Texas High Jumps on Whitehouse Early to Take 48-20 Season-Opening Win

[By Josh Richert, Special to ETSN.fm]

WHITEHOUSE — Texas High built a big lead early in the fourth quarter and the Tigers avenged last year's last-minute loss to Whitehouse with a 48-20 win at Wildcat Stadium Friday in the season opener.

The Tigers had 440 yards of total offense and limited the Wildcats' high-octane offense to 365 yards. A pair of fumbles by Texas High substitutes late in the game enabled Whitehouse quarterback Tanner Roach to throw fourth quarter scores to Zach Parker and Jordan Mims.

Cade Pearson threw for 219 yards and a TD and rushed for another pair of scores for Texas High. Markese Martin ran for two TDs, Jakardi Witcher had 100 rushing yards and a score, and Quan Hampton caught four balls for 97 yards

Backup Texas High quarterback J.T. Morgan added a 1-yard sneak for the final Tiger points, coming with 9:20 left in the game and pushing the advantage to 41 points.

The Tigers piled up 314 yards of offense in the first half and took advantage of two turnovers and a pair of big plays late in the second quarter to build a 34-7 lead at intermission.

Pearson, who had a 1-yard sneak in the final minute of the half after connecting with Hampton on a 52-yard catch-and-run, was 8 of 13 for 202 yards before halftime.

Witcher raced 71 yards with 2:39 left in the half for his score and reached 100 yards rushing just before Pearson's second rushing TD of the game. Pearson also capped a 10-play, 66-yard drive on Texas High's third possession with a 4-yard keeper around the right side.

Down 21 points, Whitehouse finally put together a scoring drive. Covering 89 yards in 13 plays, the Wildcats got on the scoreboard on Roach's 31-yard pass to Trent Williams.

Texas High 48, Whitehouse 20

At Wildcat Stadium, Whitehouse

Texas High    7   27   7    7 — 48
Whitehouse   0     7   0  13 — 20
First Quarter
THS-Cade Pearson 4 run (Ethan Montez kick), 1:20.
Second Quarter
THS-Markese Martin 3 run (Montez kick), 11:56.
THS-Kip Williams 9 pass from Pearson (Montez kick), 7:32.
WH-Trent Williams 31 pass from Tanner Roach (Eddie Godina kick), 4:15.
THS-Jakardi Witcher 71 run (Montez kick), 2:39.
Third Quarter
THS-J. T. Morgan 1 run (Montez kick), 9:20.
Fourth Quarter
WH-Zach Parker 11 pass from Roach (Godina kick), 7:41.
WH-Jordan Mims 11 pass from Roach (kick blocked), 1:36.

                               TH           WH
First Downs             22            19
Yards Rushing         41-214     24-118
Yards Passing         226           247
Comp.-Att.-Int.        11-18-0    27-42-1
Fumbles-Lost          4-2           4-2
Penalties                  8-65         10-115
Punts-Avg.              4-39.5       6-40.5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Texas High, Witcher 13-100, Martin 10-47, Pearson 4-16, Deshun Villa 6-7, Deuntae Mack 3-36, Addonis Fort 1-10, Morgan 4-(minus 4). Whitehouse, Shemar Smith 14-47, Zi Coffer 3-1, Roach 3-6, Collin Bullard 2-22, Khyree Key 1-28, Clayton Cook 1-14.
PASSING—Texas High, Pearson 10-11-0-219, Morgan 1-2-0-7. Whitehouse, Roach 22-34-1-220, Bullard 5-8-0-27.
RECEIVING—Texas High, Quan Hampton 4-97, Witcher 1-43, Jacobie Brown 1-32, Jaylen Rhone 2-17, Tevailance Hunt 1-21, Kip Williams 1-9, Villa 1-7. Whitehouse, Seth Dolan 2-10, Mims 1-11, Kevin Chavez 3-28, Isaac Little 3-21, Smith 1-2, Williams 4-78, Parker 7-46, DeMontre Else 4-49, Ashton Melton 1-(minus 2).