Roschon Johnson + Port Neches-Groves Roll Past Lindale, 50-28

HOUSTON – Roschon Johnson was the best player on the field Friday night, and the Lindale Eagles had no answer for him.

The Port-Neches Groves senior quarterback accounted for 478 yards and six touchdowns, leading the Indians to a 50-28 win Friday night in their Class 5A Division II area-round playoff at NRG Stadium.

Johnson, who is committed to the University of Texas, rushed for 248 yards and four touchdowns and passed for 230 yards and two more scores. His first two runs of the second half went for 87- and 73-yard touchdowns, helping Port Neches-Groves (9-3) break open an eight-point game at halftime.

The Indians will meet Fort Bend Marshall (12-0) next week in the Region III semifinals, while Lindale finished its season at 7-5.

PNG ripped off three touchdowns in less than five minutes in the third quarter. Following Johnson’s two long scoring runs, Kade Martin returned a Lindale interception 24 yards to the Eagles’ 6-yard line.

Three plays later, the Indians found the end zone on a 9-yard wide receiver pass from Kaleb Wuenschel to Cooper Hammond, giving PNG a 50-21 lead with 4:53 remaining in the third.

Lindale managed a touchdown with 25 seconds to play in the game when Dillon Heinaman connected on an 8-yard scoring pass to Jaymond Jackson.

Heinaman threw for 227 yards with two TD’s and an interception. Brennan Moore had seven receptions for 103 yards and a score, Conner Boyette caught three passes for 118 yards and a TD, and running back Jordan Jenkins picked up 92 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

Both teams scored on their opening possessions of the night.

Johnson ripped off a 66-yard touchdown run on PNG’s second play of the game, and Lindale responded on its first play from scrimmage when a double pass from receiver Brayson Campbell was good for a 74-yard touchdown to Boyette.

Lindale took a 14-7 lead on its next series with a 6-yard run from Jenkins, before PNG tied it moments later on Johnson’s 65-yard touchdown pass to Jose Ceja.

Heinaman’s 43-yard scoring strike to Moore on the first play of the second quarter gave Lindale a 21-14 lead, but the Indians answered when Johnson ran one in from the 1-yard line.

PNG took the lead for good when Johnson found Ceja for a 43-yard touchdown, then ran in the two-point conversion with 2:07 until halftime.

Port Neches-Groves 50, Lindale 28

Class 5A Division II, Region III Area Playoff
At NRG Stadium, Houston

Lindale 14 7 0 7 – 28
Port Neches-Groves 14 15 21 0 – 50

First Quarter
PNG—Roschon Johnson 66 run (Mario Oceguera kick), 11:10.
LIN—Conner Boyette 74 pass from Brayson Campbell (Landon Love kick), 10:51.
LIN—Jordan Jenkins 6 run (Love kick), 3:30.
PNG—Jose Ceja 65 pass from Johnson (Oceguera kick), 2:45.
Second Quarter
LIN—Brennan Moore 43 pass from Dillon Heinaman (Love kick), 11:54.
PNG—Johnson 1 run (Oceguera kick), 9:48.
PNG—Ceja 43 pass from Johnson (Johnson run), 2:07.
Third Quarter
PNG—Johnson 87 run (Oceguera kick), 9:27.
PNG—Johnson 73 run (Oceguera kick), 5:58.
PNG—Cooper Hammond 9 pass from Kaleb Wuenschel (Oceguera kick), 4:53.
Fourth Quarter
LIN—Jaymond Jackson 8 pass from Heinaman (Love kick), :25.

LIN PNG
First Downs 18 12
Total Yards 418 497
Rushes-Yards 41-117 25-258
Passing Yards 239 301
Comp.-Att.-Int. 20-31-1 10-18-0
Punts-Avg. 6-35.2 4-34.5
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 7-62 5-45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Lindale, Jordan Jenkins 23-92, Dillon Heinaman 12-24, Grant Sims 5-3, Conner Boyette 1-(-2). Port Neches-Groves, Roschon Johnson 19-248, DaeDae Conner 1-4, Jaylan Williams 4-3, Khaleb Taylor 1-3.
PASSING—Lindale, Heinaman 19-30-1—227, Brayson Campbell 1-1-0—74, Boyette 0-1-0—0. Port Neches-Groves, Johnson 9-16-0—230, Kaleb Wuenschel 1-2-0—9.
RECEIVING—Lindale, Brennan Moore 7-103, Colton Brown 5-50, Boyette 3-118, Dylan Worrell 3-15, Jaymond Jackson 1-8, Jenkins 1-7. Port Neches-Groves, Wuenschel 3-36, Jose Ceja 2-108, Cooper Hammond 2-31, Tyler Pippin 1-37, Kade Guilbeau 1-20, Cade Billeaud 1-7.