The Baytown Lee Ganders defeated Port Arthur Memorial 29-23 Friday night in a District 21-5A game at Stallworth Stadium.

Port Arthur wasted little time finding the end zone after taking the opening kick off as they drove down the field quickly on their first offensive possession. The Titans' Freddie King hauled in a 4-yard pass with just over ten minutes left in the first quarter giving them a 7-0 lead.

The Gander offense just couldn’t get things going their way early on as the Titans defense kept them in check for the entire first quarter. The Titans offense, led by quarterback Harry Brown, struck again at the 3:45 mark of the first quarter when Patterson Clay scored on a 3-yard run extending their lead to 14-0. The home crowd had reason for concern as the Lee offense had little success moving the ball in the first half.

With the homecoming crowd making plenty of noise, the Gander offense finally struck as they cut the Titan lead to seven when quarterback Octavio Torres connected with tight-end Xavier Ruben on a 3-yard touchdown pass with just under five minutes remaining in the first half.

The third quarter was a defensive struggle as both teams turned in good defensive efforts; however, the Titans would eventually extend their lead to 17-7 when Omar Zepeda booted a 28-yard field goal with 2:30 left in the third quarter.

The Ganders were determined to stay within striking distance as they looked to earn a victory for their homecoming crowd. It took the Ganders all of 54 seconds to cut the lead to three as Jesse Luna outran the Titan defense on a 20-yard touchdown run.

“Our offensive line was doing a great job. They were opening up seams and lanes for us that allowed us to run the ball tonight,” Luna said.

The Titans offense turned to Brown as they looked to build on their lead and he would not disappoint as he struck early in the fourth quarter with a 24-yard touchdown run. The point after try failed leaving the Titans up 23-14.

The Gander offense was still sputtering along in the forth quarter after losing running back C.J. Mixon earlier in the game to what may be a broken leg. His loss was the last thing the Ganders wanted to see after losing starting running back Jarvis Moore to a broken leg two weeks earlier. Gander Coach Dick Olin has worked very hard at making due without several of his key players so far this season. “You know we had to play with out our starting center the first few games but they all found a way to play together and get it done,” he said.

And get it done they did in the fourth quarter. With the Titans driving in Lee territory the Ganders defense came up big when they forced a fumble. The Gander’s Thomas Bates scooped the ball up and headed downfield for a dazzling 75-yard touchdown run off the fumble recovery cutting the Titan lead to 23-21.

The Ganders had the Titans right where they wanted them and was looking to put the game away when Torres hit Josh Jones on a short passing route and Jones turned it into a nice 20-yard plus gain.  Luna would follow that with a nifty 34-yard touchdown run that would allow the Ganders to take the lead for good. Their defense would seal the victory as they held the Titans allowing their offense to take possession of the football and run out the clock.

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