Reynoso: Recent loss humbles Memorial

Published 12:15 am Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Isaac Reynoso and the Port Arthur Memorial Titans were on their way to an undefeated regular season.

It was all going to plan until last Friday in Vidor. The Pirates had other ideas and defeated the Titans 31-21.

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Memorial’s loss meant the Titans share the District 22-5A with Vidor and the Port Neches-Groves Indians.

Reynoso, the team’s center, took to Facebook after Friday’s loss and posted that the loss hurt but that maybe his team needed a reality check.

“Last Friday was sad,” Reynoso said. “We really wanted that win. We wanted to be the first Memorial team to win district outright.”

Reynoso said he thinks the Titans could end up benefitting from the loss.

“I think all that winning got to our heads,” Reynoso added. “We started to think we were unstoppable. That loss showed us we are not and that we have to work harder.”

The Titans could have accomplished history with a win. No Memorial team has ever won a district championship outright since the school opened in 2002. The Titans were one of four teams to win the district title in 2006 under then-head coach Ronnie Thompson.

Memorial did at least win a share of the title and is in the playoffs for the sixth time under current head coach Kenny Harrison, who took over the program in 2009.

The Titans face New Caney Porter at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Texan Drive Stadium in Porter.

“We feel like if we worry about us, we can win all our games,” Reynoso said. “This week has been tough. We are working hard and running a lot.”

The Titans were at Memorial Stadium on Tuesday evening to get ready for Spartans, who enter the game 8-2 overall and were 6-2 in District 21-5A play.

Porter has only been open since 2010 and this is the team’s first winning season. The Spartans were 1-9 last year and 2-8 in 2014. Porter’s lone losses this season were to Barbers Hill and New Caney.

Porter’s season got off to a quick start with 37-34 overtime victory over Crosby on Sept. 15.

“We have to take it game-by-game,” Reynoso said. “We feel like if we take care of ourselves, nobody can beat us but us.”

Gabriel Pruett: 721-2436. Twitter: @PaNewsGabe

About Gabriel Pruett

Gabriel Pruett has worked with both the Port Arthur News and Orange Leader since 2000. A majority of the time has been spent covering all aspects of Southeast Texas high school sports. Pruett's claim to fame is...being able to write his own biographical information for this website.

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