Mark and I always a have a good time together. We talked about sports and listed to some Velvet Underground. I suggested that us TSRN folks should write a book. We all have a lot of entertaining stories about high school athletics! Hmm, maybe I can write about some of mine!
This was my first time at Reliant stadium and OMG, it was gigantic! It made the Astrodome look like an ant! Our press box was located on the 8th Floor! The roof was closed during the game but they opened after it ended. I didn’t even hear it opening, it was so quiet!
When I tape my stat boards to a wall, it is always on the left side. One of the officials from the stadium plugged a small flat screen monitor in on the left side so we can get the video feed (it also had replays which was really cool). There was also a larger flat screen monitor hanging from the ceiling. Kusenberger had his laptop right next to that small monitor so I made an executive decision to move my stats to the right side; there was also a lot of radio equipment on the table.
As for the game, the Steele Knights dominated the 1st half and had a commanding 37-10 lead at halftime over Port Arthur Memorial. Steele ran 22 plays for 340 yards (274 rushing) and 5 touchdowns. The time of possession for the Knights was 6:06! Justin Stockton, the running back, had a 91 yard run that took only :13 and Tommy Armstrong, the quarterback, had a 87 yard run that took only :16! Wow! Port Arthur ran 43 plays for 139 yards and 1 touchdown and were 0-8 on third down! Ross Luensmann, a linebacker for Steele, was the main reason why the Titans struggled in the 1st half. It seemed like he was involved in every play. Bobby Stautzenberger wants Ross to get the defensive player of year for the San Antonio.
Steele added 2 more touchdowns in the 3rd quarter and led 51-10 going into the final 12 minutes. Port Arthur scored 3 touchdowns in the 4th and made the final score of 51-31 look more respectable. I was a bit nervous because the Titans had scored really fast were looking like a state semifinal team.
Justin Stockton, the Steele running back, had 13 carries for 209 yards and 1 touchdown. Tommy Armstrong, the Steele quarterback had 248 total yards and 5 touchdowns.
Terrance Singleton, the Port Arthur Memorial quarterback, had 220 total yards and 4 touchdowns. He will be playing at Baylor next year. The running back, Nathan Holmes, had 14 carries for 67 yards and 1 touchdown. He will be playing at Arkansas next year.
There wasn’t any debate as to who our player of the game was going to be. We are all know Steele’s offense is fantastic, but when you shut down an opposing teams offense, especially an offense that has averaged over 40 points a game, you have to look at the defense. Ross Luensmann is the leader of the Steele defense and he got his name mentioned over and over during the broadcast. Ross was our player of the game. And, Bobby may be right, he could very easily end up being the defensive player of the year! Wow!
Thru 5 playoff games, Steele has scored 166 points and given up only 61! Wow! I wish I had a way to research this, but I am pretty confident that Steele also has the most 1 play scoring drives this season.
So, next Saturday at 8pm, the Steele Knights will play the Spring Dekaney Wildcats for the 5A Division II state championship in Arlington at Cowboys stadium! This will be our only game next weekend as the Madison Mavericks lost to Fort Bend Hightower. Wow! And, I am planning on being there! How awesome is that?
