DEER PARK — DEER PARK —  Memorial coach Kenny Harrison had a dilemma. He had already seen his Titans’ surrender a 21-point fourth quarter lead and in the game’s final minutes, facing fourth down in his own territory, he was going to have to count on his tired defense to stop the Deer Park offense. So, he reached into his coach’s bag of tricks and called on sophomore C.J. Levine.

  Levine raced 24 yards on fourth and three from the Memorial 32 on a fake punt and the Titans used most of the clock to score to register a dramatic 42-35 victory in the 21-5A opener for both teams Friday night at Clyde Abshier Stadium.

  Ricky Fisk rushed for four touchdowns and threw for another, including the game-winner on a six yard run with 1:19 left.

  You would think that the sophomore Levine might have had a few butterflies waiting for the snap, but that was hardly the case.

  “We had worked on it all week,” said Levine, who also had an interception with 1:11 left to seal the victory for the Titans, who improved to 5-0 overall.  “I was sure hoping that the coaches would call it, and they did.”

  Harrison said that he evaluated several factors in making the character-testing call.

  “Our defense was really tired,” Harrison said. “It was really humid out there and they were worn out. I certainly didn’t want to give the ball back to them with a chance to win the game.”

  Harrison didn’t let Levine’s heroics go unnoticed.

  “I couldn’t be prouder of the young man,” Harrison said. “He really stepped it up and when the inside was shut down, he broke it to the outside. That’s just how kids from Port Arthur are, when their number is called, they just step up and make plays.”

  Following Levine’s run, Devin Cockerell ran for 9 yards and three yards, then the Titans suffered back to back illegal procedure penalties and faced a first and 20 from the Deer Park 42. Cockerell ran for seven yards before Fisk connected with Albert Jacobs on a 32-yard pass that gave Memorial a first and goal from the three. Three plays later, Fisk darted around the left side to give the Titans their final advantage.

  Freshman running back Kameron Martin, making his third start, Martin scored the Titans’ first touchdown on a seven-yard run and ended the evening with 16 carries for 102 yards.

  “Kameron Martin has worked very hard,” Harrison said. ‘‘He stepped it up and played very well. I’m very pleased at the way he protected the ball. He really made some big plays for us.”

  Deer Park marched 89 yards in four plays midway through the third quarter. Connor Means connected with Josh Rutherford on a 35-yard touchdown pass that trimmed Memorial’s lead to 28-14.

  But Fisk directed a 9 play, 75 yard drive, rushing for 30 yards on one play and sealing the drive with a 22-yard touchdown run that made the score 35-14 with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.

  In the fourth quarter, Deer Park head coach Chris Massey took the reigns off running back Noah Cano.

  Cano, who finished with 234 yards on 24 carries, scored on runs of 14 yards with 9:32 to play, 16 yards with 7:13 to play and tied the game with a one-yard run with 4:41 remaining in the game.

  “He’s powerful and he runs hard,” Harrison said. “He put them back into the game.  We sure had a hard time trying to bring him down.”

  Memorial wasted little time marching to a 7-0 lead. Fisk completed four of five passes on a 62 yard drive that ended with Martin scoring on a 7 yard run  with 9:54 left in the first. The next time the Titans had the ball, they kept it for 11 plays, negotiating 91 yards. Fisk scored on a 14 yard run with 5:13 left in the first quarter and Ricardo Estupian added the PAT for a 14-0 lead.

  Memorial had an offsides penalty when Deer Park was stopped and punting on fourth down that allowed a drive to continue. When the Titan defense held and Deer Park attempted a 43 yard field goal, Memorial was flagged for a personal foul that again allowed the drive to continue. Connor Means found Jacob Hickman in the corner of the end zone on a 14-yard scoring strike on the first play of the second quarter. Zane Gonzalez added the PAT that cut Memorial’s lead to 14-7.

  Martin raced up the middle for 24 yards and Fisk connected with John Leday on a 25-yard pass that moved the ball to the Deer Park 32.  Four plays later Fisk converted a fourth and 13 with a 35-yard scoring strike to Roderic Rucker. Estupian’s PAT increased the Titans’ lead to 21-7 with 6:20 left in the half.

  Deer Park failed to make a first down on their next possession and Memorial gained possession on a punt at their own 33. Seven plays and 67 yards later, Fisk waltzed into the end zone from one yard and Memorial had a 28-7 lead at the half.