QB duel a likely tease of the future
FB Marshall’s Hornsby, Port Neches-Groves’ Johnson vie in a glimpse of things to come
It’s the 2007 Class 5A Division II Region III semifinals. Galena Park ISD Stadium is hosting a Dec. 1 meeting between Clements and Stratford.
The teams have a combined 22 wins and are led by two quarterbacks with established pedigrees, gaudy numbers and ability to match.
One is the younger brother of a starting NFL quarterback. The other is the son of a former NFL quarterback.
“Both defenses obviously had a difficult time,” said former Stratford coach Eliot Allen, whose Brenham team is in the regional semifinals this weekend. “It kind of came down to whichever team made one mistake on offense. It was a pretty tight game, and I don’t know if anybody really stopped anybody.”
Perhaps the most remarkable part of the game is how many spectators didn’t realize they just paid $5 to watch something that would cost $105 — for good seats — in 2016.
Derek Carr and Andrew Luck met as starting quarterbacks in an NFL regular-season game nine years after their playoff date.
In the Texas prep duel, Carr’s Clements team ousted Luck’s Stratford side. Carr’s Oakland Raiders edged Luck’s Indianapolis Colts in 2016 as well.
Both times, the quarterbacks put on a show.
Those watching Fort Bend Marshall and Port Neches-Groves vie in a Class 5A Division II Region III semifinal at Stallworth Stadium on Friday night should savor a moment that also could have a ripple effect down the line.
PN-G touts Roschon Johnson. Marshall boasts Malik Hornsby. Those two alone make it this weekend’s best Houston-area playoff game outside of Katy-North Shore.
If it’s about the numbers, these two have plenty. Johnson has 2,200-plus passing yards, a 1,500-yard rushing season and 50-plus total touchdowns. He has broken records.
Hornsby’s numbers come via different circumstances. He has played in only eight games, having to wait for University Interscholastic League clearance from his transfer to Marshall from Houston Austin High School. But he has made those games count: 1,342 yards and 19 touchdowns passing with another 500 yards and nine scores on the ground.
Hornsby’s most impressive stat by far: one interception. He had none coming into the postseason.
Santa Fe played both
It’s a defensive nightmare to prep for. Santa Fe coach Mark Kanipes said his Indians “unfortunately” had to prepare for both this year. Santa Fe shares a district with PN-G and fell to Marshall (12-0) in the bidistrict round.
Kanipes sees Johnson as a pure passer and Hornsby as the complete package as an athlete, noting that in the playoff game he had two spies on Hornsby, who made both miss on a zone read option.
But Kanipes says that doesn’t mean Johnson can’t do the same, citing the PN-G quarterback’s size and elusiveness. Brian Perroni, recruiting analyst with 247Sports, says Johnson, who is 6-1 and 192 pounds and can run, fits the mold of University of Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger
Then again, Hornsby can throw with the best of them. Perroni says Hornsby has pro-style passing ability and that the athleticism Kanipes referred to is a bonus.
College interest
In other words, it’s difficult to poke holes in either player’s game. Johnson is the catalyst who makes PN-G (9-3) go. Hornsby has been viewed as the final piece who turned an already good Marshall team into an elite one.
But even that narrative takes on a different tone the more each of these teams wins.
But maybe numbers and ability don’t accentuate this matchup. Maybe — much like the Carr-Luck playoff game — the idea of what we could be witnesses to should do all the hyping.
Johnson, a senior, is a UT commitment. It looks like Texas A&M has the most activity around Hornsby, a junior, but that could change considering the number of offers he has received.
Hornsby is the secondranked Class of 2020 dualthreat quarterback in the country, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings.
What if these two are the future of the state’s flagship college programs? What if more is in store for both?
Either way, whomever is watching wins.