Destri White, Mesquite Horn Too Much For Tyler Lee in District 12-5A Opener [VIDEO]

TYLER -- Behind the arms and legs of quarterback Destri White, the Mesquite Horn Jaguars defeated the Tyler Lee Red Raiders, 49-24, in the District12-5A opener at TMF Rose Stadium on Friday night.

White was 14-of-16 for 167 yards passing and two touchdowns. He added 70 yards and two touchdowns rushing.

"(Destri) is a real jewel of a player," Mesquite Horn coach Rodney Webb said. "He's very intelligent, so we're able to do a lot of things offensively. Formations, shifts, pre-snap reads, post-snap reads; he can handle it all.

"We wanted to get off to a quick start tonight, and we did."

Horn (3-2, 2-1) marched down the field on its first possession, going nine plays, ending in a White 9-yard keeper for the first score of the night at the 8:14 mark.

Tyler Lee answered with a 5-play drive of its own, only to have Horn cornerback Jorian Clark block a Lumi Kaba 35-yard field goal attempt.

In the second quarter, the game opened up. White led Horn on a eight-play drive, finishing it off with a 20-yard touchdown run, giving the Jaguars a 14-0 advantage.

"We knew coming in if we played a perfect game, we'd have a chance," Lee coach Darrell Piske said. "They are one of the best teams in the district. Part of our problem is we have seniors that don't want to be team-players. Basically that's a lot of our problems."

Lee (1-4, 0-1) responded when Red Raiders running back Marcus White took it in from 16 yards out, bringing Lee to within seven, 14-7. That play was setup by a LaQuintas Wallace 46-yard pass-and-catch to wideout Marquiston Williams the play before.

That's as close as Lee would get.

The Jaguars scored 21 consecutive points beginning with White hitting tight end Jacob Meyer on a 27-yard touchdown pass at 8:49 in the second quarter, making it 21-7. Following a Lee punt, senior running back Treyvon Marsh scored on a 12-yard scamper bringing it to 28-7. Marsh finished with 12 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns.

Horn then put together a 7-play drive, culminating in a Jay'lyn Lynch 6-yard plunge and a 35-7 lead. The 5-9, 225-pound fullback tallied 118 yards on 12 carries for the night.

With three seconds remaining before halftime, the Jaguars lined up to punt deep in their own territory. They snapped the ball over the punter's head, who then kicked it out of the end zone for a safety. Rather than take the two points, Piske decided to take the ball on the 20-yard line and attempt a field goal. Kaba nailed it from 37 yards, making the score 35-10 at halftime.

Horn's first possession of the second half went 70 yards in six plays, ending with a Marsh 1-yard score and a 42-10 lead.

After another Lee punt, White connected with junior slot-receiver Justyn Oliphant on an 8-yard touchdown strike with 22 seconds remaining in the third.

Lee got two late touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, a 1-yard run from quarterback Raleigh Poster at 10:33 mark, and a 2-yard touchdown run from senior LaTerrence Simmons with 1:49 left. Simmons was a bright spot on the night, finishing with 97 yards on seven carries and a score.

"LaTerrence is going to be a thunder-and-lightning type deal with Wallace," Piske said. "We're going to get that rolling."

Piske added that senior backup quarterback Jordan Richardson will be at wide receiver on Monday.

Mesquite Horn plays host to Rockwall, while Tyler Lee visits North Mesquite next Friday as district play continues.

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