Sam Houston capitalizes on Paschal turnover in District 4-6A contest

Paschal was moving along smartly after the opening kickoff, taking the ball downfield when disaster struck.

First, running back William Booker fumbled and Arlington Sam Houston’s Cameron Tripplett recovered at his 8-yard line. The following play, Texan quarterback Omari Milton took off and broke open for a 92-yard touchdown run.

That set the tone for what was to come as Sam Houston (2-2, 1-0 in District 4-6A) went on to beat Paschal, 48-28, Friday night at Farrington Field in a penalty-marred contest.

Until the turnover, Paschal (1-3, 0-1) had advanced from its 30 to the Sam Houston 8 in 15 plays. With Milton’s scoring run, it looked like a rout was in the making and while Paschal came back enough to keep it respectable, there was little doubt afterward about the outcome of the game.

If there was suspense, it came midway in the second quarter. Down 21-14, Paschal appeared to be in position to make a game of it. Two consecutive holding penalties pushed Sam Houston back so the Texans were facing second-and-26 from their 35-yard line.

An incomplete pass made it third-and-26. But then Milton hit his running back, Exzavier Thomas, on a short screen for 20 yards. Then on fourth-and-six at the Paschal 45, Milton again went to the air converting a first down with a throw over the middle to Juan Garza for 25 yards to the 20-yard line. It took five more plays from there, but eventually Milton scored from the 1 on fourth-and-goal when he faked to Thomas, then kept and went end around.

It came with 1:37 left before halftime and gave the Texans a 28-14 lead after the conversion kick. They made it 34-14 a little over a minute later or with 23.7 second left when Tyris Simon stepped in front of a pass, intercepted it, and returned it for a touchdown.

The 20-point margin stayed the same since, in the second half, each team scored a touchdown in the third and fourth quarters.

But penalties piled up particularly for Sam Houston which accumulated 15 for 140 yards. Paschal had six for 60.

For Sam Houston, Milton threw two touchdown passes in a 7-10-0 outing and 160 yards. Teammate Justin Tone, who took over in the second half, also threw for a pair of scores. He was four-of-eight for 112 yards.

Though he had no touchdowns, Thomas rushed for 180 yards on 15 carries for Sam Houston. Teammate Bryce Oliver had four catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

For Paschal, quarterback Elliott Titus rushed for 141 yards in 19 carries and a touchdown. Teammate Booker also finished in triple digits with 104 yards in 20 carries and another touchdown.

The contest was a familiar refrain. It was the tenth straight win over Paschal by the Texans who are 14-2 in the series. In addition, Sam Houston has won all seven meetings at Farrington Field. The last time Paschal beat Sam Houston was in 2009, 44-33, at Handley-Scarborough Field.

But Sam Houston is 24-31-2 in district openers. Last year’s district opener also resulted in a win. It, too, was against Paschal, 35-22, snapping a four-game losing streak in season openers.

This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 11:19 PM.