Titans run into buzzsaw against strong Barbers Hill squad
Published 10:33 pm Friday, October 27, 2023
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MONT BELVIEU — The Memorial Titans saw their hopes for a perfect season come to an end Friday night as the host Barbers Hill Eagles used a dominant performance from start to finish in a 52-23 win.
Barbers Hill piled up 482 yards of offense on the evening, totaling 288 yards on the ground and 163 yards through the air.
The Titans had 409 yards for the game, but were doomed by turnovers and penalties. Memorial was flagged for 105 penalty yards, while quarterback Code Stoever threw two interceptions and was victimized by drops at crucial moments.
The Titans are in a three-way tie with Barbers Hill at 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the division. LaPorte, which also has one loss, faces Crosby on Saturday.
The Titans took an early 3-0 lead on a 41-yard by Oscar Salgado with 7:17 left in the first quarter.
The Titans led 10-7 with 10:49 left in the second quarter after Stoever connected with Somaj Pierre for a 2-yard TD pass, only to see Barbers Hill score 17 unanswered points to take a 24-10 lead into halftime.
The Titans appeared poised to pull off yet another second-half comeback as Amante Martin’s 5-yard run capped off the opening possession of the third quarter to make it 24-17. However, Barbers Hill scored three unanswered touchdowns before the quarter ended, two of them on runs of 62 and 42 yards by Jadon Rodriguez to make it 45-17 in favor of the Eagles heading into the final quarter.
Barbers Hill boosted its lead to 52-17 just four seconds into the fourth quarter before the Titans closed out the scoring on a 9-yard run by Alex Eugene.
Martin had 81 rushing yards for the Titans.
Stoever threw for 161 yards. Pierre was Memorial’s leading receiver with eight catches for 81 yards. Ja’coryn Baker had 72 rushing yards for Memorial, while Eugene had 68 rushing yards.
Rodriguez rushed for 199 yards for Barbers Hill. Landon Smith caught five passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Memorial wraps up the regular season by hosting Kingwood Park at 7 p.m. Friday on Senior Night.
The Titans are still likely to earn a spot in the postseason.
Barbers Hill 52, Memorial 23
Memorial 3 7 7 6 — 23
Barbers Hill 7 17 21 7 — 52
First Quarter
Mem – FG, Salgado 41, 7:17.
BH – Rodriguez 25 run (Caraballo kick), 5:45.
Second Quarter
Mem – Pierre 2 pass from Stoever (Salgado kick), 10:49.
BH – Thompson 12 pass from Fuentes (Caraballo kick), 9:23.
BH – Smith 2 pass from Fuentes (Caraballo kick), 6:18.
BH – FG, Caraballo 29, 3:15.
Third Quarter
Mem – Martin 3 run (Salgado kick), 9:30.
BH – Thompson 15 pass from Fuentes (Caraballo kick), 6:04.
BH – Rodriguez 62 run (Caraballo kick), 3:54.
BH – Rodriguez 42 run (Caraballo kick), 1:57.
Fourth Quarter
BH – Holguin 5 run (Caraballo kick), 11:56.
Mem – Eugene 9 run (kick failed), 9:15.
— Written by Pat Murray