By Daniel Maher | BeaumontEnterprise.com
Published 11:37 pm, Friday, October 9, 2015
Port Neches-Groves continued its unbeaten march through the first half of its District 22-5A slate with a strong second half showing that pulled the Indians away from Lumberton 42-25 at Raider Stadium.
WHAT HAPPENED: PN-G unleashed a quick strike offense in the third quarter, scoring on three of its four possessions in the quarter. Two of those scoring drives lasted just three plays and another only needed two plays to reach the end zone.
During that surge, wide receiver Jack Giblin caught a 39-yard touchdown pass and later threw a 19-yard touchdown pass on a trick play. Running back Kody Cropper scored three long touchdowns in the game, one of them a 25-yard burst that capped the third quarter eruption.
Quarterback Adam Morse threw for 100 of his 189 passing yards during the quarter. Throughout the game, Indians receivers ran open in the Raiders’ secondary, giving Morse plenty of wide open targets.
“We stuck to the game plan,” said Morse, explaining PN-G’s offensive success. “We only had three possessions before half and we scored on two of those, and then we kept going to what worked. We try to identify a team’s weaknesses and attack them.”
TURNING POINT: Lumberton took an early 7-0 lead after a roughing the punter penalty by PN-G kept its stalled opening drive going. An interception on Morse’s first pass of the game soon followed and Lumberton seemed to have early momentum.
But PN-G held the Raiders after the interception and converted a crucial fourth-and-10 on their next offensive series. One play later, Cropper sneaked out of the backfield into open space to grab a 20-yard touchdown pass that opened the offensive floodgates for PN-G.
“Their linebacker and their safety were both down and didn’t see me, so I just told Adam (Morse) to snap the ball and let’s go,” said Cropper.
MOST-SPECTACULAR PLAY: On PN-G’s second series of the second half, Giblin took a pitch from Morse as he swept from the left hash mark, then he stopped, stood up, and fired a crisp pass to a wide open Caisen Sullivan for a 19-yard score and a commanding 28-7 lead.
“That’s a great trick play that coach (Brandon Faircloth) likes to call,” said Morse. “It’s worked every time.”
BY THE NUMBERS: Lumberton’s Tim Rhodes had a huge game rushing for three touchdowns and 165 yards on 29 carries. He was also the Raiders’ leading receiver with 26 receiving yards.
Cropper matched Rhodes’ touchdown total with a receiving touchdown and scoring runs of 25 and 45 yards. He amassed 137 yards on just 14 carries.
Morse connected on 11 of 19 passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Sullivan grabbed six passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns.
HE SAID IT: “We’ve got to try to treat it like every other game,” said Morse, commenting on PN-G’s preparation ritual for its
Mid-County Madness showdown with district co-leader Nederland on Friday.
RECORDS: Lumberton 4-2, 1-2. PN-G 5-1, 3-0.
NEXT UP: PN-G’s plays host to Nederland at 7 p.m. Friday. Lumberton plays at Baytown Lee at 7 p.m. Friday.
