By RUSH WOOD
The Enterprise
PORT ARTHUR – Thomas Jefferson assistant head coach Al Celaya said before Saturday night’s game that he really liked getting James Johnson and Tony Tompkins on the field at the same time.
After TJ’s 30-21 victory over Port Neches-Groves, it’s easy to understand why.
Tompkins moved from tailback to quarterback to replace the injured Terrance Gage, and Johnson, who had been Tompkins’ backup moved into the starting lineup at tailback. The two combined for 274 rushing yards and scorfed two touchdowns each.
In moving to 5-2 on the season and staying in contention in District 20-4A at 1-1, Thomas Jefferson received a career-high 206 yards from Johnson. He scored on a one-yard run in the first half and added an electrifying 80-yard touchdown sprint early in the fourth quarter to give the Yellow Jackets breathing room at 24-14.
Tompkins scored on a pair of one-yard sneaks, the last on the game’s final play. He also completed five of nine passes for 103 yards, including a 49-yarder to Kevin Everett to set up a touchdown.
Tompkins also turned in a stellar game at cornerback, making several good plays in pass coverage.
In falling to 3-4 and 0-2, PN-G cut its deficit to 24-21 on a one-yard by Jeff Bergeron with 2:21 remaining, but the Indians failed to regain possession. They attempted an onside kick, but Brian Morgan leaped to catch it and held on despite being blasted by three Indians just as he caught the ball.
Until Tompkins sneaked over on the final play, Morgan’s strong leg was the difference in the score. He boomed a 52-yard field goal with nine seconds left in the first half.
Despite almost doubling PN-G in offensive plays (34 to 18) and total yards (183 to 97) in the first half, the Yellow Jackets trailed 14-10.
That was due to the Indians capitalizing on short Morgan punt into the wind in the first quarter and to Leblanc’s intercetion return.
Morgan’s second punt into the strong northerly wind traveled only 20 yards and left the Indians 34 yards to drive for their first score. They negotiated that distance on two plays and a pass interference call against the Jackets.
Quarterback Kirk Hallmark and Bergeron clicked on a screen pass of 17 yards on first down, then the pass interference moved the ball to the nine-yard line. From there, Hallmark found Jared Gary open in the end zone on a down-and-out with 6:21 left in the first quarter.
The Indians’ lead grew to 14-0 four plays later as Jeff LeBlanc picked off a Tompkins pass and found clear sailing for a 21-yard touchdown return.
Thomas Jefferson responded by cranking out a 15-play, 80-yard drive on which it moved the chain seven times. Biggest plays were keepers of 16 and 10 yards by Tompkins, a 17-yard run by Johnson and a pickup of 10 yards on a reverse by Wayman Harrison.
Johnson scored the TD on a one-yard plunge over left tackle 10:01 left in the second quarter.
The teams then traded turnovers within the red zone. First Ronald Hayes intercepted a Hallmark pass at the two-yard line, then Gary recovered a Tompkins fumble at the 10-yard line.
After regaining possession at the PN-G 41 with 1:15 left in the half, the Jackets netted six yards on three plays, but Morgan saved them with the 52-yard field goal that barely cleared the crossbar with nine seconds left in the half.
The Jackets drove 58 yards on seven plays on their first possession of the second half to score the go-ahead touchdown on Tompkins’ first one-yard sneak with 6:30 left in the third quarter.
