White House 35, Portland 17 (8/29/08)

White House won its third straight over Portland with a 35-17 triumph in non-region play to start the 2008 season on the road, but the pesky Panthers made them fight for every inch in a close game that got away.

When Portland connected on a 28-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the first half, the Blue Devils turned up the heat and never looked back. Friday’s game flipped in a moment when junior quarterback Trox Greenwade engineered a two-minute drill to perfection, completing all three passes for 70 yards including a 47-yard touchdown strike to DeMarrius Payne with 20 seconds left in the second quarter.

Payne broke two tackles and cut to the far sideline for the score and Matthew Gossett’s PAT made it 14-10 at the half. Portland recovered the onside kick in the second half, but White House held on downs at the 25-yard-line to turn the ball over and set up the touchdown that would put it away.

“We were in hurry-up mode and they were playing us off in coverage, and Trox did a good job of taking what they were giving us and some kids made some good runs,” White House head coach Jeff Porter said of the quick scoring drive before the half. “The stop (second half) was a big turning point in the game, and getting up two scores was huge.”

The Blue Devils marched 75 yards on 11 plays in the third quarter when Bryan Dixon cashed in his second touchdown run of the night, this of nine yards for a 21-10 lead with 4:22 left in the third quarter. Dixon carried 11 times for 71 yards, while DeMarqus Payne added 92 yards on eight carries and Cody Allen rushing five times for 38 yards. White House had 359 yards of total offense with 212 on the ground.

On that third quarter drive, White House was perfect on third down – and for the night, connected on 4-of-5, while Portland was just 3-of-10. The Blue Devils punted once, and Trox Greenwade boomed it for 64 yards.

“That’s a good percentage on third down, and I thought our offensive line did a good job of helping move the football, and that was evident in that we only had five third down plays,” Porter said. “But we were able to take away one of their best weapons and that was blocking kicks.”

Chad Neal captured the first of two interceptions on the next drive, going Willie Mays-style over his shoulders to catch a double pass from Joe Arendall at the White House 14. Dixon and Allen bruised their way into Portland territory and DeMarrius Payne struck again with a 48-yard touchdown reception, hauling in the deep pass and cutting inside to the endzone.

Neal would put the nail in the coffin on the next series, intercepting Colton Williamson and returning it 58 yards for a touchdown for a 35-10 lead. Portland would add a touchdown late when White House’s second team fumbled on the first play after a punt.

“This was a very workmanlike effort for our team,” Porter said. “Whatever we were dealt, our kids kept working at it and never lost their poise. We never take for granted the joy of winning the game. The kids have been in the weight room and in conditioning since January 1^st, and we are happy for them.”

Even though White House fumbled three times and lost a kickoff return on a miscue, Portland was unable to muster but 270 yards on 57 plays – despite having the football for almost 31 minutes of the contest. Portland broke two long runs, leading to ten points when Dominique Roe and Dee Mayes broke through the line to set up scoring drives in the first half.

Williamson and Arendall combined for just 2-of-9 passing with a pair of interceptions, while Greenwade was efficient with 7-of-11 completions for 147 yards and two scores to Payne, who combined for 95 yards on his two catches.

Porter credited the defensive success against the pass not just to the secondary, but the pressure up front. Matt Mosley and Zach Duty had sacks, while Aussie Light had two big quarterback pressures and Blaine Boone throttled Williamson on the final interception as he let go of the ball. Michael Barrett led the defense with nine tackles, followed by Mosley and Jonathan Duke with eight.

“You have to give credit to our pass rush,” he said. “Our kids got some really good, clean shots on the quarterback. The time of possession and number of plays is a little bit misleading, but 31 minutes is too much and 57 plays are a bit too high. You would like to keep that in the upper forties.

“I’m just disappointed in some of our younger kids later in the game as far as preparation,” he added. “Our young guys have to do a better job of preparing themselves to get in the game and hopefully we can address that issue this week.”

White House (1-0) welcomes Alcoa (1-1) next week for the first home game of the season. The Tornadoes lost to Maryville, 20-13, but come in as the four-time defending state champions in Class 2-A, and one of the most dominant powers in Tennessee high school football. Kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m.