On a rain filled Friday evening in New Caney, where umbrellas and ponchos filled both sides of the stadium, we got our yearly “Battle Line on 59” game between the New Caney Eagles and the Porter Spartans. Long lines filled the sidewalks and entry gates as these 2 close teams prepared to battle. The Eagles have dominated this matchup since the inception of the Porter Spartans winning for 12 consecutive years dating back to 2010. This year for the first time it was considered a non-district game between the teams. The game was slated to start at 7:30 pm but due to lightning in the area the starting game time was pushed back until 8:10.
With the rain still coming down in buckets at the start, the Eagles won the toss and deferred until the second half. Both teams started strong defensively not allowing much for either offense. The first 6 possessions of the game ended in punts or turnover on downs for the teams.
After a 63-yard punt by Tayte Baker, the Spartans took over on their own 26-yard line. On the second play of the drive, Spartans fullback Ryan Gilliam took the handoff up the middle and the ball was forced loose and then recovered by Jalen Menny.
On the next play for the Eagles, running back Kedrick Reescano took the handoff to the right-side shedding tackles and spinning his way free for a 30-yard touchdown run. Israel Oregon would add the extra point and the Eagles would take a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
As the second quarter got underway, the Spartans were putting together a drive near midfield. On 3rd and 4 yard to go, the Eagles defense once again stood up sacking Spartans quarterback Blake Russell. The sack would be split between Tayte Baker and Johnny Vargas creating a punt on 4th down.
On the ensuing punt, Eagles Chris Johnson ripped through the line of scrimmage and was able to block the punt. The punt would be scooped up by the Eagles Daylen Wilson and returned 45 yards for the touchdown. The Eagles would try a two-point conversion, which would fail, bringing the score to 13-0.
After a nice kickoff return by the Spartans, the Spartans were able to get into Eagle territory before fumbling a snap on 4th and 6 at the Eagles 40-yard line that was recovered by the Eagles Tayte Baker.
New Caney would take over and begin another scoring drive halfway through the second quarter. Eagle quarterback Nehemiah Broussard would connect with Blaine Lucas on a quick screen for 17 yards down to the Spartans 38. After a Spartan penalty putting New Caney at the 20 yards line, Broussard dropped back to pass and hit Reescano down the sideline for the 20-yard touchdown. Kayden Cooper tacked on the 2-point conversion with a rush up the middle making the score 21-0 with 3 minutes to play in the first half.
The Spartans continued to struggle offensively as Andrew Wilkinson would pick up a sack on 3rd and 12 forcing another Porter punt. On the punt, DJ Lewis would spring off the edge and block the Spartan’s punt and the Eagles take over at the Spartans 14-yard line. 2 runs later by Reescano, he would score from one yard out for his 3rd touchdown of the game. Oregon would hit the extra point and the Eagles would take the 28-0 lead into halftime.
The Eagles would receive the second half kickoff and after a failed fake reverse on the return the Eagles would start the drive at their own 10-yard line. The Eagles would go on a 6-play drive that covered 90 yards. Reescano would start the drive off with a 16-yard run. Broussard would then hit Dravon Wilson for 22 yards. Rescano then broke a 31-yard run down to the Spartan 5-yard line. Broussard would roll out to the right on the next play and connect with Tayte Baker on a 5-yard touchdown pass to cap off the 90-yard drive. Eagles’ kicker Oregon would add the extra point as the Eagles extend their lead to 35-0.
Porter would begin their next possession at their own 28-yard line. The Spartan would piece together some nice runs by Joshua Evans-Pickens. The Spartans would try to run a speed option with their quarterback Blake Russell, but Russell was caught from behind by Daylen Wilson who was able to strip the ball free and Eagles nose tackle Christian Villatoro would recover the fumble at the Spartans 42-yard line.
Both teams would go 4 and out and turn the ball over on downs after penalties from both offenses on the next 2 possessions of the game as the subs began to enter the game.
Broussard took the snap from the Spartan 17-yard line and threw a strike to Dravon Wilson for the 17-yard touchdown. Broussards 3rd touchdown on the night. Oregon connected on the extra point making it 42-0 at the close of the 3rd quarter.
On the next series for Porter, the Spartans would again fumble the ball at their own 35-yard line and the Eagles would take over for their final scoring drive of the game. Wardell Franklin was able to break free and into the end zone from 5 yards out to extend the lead after the extra point to 49-0.
Neither team was able to get anything going for the remainder of the game and the game concluded at 49-0 as the Eagles extend their battle line winning streak to 13 games.
Game Analysis:
After a slow start to the game offensively, the eagles began to get rolling towards the end of the 1st quarter. The eagles relied on the run game early on to get their offense going and did a nice job in the second half keeping the Spartans defense off balance. The offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage run blocking and in pass protection for most of the game. The Eagles offense totaled 340 yards on the night with 206 coming on the ground and 134 coming through the air.
Kedrick Reescano finished the game with 14 carries for 125 yards with 3 total touchdowns, 2 touchdowns on the ground and 1 through the air.
Eagles QB Nehemiah Broussard competed 11 of 16 passes for 134 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Dravon Wilson caught 4 passes for 51 yards and a touchdown. Blaine Lucas also chipped in with 3 catches for 47 yards.
Defensively, the Eagles were solid all night long. When the defense needed to make a play a variety of players stepped up and got the job done. The defensive line, linebackers and secondary worked in tandem at each level getting the job done. The defense gave up 109 yards rushing on the night and only 1 yard passing for 110 total yards. The defense also finished with 3 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.
Daylen Wilson led the team with seven tackles and really stood out when we watched the film back especially in the first quarter with several flash plays.
Andrew Wilkinson, Johnny Vargas, and Casen Rios all had 1 sack and Tayte Backer chipped in with ½ a sack as well.
Player of the Game:
We will not give out an individual player of the game this week. The entire special team’s unit deserves the award this week. The most unheralded of the 3 phases of the game was the kick starter to this week’s win. 2 blocked punts, 1 returned for the touchdown and a couple of other close calls. Israel Oregon was 5/5 on his extra point attempts. Tayte Baker completely flipped the field position battle early in the game with his 63-yard punt and another 42-yard punt by Nehemiah Broussard. Special teams aren’t the most heralded phase of the game but it’s just as important. Congrats to all the special team players this week!
Notes:
- New Caney goes 2-0 to start the season and will begin district play against Willis next Friday night at 7 pm.
- Porter drops to 1-1 and will begin district play next week against Kingwood Park High School at Randall Reed Stadium Friday at 7 pm.
- Kedrick Reescano leads the team with 8 total touchdowns on the season.
