By Jared Ainsworth|BeaumontEnterprise.com
Published 1:00 am, Sunday, August 30, 2015
The calmness was easy to spot.
Sure, Adam Morse’s first three touchdown passes – all within the first 15 minutes, Saturday – were quick darts to open Port Neches-Groves receivers against Clear Lake.
But even with a Clear Lake defensive lineman turning the corner and throwing his blue jersey into Morse late in the second quarter, the PN-G quarterback took a couple strong steps forward and delivered a 16-yard pass to Jack Giblin with the same relaxed demeanor he showed most of the night.
Running back Kody Cropper ran into the end zone one play later in PN-G’s 52-0 win against Clear Lake at Clear Creek Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Cropper’s 20-yard touchdown gave PN-G a 28-0 late in the second quarter, and the Indians led 35-0 at halftime. Morse had thrown for 224 passing yards and four touchdowns by halftime, and he ended the night completing 23 of 36 passes for 207 yards and five touchdowns.
“They have a good defensive line and got to us a few times,” PN-G coach Brandon Faircloth said. “Adam is a good player and he finds the guys.”
Morse’s main target of the night, Jack Giblin had seven receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Giblin, who only played in three games last season, reached the end zone first for PN-G on a 20-yard pass from Morse six minutes into the game. He finished with nine catches for 102 yards.
Morse connected with four different players for touchdowns – Giblin, Cropper, Keynel McZeal, and Caisen Sullivan.
“They’re pretty good,” Faircloth said. “I’m proud of them. They had some drops but overall they were good. We have some guys we can get the ball to.”
The defense was just as dominant in for PN-G. The Indians held Clear Lake to 43 yards of offense in the first half, and linebacker Anthony Anniboli had two interceptions in the second quarter. PN-G then limited Clear Lake to six yards of offense in the second half.
Ten of PN-G’s 11 starters were on varsity last season. The only newcomer, defensive backNathan Vidrine, returned an interception for a 40-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
“We’ve got something good to build – anytime you get a shutout that’s a really special deal,” Faircloth said.
PN-G, which produced a shutout and had 487 yards of offense, also had 11 penalties for 72 yards.
“We had too many penalties and there are a lot of things we can get better at,” Faircloth said. “It was a great result but we also have a long way to go.”
