All Saints' John Norton evades T.K. Gorman's Dylan Walters at Mewbourne Field on Friday. (Christopher R. Vinn | Tyler Morning Telegraph)

T.K. Gorman recovered a fumble at the All Saints 4 and punched in the game-winning touchdown two plays later to earn a 17-12 victory in the TAPPS Div. III-District 2 opener on Friday at Mewbourne Field.

Senior quarterback Kevin Johnson ran in his second short touchdown run with 6:59 to play to lift the Crusaders (3-3, 1-0) to a win despite being outgained by the Trojans (3-3, 0-1) 240-171 on the night.

Gorman’s rushing offense was held in check by the All Saints defense, producing 3.0 yards per carry.

Trojans freshman Brice Borgeson carried 13 times for 91 yards to lead his squad’s offense, which averaged 6.0 yards a carry, but was hindered by penalties (6 for 70 yards) and 10 negative plays.

All Saints turned a 9-0 halftime deficit into a 12-9 lead early in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback John Norton and a 52-yard scoring jaunt by Borgeson.

The Trojans meanwhile kept Gorman’s offense in check. After two failed fourth-down conversions on their first two second-half possessions, the Crusaders finally opted to punt. Conrad Flowers’ high kick rolled from the 20 to the Trojan 5, a 49-yard boot.

Trojans quarterback John Norton, who had fumbled three times before on high snaps, went under center to start the drive, but quickly lost the ball to the Crusaders’ defense. From the Trojan 4, it took two plays for Gorman run in the go-ahead score. After Johnson went in for a 3-yard score, he found Flowers on the two-point conversion for the 17-12 lead.

All Saints went three-and-out on the following possession and punted with 4:38 to play and two timeouts, hoping to get the ball back. Instead, Gorman got just enough from its offense to keep its defense off the field.

The Crusaders converted on a third down (5-yard run by Colin Parks) and then a fourth down (5-yard run on a reverse by Cale Tucker) to hold onto the ball until the time ran out.

Cale Tucker had 52 yards for the Crusaders while Matthew Hillin led the TKG offense with 57 yards.

All Saints broke through with its first touchdown with 2:13 left in the third quarter on John Norton’s 1-yard dive into the end zone. The touchdown came after the Trojans faced first-and-goal from the 25, a length that was shortened by a 24-yard run by Norton.

The Trojans then stuffed the Crusaders on fourth down to take over at their own 48. Borgeson took the next play to the house to give All Saints a 12-9 lead with 9:44 to play.

Kevin Johnson scored on a 1-yard keeper to give Gorman a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. The run capped an 11-play, 61-yard drive during which the Crusaders gained five of their 12 first downs.

Gorman led 9-0 on a safety on the All Saints’ following drive. Attempting to punt, Norton couldn’t hold on to a high snap under his own field goal and booted the ball out of the back of the end zone to avoid a Crusader touchdown.

All Saints’ best chance to score in the first half came following a Gorman fumble recovered by Norton. Merritte Greene, who had 74 yards on three carries all in the first half, busted out for a 39-yard run to get the Trojans to the Crusader 14. But the Gorman defense stifled the next two runs and Norton twice threw off the hands of receivers for a turnover on downs.

Notes: All Saints lineman Andrew Latta was named homecoming king; Anna Cheng was named homecoming queen.

T.K. Gorman 17, All Saints 12

At Mewbourne Field, All Saints

Gorman    0   9   0   8 — 17

All Saints  0   0   6   6 — 12

Second Quarter

TKG—Kevin Johnson 1 run (Asher Boudreaux kick), 10:56.

TKG—Safety, 9:30.

Third Quarter

ASE—John Norton 1 run (kick fail), 2:13.

Fourth Quarter

ASE—Brice Borgeson 52 run (run fail), 9:44.

TKG—Johnson 3 run (Conrad Flowers pass from Johnson), 6:59. 

                                     TKG             ASE

First Downs            12            12

Rushes-Yards        47-143      39-234

Passing Yards        28            6

Comp.-Att.-Int.      2-4-0        1-6-0

Punts-Avg.            3-39.0       3-31.3

Fumbles-Lost        1-1            5-1

Penalties-Yards     5-35          6-70 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Gorman, Matthew Hillin 16-57, Cale Tucker 11-52, Kevin Johnson 10-19, Colin Parks 5-11, Sam Becker 5-4. All Saints, Brice Borgeson 13-91, Merritte Greene 3-74, John Norton 23-69.

PASSING—Gorman, Johnson 2-4-0—28. All Saints, Norton 1-6-0—6.

RECEIVING—Gorman, Cole Alt 1-15, Conrad Flowers 1-13. All Saints, Borgeson 1-6.