Tigers set record in rout of Rangers
Jeffrey throws six TD passes; defense gets three pick-sixes
SUGAR LAND – Travis wide receiver Arjei Henderson just needed a second (quarter) to spark his squad.
The super sophomore hauled in three of his four first-half touchdowns in an eight-minute stretch before the break, helping the Tigers shake off a slow start for an 86-20 win Saturday night at Mercer Stadium.
“It’s a huge win,” said Henderson, who had seven receptions for 106 yards. “We set the tone and madea statement (Saturday).
“Eighty-six points — that’s crazy.”
Travis improved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in District 20-6A.
Clements dropped to 1-3, 0-1 with its third consecutive setback, but it actually looked upset-bound early on. Terrible start
The Tigers were terrible at the start, with a fumble, false start and interception on their first three snaps. The turnover set up Jordan Khalil’s 27-yard scoring run on a reverse on the Rangers’ first play.
Then quarterback Amryn Jeffrey – who didn’t have a pick the first three games – threw his second on the ensuing series.
Henderson’s first TD grab gave Travis a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter, but Clements responded with a 62-yard scoring drive capped by Robert Dominguez’s 55-yard TD catch on third-and-24.
It wasn’t until the Rangers’ first turnover that Travis took off.
Jake Lynch recovered a fumble at the Clements 2-yard line and, after going backward on two negative plays and a penalty, Henderson one-handed a 22yard Jeffrey pass for a 14-13 lead. That score came with 8:46 left in Henderson’s showcase quarter.
Terrence Branch followed with a two-yard interception-return touchdown, and Henderson added TD receptions of 11 and 42 yards to cap a 27-point quarter, giving Travis a 3413 lead at halftime.
The third and fourth quarters were equally un- kind to Clements.
Travis tallied three touchdowns in less than five minutes in the third, with Jeffrey throwing scoring passes to Grant Griffin (26 yards) and Jamel George (80 yards), and Tre Johnson supplying a second pick-six on a 46-yard return, to give it a 55-13 advantage with 15 minutes left to play.
“It started with defense,” Henderson said. “They got us a couple of stops and the momentum switched, and we put it in gear and took off with it.”
Jeffrey shook off the slow start to notch six TDs and 387 yards on 24-of-31 passing
The junior signal caller now sports 14 scoring pass- es to only two interceptions in his second season starting.
“He’s amazing,” Henderson said. “He comes to work every day, works hard, and he’s probably the smartest dude I know. I expect it from him every night out.”
Jeffrey excelled without muchhelping from the running game. Most points scored
The Tigers had only four yards on eight rushes at halftime but led by 21 with Jeffrey throwing for 243 yards. They finished with 580 total yards and 17 first downs. Johnson added a 66-yard punt-return TD to his pick-six with 6:58 left in the game. Jaylen Samuels then notched a 31-yard interception-return TD with 5:48 left, giving the Travis defense three pick-sixes.
Travis scored 31 in the fourth to finish with a school-record 86 points.
“I’m an offensive-minded guy, and we tell our kids that if we get it going, that’s what we expect,” Travis coach Trey Sissom said. “We expect to be able to put up points. Obviously, you don’t expect those kinds of numbers, necessarily, but when we get it going and our kids are playing well, and we’re executing and playing with energy … anything can happen.”