By Michael Pineda
The Baytown Sun

BAYTOWN — Port Arthur Memorial looked like a team with lofty ambitions Saturday afternoon.

In a matinee against old rival Baytown Lee, the Titans lit up the scoreboard like a Playstation game and picked up a 59-0 win.

“We had some early turnovers that we definitely can’t have as we continue to move forward,” Memorial head coach Kenny Harrison said. “The good thing about today is we had a chance to win that game and pretty much clinch a playoff position. Going into a bye week, we will get some guys back healthy and 100 percent against Vidor.”

Memorial scored the first two times it had the ball on big plays. On its first drive, quarterback Keitha Jones hit Elijah Hines on a screen pass. Hines worked his way through the defense for a 69-yard touchdown. Hines took matters into his own hands on the next drive. It took the Titans one play to score as the running back ripped off a 47-yard scoring run.

Hines would finish with 160 yards rushing on 10 carries in just over a half of work. Jones also had a big day with 230 yards. Both backs got plenty of maneuvering room downfield at the Titans cleared the way.

“We emphasize with our receivers all the time about being effective both in the passing game and the running game,” Harrison said. “They know how important it is with a running back like Elijah to be downfield blocking. We tell them all the time when Elijah scores, he scores for the Titans.”

The scoreboard would remain still until the second quarter, as both teams got sloppy. A total of six consecutive possessions ended with a turnover. That included two in the red zone for Memorial.

The Titans finally broke loose and began to put the game away midway through the second quarter.

Jones called his own number and ran the ball in from 33 yards. He set up the next touchdown with a 34-yard run. He was shaken up on the play and gave way to Kameron Ladia, who ran it in from 3 yards out to make it a 27-0 lead.

James Francis scored on a 2-yard toss pass from Jones before the half expired extended the lead to 34-0.

Ijeanea Wooley was the bright spot for Lee offensively. The sophomore quarterback ripped off runs of 48 and 36 to give the Ganders some offensive threats. The team only gained three first downs in the half however.

Montrell Mouton got an interception to fend off one touchdown and Jose Orozco got a big fumble recovery in the end zone to fend off a drive that started at the Lee one after a turnover.

The Titans’ Jacob Washington had an interception that ended a Lee scoring threat.

Memorial picked up where it left off in the second half. Hines went 54 yards for the score, The Titans added touchdowns on runs of 43 yards by Jones and 72 yards by Martavian Barnes to lift the score to 53-0.

Then Barnes score came after a turnover ruined the best Lee drive of the game. The Ganders mixed the pass and run to reach the Titan 11. A fumble was recovered by Chris Thomas to end the threat.

“We have been playing without some starters the last couple of weeks and we were able to get some starters back and that was huge for us,” Harrison said. “I feel real good about our defense once we get everybody back on the field.”

Memorial tacked on another score in the fourth when Jones hit Jordan Vital on a dump pass for a three-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 59-0.

The Titans racked up 661 yards of total offense including 465 yards on the ground. Jones was 9 of 12 for 196 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He spread the ball around to seven different receivers.

The Titans will be off next week and will travel to Vidor for the final game of the regular season.