What Elijah Hines has been able to do in just one half has been incredible. It was just a matter of time before he could show how good he is in a full game.

Hines rushed 20 times for 168 yards and three touchdowns Friday night, leading Port Arthur Memorial to a 34-13 win over Central. He had 127 yards in the first half, the second time in as many games he surpassed 100 yards before halftime.

That wasn’t all. He returned a kickoff 85 yards for another TD late in the first half.

“My blockers were going to do what they had to do,” the junior said. “I saw an opening, and I just stuck it there. I took off.”

As much as Hines shined Friday night, Memorial’s defense turned in a standout performance, sacking quarterbacks Chris Boudreaux and Dessane Davis a combined 10 times. Davis was stopped seven times for losses in the second half.

Central’s defense failed to pick up a first down on its first three drives. And Kobe Nixon and Kary Vincent Jr. each picked off a pass.

Vincent’s interception, for all intents and purposes, capped off the first full game the Titans (2-0, 1-0 in 22-5A) played this season in three attempts. Their previous game against Houston Westside was suspended and not finished, therefore not counting on the record.

“I was happy with our guys’ focus and attention to detail,” Memorial coach Kenny Harrison said. “We still made some mental mistakes and gave up some plays we shouldn’t have given up, but that’ll all be corrected as time goes on.”

Kadon Harrison was very accurate, too, completing 12 of 14 passes for 104 yards and an 8-yard TD completion to De’Andre Angelle.

Hines had more than half of the Titans’ 235 total yards in the first half. He rushed four times for 25 yards and scored from 10 yards out on the opening possession.

“We only stopped him one time in the first half,” Jaguars coach Toby Foreman said. “We had a whole lot of missed tackles. We have to improve on that in the second half.”

The junior rushed for 11 yards on Memorial’s third drive to make it 14-0. Angelle’s score came with 8:09 left before halftime to increase the lead to 20-0.

“Elijah Hines is an unbelievable kid,” Harrison said. “He’s embraced his role, and he’s rolling with it.”

Central’s most successful drive went 13 plays and 74 yards. Placeholder Deshon Moreaux faked a field-goal attempt and dove to the right-hand pylon colliding with two Memorial defenders to put the Jaguars (1-3, 0-2 in 22-5A) on the board.

That score was followed by Hines’ 85-yard sprint in which he broke two tackles, including one inside the Central 10.

It nearly became 33-7 just as the half expired, but Rickey Thomas was stopped at the Central 1 on a 19-yard reception.

Hines rushed for seven times for 41 yards and had a 9-yard reception on a 45-yard drive early in the third quarter, ending in a 3-yard TD run. (The drive had a 10-yard penalty against the Titans.)
Theodrick Foster shaped the final score for the Jaguars with a 3-yard run in the fourth period.

“It did not help that we were coming off a short week and [the Titans] were coming off a bye,” Foreman said. “They definitely played like they were fresher than we were, but we cannot come out and give up big plays like that. We got behind the 8-ball, and it was hard to catch up.”

The Titans visit Ozen at the Thomas Center in Beaumont next Saturday before facing Nederland for the first time in their 15-year history in Port Arthur on Sept. 30.
•
I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews