By Gabriel Pruett | Posted: Thursday, August 28, 2014 5:11 pm
PORT NECHES — There are season openers and then there a year’s first game played at Port Neches-Groves High School’s Reservation.
It is a special time and one not taken lightly by PN-G coach Brandon Faircloth, his staff and players.
“It is a great feeling,” Faircloth said. “There is no better place for high school football than at PN-G. The Indianettes will be fired up, the cheerleaders will be loud and we hope to have that Indian Spirit dancing all night long. It makes it for a special place. We are excited it is here finally and we expect a great time.”
Tonight the Indians will face the Clear Lake Falcons out of District 24-6A. It will be the first meeting between the two schools.
A quick look at the Falcons and it is easy to see Sam Smith’s club has some very talented players with seven guys back on offense and eight back on defense.
The defense is led by one of the state’s best linebackers. Nathan Fox is headed to Texas A&M after his time playing for Clear Lake. He had 131 tackles a season ago and finished with three interceptions.
“Clear Lake is a huge obstacle,” Faircloth said. “We are excited about the challenge of facing a spread offense with a talented receiver that is going to Texas A&M.”
The receiver Faircloth was pointing out is Jordan Davis who stands 6-foot, 3-inches tall and weighs 250 pounds. Davis had 39 receptions for 558 yards last year.
“They also have an offensive lineman headed to UT-San Antonio (Alex Snow),” Faircloth added.
Snow is 6-foot, 4-inches tall and weights 290 pounds.
Running back Nick McGee rushed for 1,202 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2013.
“It is a huge task,” Faircloth said. “We welcome it because it will only prepare us for our district schedule.”
Faircloth said his team did a good job in its two scrimmages on defense, especially in the tackling department. PN-G also won the turnover battle in each scrimmage, giving Faircloth hope the Indians will gain a few possessions in 2014.
The Indians defense has been led by linebackers Michael Hughes and Trey Rembert and defensive backs Ky Walker and Logan LeJeune.
PN-G’s offense had the chance to fully see what new starting quarterback Adam Morse is capable of doing when healthy. Morse was dealing with back pains and spasms this summer and it carried over into the first scrimmage.
Last week against West Brook, Morse was healthy and on target. He finished 11-for-22 for 181 yards. Faircloth said the junior could have notched 16 completions if not for dropped passes.
“He did his job,” Faircloth said. “Any quarterback who throws for 180 yards in three quarters had a nice game. He was good in the pocket and there will always be things to work on.”
Faircloth said the amount of drops in the scrimmage does not worry him or Morse.
“Catching the football is something we work on every day,” Faircloth added. “That only pointed out we must continue to work on it daily. Adam remains confident in all his receivers. He lets the plays develop and then finds the open receiver. Drops happen. Even Jerry Rice had a few in his days.”
Faircloth and the Indians are only concerned with Clear Lake and facing a real opponent in a real game.
“Two-a-days are great but it is a long three weeks looking at each other,” he said. “This week we watched film and game planned. This week counts. We face a very good team but I think we are up to the challenge. It should be a great Friday night of football at The Reservation.”
Clear Lake at Port Neches-Groves
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: The Reservation
Records: First game for both teams
Last Year: First meeting
TV: Port Arthur News Friday Night Experience, Time-Warner Digital Sports Channel (888) at 11:30 a.m. Sunday., www.panews.com after 6 p.m. Sunday.
Radio: KCOL (92.5FM)
PN-G OFFENSE
QB – Adam Morse (17)
RB – Brant Halfin (27)
RB – Blake Lane (32)
WR – Caisen Sullivan (8)
WR – Jack Giblin (13)
WR – Kaleb Sparks (10)
OL – Keaston Benoit (52)
OL – Kolby Stueber (53)
OL – Jim Hauck (58)
OL – Jonathan Barbosa (56)
OL – Kyle Ardoin (71)
PN-G DEFENSE
DL – Peyton Shults (41)
DL – Nick Valentine (54)
DL – Christian Langston (7)
LB – Anthony Anniboli (5)
LB – Michael Hughes (22)
LB – Ben Ramirez (34)
LB – Trey Rembert (48)
DB – Ky Walker (12)
DB – Avery Murdock (3)
DB – Bryce Meche (9)
DB – Logan LeJeune (23)
