For the second straight season in the annual Battle of Texas County, the Houston High School football team scored more than 50 points and held Cabool scoreless, this time downing the Bulldogs 55-0 in a South Central Association game Friday night on John Mark Hale Field at Mitch Carmack Stadium in Cabool.
The Tigers’ offense got rolling early, scoring 4 touchdowns in the first quarter.
The only points Houston ultimately needed came with 9:50 to go in the period when senior DJ Riley scored on a 4-yard touchdown run. Riley was at running back on the first series as freshman Stryker Sloan got some big-time experience at quarterback. As head coach Eric Sloan mixed things up a bit, Riley and Stryker Sloan each took multiple snaps for the rest of the game.
Junior kicker Dillon Shelton booted the first of his 4 extra points in the game and Houston was ahead 7-0.
As the first period unfolded, senior Caden Guerra scored on a 10-yard run with 7:28 to go (Shelton’s kick was blocked), Riley (again at running back) scored on a 5-yard scamper with 3:37 left and then added a 2-point run from the QB spot, and Riley (at QB) then ran for a 37-yard TD with 1:37 remaining (running to the left on a play with three receivers set up on the right). After Shelton kicked an extra point, the Tigers were already up 28-0.
The Bulldogs’ offense gained some yardage in the second quarter, but came up empty thanks to several big plays produced by Houston’s Big Red Defense.
The Tigers’ only points in the period came on a 10-yard run by Riley (at quarterback) that immediately followed a 64-yard dash by Guerra, and another extra point kicked by Shelton.
After Houston led 35-0 at halftime, the “turbo clock” rule kicked in and the second half went by in a hurry.
But with Stryker Sloan at quarterback, Riley scored again on a 14-yard run with 8:46 to go in the third quarter to put the Tigers up 41-0 (Shelton had a rare miss on the point-after kick).
On the last play of the period, HHS sophomore MJ Morgan intercepted a pass at the Tigers’ 37-yard line as Cabool’s offense tried to maintain possession on a fourth-and-11 play.
Then with Houston’s JV offense going against the Bulldogs’ first-string defense on the first play of the fourth quarter, freshman Tucker Venn took a handoff from Stryker Sloan and ran 63 yards for a touchdown. After Shelton kicked another extra point, the scored was 48-0 in favor of the Tigers.
Midway through the period, the Bulldogs’ offense turned the ball over on downs at their own 19-yard line. Then with 5:45 to go in the contest, junior Carter Allen scored on a 5-yard run and sophomore Alex Flores booted an extra point and the final score was on the board.
Officials called for an end to the game with 1:38 showing on the clock after a Cabool player was injured and taken off the field by an ambulance. The player has since been reported to have suffered a concussion and has been released from the hospital.
Last year in Tiger Stadium, Houston beat the Bulldogs 56-0, scoring all 56 points in the first half.
Next up for the Tigers (3-1, 2-0 SCA) is a road game at undefeated Thayer. The Bobcats (4-0, 2-0 SCA) won Friday at Salem, 55-16.
