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Memorial 27 Lee 26 Final/Comments


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PORT ARTHUR - Without an adjustment by Freddie King, then maybe Davon Lewis would have looked away from him and thrown to another receiver Friday.

But King turned toward the left sideline instead of the corner of the field. Lewis rolled to his left and threw a pass.

King caught it, turned to the end zone and ran the last 15 yards of a 34-yard pass play with 46 seconds left that gave the Memorial football team a 27-26 victory over Baytown Lee.

Omar Zepeda made an extra point and the Memorial defense sacked quarterback Octavio Torres twice before time ran out. Lee entered its final drive with no time outs and was unable to get out of bounds to stop the clock.

"This was a big game," said Lewis, who threw three touchdown passes and ran for another. "A very big game."

Lewis said "very big" five more times, and even that might have been an understatement. The Titans' victory put them in a second-place tie in District 21-5A with Humble.

Lewis said King adjusted his route and thought he had a clear shot to the end zone.

"If I don't make that pass, I'm not a (good) football player," Lewis said. "If he doesn't make that catch, he's not a (good) football player."

Memorial (4-3, 3-1) plays next week against the only undefeated team left in the district. West Brook moved to 4-0 in district play with a 48-21 victory over Baytown Sterling.

Humble (3-1) lost a district game for the first time this season, a 21-20 decision to Kingwood.

The top four teams make the Class 5A playoffs, so Memorial's playoff chances increased significantly with the victory. Three weeks remain in the district season.

Lee (4-2, 2-2) lost last week to West Brook, but Lee coach Dick Olin refused to speculate what the West Brook-Memorial game next week might be like.

"That's hard to tell," Olin said. "You never know who's going to win each week."

Memorial scored touchdowns in its first three possessions, but failed to score the next six times it had the ball.

Lewis fumbled away the ball late in the third quarter, and Lee went 42 yards in seven plays to score a go-ahead touchdown. A two-point play put Memorial in a 26-20 deficit with 8:39 left.

Memorial punted on its next possession. Lee looked to run out the clock, but a holding penalty put them at second-and-15, and Lee punted two plays later.

Lewis and the Titans took possession at their own 24 with three minutes left.

"That was gut-check time," Lewis said. "That was a chance to show what kind of football players we are."

Memorial converted on third-and-7 when Lewis threw a 9-yard pass and got to the Lee 34 with a pair of long passes to Patterson Clay and Barry Valcin.

That set up the touchdown pass to King, who was supposed to run a corner route toward the end zone. Memorial coach Ronnie Thompson said Valcin changed his route.

"He took some defenders with him, and that opened the field for (King)," Thompson said.

King said a diving Lee defender slightly tipped the ball just before it was caught.

"I got my arms around it the best I could," said King, who dodged a pair of defenders, ran and leapt into the end zone.

Zepeda, whose only other extra-point attempt was blocked, made the go-ahead point.

"Everybody is looking at you," Zepeda said. "I had to stay relaxed. It was like the coach said to me, 'Kick it nice and smooth.'"

Memorial's victory was sealed with sacks by Cody Hebert and Jonathan Vernon on two of the last three plays. In between those was a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty - Memorial's second of the game.

Lee rushed for 259 yards. Memorial averaged 271.7 rushing yards allowed through its first six games.

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