Cody Pastorella
CNHI
—
The Memorial Titans football program has never started a season with back-to-back wins. That is a feat they can accomplish with a victory tonight over the Ozen Panthers at the new BISD Stadium, aka the Dr. Carrol A. “Butch” Thomas Educational Support Center, in Beaumont.
While a 2-0 record would be a first in school history, second year head coach Kenny Harrison said that is not why he and his team are motivated.
"I want us to get better. Ozen is a good team but I'm confident in our guys," said Harrison, whose Titans pounded Beaumont Central 38-0 in the season opener last Friday. Ozen, meanwhile, suffered a 28-6 loss to No. 9 state-ranked West Brook.
"Starting 2-0 will be great for this program, not because it will be a first but because I want this team to continue to play well. I want us to understand what it takes to win and I don't want them to lose sight of the work they've put in for this season,” added Harrison.
Along with Ozen's athleticism, the improvements their second year head coach Jeff Nelson has made and the capable play of Panther junior quarterback David Green, Harrison is also concerned with playing on a Saturday, which is something the Titans will be doing three consecutive weeks.
Harrison said playing Saturdays instead of Fridays throws kids off from the weekly timetable, but he added that is something both teams are facing. Basically, Harrison simply prefers high school football on Fridays.
"It's nothing I'm worried with. The kids still have to play. It just moves everything back a day. It confuses routine," he explained. "I just don't want the kids to lose focus. But that is something we stress all the time."
Harrison said Ozen played a better game against West Brook than the final score indicated. The Bruins, after all, led only 7-0 at the half. Nelson said his team wore down, lost focus and did not play as hard in the final 15 minutes as they had done for the first two-plus quarters.
"We have to play harder. We have to execute better," Nelson said. "Memorial has great team speed. They are well coached and they had a great game against Central. We are a very young team. Overall, I thought we played pretty well last week but we have to eliminate the late mistakes. We dropped a lot of passes."
Reviewing Ozen's game film, Harrison was impressed with Green, who completed 12-of-24 passes for 158 yards. Included was a connection with Shawn Lewis for a 44-yard touchdown. The son of former Memorial basketball coach David Green also led the team in rushing with 24 yards on six attempts.
"It's obvious he is a coach’s son. He is very knowledgeable," Harrison stated. "We will have to put some pressure on him, do a good job keeping him in front of us and we will need to be sharp in the secondary."
The Titans did all those things against the Jaguars, limiting Central to only six first downs for the contest. Harrison wants his team to bring that kind of defensive attitude to every game this year. He wants his whole team to avoid mental lapses and pitfalls.
The offense committed eight penalties for 64 yards and lost one of their two fumbles. While all that proved to be harmless, it was more than enough for the taste buds for any coach.
Like playing Friday games, Harrison's is more in favor of stats such as the 25 first downs and 463 yards of offense his team pinned on Central. He also enjoyed seeing the defense hold the Jags to 138 yards.
"The kids liked how we played last week. They felt good about it," he said. "They are looking forward to another football game -- winning another football game."
Memorial fans not able to make the trek to Beaumont can watch live video stream of the game on www.panews.com as part of the Port Arthur News Friday Night Experience. Videostream of the game can be accessed up to 48 hours after the game is played.
Memorial at Ozen
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
Where: Dr. Carroll “Butch” Thomas Educational Support Center, Beaumont
Records: Memorial 1-0, Ozen 0-1
Last year: Memoria, 42-17l
Series: Memorial 4-0
Internet: Port Arthur News Friday Night Experience live videostream at www.panews.com
MEMORIAL TITANS
DEFENSE
LE - Torian Kennerson (56)
LT - Shomari Delaney (36)
RT - Jaivon Slone (99)
RE - Dimitri Davis (50)
ILB - Joshua Pickett (10)
OLB - Davonte McMillian (52)
OLB - Terrell Clark (31)
CB - Bryce Newcost (21)
CB - David Gardiner (19)
SS - Kenneth Mayfield (25)
FS - Chucky Baker (6)
OFFENSE
QB - Terrence Singleton (7)
RB - Fisher Romar (1)
RB - Nate Holmes (2)
WR - K’Sean Wesley (8)
WR - Jhajuan Seales (11)
WR - Darius White (5)
LT - Cassius Griffin (77)
LG - Gerimi Powell (76)
C - Ryan Marks (55)
RG - Jonathan Ned (64)
RT - Kenneth Milo (74)
