By DAUCY CRIZER
BAYTOWN – Things could not have looked any worse for Memorial midway through the second quarter Friday night.
The Titans had already backed themselves into a corner by losing their last two games and likely needed a win to ensure a playoff berth. They were trailing Baytown 14-0, while Channelview, the team that beat them the previous week and could keep them from the playoffs, was leading at home over Baytown Sterling.
All the hard work and preparation that goes into a football season appeared to be for naught. The big win over North Shore was all but a distant memory. The season was on the brink of disappointment.
However, that’s when Memorial showed its true colors. The Titans rallied for a touchdown just before halftime and scored 38 unanswered points in the second half en route to a convincing 45-14 win over Baytown Lee Friday night at Stallworth Stadium that earned a playoff berth.
The victory improved the Titans to 3-2 in District 21-5A and 6-4 overall. They will face La Porte in bidistrict play next Saturday at 1 p.m. at Pasadena Memorial Stadium.
Trailing 14-0 and getting out played by the Ganders, Memorial used a 9-play, 85-yard scoring drive late in the second quarter to get back in the game.
“That drive was very big,” said Memorial coach Kenny Harrison. “That drive got us going and gave us a little bit of confidence going into halftime. We struggled quite a bit on offense at the beginning of the game. We came out trying to establish the pass game, but Lee did a good job of defending us. They have a lot of good athletes in the secondary.”
Corwin Keal hit Shaq White for 9 yards and scrambled for 13 yards to start the crucial scoring drive before halftime. Keal and White connected again for 24 yards to the Lee 39. Keal hit Ronzell King for 22 yards to the 15. Keal and White closed out the drive with a 15-yard scoring strike with 16 seconds remaining to make the halftime score 14-7.
The Titans scored on the opening possession of the third quarter to tie the game at 14-14. K’Sean Wesley made a spectacular 46-yard diving catch that gave the Titans first-and-goal at the Lee 8. King scored on the very next play.
Lee looked to have an answer, driving into Memorial territory on a 29-yard completion from Malcolm Ruben to Trey Murray to the 41. Ruben fumbled the snap from center on the next play, which was recovered by the Titans Dimitri Davis.
The Titans took the lead for good five plays later on a 3-yard quarterback keeper by Keal that made the score 21-14. Memorial’s Terrell Clark broke the game open with a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown on a pass thrown by Nathaniel Scott to extend the Titans lead to 28-14. That play seemed to deflate the Ganders sideline, leaving little doubt as to the game’s eventual outcome.
The Titans kept pouring it on. King scored on a 6-yard run and Daleon Sinette added a 4-yard touchdown to close out a 35-point third quarter for the Titans. Defensive lineman Darrell Johnson set up King’s score when he intercepted Scott and returned it 19 yards to the Lee 6.
Memorial (6-4, 3-2) closed out the scoring on Hulices Nunez’ 29-yard field goal with 5:37 left in the game.
“We really didn’t make any changes, we just went back to our original game plan,” said Harrison, of any adjustments made in the locker room at halftime. “We’re a run oriented team so we came out and tried to establish our run game. That opened up some things in our passing game. We just went back to what got us to the position we are in right now, and that’s our run game.”
Lee (3-7, 2-3) struck first on its third possession of the game. Ruben, in his first series at quarterback, completed consecutive passes to Jaevon Richardson for 9 and 17 yards. Ruben and Richardson hooked up again two plays later for a 16-yard scoring strike to give the Ganders a 7-0 lead.
The Ganders increased their lead to 14-0 with a TD set up by a 20-yard Memorial punt caused by a low snap. Taking over at the Memorial 48, Ruben hit Richardson on a 48-yard touchdown pass.
After allowing those first two touchdowns, Memorial’s defense stepped up and held the Ganders scoreless the rest of the game. The Titans held Lee to just 87 yards of total offense in the second half, after surrendering 181 in the opening half. Memorial also forced seven turnovers, recovering three fumbles and intercepting four passes.
“We challenged our defense all week to pitch a shut out,” said Harrison. “They jumped on us early, but our defense did a good job in the second half. Defensive Coordinator Tony Brown did a good job of making adjustments at halftime.”
Memorial used a balanced attack in racking up 373 yards of total offense. Keal completed 7-of-16 passes for 124 yards and rushed 12 times for 57 yards. Nathan Holmes led the rushers with 66 yards and King added 49 as the Titans rushed for 249 yards. Richardson caught three passes for 48 yards.
