La Marque 32 Galveston Ball 7

[cougartino]

Coogs get off to a slow start but eventually get it in gear. Highly ranked 4A Texas City is next week.

[1971Coogs]

Posted: Saturday, August 31, 2013 1:45 am
By WES SWIFT
GALVESTON — The La Marque Cougars took nearly 24 minutes to get on track Friday. The Ball High Tors never did.
The Cougars, sparked by a kickoff return for a touchdown on the final play of the first half, pounded the Tors, 32-7, in the annual Clash of the Causeway at Kermit Courville Stadium.
La Marque used a punishing ground game to wear down the Tors defense in the second half. Quarterback Ladarrian Ellis-Johnson and tailback Alan Cooper accounted for 265 of the Cougars’ 432 total yards.
Meanwhile, the Cougars’ stout defense made life miserable for the Tors, holding Ball High to minus-5 yards in the second half, 137 yards in total offense and only three first downs.
The Tors, however, had some highlights in new coach Kimble Anders debut. The defense in the first half held its own against the Cougars, stopping La Marque on its first five drives, including three times deep in Ball territory.
The scored was tied at 7 at halftime.
Ball struck first when backup quarterback Christian Nichols, who rotated in the game with starter Jacob Simon, hit senior wide receiver Kevin Batiste for an 83-yard touchdown with 4:30 left in the second quarter to take a 7-0 lead.
But the momentum shifted at the end of the half. With the Tors punting from deep in their own territory, La Marque’s Reggie Franklin fielded the kick at midfield and weaved through defenders for 50 yards and the Cougars’ first score.
That opened the floodgates for the Cougars, who went on to add 25 unanswered points in the second half.
Ellis-Johnson scored the Cougars’s first offensive touchdown on an 8-yard scamper with 8:42 to play in the third. Three minutes later, Franklin, subbing for Ellis-Johnson, added another touchdown on a 4-yard plunge in the third.
The onslaught continued with another Ellis-Johnson score in the third and an added score in the fourth.
La Marque plays Texas City (1-0) next week in the annual Battle By the Bay. The Tors have a bye week before playing Manvel.


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