September 7, 2010
Tom Halliburton
The Port Arthur News Wed Sep 08, 2010, 10:20 AM CDT
PORT NECHES — Whenever a big game arrives, whenever a big play beckons, Port Neches-Groves welcomes having a Jalali good time.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s time for a leadoff hit or a clutch pass reception, Indians senior Amir Jalali always has seemed to provide that extraordinary moment which each and every PN-G fan has craved.
Two different major league scouts liked the skill level of this 5-11, 180-pound son of Dr. Hamid and Joni Jalali. By batting .448 with nine home runs, and 38 RBIs in his junior season as a leadoff batter, the Indians’ center fielder has commanded the attention of several major college baseball programs and some professional organizations.
That’s why the 17-year-old pass catcher expects this might be his final year to play football. Yet if TCU, Baylor, Lamar, Louisiana-Lafayette or another major school shows interest in Jalali’s multi-sport talents, the Indians’ virtuoso figures to entertain ideas of utilizing his 4.5 speed in more ways than one.
“If the opportunity presents itself, I might do both,” he said. “But this is probably my last year to play football.”
Indians chief Brandon Faircloth and offensive coordinator-receivers coach Jared Wingfield have a fondness for Amir which runs deeper than some of his pass routes. If Faircloth and Wingfield could have five more like Amir, they would sprint to the pickup stand with their hands wide-stretched.
PN-G always has been a high school which has placed an accent upon football excellence. However some of PN-G’s critics, fairly or not, have complained that the Indians have not always had a well-balanced athletic department. Whether it’s a fair perception or not, Faircloth wishes to erase that perception during his time as boys athletic coordinator.
Fact is, Brandon played football, basketball and baseball at Brownwood before he headed to Sam Houston State’s baseball program. He’s admired the way Jalali has represented the purple and white so well in each sport.
“Amir is a great example that you can be great in a lot of sports,” the Indians chief said. “That’s what I want to see a lot at PN-G.
“He’s been a center fielder here since he was a freshman and he’s been in some big games.”
One such big game occurs this Friday night when PN-G (1-1) visits Texas City (2-0) in a game that remains very fresh in the Stingarees’ memory banks.
Texas City rallied on The Reservation in the second half, before PN-G secured a 22-16 overtime victory. It also marked a night that served as a coming-out party of sorts for Amir. The big play came along in the big game and Amir came up with it — no problem.
“I remember catching one pass on a third down where the momentum shifted and it helped us a lot,” Jalali recalled.
Amir had a purple jersey with a white No. 13 a year ago. His good friend, Texas State University freshman Blake Reyenga, owned the Indians’ No. 10 back then as a fellow receiver. Amir was Faircloth’s fifth receiver a year ago.
A very close friend of Jalali, Reyenga asked Amir to take his No. 10 jersey. Blake must have demanded that Amir make good use of it. Let’s just check at what Jalali has accomplished in two games.
Jalali tied the single-game Indians’ school record with 12 catches against Gregory-Portland. Until last Friday’s home opener, Amir still had a missing piece in his resume’. No touchdown receptions.
That’s why the 38-7 win over Crosby would qualify as Amir’s “best game so far”.
One of his greatest fans, Faircloth, told Jalali that a touchdown was coming on the first-half reception when Amir roared behind three Crosby defensive backs, and hauled in an over-the-shoulder catch in the north end zone. Brennan Doty made the right read on Crosby’s safety and Faircloth was a much happier camper with 2:01 left in the opening half. Yes, any coach would rather lead 10-0 than 3-0 at intermission.
Amir enjoyed his first touchdown reception so much that he added another on the second snap of the fourth quarter. It started out as a little sideways swing pass but Jalali stretched it into a 36-yard score with 11:22 to play. The Tribe then owned a pleasant 31-7 advantage.
“Coach Faircloth said that play was going to score,” Jalali said. “It’s really just a good five-to-10-yard play.”
Maybe so, but Amir’s head coach knew who was going to catch the ball and run with it. Brandon knew Amir has a flair for the extraordinary.
INDIAN INKLINGS
Best offensive line graders in the first two games have been center Ben Parks (against G-P) and guard Gabe Langlois (against Crosby) according to offensive line coach Joe Dale Cary… School will be dismissed Friday at 1 p.m., following the student body pep rally in the competition gym at 12:30 p.m. The Indians are expected to depart from The Reservation for Texas City around 2 p.m….. Injury woes have bugged at least four Indians so far. Senior DB Matt Gerald underwent surgery last week for a broken ankle. Gerald is out indefinitely…. Senior LB Larry Padia has sustained a torn quadricep and is expected to miss at least three more weeks…. Senior WR-HB Matt Desmond suffered a concussion during the Alamodome game against Gregory-Portland. Desmond missed the Crosby game and appeared doubtful for Texas City, too…. Starting senior OLB Josh Bowie departed Crosby’s game in the first half with an ankle sprain and did not return. The good news there, though, was senior Tanner Jorgensen moved to OLB from free safety and played a great game at that position…. Faircloth also applauded the outing of junior Chase Romero, who filled Jorgensen’s vacancy at free safety…. Indians’ defensive coordinator Duane Kroeker has not released tackle numbers yet, but the Indians’ tackle chart needed to be updated after the Texas City game in order to keep players eligible for all-state consideration… Kroeker will have to lean on linebackers coach Ryan Cox, who has been busy guiding his junior varsity to a 2-0 start with wins over Port Arthur Memorial and Crosby. Quickly becoming somewhat of an unsung legend on The Reservation, Cox is 12-0 over the past two years as head coach of PN-G’s junior varsity….
