Just four weeks ago, Xavier Hull was playing wide receiver at The Woodlands.

Last week, he caught three passes for 129 yards — for Port Arthur Memorial, taking on a key role in the Titans’ 40-14 win over Vidor to clinch their second straight District 22-5A co-championship.

“I’m very excited,” Hull said. “If we stay together like we’ve been doing, we’re going to be on a run.”

It helped Memorial coach Kenny Harrison that Hull was back on the roster for a game Harrison had circled on his schedule. Memorial was in position to win 22-5A outright when Vidor stunned the Titans in 2016.

“I’d be wrong if I told you I hadn’t been looking forward to this game against Vidor and coach [Jeff] Mathews, who does a tremendous job over there,” Harrison said. “We just looked forward to getting a second opportunity to redeem ourselves from the year before. Unfortunately, we didn’t win the district championship outright, but anytime you can put ‘tied championship’ along with your name, that’s always a positive.”

Hull’s return to Port Arthur had added a triumphant chapter to the story that has been his senior year and Memorial’s resolve following Tropical Storm Harvey.

He and a teammate, DeAngelo Alexander, left Port Arthur with their families during Harvey and relocated to The Woodlands.

“We had lost our house and all that stuff,” said Hull, who moved with his family to Port Arthur from Ohio in fifth grade. “So my mom was like, we had a couple of friends out there [in The Woodlands] with [teammate] Kesean Carter. We stayed out there a little while, and then I wanted to come back for my senior year to be with my friends and brothers since I first moved down here.

“I got back here and they treated me the same. Everything is good. I’ve got a good team. Hopefully we go to state and have a great run.”

The Woodlands began their season 16 days after Harvey hit Port Arthur, so Hull didn’t have much time to learn the Highlanders’ playbook. It wasn’t a problem, however; Hull helped the club march to a 7-1 record and a 6-0 run in District 12-6A, which includes West Brook.

“Everybody was good to me,” Hull said. “I just wanted to come back with my friends.”

Hull was a defensive back before Harvey ultimately forced the Titans to postpone their season until mid-September and went on to make an impact at The Woodlands as a receiver.

“We knew coming into the season he had a lot of ability to stretch the field,” Harrison said. “We were looking forward to utilizing him quite a bit from an offensive and defensive standpoint. Fortunately for us, he returned, and it seems like he returned at the right time. He’s definitely given our offense a little boost just because of his big-play ability. He’s done a tremendous job as far as that goes.”

 

The Titans (7-1, 7-1 in 22-5A) hardly missed a beat with Hull absent, but they’ve won both games since his return and are going for three straight against Kingwood Park (5-3, 5-3 in 21-5A) at Porter’s Texan Drive Stadium. KP has won four straight and made it into the playoffs with the help of a head-to-head tiebreaker over Barbers Hill.

“Their record does not indicate the type of football team they are,” Harrison said. “They’ve gotten better each and every game, so we’re definitely going to have to come out and execute on our A-game, and I feel good about us doing that.”

KP was fourth in its district in both offense (325.9 yards per game) and defense (291.1 allowed per game). Senior Immanuel McElroy has rushed for 610 yards and six touchdowns and senior quarterback Daniel Bresko has thrown for 1,332 yards and 11 touchdowns with eight interceptions.

“We’ve been watching them on film and all that stuff,” Hull said. “If we play good and they play good, we’re going to come out on top.”

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I.C. Murrell: 549-8541. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews