Titans trample Cusick in play game at home

It was playoff time in Odessa on Friday night, and the Titans played like it was. In freezing cold weather, the Cusick Panthers visited the Odessa-Harrington Titans with home-field aspirations for next week. Eighteen fumbles occured in this game – 18! The majority of them were center-to-quarterback exchanges, but 18 fumbles are too many nonetheless.

Titans quarterback Jared King accounted for 12 fumbles, but that was the only thing King didn’t do right. Passing, he completed eight of 12 passes (66.7%) for 230 yards and three touchdowns. Looking the part of a young Michael Vick, King ran for over 175 yards and scored five more touchdowns on the ground. He also led the team in tackles. This MVP performance earns him my Game Ball, his third of the season.

He wasn’t the only hero of this game. Markus Smith (8) had two amazing interceptions during the game. Jacob DeWulf (72) had two sacks and a forced fumble in this one-sided playoff victory.

The Titans jumped to an early 16-0 lead and never looked back, winning via the mercy rule with the score 54-14 with 6:29 left in the fourth quarter.

Although the score displays a blowout win, we didn’t play flawless football. The Titans were flagged 16 times! At one point in the second quarter, Odessa-Harrington scored on three consecutive plays, all covering more than 50 yards! Only one of these touchdowns counted on the scoreboard, a 64-yard touchdown run. Our offensive line had inconsistency issues, but the defensive line played much better than last week. Our coverage was nearly perfect as well, playing tight to the Panthers receivers.

Stetson Sanford (31), the young man who needed medical assistance and was carried off the field last week, looks to be out for the season with a concussion-related injury. Hopefully he makes a short and successful recovery. With that 54-14 win, we have our confidence and swagger to our advantage for next Friday night, a game I can’t wait for! Go Titans!

Editor’s note: As part of his senior project, Matthew Lane will be covering sports events and writing reports on them for The Record.