PORT NECHES — Big plays downfield were a problem for the Port Neches-Groves Indians as they fell 20-6 to West Brook at Indian Stadium on Thursday.
West Brook threw for 203 yards with 160 coming on three plays.
On West Brook’s first possession, quarterback L’Ravien Elia connected on a 55-yard pass on third down.
PNG head coach Brandon Faircloth said that his team was missing a starting free safety.
“I think not having him made a difference,” he said. “[West Brook] has some really fast kids over there. That’s the speed we have to play against. It’s painful to go through it sometimes and have it go over your head. I’d rather it happen now than later on.”
Faircloth said that the Indians played well overall.
“I thought we did some really good things, but there are definitely some things we need to work on,” he said. “When you play a team like West Brook, they’re going to show you what your weakness is. That’s what we want.”
Both quarterbacks seemed frustrated with early whistles. In the scrimmage, the passers wore the different color jerseys, indicating that they not be tackled. PNG quarterback Roschon Johnson likes to extend plays and run the ball.
“We talked about it all week,” Faircloth said. “There’s just somethings we aren’t going to call in a scrimmage that we will call in a game. It’s good to hamstring yourself every once in a while and do different things. It forces you to be out of your comfort zone. You can grow out of your comfort zone. We’ll look a little different next week with him running around.”
Johnson fired back through the air connecting on a 60-yard pass to Jose Ceja to pull within 7-6 after the Indians missed the extra point.
With the starters on the field, the Bruins connected on a 60-yard pass of their own to take a 14-6 lead with just 1:02 left in the half. Neither team’s starters played in the second half which lasted only one quarter.
Faircloth said he was proud of his team’s discipline. The Indians received no penalties compared to the Bruins’ eight penalties for 67 yards.
“Discipline is one of our core values,” he said. “We want to get in the game and not have penalties. There are a lot of positive things that came out of tonight and a lot of things we have to work on.”
The Indians kick their season off against the Silsbee Tigers at Indian Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 31.
