LUFKIN - The Chapel Hill Bulldogs made the trip to Lufkin’s John Outlaw Memorial Stadium seeking their first win of the season. Instead they just found a Port Neches-Groves offense they simply couldn’t solve.
Adam Morse completed 26-of-30 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns and Kody Cropper ran for 118 yards and a touchdown while hauling in another touchdown pass to lead PNG to a 41-10 victory in non-district action Friday night.
The Indians built an 18-point halftime lead and were never tested in winning their second game of the season.
Chapel Hill was led by Adrian Miner, who ran for 84 yards on six carries.
Meanwhile QB Tanner Heckel had a hard time getting the offense going as he completed 8-of-17 passes for 52 yards with two interceptions.
Both teams had their offenses clicking in the early going as PNG took the opening kickoff and drove down the field with little resistance.
The Indians got their first score when Cropper took a quick pass and sprinted 19 yards for a touchdown and an early 7-0 lead.
Chapel Hill had a quick answer as it drove 70 yards on seven plays with Ja’Braylon Franklin going untouched on a 23-yard run that knotted the game at 7-7. However, that proved to be the Bulldogs only touchdown of the first half.
The Indians used their defense to set up the go-ahead score as Nathan Vidrine intercepted a pass and returned it to midfield.
PNG then took the lead for good when Morse hit Keynel McZeal over the middle and he sprinted in from there for a 16-yard score making it 14-7.
Chapel Hill used the strong leg of Austin Fendrick to pull closer as he just snuck in a 47-yard field goal attempt to make it 14-10 early in the second quarter.
The Indians used their special teams to set up the next score as Cole Girouard returned the following kickoff 65 yards.
Morse scored on the highlight run of the first half when it appeared he was stopped at the line of scrimmage. However, he broke free and ran over a defender at the goal line for a six-yard score, upping the margin to 21-10.
After another defensive stop, Cropper found a hole up the middle and went untouched to the end zone, upping the margin to 28-10.
Chapel Hill had a final chance to score just before the half but lost a fumble near the goal line, leaving them in an 18-point hole.
In the first half, PNG outgained Chapel Hill by a total of 290-106 with Adam Morse throwing for 178 yards.
Early in the second half, the Bulldogs had another shot to get back in the game, but another turnover turned them away. After PNG’s Parker Schults came up with an interception near the goal line, the offense went to work again, putting together an 11-play; 77-yard drive that was capped by a Jace Runnels eight-yard touchdown run that made it 35-10 early in the fourth quarter.
The Indians added one final score on a Jack Giblin 14-yard touchdown reception from Morse with 8:10 left in the game, making the final 41-10.
Chapel Hill (0-4) returns to action on Friday night when it travels to Tatum. Port Neches-Groves (2-1) will travel to take on Lee on Thursday night.