KINGWOOD — Preston High School head football coach Mark Deep is glad to see that his team is putting itself in positions to make plays on the field. The problem is, he doesn’t see those plays being made when they present themselves.
It happened on the opening play of the Knights’ 41-7 loss to the visiting North Marion Huskies, as Deep called a double-pass trick play to open the contest but the ball was dropped with no one within 20 yards of the Preston receiver.
“We’re in position to make plays, we just aren’t making them,” Deep said. “For us, the key is we are finding ourselves in the spots where we can impact the game but we aren’t capitalizing on those opportunities. If we keep putting ourselves in those positions to make something happen, we will get it eventually.”
The Huskies (2-0) got it done on the ground against PHS (0-2), rushing for 292 yards on 39 attempts in the game. Three different players rushed for more than 50 yards, led by senior tailback Trevor Mullett who finished with 83 yards and two scores on 12 carries.
His 38-yard run at the 5:10 of the first quarter is what broke the ice for the Huskies and gave them an early 7-0 lead after an extra point from Brady Anderson.
Preston was led by sophomore quarterback Slaton Manko who rushed for 56 yards on 14 attempts while completing 11 passes for 123 yards.
The Knights saw their drive to end the quarter stalled after a sack and a failed fourth-down conversion.
North Marion responded with a solid drive of its own, moving the ball all the way to the two-yard line. But consecutive snaps that went over the head of NM quarterback Toby Michael resulted in a loss of 12 yards and a stop by the PHS defense on fourth down.
Preston got the ball back on offense with four minutes until the break but a pair of procedure penalties halted another positive drive and the Huskies took advantage again.
This time, Karter Parson scampered home from 10 yards away to double the NM lead just before halftime.
The Knights got the ball back and drove the length of the field, finding themselves with a 3rd-and-goal from the 6-yard line with 2.2 seconds left in the half. They came up empty and entered the break trailing 14-0.
“We get that score and it’s a completely new ball game,” Deep said. “Again, one of those chances we have where we can make a play and help ourselves and we don’t come up with it.”
North Marion entered the third quarter on offense and executed a six-minute drive that resulted in a three-yard run by Michael for another touchdown.
The Knights followed with a quick three-and-out and the Huskies scored again on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Noah Hess to Anderson.
After another PHS three-and-out that saw it forced to punt the ball away, the ensuing kick was fielded by NM returner Brian Poindexter and returned from midfield to the house. The third touchdown in five minutes of the third quarter for the visitors extended the lead to 34-0.
Poindexter added a 30-yard run in the fourth for another NM touchdown.
The Knights answered with senior Ethan Likens from 18 yards away with 2:24 left in the game.
“It doesn’t get any easier for us, so we need to figure it out quickly and start taking advantage of chances,” Deep said.
Preston will stay home for a third straight week to host Fairmont Senior.
BOX SCORE
North Marion 7 7 20 7 – 41
Preston 0 0 0 7 – 7
SCORING SUMMARY
NM – Mullett 38 run (Anderson kick)
NM – Parson 10 run (Anderson kick)
NM – Michael 3 run (Anderson kick)
NM – Hess 29 pass to Anderson (Anderson kick)
NM – Poindexter Punt return (Kick failed)
NM – Poindexter 30 run (Anderson kick)
PHS – Likens 18 run (Turner kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING – NORTH MARION: Poindexter 8-55 TD; Mullett 12-83 TD; Michael 10-69 TD; Parson 2-20 TD; Collins 2-15; Morris 2-22; Edgell 1-14; Brown 2-14. PRESTON: Manko 14-56; Likens 3-23 TD; Lewellen 6-30
RECEIVING – NORTH MARION: Hess 2-11; Poindexter 3-46; Stemple 1-8; Anderson 1-29 TD. PRESTON: Smith 5-79; Likens 3-19; Turner 4-25
PASSING – NORTH MARION: Michael 5/7 56; Morris 1/1 9; Hess 1/1 29 TD. PRESTON: Manko 11/22 123 INT
