By David Thompson
Published 1:00 am, Friday, September 4, 2015
If there was a warning sign placed outside of Port Neches-Groves Indian Stadium prior to today’s game against West Orange-Stark, it would like read “Warning, aerial fireworks ahead.”
PN-G’s quarterback Adam Morse and WO-S’ Jack Dallas possess two of the best arms in Southeast Texas and they plan to light up the sky for the second week in a row.
Morse, a Lamar commit, threw for 307 yards and five touchdowns in his team’s 52-0 rout of Clear Lake, while Dallas finished 18-of-25 for 218 yards and three touchdowns in the Mustangs’ 26-13 Orange Bowl win over Little Cypress-Mauriceville.
“He’s just a very poised individual,” Indians coach Brandon Faircloth said of Morse. “No matter what situation he gets into, whether it’s first or third down, he does not get rattled.”
“Jack is a competitor and our offensive leader,” West Orange-Stark coach Cornel Thompson said. “He’s one of those guys who expects to get better each week. He’s not there to compete against (Adam) Morse. He’s going to be focused on his performance.”
Faircloth was impressed with the Week 1 performance of his senior quarterback and expects Morse to lead them past a Mustangs team that defeated them33-27 in overtime a year ago.
“(Morse) and the rest of the guys remember last year, so we don’t need to talk to them about it. They want to win, but the last time they (WO-S) lost was in the (Class 4A state) title game, so they will not be an easy team to beat.”
Knocking off the Indians on their home-field won’t be an easy feat for the Mustangs to accomplish.
“It’s a playoff type atmosphere when you go to their stadium,” Thompson said. “Their fans are fanatical just like ours. We bleed blue and they bleed purple. They grow up wanting to be Indians and our kids grow up wanting to be Mustangs. One thing is for certain, if you hear their band playing “Cherokee” all night, then you’re probably getting the snot beat out of you.”
