Already with a 20-yard touchdown run to put Port Arthur Memorial ahead, Keitha Jones sprinted 45 yards to the Galveston Ball 6 to start the next offensive series.

The long run was so typical of Jones’ athleticism, few outside of Memorial’s football team would have realized he was battling the flu — for a second week.

“As the leader of the team, I feel like you shouldn’t miss a game,” Jones said. “I feel like I should go out and lead my team in the best way that I can, and that’s what I did. I feel like I still have a long way to go.”

In two weeks, Memorial (9-1) defeated three opponents — Kingwood Park, Ball and the flu. The illness also hit senior offensive lineman Brian Roy the week of the KP game and senior cornerback Kam Nixon before the Ball game.

“Our guys sucked it up and played,” Titans coach Kenny Harrison said. “That’s what seniors do. They understand everything that goes along with the playoffs and how important it is to be on the field.”

If the Titans can beat Temple (9-3), they’ll take down last season’s state runner-up. But they got here due in no small part to the 6-foot-2, 205-pound SMU recruit.

Jones had the TD run and 117 yards on 15 carries to go with 8-of-15 passing for 94 yards against Ball. A week earlier against KP, he had a 10-yard TD run and 43 yards on 12 carries, but completed 7 of 17 passes for 139 yards with an interception.

More importantly, he’s engineered a Memorial offense that’s scored 40 or more points in five straight wins, all decided by 26 or more points.

“Just a [heck] of a performance two weeks in a row being under the weather,” Harrison said. “He understands he’s the captain of our football team and he wants to be on the field. I just have a lot of respect for him.”

Jones found out he was sick shortly after the regular season finale against Vidor that earned Memorial a share of the District 22-5A championship.

Since then, he drank plenty fluids and got more rest, never doubting he would play in weeks 12 and 13.

“I was feeling horrible, but in my mind I was like, I still have to play,” said Jones, who did not miss a class the week before Thanksgiving. “It was crazy because I’m cold inside and my body’s sweating terribly. I’d wake up in the middle of the night and my shirt is soaking wet but my body is cold. It was tough, but I fought through it.”

Co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Cornelius Harmon said Jones understands what’s at stake each playoff game. Memorial is three wins away from its first state championship game appearance and Port Arthur’s first since Thomas Jefferson lost to Odessa Permian in the 1980 5A final.

“Confidence is the biggest thing with [Jones],” Harmon said. “Him playing quarterback, he hadn’t played it in a couple of years. … Keitha’s a very exceptional athlete. With more reps and more game speed, it builds confidence, and it allows him to play freely. You can see the change in him in the past couple of weeks.”

Jones’ favorite moment from the past two weeks isn’t anything he accomplished on the field. He said it’s the time he gets to spend with his teammates.

In playoff football, every team controls its own destiny. Jones isn’t missing a thing along the ride.

“The thing you want to be able to do is control the things you can control,” Harrison said. “The things you cannot control, you just pray and hope they don’t affect your team. Unfortunately, it affected us, but fortunately, we were able to overcome it and get two wins in the playoffs, and we’re still playing now.”

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