THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Houston High School Athletics

The ball was on the ground, but Houston's Shawne Jones was in the right place at the right time. He scooped it up with one hand, tucked it and raced 70 yards down the sideline, beating the Whitehaven defense to the pylon. "They were talking a lot," he said, "so it felt good." They were still talking even though the game had been finished as a contest for quite a while. Thanks in part to three touchdowns from Jones — a senior wide receiver — Houston (3-2, 2-1 Region 8-6A) easily beat Whitehaven (3-2, 2-1) on Friday night 48-14. He finished with four catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns to go with the fumble recovery touchdown. "I expected this," Jones said. "I know what we're capable of. We can do this every week." Jones scored the last touchdown of the game to finish it off, but he also scored the first in a game that was expected to be close. Mustangs quarterback Chandler Day connected with Jones for a 46-yard touchdown that gave Houston the lead. Both Jones and Houston coach James Thomas credited wide receiver Wes Haynes for throwing a key block to help spring the play. A Jose Joiner pick-six extended the lead a few minutes later, but the Tigers fought back when Christopher Talley ripped off a 59-yard rushing touchdown to make it a one-score game again. Houston took over from then, driving down the field with ease and scoring three more times to make it 35-7 at the halftime break. Running back Damon Sisa rushed for two scores on either side of a 2-yard touchdown reception by Jones, and the game was effectively over before halftime. "He's a big-time player," Thomas said. "In big games like this, we look for our big-time players to show up. You never know who it's going to be, because we've got athletes all over the field." Day connected with Derrick Miller Jr. for another touchdown in the second half to extend the lead before Jones' fumble recovery touchdown ended it. Sisa finished with 14 carries for 64 yards and the two touchdowns, and Day was 11-of-19 for 150 yards and three touchdowns. Day also rushed for 73 yards on 10 carries. Thomas said after the game that he and the team were treating Friday's matchup as a must-win. The Mustangs had an up-and-down start to the season, coming into the game with a 2-2 record even though those two losses came by one point and two points. The 14-13 loss to rival Germantown came because of a blocked extra point. Friday's win represented a positive step in the right direction and a legitimate momentum boost heading into the rest of the season. Whitehaven had come in at 3-1, but struggled to get the running game going aside from Talley's two long touchdown runs. "It's huge," Thomas said. "It's huge for playoffs. It's huge for seeding. I tell these guys, 'We've got a tough schedule.' So we're sitting here 3-2, but we're a really good football team. We've lost two games by one point and two points to two very good football teams. So we're a great team."

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Houston High School Athletics

HOUSTON FOOTBALL SHOWS WHAT IT'S CAPABLE OF BEHIND SHAWNE JONES' 3 TDS, ROUT OF WHITEHAVEN

JONAH DYLAN

Commercial Appeal | 9/15/2023

PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal