Tom Halliburton | BeaumontEnterprise.com
Published 11:44 pm CDT, Friday, October 26, 2018
Roschon Johnson owned most of the highlights but the Port Neches-Groves defensive front did most of the heavy lifting in a 47-19 win on Friday night at Indian Stadium.
PN-G maintained its share of the District 12-5A Div. II lead and commanded a 41-13 halftime lead as the Indians pestered Santa Fe passer Nathan Kruger and limited the visitors to 25 first-half rushing yards.
The win clinched PN-G a playoff berth and secured coach Brandon Faircloth’s ninth winning season and post-season trip in 10 years with the Indians.
“But we’re certainly not thinking about the playoffs right now,” said Faircloth, whose squad plays Barbers Hill and Nederland in its final two regular-season outings.
WHAT HAPPENED
PN-G’s pass rush sacked and pressured Kruger constantly in the second quarter with John Nichols, David Minter and Don Trusclair leading the way. Nichols forced Kruger to fumble on one play. Trusclair tried to scoop but deflected the ball. Minter fell on it in the end zone for a touchdown giving PN-G two touchdowns in a 10-second span shortly before half.
PN-G’s senior quarterback threw for four scores and ran for another. Johnson rushed 20 times for 118 yards and completed 16 of 27 for 242 yards. His night included some accurate long-range missiles which were dropped and a couple of interceptions for touchdowns.
Santa Fe linebacker Michael Moore took a pick six 18 yards with 3:37 left in the first quarter. Defensive back Landon Thompson ran 30 with a pick six in the first five minutes of the second half.
“(Santa Fe’s defense) did something different than what we had been practicing,” Johnson explained. “But I did pretty good at both running and throwing the ball… Our defensive line came through and did a really good job of putting pressure on their quarterback.”
The Indians signal caller enjoyed the benefit of three valuable helpers – Jose Ceja, Tyler Pippen and newcomer Dede Connor. Pippen grabbed two touchdown receptions, and Ceja added one.
Elevated from the junior varsity, Connor carried only once but scooted 67 yards for a score. Connor’s first varsity carry gave PN-G a 21-13 lead with 12.7 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Ceja grabbed six receptions for 91 yards to lead a set of six PN-G receivers. The speedy senior also contributed 50 return yards to PN-G’s cause.
TURNING POINT
This game stayed quite competitive until PN-G’s defensive front started to assert its dominance midway in the second quarter. Nichols, Minter and Trusclair bottled up Santa Fe passer Nathan Kruger for three sacks and totally stuffed much of the running game.
Santa Fe ended with a deceptive 83 rushing yards, but only had 25 in the first half.
When the host Indians scored 14 points in a 10-second span after Minter’s fumble recovery, a 21-13 edge fattened to a 35-13 cushion with 3:36 left in the half.
BY THE NUMBERS
PN-G’s defense held Santa Fe’s explosive offense to single digits (9) in first downs. The PN-G defense permitted five total yards on Santa Fe’s nine total snaps on plays the visitors started inside PN-G’s 30-yard line. That’s excellent red-zone defense for anyone.
HE SAID IT
“We executed out of this world tonight,” PN-G defensive coordinator Dustin Templin said. “You can’t ask for anything more. We came together as one. Our defense has struggled at times but I knew if our guys played like they were capable, that we could do great things.”
RECORDS
PN-G (6-2, 5-0); Santa Fe (4-4, 3-2)
NEXT UP
Santa Fe plays at Dayton on Friday at 7:30 p.m.; PN-G goes to Barbers Hill on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Tom Halliburton is a freelance writer.
