If we want to play for a championship, we can’t turn the ball over. We expect to play at that level, so we’ve got to clean that up.”